Some events produce the feeling of deep misgiving, and such was the case just under a fortnight ago. Being mysteriously locked out of one’s online bankster service will do that, yeah. Turns out, it appears that the IT nerds programmed their webpage to demand identity information, then didn’t accept it, and promptly locked me out of the system. Banksters hold mad cash in trust for people, that’s part of what they do. And the word ‘trust’ suggests all sorts of actions, none of which are negative in their nature. The incident started the ol’ brain cogitating on the risks of the relationship.
Being of a pragmatic mindset, I drove the half an hour to the nearest branch. Sadly, the local mob closed a few years ago. Oh well. Upon entering the bricks and mortar business, there was the distinct feeling that something not quite right. Speaking to the nice information lady, it turned out that their computer system was down. Sandra and I decided to avail ourselves of some lunch before then returning and conducting the needful business.
Fortunately just up the road is a place that makes a super good bánh mì, which as everyone knows is a traditional Vietnamese pork belly roll in a toasted baguette. Candidly there’s far more fresh vegetable matter than there is of tasty roasted meat. The process of ordering these treats includes the intriguing question: Do you want coriander and chilli added in? No other reply than ‘go hard’ need apply! The ambience is great too, hard plastic tables and chairs, tiles, bright lighting, Asian pop music playing softly in the background. Who needs to travel to exotic locations, when the real deal is only half an hours drive away?
Fortified by a yummy lunch, but accompanied by some trepidation, we returned to the scene of the crime for an update on their systems. Well, they were still down. Several people attempted to help us with the identification process, another half hour of life disappeared. All to no avail. It’s not a harsh criticism to note that the people were in a bit of a flap. In a cloud of disappointment, we drove home again after having wasted half a day for both of us. Thank gawd for the excellent lunch.
The impression I was left with was not that the banksters were evil, or even deliberately mysterious, it was that without the computers they appeared incompetent. In some ways, that worse because mad cash is held in trust there. The question: ‘What does this all mean?’, popped into my mind in the wee hours of the night, and so I lay awake for a couple of hours considering the many implications. Turns out, an account had been set up electronically on their systems, and I have absolutely no paper or electronic records of this transaction. They were all kept on their systems. It is easy enough to fix that issue, now, but the thought occurred to me that if the same IT nerds who locked me out, suddenly decided to disappear the account, correcting the paperwork would have been a nightmare problem. It may not be possible to rectify that problem. I can almost hear the ghostly future whispers: Sure you had an account, sir. Security!
I’m old enough to have worked on the accounts of a large business which was way back in the days prior to accounting data being held on a computer. It can be done, I assure you of this. To see the staff flailing around without computers was not a good look. Anyway as a postscript, the next afternoon another hour was spent at the branch, and turns out all they wanted was updated email address, phone number and some minor details of my business which are all available on public registries anyway. A mystifying experience which makes me wonder how they’ll cope with the realities of an intermittent electricity grid.
In the news this week, another biggie company was doing what seemed to me like bragging about shutting down two coal fired power stations. Hmm.
Electricity has been on my mind of late, mostly because at the warmer, and sunnier time of the year (like right now) we’ve got more of the energy than we realistically know what to do with. Most days the house batteries begin at a 90% state of charge, and it’s only up from there. The power system has to have so much extra capacity, because during the winter months, solar photovoltaic panels provide much less electricity than during the growing season.
Anyway, there’s lot’s of electricity right now. A few months ago, a little idea popped into the brain. Why not get a portable air conditioner to cool the house down on hot days. Always best to use the electricity which would otherwise go to waste. Some summers here, you can enjoy maybe 10 days which are over 40’C / 104’F in the shade. The house has thick fire rated walls and ceiling, is super insulated, and the windows are all 10mm double glazed. It takes a lot of sun to heat this place up, and due to the light weight construction, you can cool it down at night too. But even so, there was one year when three 40’C days in a row, pushed the internal house temperature to 30’C / 86’F. That sure felt hot, yeah. So a portable air conditioner, how complicated can these things be?
So, after the failed episode with the banksters, on the way home, we dropped into the big box appliance store. There was a long row of the portable machines on sale, and they all looked suitably futuristic as if they’d dropped out of a 1980’s sci-fi. Mr Fusion anyone? Sandra, despite the awesome lunch, had also been unsettled by the incident with the banksters, and so with the clarity which comes from deep thought, asked me the hard question: Do you know anything about these machines? Well, what else could I say: No! We left the store without making a purchase.
After doing a bit of a deep dive into the portable technology, it’s probably not all that great of an idea for this house design. Let’s just say that enthusiasm for the idea has waned. The machines do work, but may present us with some air pressure issues due to the super insulated nature of the house. It is the flip side of the same problem that the wood heater presents during the winter months. Fresh air has to enter the house, and that can only be via an open window, and during summer it may be very hot outdoors. That’s a lot of hot air entering into the house, and this will only further reduce the benefits of the thing.
What we’ll do instead, is go back to the future, and add some old school shade cloth over the afternoon sun facing external windows. I recall houses from the 1970’s having extendable awnings over the windows just for summer use. Large spiders used to live in those things, occasionally surprising humans. Anyway, it’s an older technology. The house has large veranda’s, but they’re just not wide enough to keep the hot summer sun off the external walls, and that’s when the house heats up. I’m sure the old school solution will work just fine, and despite the deceptively simple solution, it’s better than acting like you’re in a flap because the computers are down.
Work continued on the new path this week. Early on, the project looked like this:
We’d sadly used up our reserves of large rocks. Fear not dear reader, we headed below to the forest edge to split apart some boulders, and make up for the lack. The first step in creating large granite rocks is drilling the holes in the boulder.
The ancient Roman’s used to do that work using hand tools. Sucks to be them. A 3hp jackhammer with pointy bits is then driven into each of the holes, and hopefully the boulder then splits apart. Doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes the rocks are far larger than we realise, and like icebergs, much of the bulk is hidden out of sight. Such was the case this week.
The boulder in the above image was half buried, and that was a surprise. After a lot of effort, it was broken up into three large chunks.
Once we had made enough large rocks, they were slowly driven back up the hill. The rocks weigh far more than I do, and have to be carefully rolled into the bucket.
Once enough rocks were in place, we could begin smoothing out the new garden bed. And that was when we discovered an enormous tree root hiding in the soil. No sign of a tree stump, just this huge arm.
Fortunately the power wheelbarrow could haul the heavy tree root further up the hill. It was placed on the brazier and is now waiting to be burned off when the weather is appropriate to do so.
The lower section of the rock wall is now almost complete.
The path leading upwards will eventually have rock walls on either side. So as to ensure that the width is consistent, we’ll do the downhill side of the path rock wall first. We brought a number of what we call mid-sized rocks back up the hill and placed them onto the path edge.
Observant readers will note the large number of flat-ish rocks next to the water tank. We’ll eventually fill in the gaps between them with a mixture of crushed rock with lime, and it’ll look a bit like crazy paving, but be so much better.
This week’s video shows the path project work:
The weather at the moment, can only be described as changeable. One cold morning earlier in the week was 0’C / 32’F, and that was not good given the volume of fruit on the trees. Some frost exposed apricots fell to the ground. The potato vines also suffered, and many now sport blackened leaves. But overall I believe the potato crop at least will be fine.
There’s even been a bit of rain this week.
Another morning was seriously foggy.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 10’C (50’F). So far for this year there has been 682.8mm (26.9 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 660.2mm (26.0 inches)
Comments
53 responses to “Paper Cuts”
Yo, Chris – It really bites the big one when “systems are down.” One wants to invoice them for time spent. Not that you’d get very far. If all your info were lost, would they even know what to do with paper backup? “Paper. How quaint.” So, did they verify your updated e-mail and phone number? How do they know it’s really you, on the other end? Security! Why did I suddenly think of Kafka?
The banh mi sounds really yummy. A fine example of meat, in Asian cuisine, as being used more as a condiment, rather than a main course. Part of the reason why Asian folks look so fit.
Yes, portable air conditioners have to be vented … somewhere. Given all the different window configurations, it can be tricky. When I had my little house, it faced south and insulation was nonexistent. Sometimes, wetting down the roof didn’t cut it. I had a brainstorm. I bought some large, bamboo blinds. Pretty cheap, at that time. I put hooks in the eves, and hung them from there. The shade really made a difference. I also planted a lot of corn and sunflowers, across the front.
It was very interesting to see the photos of your rock wrangling. 🙂 The video was quit good, and complimented the photos. At the end of the video, there’s always links to about 12 U-Tub videos. 5 of the 12 were links to previous videos of yours. But I noticed one that wasn’t, but might come in handy when you finally really do hit peak rocks. “Real or Fake? Dig a hole … to cast fake rocks.” I didn’t look at it, but it’s an interesting idea.
“Rain falls over the valley.” A calendar worthy photo. I figure the rain is falling on the unjust. 🙂 The fog photo was also calendar worthy. Some find fog creepy, I don’t. Hmmm. How do I feel about fog? It’s interesting, because I think, it’s novel. Not something that happens every day. I’m so sorry about the frost. I hope everything bounces back. More global weather weirding.
The Iris and Rhodie are spectacular. Lew
Here’s a tool that you might find useful, Chris. I mainly use it for cutting/grubbing out tree roots and chopping up thick banana stems & suckers. I find the electric jackhammer better for rocks and concrete though.
https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2019/11/05/product-review-slammer-tool-the-ultimate-landscaping-tool/
Hi Mike,
It’s a fine looking tool, and wise to keep the cutting edges super sharp. But for rocks and concrete a couple of extra useful horsepower is always handy. 😉 Do you use one of these tools?
Hey, I noticed Deep Green Permaculture had an interesting article on Chinese green tea leaves: How to Harvest, Prepare, and Dry Chinese Green Tea Leaves at Home. It’s a subject which is very much on my mind of late.
Cheers
Chris
Yep. The Slammer is part of my toolkit. Worth having I reckon. Like you, I find the electric jackhammer useful for concrete and rocks, although The Slammer can fit a rock breaking attachment (which I don’t yet own).
Hi Lewis,
As someone who works in and with small businesses, I’m very cognisant of not ever creating a situation which wastes my customers time. Man, that’s like a cardinal sin, whatever that is. My own experience very much felt like being treated with contempt due to sheer carelessness. There was absolutely no reason why after ID checking me in person on the first day and confirming I was who I claimed to be, the entire process could have been handled over an email. When the system and process becomes all important, that’s when monstrous things can occur. And speaking of Kafka, it defies my imagination that at the end of the second visit, a paper form was completed and forwarded to another department to handle and process. I kid you not. What a fun world we reside in.
🙂 All very true. The few chunks of roasted pork are an adjunct to the mass of fresh vegetables and quality mildly toasted baguette. There’s a lot to like about the meal. It’s almost impossible to know, but my familial lot which came to an early end, more than a decade below the average age by the way, ate an ordinary diet. The funny thing is that getting involved in meal preparation from a very young age, and then having to compete in sports at school, really highlighted to me that a person is what they eat. Distance running, proved that reality to me in a way that no amount of words would ever show.
The thing with venting the machines hose/s out a window, is that we also have stainless steel wire mesh shutters over the windows for fire purposes. That will certainly not assist exhaust air flow. But the machine itself will also reduce the air pressure within the well insulated and sealed house, and that is a problem. And yours is exactly the same answer we came up with, although instead of bamboo, the shade cloth will be the plastic HDPE. Of course either produce will be a fire risk in themselves, so we’ll figure something out.
Went to the big box hardware store to have a look at them today, and the shade cloth seems pretty good and suggests that it is a UV stable material. We’ll check that out! 🙂 Did an admin day today as we had to pick up chook food, dog food (the enjoy a 50/50 mix of home made + purchased kibbles), a massive 44 pound bag of shell grit for the chickens etc… Lot’s of running around doing the stuff which keeps the household ticking along.
And it rained. A lot. This morning during the inspection rounds (in the rain) to see how the various systems were working, I discovered that one water pipe had detached and water was oozing everywhere. No big deal as it was way down below the house, and was an easy fix. I’ll have a look at how that happened over the next few days, and maybe then fix it up. 31mm / 1.3 inches of rain fell, and all of the water tanks are now full and over flowing. It’s still raining tonight.
Not a bad idea to make a fake rock, especially when one of a certain size and dimension is required. What I didn’t really go into was that there is one last gap on the new lower rock wall which requires just that – a rock of a certain size and shape. Looking at the rock inventory, there may be one, but until the granite chunk is fitted into the space, it’s hard to know.
Thanks, and yes the unjust most certainly have done all manner of horrid activities to have earned such a fate. Basically they brought that dampness down upon their own heads! 🙂 I like that thought about fog being novel, and in some ways it’s method of trees to get a drink of water when it does not rain. Those cloud forests in the Pacific are intriguing islands. And yeah, what do you do about a late frost? The almond and apricot crops are always a bit marginal here, but worth trying all the same. Lost about half of the fruit, which is a bit of a trial, but nobody said life was meant to be easy.
The flowers on the other hand are true delight, and glad to be able to share them with you. 🙂
As a slow, but savouring every word, kind of a reader, your astute observation regarding the ‘use by’ date for the Japanese Inn book, resonates. Plus the local library is I believe (or last I checked) only open during business hours… It’s a travesty set upon the working man. I’ll bet the old Mechanics Institutes of yore, stayed open during more convenient hours. Oh well.
So true, and hopefully no children decided to loiter around during the Paradise fires thus putting the entire family at risk – à la Jurassic Park? Have you learned any handy survival tips? I’m always interested in those. One thing I learned in the volunteer fire stuff is that it is unwise to shelter in a bathroom as it usually only has one door leading both in and out. Not good, and often a trap.
We are of a similar mindset in relation to autofill. If I may observe, the software has been written for the lowest common denominator, to which it serves a wonderful purpose. But for you and I, it’s a hassle with unpredictable results. The Editor was very annoyed that this sort of innovation caused a lot of hassles for quite a number of people with the misdirected parcel of dog chews.
And auto-correct has in some cases, over written my otherwise correct choices, thus causing mayhem. There are so many things which an alert person has to keep an eye upon nowadays, and truly, I have no idea how most folks cope with this sort of intrusive technology. Maybe, it is possible that I care more about such matters than others. I really don’t know the answer to that conundrum.
🙂 It’s a walnut, maybe… Actually, the poor tree had been so badly located for it’s needs, that it resembled a bonsai. This of course was not my intention for the tree, the outcome was purely accidental. As a fine joke, in the past day or so, it’s grown somewhat.
Did the weather turn out to be nice? And good to hear that the flood risk has abated. Didn’t read of any local flooding today, but looking at the state emergency map there have been some minor instances of flooding in other areas, but nothing was reported upon in the media. They probably don’t want to report upon it due to the ensuing insurance dramas…
Thanks for mentioning the article on the local bear / bee hive interaction. Those folks are great, and I really hope they get back into the fray, this time with better fencing / more active dogs for the hives.
An Akubra hat says ‘bush’. Nuff said. And they’re really well made and have lasted for many years.
Ah, I got confused, yes rather than chex mix, it was chex cereal, and I’d not appreciated that there was a difference. Far out! You’re not wrong there, a brass kitchen god is expensive, even second hand – and do you want the potentially dodgy mojo from a second hand item in that case? Could be opening up a can worms right there.
Mars Needs Women is of course true, but they could probably also use a magnetosphere, some oxygen, some water and a tad more warmth to be truly congenial for the fairer of the species. Probably why they’d run out in the first place. Just a theory…
You are super cheeky! 😉
Cheers
Chris
Hi Mike,
Tools with long steel bars have err, authority! 🙂 The old timers used to use feathers and wedges to split rocks and other hard material like concrete. I’ve got a set. The trick with them, I reckon, is using plenty of high temperature grease, but they do work. The electric jackhammer just has a lot more grunt behind it. Do you use rocks around your place? But yeah, invasive tree roots can be a problem for lesser plants like vegetables, so it’d be handy.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Hungry? You will be. 🙂 It’s National Sandwich Day! Have you done, your part? Kansas – Runza. My grandma (and mum) made those. So have I. Although grandma called them something different. I don’t know how it’s spelled, but phonetic pronunciation is something like Graut-bitto. South Carolina claims the tuna melt. Although I don’t think I’ve ever been in a restaurant, that didn’t have them on the menu. You will smile, when you see the Washington State entry. 🙂
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/most-famous-local-sandwich-every-133421818.html
I meant to mention, when you said “tree root,” I never imagined such a behemoth. Everything is bigger in Australia. Rocks, roots …
Hoops to jump through and gatekeepers to pay homage to. What, no trolls under the bridge? A lot of unnecessary complications, in life.
It sounds like you had a day of hunting and gathering. Also called, a supply run. A day of many stops?
Our high yesterday was 57F (13.88C). Our overnight low was 45F (7.22C). The forecast high for today is 50F. We’re back to rain, again. So far, just on and off sprinkles.
I still think there’s more to your antipathy toward the local library, than them keeping “business hours.” It’s not as if your schedule isn’t flexible. And aren’t they open on Saturdays? I’d be surprised if they weren’t. Maybe … you know, Stephen King’s story “The Library Policeman,” is fiction. 🙂
The Paradis fire. What a poop show. Handy survival tips? Don’t shilly-shally around. Smoke on the horizon, heading your way. Run! Also, live in a place with adequate exit roads. Paradise had three. The city council, in its infinite wisdom, had recently reduced one of them, from four lanes, to two. To provide more parking. And, if you put in bicycle lanes, you get more grants to repair roads. Also, don’t depend on some alert system, to tell you when to evacuate. They mostly didn’t work, or worked in a spotty manner. But, I must say, that that fire moved incredibly fast.
Not so much about auto-correct, but another thing that bothers me is there are some news sites, where the ads come and go. I ignore the ads, anyway, but that’s not the problem. The ads are different sizes, so as they come and go, the text I’m trying to read jerks around. It seems like I spend a lot of time scrolling up or down, to pick up the plot.
I’m sure your walnut will be happier in its new home. A deer has developed a taste for my Brussels sprout leaves. 🙁 . When Dawg and I went out for our midnight stroll, I dumped some self produced nitrogen, around the plant, sprayed it with an organic spray (probably not tasty), and also scattered some blood meal. I suppose the rain will wash it away, in the next few days. I’ll also add some soap chips, tonight.
The largest component of Chex mix, is Chex cereal. All three varieties. Corn, wheat and rice.
But the kitchen god might have good kitchen mojo. I noticed most of them came from The Land of Stuff. What with all the import ups and downs, to order now …. well, it might not even make it.
Well, tomorrow a security company will be here, trying to run down a glitch in the “trouble signal on the fire panel.” The alarms will be activated “for extended periods of time.” Dawg and I will be bailing, and getting out of Dodge. My hearing is good, for an old guy, and I’d like to keep it that way. I figure we’ll camp out at the Club, for awhile. Lew
About the portable AC units. The trick is getting the ones with an intake duct as well as the exhaust so that the extracted heat goes into outside air and not sucking the cooler air from the rest of the house.
Sadly, most units for sale are only house sucking units with just one pipe out.
Perhaps time for a house modification to allow outside air in for heating combustion, and perhaps rigged such that it can also be used for an AC unit should you ever give in to getting one of the two pipe ones.
Hi, Chris!
“Paper Cuts” – very clever.
When reading more of your recent banking experience, I remembered a time last summer when I was not at my usual bank and their computer was down. The junior banker did his best to get around it, and finally did, but it took him 45 minutes. I actually had to trust him that he was going to transfer my transaction from a laptop to the main computer at their bank in Richmond when he got back there later in the day, which made me uncomfortable, but he did it. Not an identity issue, though. And I didn’t get a delicious lunch.
Ha! I was going to suggest a portable AC for using up some of that excess electricity. I love my window AC so much, especially at night. In a 2-story house, with my bedroom upstairs, it really helps. Too bad it didn’t pan out for you. I did manage to sew very heavy curtain liners for some of my curtains, just as Mr. Greer suggested. As a girl we had one house with outside awnings (Dallas, Texas, a very hot place) and there was usually a screened-in porch that the kids could sleep in, if they wanted, but I only remember doing that at the lakehouse that my grandparents owned with another couple, for fishing and boating.
Is that a Meg stone or just a regular boulder? Oh – it was a Meg! Mama mia! And a Meg root! It was not a wooden cat’s head monument in the brazier as I had thought. You sure grow things big there.
What a nice rock wall that is in the video. Lift and tip – wha la!
I don’t know about apricots, but I think your potato plants will be fine. We had all that blackleg fungus last spring that killed quite a few vines, but they still produced really well.
What a fantastic storm photo. Thanks!
Did we decide the irises are purple, rather than blue? That’s an especially lovely rhodie bush. Oh! So are the other ones. Thanks!
Pam
@ Lew:
You made a good call with “Kafka”. Scary stuff. What is a fake rock made of? Concrete? Papier mache?
Pam
Chris,
It began raining again this afternoon. Supposed to rain off and on all week. A rainy fall after the extreme arid conditions of the prior six months is more than welcome.
Thanks again for that poem about my carving friend. I showed it to the club vice president. She was very moved by it, almost to tears. She appreciated that someone who had never met Tim wrote that about him.
Okay, now I’m getting concerned. Almost scared, even. You have Moby Rocks. Several of them. You’ve dealt with several other partially submerged boulders, about like icebergs. Boulder Bergs I call them. Now you’re digging up Sharknado Roots. What’s next? Kraken Quicksand?
Hmmmm, food. Bank mi, yummy. Coriander and chili added? You gave the only correct answer. I also have to concur with something Pam said. The canned enchilada sauces just don’t do it once you’ve had the real El Paso/Las Cruces style enchiladas. There’s just something unique about the chilis grown in that region. The flavor can’t be replicated.
Glad you enjoyed another Welsh phrase. I like that one. there’s another I use occasionally. Unfortunately, it is a very rude phrase, so I can’t say it here, even without translating it. I learned the unrepeatable phrase from a wonderful webpage that had a long list of Welsh swear words and phrases. Gotta learn how to say the important things, right? 😉
Apparently, it is still the season in which your weather and my weather can be similar. Frost and fog. Fog is more than appropriate for Halloween.
I enjoyed the series of rock breaking photos. Or, How to Break Down a Boulder Berg.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
The transaction you described would make me uncomfortable as well, but fortunately worked out for the best – or at least what was meant to happen. Over the years I’ve seen some alleged wrong doing with the banksters, admittedly it is very rare, and was easily resolved. On that note, many decades ago an investment company attempted to thief off with some of my retirement savings, and it was eventually returned after going through an independent complaint tribunal. But what a hassle. You’ve got a discerning eye, for the lunch was very tasty, and in some ways went towards reducing the huge waste of time it all ended up being.
Those window mounted units are very efficient and use not much electricity at all. And that’s the thing about two story houses in that heat rises – I’ve heard it described as the chimney effect. The old timey mansions use to have a look-out tower at the roof line which vented all that hot air. The heavy curtains and liners are a great idea.
Did you know that if you go back far enough, those screened in porches where the kids slept were also meant to be better for their health? Before germ theory, there was the miasma! Beware the miasma, and fresh air was considered good medicine, regardless of the winter temperatures.
Do you have fond memories of that place? It sounds to me like a location for adventures.
Pam, I was wondering that too about the Meg rock, and can only but hope for the best, and be prepared to deal with the worst. The root was massive, but where ever had the tree stump gone? Beats me. It’s been cold and wet here today on this public holiday for the horsie race, so I’m burning the chunk of timber off in the brazier in between typing away to your lovely self. 🙂 Looks like a shark or some mysterious underwater creature to me, but wooden cats head monument works too.
Those rocks sure are heavy, but make for solid garden edging. I’m really enjoying how that project is turning out.
The apricots are as much of a mystery to me as well. Time will tell. But the potatoes have been enjoying the decent rainfall of the past day or so. The tubers are subject to a lot of plant diseases, yup, but when roasted are just so tasty. Never seen blackleg fungus, and hopefully can avoid making the acquaintance.
Well, since you mentioned it, I reckon the irises are purple, but have no emotional energy invested in that outcome. It’s wishy-washy, but one cannot take on all battles and hope to triumph against the forces arraigned against us all.
Hope you continue to enjoy the flowers as the growing season progresses. Planted out the tomato, chilli, cucumber and zucchini seeds today, but it was so cold and horrid, that paid work beckoned. It’s an exciting life! 🙂
What’s going on in your part of the planet?
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
The moons surely have aligned for this brief window of time between here and your part of the world. It’s likewise cold and rainy here and may continue to be that way for the next fortnight. I don’t recall seeing any temperature beyond 10’C today, and it was a public holiday and stuff for the big horsie race. Brr! But as you noted, the rain is well received.
Man, thanks so much, and that is high praise indeed. You’ve dropped hints and tidbits over the years about your master carvers. I have a great admiration for folks who can get stuff done, whether it be a cheekily deceptive wood carving, putting energy into a group, or whatever. If I may, we stand in the shadow of greats, and can only but do our best. And truly I’d wish I’d listened more closely to the wisdom my grandfather was trying to impart, because like Arthur in Hitch-hikers, I’ve no idea what he was saying. 🙂
That’s a nice turn of phrase calling the Moby rocks by the alternate name of ‘Boulder Bergs’! Very nice. And that sharknado root almost defeated me. I set the brazier alight a few hours ago, and the monster is still happily burning away. Kraken quicksand might be a good way to describe a peat fire. Oh yeah, they’ve got bite, those things.
You know, at first your words looked like a spelling mistake, and then I realised, that’s genius. OK, I’m impressed. Bank Mi indeed! 😉 One can only but dream of such tasty enchilada chilli’s, and we make the filling from scratch here, so it would be something completely different again. Food definitely derives a flavour from the climate and soils where it was grown for sure.
Hehe! On that note, for my browser software there is an Australian dictionary which is replete with naughty words I know, but can’t repeat in this forum for breaking my own house rules. I see those cheeky and fluent in the language of swear Gallagher brothers from England and the band Oasis have been touring down under, whilst using the opportunity to test their language skills. Once it was merited.
Yes, fog is very much suitable conditions for Halloween. Hey, at far higher elevations than here they’ve enjoyed: Snowing in Victoria on Melbourne Cup Day. Thought it was cold today. Brr! Spent most of the day indoors doing paid work.
Very funny, and glad you enjoyed the images and video. Hope to get some more work on that project done later in the week, but it’s such a busy time of the year.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Whatever will they think of next? On the official national day website, there was even a map outlining the particular sandwich preference for each US state. It was hard to ignore that for Washington, the Gyro sandwich, spelt Gyros down here (which is not considered a sandwich), but allegedly was your state’s go-to. Had to check this out, and to me it looks like a wrap. This of course is different to the Gyros / Souvlaki which is usually eaten hot and fresh off the grill. Very tasty, and usually the meat is roast lamb. I get the impression that roast lamb is a not a common meat in your part of the world?
Ooo, there’s a bit of contention there. The map (which as we all know is not the territory) on the site I visited declared the Turkey Sandwich as the winner for the state of Kansas. Don’t blame me, or shoot the messenger! But I see your link has entirely different winners, and much better presentation. Hmm. The Runza is truly not far off the English pasty, or even Cha siu bao. Very tasty indeed. The Nebraskan Reuben sandwich looked awesome, but candidly I fear that I’m not manly enough to consume many of the meat heavy sandwiches.
How good is that though, the winner for your state, is the most excellent (and dare I mention one of the healthier options) bánh mì! Yo! Yo! Yo! That’s what I call winning. 🙂
The root must have originally come from a rather large tree, and I have no idea where the stump was. It’s not in the ground next to the root system. I’m guessing that the loggers would have ripped the edges of the root systems, and then used heavy machinery to lift the stumps. Then they turned them upside down and dumped them randomly, just to mess with me! Or at the very least leave something of an enduring mystery. I set the brazier alight a few hours ago, and it’s slowly burning away.
Far out, it was cold and wet here today, on this public holiday. Spent the day mostly indoors doing paid work. It would have been very unpleasant to have been outdoors. We did however find some time to plant out the tomato and chilli seeds in the greenhouse, in between rain storms.
Yeah, all very true about the unnecessary complications, which need to be dealt to all the same. We must aim for some level of stoicism.
Lewis, that’s an insightful observation in relation to the library. Yes, you are correct, and there is more to the story. The local library is probably about 10km / 6 miles from here. So it’s a bit of an adventure I’d like to head out upon, but truly I usually work six days per week, maybe not all day, but it’s enough work hours to make the possibility of that journey, difficult. I don’t really talk about it, but a lot of my work can come in randomly, depending upon what is happening elsewhere, and I have to be available. And the library is usually closed at either 5:30pm, or Tuesdays at 6pm. That arrangement doesn’t work with me. It’s not really antipathy, and Saturday morning would be a madhouse, with few parking options – it’s located next to a sports field and to one side of the shopping district.
Yes, be afraid of the Library Policeman, be very afraid – and try not to annoy the monster!
Thanks for the useful tips from the Paradise fire book. All very sensible, although maybe not reducing the road access when it’s already a tad tight. Those big fires sure do move fast, and it’s hard to believe, but some people don’t listen to the warnings, even if they’re really dire. I don’t know what to say about such folks without sounding judgemental, but it’s not good. On risky days, I keep the incident map up on the screen, know which direction the wind is blowing in both now and in the future forecast, and use my nose and eyes.
It’s worth noting that one of the main roads around here was reduced from four lanes to two, then had a massive bike lane drawn up on either side. Some agricultural machinery, can be rather slow, and that’s what happens on rural roads.
Oh my! It happens, and those news sites use the advertising to pay the bills and keep the lights on. But agreed, it is annoying, and I pay for an ad-blocker and so don’t see a lot. Your experience of the text moving around would be annoying. It must be a tech-bro thing because the icons on my win-Doh!s upgrade also keep moving around on their own. Not a fan…
🙂 The walnut tree will do a lot better in it’s new spot with more moisture and more fertile soil. Given it’s only just been moved, I’ll have to keep it watered this summer.
Pesky deer, and you said it correctly a while back. Bambi has a lot to answer for. 😉 That observation still produces a wry chuckle. Fun stuff. A good idea with the nitrogen, it’s not like they don’t mark their turf the same way. Best to show them who’s the boss. All good options. Did you get a chance to put down the soap chips? Is the deer tucking into anything else?
Thanks for the chex explanation, as I was a bit muddled up and thought they were one and the same thing.
That’s a possibility with the brass kitchen god, and it’d be interesting to have the background story as to why it (potentially) ended up in your kitchen. It’s funny with a lot of stuff, that we never learn such things. Did anyone during your time in the tat trade ever ask for such information from you?
Good luck, and run to the Club. And also fingers crossed they sort out the problems speedily.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Andy,
Yeah, that was the understanding I also got from taking the deep dive into how the machines would behave in practice. A two hose system would work better here, but it’s exactly like what you wrote, they’re not all that common a design.
For the number of days each year the machine would be useful, it’s probably not worth the hassle, and so we’ll just deal. We tracked down some sun blocking shades which should make a big difference. The material is meant to be UV stable too, but how that works out in reality is anyone’s guess.
When the wood heater is in operation, we open a window and let in fresh air. I read a book many long years ago on the subject which made that useful suggestion. I find that the overall heat loss from that activity, is barely noticeable, even when it’s 0’C outdoors. Mind you, a person wouldn’t want to be sitting directly in front of that open window during the middle of extreme winter!
I reckon really well sealed houses are a fairly new and uncommon technology.
Cheers
Chris
@ Pam – Concrete for the garden … paper mache for theatre props.:-) Lew
Yo, Chris – I was surprised the Runza wasn’t the Nebraska state sandwich. That’s where my Dad’s family was from. They even had them in vending machines, at the local community college, made by church ladies, as a fundraiser, for “good works.” 🙂
I thought you’d be chuffed at the Washington state entry. Though I’ve never seen them on a menu, in this part of the state. No Gyro’s either.
I wonder if the root came from that Meg stump you recently disassembled? Or, perhaps from even something bigger. That is still lurking out there in the forest. Be afraid. Be very afraid. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 48F (8.88C). Our overnight low was 45F (7.22C). The forecast high for today is 59F. Yesterday, there was drizzle, from time to time. But no wind to speak of, which makes a slight drizzle far more tolerable. Forecast is pretty clear for today, though we’ll have another atmospheric river, coming in, tomorrow.
Prof. Mass has an amusing post about UFOs. The early sighting in the 1940s that he mentions, was up in the eastern part of our county. It’s also an area of high Sasquatch sightings. 🙂 I also read a factoid, yesterday, that if all the ice in Antarctica melted, global sea levels would rise 190 feet. No worries. Our average elevation, here, is 266 feet.
“Unnecessary complications.” I still remember the hoops you had to jump through, to get your house built to code. Three binders of paper, as I remember. Now, that would be a slog. Stoicism would be the only way to go, if you wanted to get the job done. I think that’s where my mantra “You only have to do it once. There is an end.” (Lew ©) comes in handy. “Bambi has a lot to answer for.” Wasn’t me.
So, no long overdue library book, that the dog ate? Fines accruing year by year. No accusations of damaged book, that you didn’t do? It all comes down to scheduling? How … prosaic. 🙂
Paradise had a couple of different warning systems. Some you had to sign up for. Some that were just automatic. They were all glitchy, to a lesser or greater extent. Many people got no warning, at all, until maybe, someone came pounding on the door. There was an evacuation plan, that would have worked pretty well … given time. Say, six hours. The town burned in about an hour.
Also, Paradise had a great number of senior citizens. More than half the population. And, there had been two or three very narrow misses, in the decade before the big fire. As with hurricanes, some people don’t evacuate, because in past, “It wasn’t that bad.”
I do worry about the parkland, behind the Institution. It’s really overgrown.
I forgot to lay down the soap chips, last night. I will tonight. I didn’t see that the deer were into anything else. I was surprised, as there’s a small patch of strawberries, next to the Brussels sprouts. The deer really did a number on our strawberry patch, early in the year.
Of course, some people in the tat trade make up stories about items. To give them a glow. Association pieces. Often, I didn’t have a backstory of any kind. But, I did have a quilt, that I was able to furnish details on. And, a rag doll that had come over the Oregon Trail. Those were the only two things that come to mind.
Sort of related, was an article about a new photographic book, I saw yesterday. Not much in these places would be salvageable, other than glass and china. The word that came to my mind was, “waste.”
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/03/style/abandoned-homes-america-bryan-sansivero-photography
Time to brush my teeth, put on my pants, grab dog, and flee the building. Before they start fiddling with the alarms. We may, or may not, get a food box, tomorrow. We’ll see. Lew
Chris:
In a two story house, you not only get heat rising from downstairs, especially the kitchen, but the roof gets hot and then the hot air gets trapped in the attic (which is actually well-insulated). We do have a whole-house fan in the attic that pulls air from outside through all the stories of the house if the windows are open, but if the outside air is hot, that defeats the purpose. Perhaps we need a log lookout tower on our log house? That’s actually kind of a neat idea. Then we would look like an old timey fort.
I need to get out my book “How To Be a Victorian”. I think there was something in it on the health craze for open windows. There were some drawbacks to it (London pollution being one – the book is about the UK).
I have wonderful memories of that lakehouse. It was pretty much the only time I got out of the suburbs and into the country. Quite a few poisonous snakes, though. My uncle would bring his Dachshund (hi, Toothy!), who was great at pointing out snakes.
It’s only a cat from the back because it has two pointy ears. I think I have the wrong term. DJSpo says the rock is a Moby. Does that mean Megs are only tree stumps?
In my part of the planet there are BIG elections today, especially in my state of Virginia. And also, Mr. Baby had to make a sudden trip to the vet to have fluid drained from around his lungs; there was a lot of it. He had to go through this once before and it is great that my son and daughter-in-law can recognize when that needs to be done. And much thanks to the vet for taking him right away. Anyway, he feels so much better now. And, we had a massive ladybug invasion into the house. My D-I-L was dyeing some clothes in pots in the kitchen and she had the back door open as the smell was awfully strong. Well, apparently it is the smell of all smells that ladybugs love because they started coming inside in hordes. Not much we could do about it except close the door – and try to figure out how to replicate the smell in the garden.
Pam
@ Lew:
Got it. 🙂
Pam
two phrases- graceful degradation, and the technology ladder.
In complex equipment ( or systems), analysis can model what happens with each instance of single point failure, and then the system design can be altered so that there is no complete failure, but just some loss of function. Designed thus, the system degrades gracefully, instead of a face plant.
Aerospace stuff is especially designed with this in mind. Thing is, redundancy and hardening cost money, which makers of consumer products are less likely to do. Designers of our internet and financial systems??? Maybe need to revisit the issue.
Which leads to the second phrase- So much of our bright shiny tech lives have done away with the original systems for use as backup.
We are climbing the tech ladder and kicking out the ladder rungs as we ascend. All is well until you want/need/have to descend. 🙁
And one more thing- Have you considered a mini split for cooling with excess summer electricity? They are more pricy than portable AC, but don’t need air duct through the wall.
Chris,
Hmmm, yes, the overlaps our weather gets briefly in spring/fall and fall/spring is interesting. Similarly to you, no sow here, but in the higher elevations it has been snowing. Thanks for the article about the snowstorms on Melbourne Cup Day. Those spring snowstorms can be nasty.
10mm of rain fell in the latest storm. We should get twice that between tonight and Friday evening. Dame Avalanche has been getting extra lengthy walks. Gotta take advantage when it isn’t too soggy outdoors.
Oh, man, yeah that. Listening to one’s elders. I dunno what they were saying either. 😉 However, Tim and I were the “set up committee” for the club. We had a lot of time just the two of us once the coffee was brewing and before others showed up. I listened a lot. Learned a lot about how to run the club, as well as other things. I’ll always be grateful for that time.
Boulder bergs? Thanks. That phrase just popped into my head. Observing the big boulders you get, and the few Moby Rocks, I would consider that the Moby Rocks are a special subset of the Boulder Bergs. Peat fires (Kraken Quicksand), on the other hand, are something outside my experience. I’ve heard of them of course, but that’s something we don’t have hereabouts. Did the sharknado root ever quit burning? I’ve had some experience with the large tree roots. Some are dense enough that they burn a long time.
Cool! You caught my intentional accidental typo that wasn’t a typo. Bank mi. It seemed appropriate, what with the frustration with the bank and the needless hoops to jump through. And that’s a phrase you can use when you’ve done something really stupid: “Oh, bank mi!” Fits right in with “ych a fie”, “bleeping bleep of a bleep”, and “shostakovich, fibonacci, toccata and fugue”. 😉
Started harvesting our carrots today. They are so good fresh from the soil. This is easily the best crop of carrots I’ve had. The soil where I grew them was ideal for them for some reason. Very tasty.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
A log lookout tower would be a very cool addition to your place. Good for taking out zombies at a safe distance too, just a random possibility elucidated upon there! And that’s how it rolls here with the attic space (which also houses the hot water tank (!) in that it is also well insulated, and can trap the heat. On the other hand, the serious insulation in the roof also serves to protect the house timbers from bushfire. House design is all a big old compromise, but a roof tower would be most excellent!
I’d forgotten about the penchant for burning coal as a heating fuel in that original big old smoke – which is located on that small island (as you noted) which at one point in history inexplicably controlled a third of the planet. That’ll learn ’em. Up here in the hills, the air is mostly fresh, except when there are large bushfires. Then it’s very smoky. You’d have noticed that there are less miasma’s up in your hills?
Lovely! If I may say so, the identifier of the word: ‘Dachshund’ is synonymous with another word: ‘indefatigable’. Snakes, yes. Trouble, yes. Unnecessary toothing and rare odd bouts of hyper aggression, yes. Was your uncle’s dog ever knighted for services rendered to the lake house?
Your clever word play has left my over worked addled brain far out in the cold (i.e. the past when things were simpler, if I may point out! 😉 ) so I have declared both your perspective, and DJ’s argument, nuncupatory. And deftly dodge the entire unruly episode!
Poor Mr Baby, and please wish him a speedy recovery devoid of lung biscuits, signed sincerely by the fluffy collective. May he live long and strike fear into the hearts of many a fool hardy squirrel (Charlene’s progeny exempted – they’re off limits which is known to the very lucky feline).
It’s pretty funny your description of the ladybug infestation. I’d suggest that it is a sign as to the overall health of your land. But yes, how to replicate the feat?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Steve,
Thanks as usual for the insightful commentary.
Good grace is I’ve observed, sadly lacking in these enlightened days, and all us lesser folks can do is but set a good example – and hope that it catches on.
Man, what you’ve expounded upon is an issue which is very much upon my mind. The core of the issue could be expressed as such: Yeah, so what next? I’m always thinking about such matters with the systems here, and then testing them out under worst case scenarios.
Exhibit a) Monday was crazy wet, with maybe 40mm falling during the day. Out into the downpour I’d head, trusty umbrella in hand, and observe, how are the systems working? Turns out there was a minor failure which was speedily corrected. But you’d notice that instead of having a single water system here, there are three. Any failure in one system does not spell doom, it just means that there’ll be serious belt tightening and horrid adjustments to have to make.
I absolutely 1`00% agree with your observation. It just costs a whole lot more.
Exactly. On the freeway from here into the big smoke, at one point they added an extra lane, but rather than widening the road, the emergency lane was removed. Good, fast, cheap, pick any two. Not a section of the road I’d want to experience a vehicle failure. Hmm.
Man, I still recall the days before tech, and can get things going on that front if needed. The question I have is: Will anyone want to jump aboard that low-tech ship?
Split systems cost a whole bunch more down here, and each additional complication diminishes the benefits. I can live with the heat.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
The snowfall and extreme low temperatures would have surprised some unprepared folks up in the more alpine parts of the state. Hmm. Just took a look at the news, and there are no reports of people getting into trouble. This cup long weekend has significant memories for me because that was traditionally when my grandfather and his WWII drinking buddies headed up into their remote camp on the Jamieson River way up in the remote alpine area. We do remote ‘big’ down here, and in those days it was a long way from anywhere.
That’s great news about getting even more rain before the winter freeze. The recent weather could get better for you, but it would have to try harder. 🙂
Does a towel down even cut it for a damp Husky? Years ago I tried using a hair drier on the Kelpies, and far out, it was as if someone had just announced the imminent end of the world the way they reacted. Strangely untrusting canines with their own thoughts. You’d know that sort of a dog brain for sure.
That makes two of us then. 🙂 Well, that seals it, we’ve just gotta muddle on through and do our best. Honestly, I get the impression that Tim would perhaps enjoy some mirth at our collective discomfit. It is pretty funny in some ways. The bloke was clearly imparting knowledge, whilst training you to take over, and what a treat those moments are. Share a little secret with you, I enjoy training, and being trained. 🙂 Learning is a joy, when it’s not a subject forced upon a person, like stuff the tech-bros demand I be aware of, or else.
DJ, boulder bergs is a great phrase. It’s kind of fun too, although the reality is quite difficult. Peat fires could occur here, if a tree root somehow ignited underground. That would be a problem. The sharknado root is still burning this evening, although is now in three pieces.
Man, I did paid work all day today, and then came home late and did some more work, so my brain is not at its finest and has to slowly parse your bank mi joke paragraph, and finding it amusing. 🙂 All fine expressions of frustration tinged with a certain weary foreknowledge that, ain’t much else a bloke can do in the circumstances. I forgot to forward on your amusing word play to the Editor. Report to follow…
Your loose soil would be almost perfect for carrots, but then it was dry until recently. A truly impressive result. The soil is not loamy enough here yet to produce good carrots, and home grown ones taste way better than the stuff you can buy. Nice one.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Man, I’d try out the Runza sandwich too, but like I’m real sorry to say it, but the Reuben sandwich (let’s call it the imposer in this instance to avoid ruffled feathers, but so good) would be my choice if it was a final meal, and those two were the only options. And! I may point out that Kansas and Nebraska are not all that far apart. On a serious note, is there a possibility of your ancestors living near to the border between the two states? I’ve also heard of people up-selling their past stories. It happens.
The Bahn Mi is a worthy contender, but probably something found closer to that big coastal city of yours. For your interest, I’m not far from the less fashionable edges of the big smoke, and in such places most excellent food can be found. Rents are higher in better heeled areas, and such things are known, although economists blithely ignore the data. What do they really know?
Lewis, did your mum ever suggest that upon occasion you could be rather cheeky? 😉 The more you get me thinking about where the rest of the tree is lurking, the more nervous I’m becoming! It’s weird, but you got me thinking about this issue, and in the photo you can see that the, let’s use the technical term: rootnado, just kind of starts and finishes in the soil. There’d be a story there, just like those broken rusty steel cables we found years ago.
Back in the day, it was easier to find a good gyros. Now the tables have turned and it is easier to find a good Bahn Mi.
Your weather does qualify as a cold spell. Brr! It’s 50’F outside right now, but may get over 68’F tomorrow. Agreed, breezes make cold weather feel a whole bunch chillier. Fingers crossed that the atmospheric river is a fizzer. Rain is forecast each day for the next fortnight and Saturday looks like another whopper. Just read Professor Mass’s post, and dare I say it but: Thunderbirds, are go! Sorry for the reference to the old TV show. Ah, the Professor’s three points produced some decent belly laughs, particularly the one regarding mental health issues. 🙂 What I want to know is, have they got a UFO or Sasquatch?
No wonder you read such a report regarding Antarctica, and that Greenland island is pretty big too. Hektoria Glacier in Antarctica shrinks at fastest rate recorded in modern history. A dubious achievement.
It was indeed three binders of paper to get approval for the construction of the house. This is part of the reason that houses are so expensive down under. There were aspects to the application which seemed like ‘jobs and growth’ to me. Completely unnecessary. Thanks for the handy saying, and I absolutely agree with your perspective.
Oh well, whomever mentioned the bambi quote knows about deer.
It sounds awful when you put it so bluntly, but it is a scheduling conflict of the worst sort. Rest assured that there are plenty of books to be, and in the process of, being read. For me the activity is a ‘down time’ relaxing thing to do, and work days don’t quite fall under that categorical umbrella. Sad.
Ah, a plan for six hours when all that is available is half an hour to evacuate. I see. From that perspective, all a person had to survive in the water after the sinking of the Titanic was about two hours. Sometimes nature blithely ignores plans. Fire fronts can move really quickly when the wind has picked up and drives the head.
Not much you can do about the parkland, and it’s a problem I face equally here. An area is only ever as good as the weakest link.
Deer tend to revisit places, so hope you managed to get the soap chips down? That is weird about the strawberries, as they are a prized find for forest critters, but I will point out that your brussels sprouts would have more protein and other goodies than the strawberries, especially this late in the season.
Is that the quilt which ended up in the land of film? Oh my! The rag doll would have been one of the few frivolous items brought across that trail. Not much space for anything else given the weight. How did you find out the history of the doll?
Is that book made by the same bloke who photographed the abandoned malls? The article was amazing that there’d be buildings trapped in a temporal stasis. Man, I’m sure that there’d be stories behind everyone of them.
Did you dodge all of the blaring klaxxons?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis cont…
How’s almost six feet of rain in a 24 hour period work for you? For the record, I would be terrified. Vietnam deluge close to world record for highest daily rainfall
Say, that’s a lot of rain…
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Your sky is falling! Your sky is falling! 🙂
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/strange-glass-australia-reveals-massive-011737397.html
And …
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/tesla-australia-struck-mystery-object-024607429.html
Wouldn’t it be ironic if it turns out to be a piece of Mars Boys space junk? 🙂
Germans who lived in Russia (Volga Germans), immigrated here by the thousands. They settled mostly in Kansas, Nebraska and even eastern Washington. LOL. Because it reminded them of home. Flat, hotter than hell in summer and bitterly cold in winter. Over in eastern Washington, there’s even a town named Odessa. They have a big Oktoberfest, every year.
Rootnado! Will there be cameos by B (and C) list “stars” and washed up sports figures? 🙂
Cold spell? What cold spell? It’s positively balmy, here. I’m still getting a cherry tomato, or two, most days. Our high yesterday was 52F (11.11C). Are overnight low was 48F (8.88C). The forecast high for today is 58F. Last night it was bucketing down. It’s either rain, or heavy rain. Take your pick. 100% chance of rain today, tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night. 90% on Friday. Still no local flood watches or warnings. Poor Viet Nam. That’s a crazy amount of rain.
Thunderbirds were after my time. But I sort of know who they are. Weird little puppets. Ain’t no Sesame Street! 🙂
That’s where I got the statistic for global sea level rise. From an article about that glacier. Sooner or later, this will be ocean view property.
I finished the book about the Paradise fire, last night. PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) ended up paying what sounds like a lot of money. But only amounts to less than they take in, in one day. A hook on a transmission tower, had broke. A hook that was installed in 1919, and cost $.19. Now, a replacement would have cost $19. The tower was supposed to be checked, every five years. It hadn’t been examined in 17 years.
I didn’t have any background on the quilt, that was in the movie. Though judging from the material, it was made in the 1930s. The quilt I did know about, came from Uncle Larry. So, I had background on it. It was a pattern called “Double Wedding Ring.” My dentist, bought it. 🙂 I forget how I knew about the Oregon Trail doll. It was an estate sale, and I think I talked to one of the descendants. Or maybe, it had a document with it.
If you don’t heat a house, for even a couple of years, mold and mildew take over. I could have wept at those piles of books in the one photo. Probably lots of collectible stuff in there. All beyond redemption.
Dawg and I had some errands in Centralia, and then hid out at the Club, til 1. By the time we got home, they had found the glitch. “In the mechanical room, on the second floor.” I got to see my friend Scott. Yesterday was his 43 AA birthday. He can hardly get out, at all, these days. His wife broke some bones in her ankle, and is slow to heal.
We did get a couple of food boxes, today. I was surprised that nothing screamed Thanksgiving. There was the usual 2 pound brick of processed cheese “product.” And a frozen, one pound pack of skinless chicken breast (two months past the sell by date.) A bag of red seedless grapes, from California. Two fancy pears that come in those funny little socks. Four each, plums, apples, potatoes. It all looks in pretty good shape.
1.5 quarts of vegetable oil, 3 10oz packets of shelf stable chicken, 2 one pound boxes of spaghetti pasta, 2 quarts of shelf stable milk, 2 boxes of corn flakes, a 2 quart jug of grape juice. A jar of peanut butter.
Tins: one each of tomato sauce, black beans, applesauce and salmon. Two each of peaches, Pino beans, diced tomatoes, carrots and green beans. Three tins of corn. I don’t see anything I’m keeping, other than the produce.
There was an article about the closing of the Darigold milk plant. A good photo of the facility. Sounds like a lot of taxing districts, are going to take a hit, including our library.
https://chronline.com/stories/darigold-will-leave-chehalis-with-a-large-chunk-of-change-from-local-tax-dollars,390417
I wonder what will happen to the facility? It’s within a block of the county government buildings. Courthouse, jail, health departments, etc.. It’s also just three blocks from an Interstate 5, interchange. Lew
Chris:
My hills aren’t as big as your hills, so I don’t find too much difference in air from the valley below. It’s only because I have to climb up and down one every day that I think it is so high. The lack of flat spots, as you know. But that is being remedied because my son has almost finished building with the CAT what I call the mesa and he calls the pad, directly behind the house. It is a 100ft (30.5m) by 25 or 30 feet (7.6 or 9m) terrace, to give us a flat area and also enough room to eventually build a garage.
No, my uncle’s “Caesar” never came into contact with royalty. He probably would have lost his title when he ate the hose to the automatic icemaker and flooded the kitchen. But wait! He already was an emperor!
Wow! A new word! I had to look up nuncupatory; nice job. And what did I find when looking for it? “The question is nuncupatory.” Source: Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance. Have I proven the source?
I will pass on your well wishes to Mr. Baby. After sleeping a lot today, he is now eating like a horse and looking for trouble.
Pam
@ Lew,
Odessa, WA? Oktoberfest? My high school choir sang there one year. I’ve been through there several other times. There’s not a lot there. Wheat fields and sagebrush. A girl that was on a softball team that my sister was on and that I helped coach was from a dot on the map near Odessa – Wilson Creek. There’s even less there than in Odessa.
DJSpo
Chris,
I gaggled Jamieson River. It looks beautiful. And remote. in the mountains, right? The remote areas I used to frequent aren’t that remote now.
I remember a few recent years when the ground froze when it was still dry. Not good, so I’m happy with the rains before winter sets in. So far, another 17mm the past two days with more expected.
Towels work great on a wet husky. She didn’t like it when younger but accepts it now. That outer layer of fur is a fair rain repellant, so mostly what needs the towel is that outer layer. Hair dryers and vacuum? Not a chance. She runs whenever I touch those. Even worse are brushes. She detests being groomed, stands there shaking with her tail between her legs until I’m done. She even runs if the Princess even touches a lint brush. But a towel for getting the wet off her? That’s okay.
Yes, learning is a joy! Some of the most miserable people I know ceased learning eons ago.
Oh, tree roots burn and smolder underground for an amazingly long time following forest fires. It’s not uncommon at all for smoldering roots to spread to roots of unburned trees, then slowly rise above ground and start another fire. We had a few of those happen this past year.
We had a busy afternoon. Dental procedure follow up, which went smoothly. Then we went to a leather crafting business. They have been making a special belt for the Princess. It is completed, so we went to make final payment and pick it up. It is all hand tooled and is a true work of art. We had an enjoyable visit talking crafts and art – the leather work, woodburning, etc. Then to our second home – the public library. Always have to look at books!
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Very funny, and yes, I’ve heard it remarked upon elsewhere that people go to the gym. You and I simply walk around the land. 🙂 The hills are alive, with the sound of cardio workouts! It feels like a steep climb to me too, and it’s always interesting to hear what visitors opine upon the subject.
Respect! And that’s a great project to be nearing completion. You won’t know yourself with all that huge new splodge of flat land, eventually with one of the finest of all rural buildings, the humble shed! That’s an exciting project, and possibly long over due. Imagine how Mr Diggy may feel if he’s out of the rain and snow? Or at the very least stored on level ground.
On such earthworks news, we spent a few hours bringing large-ish rocks back up the hill from the various forest caches. They were then dumped slightly uphill of the new path project. Then further hours were spent placing rocks, just so on the path. It takes a lot of work to produce such an artless effect. I did most of the heavy lifting of the rocks, whilst we had two power wheelbarrows in action. We also had to make a decision as to the overall width of the path, which I can state for the record is 5ft or 1.5m wide.
However, nothing is ever simple, and I did quite a bit of paid work beforehand, and then afterwards, with a late finish this evening. The Big J was heard to proclaim from the Mount of Olives: Blessed are the competent, for they will be busy. Clearly both you and your son are equally blessed!
Truly awful that your uncles Caesar was, despite a lifetime of good deeds, felled from the heady heights of entitledom (I reckon that is a made up word!), by a moments error of good judgement with that toothing of the hose. Long after the dachshund had rescued countless humans and squirrels from swimming troubles at the lake, those who knew the dog well would say: “Hey, isn’t that the dog which bit the hose and caused all those kitchen dramas?” 🙂
Pam, you so busted me there. When reading the good works of the word-master, I sometimes keep the phone beside me to look up the definition of newly encountered words. Think of it like martial arts for the brain! It’s a fun read too, and see, if you’d read the amusing books, you’d know. Most of that authors books are one of my guilty pleasures.
Go Mr Baby! And that’s great news. On a local fluff front, Ollie and the Kelpies were all admirably well behaved today, and are now knocked out and fast asleep.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Man, I’ve spent days alone up in that part of the state and not encountered anyone. It is really pretty country, yeah. To put the isolation in perspective, the land size here for Victoria is about 30% larger than Washington state, with about a million less people. And, the Great Dividing Range (which I live up in), is pretty quiet, but cuts through a huge swath of the land area. Most folks congregate around the big smoke, and a handful of other smaller cities. Don’t believe the hype, Australians are a very urban oriented people. On the other hand, the recent surge in sales of four wheel drive utility vehicles (described as trucks in your country, with the Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger being at the top of that list) means that on weekends and public holidays, those remote areas may not be as quiet as they once were a couple of decades ago. But during the weekdays, I reckon there wouldn’t be much activity. Nearby to my grandfather’s campsite was a more publicly available camping spot (rarely used in those days) with the delightful name of Wrens Flat, which is a reference to the Blue Wrens (which also reside here and do excellent work in the garden consuming insects and entertaining us with their colourful antics).
Where is remote in these enlightened days? Mind you, the news of late only reports upon the tragedies, so who knows how many serious incidents in those remote spots aren’t even mentioned? The other day I read an article suggesting that the rescue folks (which are largely volunteers) are under pressure from the sheer number of incidents.
Go the rain! And yes, that’s what I was wondering about, so appreciate your confirmation. Even if the soil appears dry, it’s still going to retain enough moisture to freeze. What a great end to the growing season you’re having to get the water into the ground.
Moved about eight wheelbarrow loads of large rocks back up the hill today, then dumped them all next to the entrance for the new path project. Began serious work on getting the path width looking just right at a measured 1.5m rock to rock. It’s fiddly hard work, but I’m pleased with the aesthetics. By 3pm, I’d realised we’d missed lunch and was feeling the need for some energy refuelling. 🙂 Finished up paid work late this evening. A satisfying day.
Yeah, that’s so weird isn’t it? Ollie has always loved being towelled down, but he’s of a more civilised nature. The two Kelpies sound a lot like Dame Avalanche in that they looked upon the towel with a level of distrust, but have since come to acceptance. It’s not like anything bad has happened to them either… Well, I have to fess up here with the vacuum. Your dame is clearly brighter because she slips away to elsewhere. The Dame here, and the other one, just act haunted by the noise and movement of that machine. I got sick of their stupidity, so now they get threatened to be ‘sucked up’ and it works a treat, they studiously keep away.
Thanks for the laughs with the mental image of the super tough Husky encounter with the most dreaded thing of all, the brush. 🙂
Exactly! An open mind is a wondrous thing. And you can quote me here, in that there’s more I don’t know about, than some stuff I can claim a minor competency of.
Those slow underground fires can burn for months and months. They’re a real worry, and I keep an eye out around here for such things, but can’t really say with any certainty what other folks do. Sorry to hear that they’re a problem in your part of the world as well.
Wise to not put off the dentist, and hope you are feeling better now, or at least fully recovered. Dunno about you, but I regularly go for checks up and clean, but there’s always a touch of trauma afterwards. Maybe I’m too sensitive, dunno…
Ooo, that next stop off sounds much more interesting. Glad to hear that your lady pleased with the results of the craft work. The project sounds intriguing, and I’d like to pry out of curiosity, but am not sure of the correct path here. 🙂
Nice one, and a stop at the library would be a special treat. Hope you nabbed some good books? I read at lunchtime, which may in some circles be considered unusual behaviour, but a good book is never a dull companion. Occasionally I’ve had to travel alone for work, and a deep dive into a book is a true pleasure.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Dunno about you, but it gladdens my heart that the world is far more mysterious than we realise. And also, nature is way tougher than our species comprehends. To have an impact field scattered so far that the current theory is that it was overseas, that’s what I’d describe as a good day, not to be there. 🙂
Man, I like how they casually chuck in the explanation in the article: ‘something falling from a passing aircraft’. As someone who lives in a flight path, the idea of chunks of stuff dropping off those big mechanical birds, is mildly unsettling. Blame Donny Darko for putting the idea into my head… 😉 And hey, we’ve been talking about space junk dropping onto something, or someone for years. Good to see the media is finally catching up, and I’d not want to see what the mayhem of a Kessler syndrome would be like at ground level. Takes the concept of day to day exciting to a whole new random level. And some of the stuff floating around in low earth orbit is not small – like say, the International Space Station.
It would be ironic hitting that particular vehicle, and make for a great advertising moment. Hope we all get to find out. I missed that news, although down under there’s been a number of things falling out of the sky lately.
Ah, the Mennonites also came to your country from that area. Around the big river in the land of the bear where they (and your ancestors) settled (prior to relocating to your country), satellite images show that the land is quite arid at some distance removed from the waterway, although presumably would be reasonably fertile – if you can get the water. No wonder they settled the drier parts of your country, which would have a few environmental similarities for them. That’s very funny about reminding them of home, it would have been a whole bunch hotter in the centre of the US.
Look, I did ask the b-grader celebs if they’d make a cameo appearance, but alas, all declined, and I’m wary of the c-graders. Should I be? I have the dubious honour of having been sacked a long time ago by a b-grader celebrity, and may still hold something of a grudge. It was during that whole phone hacking sordid days and no explanation was ever given. Sadly I’m unable to recount the full details of that story. Oh well.
Sounds like cold weather to my summer softened self! It was 68’F here today and really rather pleasant. Saturday is looking like it will be closer to what you are describing as going on in your part of the world. It happens. And yes, not as heavy as almost six foot in 24 hours. That’s impressive.
Ha! Weird little puppets which gained a sort of cult like following. And were clearly the inspiration behind those cheeky South Park creators. Who can forget this little ditty (I’d suggest to turn down the volume): AMERICA F#K YEAH! MUSIC VIDEO Team America World Police THEME SONG . I’ll bet they had fun making that horror show. Just so very wrong.
Well, that’s something to look forward to. I hear that ocean front property is very desirable. 🙂
What a mess that Paradise fire was and yeah, I’d heard the allegations that that’s where it began. Electricity lines here are a problem too, and on a hot day when people are using lots of current, the metal cables heat up, expand, and then sag – onto vegetation. Then there’s circuit fault systems trying to restart the line. So many things to go wrong, it’s amazing to me it works as well as it does. And under-investment is a problem, mostly because like, who wants to pay for that?
Ah, thanks for the explanation regarding the quilts. Did you say, ‘double wedding ring’ pattern? Is that a nicer way to say, err, ‘baby maker pattern’ for the quilt? 🙂 It’s funny to think of the things which move in and then out of our lives, like that item. And you know where it went too. Do they still do estate sales? They used to be a thing down here too in rural areas. Sometimes I wonder what will happen to some of the really messy properties around here. Some folks appear to collect monster sized industrial machines and wrecked vehicles – none of which appear to be in working order.
I know, I saw the stacked books too, and wondered about the story behind that one. There was mention of an prized author in the caption.
Well done you, and dodged nicely. But equally glad the electrical dramas were discovered rapidly – the folks must know what they’re doing. Happy birthday to Scott, and that’s an enviable achievement with the Club milestone, but sorry to hear he’s having troubles at home.
The Editor has a background in industrial food science, and might have some thoughts on that chicken. 🙂 You probably don’t want to hear them. The box sounds pretty good given everything that is going on in the background. Maybe it’s all media scare talk?
So they’ve closed their business, and been given a refund? That sounds weird to me. Probably a bigger story there.
Cheers
Chris
@ DJ – Spot in the road? Blink and you’ll miss it? One stop-light town? 🙂 I see the population is about 800+. Odd. About the same population as Council, Idaho, where my friends live.
I see they still have their yearly festival, though they call it “Deutschesfest.” From the pictures I saw, it’s really a nice, old downtown. Lew
Yo, Chris – I saw the Donny Darko movie, when it first came out. Didn’t make much sense. The library has a director’s cut version, that I’ve always been meaning to get around to watching.
Thousands of Germans migrated to the Volga River valley, in the late 1700s. They were mostly Lutherans, or Catholics. There were around 350 villages and small towns, scattered up and down the valley. Around 1900, the political climate changed, and they began emigrating. My grandparents came to the US in 1913.
https://w.wiki/4$e6
Yes, the C-grade celebrities would probably be more trouble than they’re worth. Wouldn’t know there lines. Wouldn’t show up on time. Make outrageous and weird demands in their contracts. 🙂 You always know who they are, as they throw around the line, “Do you know who I am?” a lot. I might to need to get out more. I’d say over half the cameos, in the shark movies, I had no idea who those people were.
Our high yesterday was 57F (13.88C). Our overnight low was 50F (10C). Our forecast high for today is 56F. Walking the dog, we’re either wet, or wetter. I wonder if there’s a scale, for wetness? 🙂 Still no local flood warnings or watches. Mostly on the coast, and Olympic Peninsula. There was quit a bit of activity down on Market Street, last night. I think it was street flooding, due to leaves in the drains. There’s still a lot of leaves on the trees, and some haven’t even turned color, yet.
I saw an interesting article on pumpkins. Most of this I knew, having read a book on pumpkins, a few years back.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/canned-pumpkin-actually-pumpkin-not-230000016.html
That Team America video was a hoot. Someone put a lot of work into that. The internet is very bulky and slow, today. But I finally managed to give it a look. So wrong. So true.
One of the saddest (oddest?) stories to come out of the Paradise Fire, was a guy who committed suicide, as the fire approached. And then his house didn’t burn.
There are still estate sales, around. Although, now that newspapers are a thing of the past, I’m not sure where they’re advertised. I see signs, on the street. The auction does a lot of estate sales. Some on-site. As far as the junked up yards go, sooner or later, when old dudes who hold onto everything shuffle off, salvagers who sell to metal scrap dealers show up.
I saw an interesting article in the paper, about a historic house renovation. The area is just NW of Centralia. Now there’s a house that didn’t go to waste.
https://www.chronline.com/stories/rochester-family-breathes-new-life-into-lincoln-creek-home-built-in-1900,390414
And, finally, an article about the Paris cemetery. Reserve your spot, early! 🙂
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/05/travel/paris-cemetery-lottery-scli-intl
LOL. I see DJ and the Princess seem to be able to fit trips to the local library, into their busy schedule. :-). Lew
Chris:
I forget that you have two power wheelbarrows; thank goodness for that. But if I asked for one for Christmas, then I’d have to join a gym because I don’t do all the hard work that you and Sandra do, especially as far as rocks are concerned, to get that artless, natural effect.
Poor Caesar. There was a long dynasty of them, too. The last one was named Gus. Should we guess he was Augustus? I never asked.
I mentioned the ladybugs the other day. Another helpful creature that we have a lot of are nice, fat toads. That is why I can’t dig in the garden anymore except carefully with a trowel, like on an archeological expedition. And as my son has been working on building this mesa behind the house, he keeps digging up toads and sees them in front of the CAT and lets me know, and I come get them and put them in a little hole in a garden bed, which they promptly hop out of, so I can reuse that same hole over and over. I can’t imagine why they are digging their winter burrows in all that compacted soil when I know that they like the soft soil in the garden, and it is not that far away.
“I got sick of their stupidity, so now they get threatened to be ‘sucked up’ and it works a treat, they studiously keep away.” Those funny girls.
Pam
@ Lew,
Agreed, downtown Odessa is nice. The town is just big enough that you have to blink three times while driving through. I’ve had occasion to drive through there a few times the past decade.
I’ve been through Council, ID a few times. It has been quite some time maybe 13 years? The Princess blinked on that trip and missed Council. 😉
We always make time to visit the library.
DJSpo
Chris,
Okay, 30% more area, a million less people. Remote areas would be a thing. Wyoming is about 253,300 sq km. Population is about 588,000, lowest populated state of the USA. I’ve been in Wyoming. There is a lot of remote in Wyoming. Good place to get lost in, never get found.
Wrens Flat looks like a nice place to camp. But your grandfather’s spot sounds better due to remoteness. There are times just to be out in the mountains and forests and avoid other humans. Properly prepared, of course.
Eight loads of rocks? That’s a good number of rocks to set in place. Rough work to do right, as the aesthetics are important. After all, you’ll see it daily. Better be acceptable for you to look at.
Oh, there are times with the vacuum when Dame Avalanche is caught sleeping, awakening to the sound of the dread machine only to find that the dread machine is between her and the door. She does rather freeze up at that point. However, if I move the vacuum so that there’s a clear path for here and say “It’s okay. Go lie down”, she will rapidly slink past the Dread Machine and run to a safer room.
We both floss and brush regularly. Regular checkups. Yet, well, things happen. I am happy to say that the Princess is recovering very well from the extracted tooth. We are back to normal activities in under two weeks. For her and teeth, that is fast.
Ya know, there’s really no wrong way with me to ask for clarification about a project like the belt. If there’s a level of secrecy, I’ll let you know. It would be very hard for you to offend me. Seriously. And the secrecy with these things usually has to do with some of the workings of some of the more traditional aspects of, say, a funeral.
That said…Her belt. No secrets about it. It is for use in traditional things. Funerals, memorials, a few other traditional things she is involved with. It is 4 inches wide, as the wider belts fit the tradition. There is an exquisitely tooled background and three designs. On her left side are two wolves which represent her and me. The right side, as she was raised on her uncle’s cattle ranch most summers, it has his cattle brand. The center attraction, centered on the back of the belt, is three running horses of different colors. These honor her three older brothers, and the horses are roughly the colors of the horses each one owned way back in the day. We’ve got buckles she can use. Larry has a spectacular belt buckle that she will inherit from him and will use in the future. One of these days I’ll take a photo of it for you.
The library is always enjoyable. We are very close to one City branch. Another City branch is maybe 12 minutes away. However, our favorite is a County branch, also about 12 minutes away. There is no short trip to the library. We often spend over an hour there browsing. This trip, I found both Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm” Haven’t read those since I was 15 or so. I’ll somehow work reading those in between the Hillerman books. It’s a major challenge, but I think I’m up to it. 😉
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Ook! Sorry to say, but there are three power wheelbarrows. I know, it sounds all a bit over the top, but as you’d imagine there is a story behind this unseemly display of excess. So the first one was purchased a long time ago, in the days before I knew how to maintain the equipment, and eventually the machine developed a whole lot of issues (way beyond economic repair – in those days I had to pay to get the work done, so it was an expensive proposition), and no longer worked. I pushed it into the old machinery shed and thought that maybe one day I’ll get around to fixing it. You may know that situation?
So we bought a replacement and it was very flashy with a Honda motor and automatic gearbox. So much easier to use, because it has a stop, go, reverse and brake – all very simple controls unlike the original machine with it’s clutch and manual gearbox (which Sandra struggles with because it is finicky). Except the gearing on the thing is such that it favours speed, over turning force at the wheels, and so it struggles on the hills with heavy loads. This was completely unexpected as I’d assumed that the machines were all the same. Turns out they ain’t!
Not being able to bring heavy rocks back up the hill, was a problem. So we threw caution to the winds, and purchased the really heavy duty power wheelbarrow (which I’m very happy with). That does all the heavy lifting.
Then the farm machine repair dude passed away, and I was forced to learn so much. Oh my gawds, one day I hope my poor overloaded brain does not pop, or at the very least squish some goo out the ears! 🙂 In time, I tackled all of the issues on the original machine, one by one – hello Mr Diggy! It happens, and now it runs just fine.
So there are now three of the things, and a few weeks ago friends were stirring me up about this very issue! The cheeky scamps. You see what I have to deal with here? 😉
Dare I suggest that a gym for you would not be necessary, because Peak Rocks has for the moment been deferred to a later date! Hehe! Your muscles would only hurt for the first few months. 🙂
Your family were clearly wise in the ways of power, for it was all downhill following on from Augustus. I’m not saying that they jinxed the Roman Empire with that dog name, but the facts in this case are suggestive don’t you reckon? Probably best not to ask about such matters, the candid answers may make for uncomfortable listening. Still, I’m intrigued by the story.
It’s funny you mention that name, but a certain ‘Gus’ occasionally comments here, and has done so for many years, and it turns out I know someone else in the area in which he resides, and they’d get along well together. But he used a fake email address, as you do. And at such moments, opportunity for convivial conversation slips away. Hasn’t commented lately, so maybehaps I should write about solar power again to get him out of lurking mode? My grandfather had a gift for social connections, and I can almost see, or feel, what he was on about. Dunno. It’s complicated.
Oh Pam, the toads have made gardening both delightful, and difficult, for you all at the same time. Actually, now you’ve mentioned the subject, once in the shady orchard (which has awesome soils), I dug up a black toad, and I was looking at the amphibian and thinking: What are you doing in there? In these enlightened days, like you, I don’t dig in those soils, but the places where the annual vegetables are grown, kind of makes it hard to avoid the gentle art of digging. Mind you, I’ve never found toads there either… Your soils may be on the whole next level in terms of life.
That’s such a lovely activity for the two of you, and ours is not to wonder about such matters. After all, the toads may be trying to help us out by aerating compacted soil? Occasionally I’ve found tree frogs underneath the house, and have no idea what they are doing there. It ain’t nothing, that’s for sure.
🙂 The Kelpies are lovely, and those cheeky scamps chased off three massive deer to the forest edge this afternoon. I now know how the lower branches of fruit trees are being broken. Clarity of mind is knowing when to grab the camera.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Well, the aliens clearly found something interesting at that Devil’s Tower left over mountain core in Wyoming! Who can forget Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with it’s innovative use of the, I believe, Moog. A strange place for a spacecraft to land, but then much of the film was lost on me being so young and stuff at the time. You sent me on a rabbit hole, and that Grand Teton National Park would so draw me in. The images on the interweb were astounding.
That’s my opinion as well in the camping matter. Respect. Wren’s flat is nice and all, but where my grandfather and his WWII mates set up camp was a spectacular site. I never thought to ask how they first chose that location, but it’s an old gold fossicking area so it may well have pre-dated them. Memories of them all talking big about how the goobermint would be unwise to trash the campsite (which did happen from time to time) brings a smile to me. They always gave the middle finger, and simply rebuilt, but better. The old rascals.
And that’s the thing isn’t it? Nowadays plenty of folks seem to be heading to remote spots, but they always seem to want rescue when things go wrong. No disrespect for that choice because things can go wrong, and that’s part of the appeal of such places, but the lack of preparation I read about (and have seen) sometimes baffles me.
Hehe! Ah, Dame Avalanche, take it from the fluffies that the noise of the dread machine, means that the dire beast is very much alive and kicking, and may soon venture onto a dog’s turf. DJ, I encourage a certain sort of alertness in the canines here. 🙂
On that note. Late this afternoon I witnessed the most astounding thing. Three large deer were in the sunny orchard, when one jumped using all four legs, grabbed a lower branch in the does mouth, then used the descending to earth weight to break the branch for easier consumption. Not happy at all. So the dogs and I cleared them all off to the forest edge. Ollie was in the rear commanding the troops, of which I were a part of. Hope the photos turn out. There’s a part of me which wonders about the wisdom of me leaving loose ends with that trio of fruit tree peskiness.
Ah, I see. And glad to hear that your lady is on the mend and is of a strong constitution. Did you know that there are casual links between good dental health, and other conditions, such as I believe, heart issues?
Thanks for the confirmation, and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to ask and seek clarification. 😉 Agreed, such discussions are not for the public sphere, or uninitiated. Thanks for the lovely description of the belt, and dare I say it, but the symbolism is strong and gladdens me for we live in such rootless days. When you are ready, I ain’t going anywhere (that I’m aware of!)
Lucky you two with having so many library options, and I see that Lewis has ribbed me about this issue, the cheeky scamp! 🙂 I’ll be interested to hear what you have to say about the book 1984 as I re-read it a year or two back. Not to colour your judgement, but the question kept popping into my head about poor old Winston – why not simply stop and join the (I forget the exact term) proles? They seemed to be having more fun and freedom than he was. It was sort of given that he wanted to rise up the ranks, but no legitimate reason was ever provided for the desire. A lack of social mobility is very much a sign of a decadent culture. Oh well.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
It’s intriguing isn’t it? And since you raised the awful question, it’s probably worth stating out aloud, for the record: Will the directors cut, make more sense than the original film? Purely for research purposes, one day we may even swap notes about this enigmatic film. Of course, we could make up alternative narrative arcs explaining the entire thing, and they need not make any sense – in keeping with the original film. 😉 The whole story could have been the result of a fever dream, or a bad trip, maybe even both! Which incidentally is something I’ve never experienced.
Just heard some thunder. A big rain storm is sweeping over the area, and will hang around for most of tomorrow as well. The brave dogs are barking at the sudden sound. All rather amusing given they had the courage to chase off three large deer this afternoon (as big as horses!) from the sunny orchard to the forest edge.
Watching the deer I discovered that they could jump vertically using all fours, as well as standing on their hind legs so as to reach, then munch upon and break the fruit trees lower branches. Never seen that before, and for some reason the herbivores really had it in for the plum trees. Clearly they are versatile critters. I never know whether I should simply head down into the orchard and bop them. It’s hard to know the future.
Thanks for the link to the story of the Volga Germans, and there were so many rabbit holes. History is a mess, often of missed compromise – on all sides. A friend of mine is an immigrant, and he told me that often people aren’t going to somewhere, they’re leaving somewhere.
🙂 Yes, that’s the lot we’re speaking of, and agreed, they’re not worth it. Fame would be a fickle beast, with all manner of folks impolitely elbowing their way ahead. Hopefully you get to pose your observation to the ego driven c-grade celeb one day!
More thunder! It’s exciting.
Weather in the big smoke tomorrow sounds about the same as your part of the world, and it’ll be colder again up here for sure. Brr! A day for the warmth of the wood heater. Oh yeah, those drain blocks due to accumulated leaves are a nightmare situation here as well. Bigger drains are notably more expensive, which is why they get blocked up. Don’t you reckon these issues are a bit like the Pinto story? Apparently for want of a $10 chunk of rubber in the fuel tank, there were allegedly some pretty nasty fires.
Whoa! That’s a whole bunch of new pumpkin information to me, and yeah we discussed pumpkins a while ago. Hmm. I’ve never seen a pumpkin which looks like the one in the photo. Of course it is bred for taste and consistency, given it is canned, so who cares what it looks like? And field pumpkins are also outside my experience – presumably those are for the carving which is done in your country? Most pumpkins I’ve grown are pretty tasty, although I have to space out meals of them because they’re a little bit acidic to my system. Dunno why that is. And, canned pumpkin would be hard to find anywhere down here.
Team America was a classic from those cheeky South Park folks. Agreed, all so very wrong, but kind of right. 🙂 I’ll bet they had fun blowing all those sets up.
Oh, that’s not good about the bloke, and hope he’s not haunting the house which survived. Might be an angry ghost. My understanding is that if the bushfire is bad enough, it’ll apparently all be over before the flames get to you. The radiant heat and gases will drop a person beforehand. That’s why the class in that school fire you mentioned, mostly survived when the teacher sealed the door with books. Clever thinking.
I wondered that too about where these things are advertised nowadays. Hey, stuff might get sold off on-line in a piece meal manner? Dunno. Presumably there’d only be a few businesses which could do such massive salvage / clean up work? There’s a property around here which now looks amazing (and runs horses), but when we first turned up, it was a mess of wrecked machines spread over a few acres. I would have been interested to see how it was all done, but err, busy.
It’s great to see the family pitching in and cleaning the old house up. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like it has good bones, as they say. Hope the family do alright on the work.
For the record, my instructions are for cremation, but truly, who knows what the future will hold in store? It’s a fascinating lottery, and you’ve got me wondering who would be the more amusing after-life dinner table companion: Jim Morrison or Oscar Wilde? I noticed Edith Piaf was also mentioned. What a decision we have to make here! My gut suggests Mr Wilde would probably be more entertaining. Mr Morrison may tire guests through sheer ponderosity! 😉
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris,
I think cooling is a good use of excess energy.
Just like Steve, I recommend a two-unit solution, where you move coolant across the wall boundary instead of moving air. Sometimes called AC, sometimes called air-air heat pump.
(One example out of thousands similar ones is the Panasonic CZ25ZKE, which sells for 12000sek approx 2000 AUD.) Not cheap but good.
A low-cost cooler can be DIYd if you have access to cold water that you can pump through your house, from a deep well or a stream. Is your stream running on hot days? The main challenge with cool tubes is to collect droplets of water that will condensate on the surface of the tube. All AC units have a drainage hose for the water.
In our house, we have a water-to-water heat pump, that was installed by the previous owners ten years ago. It is currently only used for heating, but could work for cooling too if needed. The outdoor water loop goes at 1 meter depth, which is ok, but not perfect.
My parents have a deep bore 75m for heating/cooling their house. At that depth, there is stable temperature all year around. Expensive hole, cheap energy.
Back to your story of computer dependency at your most trusted bank office… We build so many dependencies into work-life, as well as real-life. A lot of people will be lost when electricity fails.
When I lived in the early Russian republic, it was still reeling from a loss of stability. Inflation was more than 100% on a yearly basis, so people moved money from Rubles in and out of USD all the time.
Also, there was very little trust, so most companies would not deliver goods with afterwards invoicing. Almost everything had to be paid upfront. That made everything in society go slower. Smaller orders than ususal, to reduce the risk, created more costs and friction.
Not only will computers stop working, but when trust is lost, many other things that are taken for granted will evaporate when the brown-outs arrive.
I think that the main challenge is to remain humane and trustworthy, as an individual person. To still be faithful to your most important values and norms.
I met many people who held their head high and lived dignified lives, even when they had lost almost “everything”. I also met people who gave up and drunk themselves away. And I think it is hard to tell in advance who will rise to the occasion and who will not.
It had nothing to do with who had most cans of beans in the stash when crisis hit.
Over here, we enjoy the start of the woodfire season, with short days and long evenings. Enjoying the book pile. Preparing some lectures on growing nuts. This year I harvested more than 30kg chestnuts. More every year.
Peace,
Göran
Yo, Chris – There was also a sequel, to “Donny Darko.” “S. Darko.” Picks up a few years later, and it’s about his sister. A real dog of a movie, from what I can tell. None of the original people were involved, and they totally disavow the thing. It went straight to DVD. But, I did pick up a couple of things that might make the original movie make more sense. Apparently, it involves some time travel. And, alternative universes and the bad things that happen when they bump up against each other.
Our high yesterday was 57F (13.88C). Our overnight low was 46F (7.77C). The forecast high for today is 54F. A bit of blue sky, this morning. Maybe a bit of rain, today, and then a nice weekend. When I saw Jane, day before yesterday, she mentioned they had quit a bit of thunder, out at her place. Which is about 15 south of here. Nothing like that, in town.
Speaking of weather, and maritime disasters, it’s about the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald going down. There was quit an article, about it. I didn’t realize it had happened so recently in history. And that the song by Gordon Lightfoot was written so soon after the disaster.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck
History is a mess. Oh, yeah. Just scan through this bit about Russia.
https://w.wiki/9ETC
There’s a movie called, “The Battleship Potemkin.” (1925.) It’s silent, of course. I’ve seen it a few times. The battleship was docked in Odessa, and the sailors mutinied. The townspeople supported the sailors. This clip (very graphic, by the way. Be warned), opens with the townspeople taking provisions out to the sailors. Then the army shows up, and there’s a civilian slaughter, on the Odessa Steps. 11 minutes.
https://youtu.be/4xP-8r7tygo?si=-8t3QyHd1kU9q8Kl
And my ancestors were caught up in all that. Last the family heard from people left behind was that my great grandmother, and three of her daughters, were sent to Siberia. Not to a gulag, but to the city of Omsk. I may still have relatives, there. Who knows?
Ah, yes. Molotov Pintos. That’s what they were called, back in the day. I picked up a book from the library, the other day. “Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech,” (Merchant, 2023). I’ll probably skip the beginning of the book, which is all about the Luddites. Which I know quit a bit about. I’ll skip to the end, where he discusses how those times, compare with these times.
I meant to mention something, when we were talking about how biographers of these times might find it hard to uncover material, given the rise of tech. When e-mail started coming in, big time, I actually had the thought, “Oh. No more bundles of letters, tied with a blue ribbon, stuffed in a trunk in the attic.” Of course, before that time, I was always quit the correspondent. Not that you can tell. 🙂
Yes, field pumpkins are pretty much used for decor of one type or another. I’ll be interested in how the pumpkins I grew, taste. They look like a field pumpkin (round, orange), but are smaller and bred specifically to be “pie pumpkins.”
I took a look at our local auction, last night. Early this month, there are at least two, on-site estate auctions, of really junked up places. My Idaho friends took care of an old uncle, here, and inherited the place when he passed on. It was one of those junked up places. So, when they decided to sell-up and move, I suggested they call the local auction. I helped with the organization for the auction. The auctioneer stopped by, three or four times, to make suggestions as to how to lay stuff out. The more we did, the less the auction charged in fees. A lot of scrap mettle, was gathered together, in lots. As I remember, it was a pretty successful auction.
Afterlife dinner guests. If you search “Afterlife famous dinner guests,” there are many links to suggestions. I think Jim Morrison would be problematic, and probably best left off the list. Unless he’s mellowed out, in the afterlife. 🙂 I really don’t know. So many to pick from.
Well, I kicked a dog, this morning. Not mine. H and I were heading down the back stairs, to go out the back door for a walk. An Inmate was also heading out, with two small dogs, that came right up the stairs at us. I really didn’t kick him. Just gave him a side scoop, back down the stairs. Once they had passed by, H and I went out the side door, which is near the dumpster room. Well, the Inmate came around the corner to empty some garbage, and I yelled at her. “Get those dogs on a leash! And, do you use poop bags?” Then I dropped an F bomb. She said she did, but I think she’s fibbing. I think some of the Inmates think, “Small dog, small poop, not worth worrying about.” And, there may be mobility issues, to bend over and pick up after their dogs. Not my problem. I’m going to write a letter, to Little Mary Sunshine, this weekend, addressing dogs, leashes and poop bags. That ought to make her Monday. Lew
Chris:
I understand your power wheelbarrow situation perfectly. Such is why we have so many powerful machines around the place; however, each one does have its own place and purpose. Though occasionally I wish that all of these would be running at the same time before something new is purchased. It is getting crowded around here. Yeah – and how much grueling work do the cheeky scamps get done?
“Your muscles would only hurt for the first few months.” Thanks . . .
That’s a shame about Gus. Maybe if we all think about him, he will check in.
Driving down the dirt road I passed my neighbor and his elderly Kelpie taking a walk the other day. I had just passed their house and and had seen a large buck with antlers standing in their driveway. I told Miss Kelpie to hurry home and do her job. She’s not much for hurrying these days, but she looks fantastic. I think she’s 15 or 16.
Pam
@ Goran:
That was so interesting about the water/cooling systems. We have a bore/well that is about the same depth as your parents’. The water from it stays at 56F (13C) year round.
Your Russian reflections were even more interesting, and likely to be useful. Thanks.
Pam
Chris,
Ah, you discovered Wyoming! Beautiful mountains. Yellowstone caldera and geysers. Beautiful mountains. Sparkling rivers. More beautiful mountains. High plains. There’s a lot of variety in Wyoming.
Then again, Washington has variety too. Pacific coastline. Puget Sound and Deception Pass. Volcanoes, 5 of them. Olympic rain forest. Cascade Mountains. Desert, lots of it. North Central Highlands. Selkirk Mountains. The Palouse. Columbia River. Still some remote areas, but nothing like Wyoming. Or Alaska, the Queen of Remote.
https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/deception-pass-state-park
You find a favorite camping area, it doesn’t matter how often the authorities tear it down. Simply remake it. Better than before. I get that completely. Hike in if needed. 🙂
Rescue versus preparation. One late season hunting, I shot an elk with an arrow. Both my brother-in-law and I carried day packs with gobs of survival gear, water, food. We tried tracking the elk, but it got too dark, so we had to call it a night and return the next day. We weren’t very remote, but it was 30 minutes to a payphone. (Twas the days before cheap cell phones.) He called my sister on one phone while I called the Princess on another. My sister was scared that something dreadful had happened to us. The Princess? She KNEW our gear and experience, tried to calm my sister down. Thing is, we were both properly prepared to spend the night in the snow, and we both had experience in winter conditions. Oh, and we did find the elk and ate very well for a couple years.
Mate, I have never heard of deer doing that antic before. Nice problem solving skills. I’d expect that type of thing from any of the corvid family. But deer? Wow! Sadly, you might have to get out the Big Boom Stick, shoot one of them. After that has happened one time, my experience has been that the occasional shot into the ground when they are present could be enough to scare them away for several days. All the deer and elk around here know exactly when it is hunting season, which areas are off limits to hunters, etc.
Shoot, one year, late season archery, our favorite area was open for deer but closed for elk. We saw no deer. We couldn’t get away from a large elk herd, maybe 50 or more. They knew, and it’s like they were teasing us. All day. For three days. 😉
Oh yeah, I’ve extensively researched the links between tooth decay, gum disease, tooth infections and potential resulting heart issues, vertigo, sinus infections, etc. Most people don’t think about such things, but when you realize how all of this stuff is interconnected either by being located above the neck and/or by blood vessels, it makes a lot of sense.
Yup, never hurts to ask questions. And thanks for your sensitivity to potential issues. I was amazed by the concept and symbolism the Princess had. Then the actual craftsmanship was superb. It’s always nice to see such work, talk with craftspersons of various types.
I’ll let you know my current take on 1984. As to your comment about Winston, I know how I was brought up. Always work hard. Expect to move upward into management. Then higher levels of management. Set a lot of goals. In this way, you will be successful. Well, all of that nonsense kept me in a level of extreme frustration and stress. Getting together with the Princess, being introduced to a different culture, studying other cultures and philosophies (say martial arts, Taoism, a few other things, oh and a lot of the philosophy in the Hillerman books), well, I realized that if I cooled my jets and changed my priorities that I didn’t need to be upwardly mobile, intense, unhappy. Harmony and balance work a lot better. But so much of our society suggests otherwise. I think that partially explains what was going on in Winston’s brain. Sometimes, accepting that one is a peasant is a very healthy option.
My oldest friend was 19 when we moved to Spokane when I was 7. He was the first lab assistant my dad had in the physics department where dad had been hired. For complicated reasons, we eventually became friends and still keep in touch. His wife of a zillion years died a few weeks ago. A memorial service was held for her today. We went. It was good to be there supporting my friend and his daughters. However, very nearly everybody else there was in a much different social class than we are used to being around. (Allegedly a “higher” social class.) We felt like fish out of water. We are comfortable being peasants. At least we were able to chat with my friend and parts of his family, show them some support. It was more evidence to me that choosing the path I’m on was the correct decision.
In other news, we got another 10mm of rain Thursday night, bringing the week’s total to about 27mm. Yahoo! Windy today, though.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
All that hard work sadly makes the machines breakdown, then they need repair again. But I so hear you about them all not being up for work at the same time. I’m sure some household somewhere achieves this desirable state, alas as mere mortals, about the best any of us can achieve is that they’re mostly working. 🙂
Thus your new shed site, where they’ll be snuggly warm and out of the snow and freezing rain – on that note, it feels freezing here today. Brr! Twice as high above sea level elsewhere around the state (around 1,500m / 5,000ft) it’s snowing. The dogs were reluctant to play outside today. And just in front of the wood heater is desirable real estate.
Exactly, machines magnify the amount of work which can get done.
He’ll turn up sooner or later. I reckon can conjure his appearance by writing about solar power. 😉 But agreed, your plan is also good.
The fluffy collective send three cordial tail wags to the venerable Kelpie and noted defender of the realm – at a respectable pace – sometimes named: Cervidae bane. Sounds pretty tough for an old dog!
Cheers
Chris
Hi Göran,
Yes, it’s an excellent use of excess electricity, but sadly the economics simply don’t play out. And it may surprise you to know that those split systems have to be installed down here, with proper certification etc… There’s no DIY option. Mostly the house works well during hot weather (in this case up to 40’C recorded in the shade) with all of it’s passive systems, but once past that external temperature, it can warm up inside. Once I experienced 30’C indoors after 3 consecutive days of 40’C+ weather with warm nights. That was uncomfortable, but usually the house works well at resisting the heat. My thought experiment was for another use of the excess electricity we seem to have in abundance at this time of the year.
Ah, your system sounds quite good with the reticulating water. And the bore is a wonderful use of drilling equipment, but the local earthworks contractor bloke pointed out to me long ago that these hills are granite country. There’d be a lot of hard rock to drill through. Anyway, the bore would quickly run dry in the summer months, in minutes apparently from what I hear from around the area.
Exactly, the more efficient all of the various systems are being made, resilience diminishes equally. Any system which begins with the thought: Let’s assume nothing goes wrong, is I’d say off to a bad start. The joke with the banksters was that the query ended up being produced on a paper form, then sent to a head office.
Wow, you’d have seen a thing or two during those days. And that’s an horrendous inflation rate. The old timers used to suggest that: trust was hard won, and easily lost. In some ways the slow down in the exchange of goods and services, will also provide a cover story for the underlying reduction of wealth.
I’ve not experienced such extreme and dire economic circumstances, but during the recession of the 90’s, unemployment was 10% (double what it is now), and your observation as to outcomes equally applied.
Bunker mentality is crazy. What you are doing with building skills, creating networks and contacts is a far better approach.
🙂 It’s 5’C outside here right now, so the wood heater is a lovely device. I read about your chestnut harvest in your blog (which I highly recommend to the readers here), and also wanted to thank you for the advice regarding the hazelnut bushes. Best wishes for the upcoming lecture.
Hope the tree sales are going well.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Yours is a state with a great diversity of ecosystems. The island looked pretty cool, and was one of a few in that Puget Sound. The only problem I’ve discovered with remote living is that it can be hard to earn an income whilst facing high costs and oversight. It never used to be that way, and remote living previously equated with low cost. Things are different now.
And yup, park a ways away, and walk in to the remote camp. 😉 Especially the roads around there don’t get maintained and big four wheel drives rip them up in wet weather.
Jolly good shot with the bow. And that story really highlights the difference between expectations now, and what was the case back then. Remote country is not all that remote if the cell phone service allows a person to check on the value of their stocks and / or provided worried relatives with news of delays. Man, sometimes you can’t schedule such excursions. And trying to do so adds in an element of pressure.
Thanks for that Ash! How funny was that film? 🙂 And yes as time goes by, the boom stick option is looking more and more likely. Far out, standing on their hind legs tearing down lower hanging branches is unsustainable. On the other hand, they’ve now been introduced to the canine collective, which in that guise could amusingly be described as my prize wurgles (an obscure sci-fi nod, sorry)!
Deer are remarkably clever, and like most of the forest critters around here, they know more about my business, than I do. By the way, this recent lot were Red Deer, but you can judge for yourself when you see the photos.
🙂 I wasn’t sure as to what was appropriate, so thanks for clarifying the matter. The symbols are strong and powerful based upon your description. Masters of crafts are generally quite lovely people, from my experience as well. Always fun to chat with them.
Man, I travelled a similar work journey, and felt similar pressures – which agreed, they never fit right. In this household however, it fell to me to introduce the cultural shift, and then sell the idea. A bit like the Good Life… Candidly, the quest for status just seemed like an odd goal, which never really made a lot of sense and only brought with it, unhappiness. But all the same, you’re pushed and pushed, and kept busy just enough that external thoughts don’t break into that space. Admittedly Winston was kept busy working long hours on wasteful activities which gave him a sense of meaning. The thing I never quite understood as well, was why not enjoy his moments with his lady (was it Julie)? Why escalate the activities which led him straight into the clutches of the party faithful.
Sorry to hear of the loss of your friends wife, and so glad that you could be there for him at that dark moment in his life. Class is a funny thing, and I have a different take on the matter. As long as a person dresses appropriately for the occasion (those symbols again), and conducts themselves within the boundaries of the generally acceptable social etiquette, nobody will notice either of you. The underlying problem with grasping onto a social ladder, is that it’s hard work, and if you’re off to the side doing your own thing, people may be rude or indifferent to you, but it’s only words and thoughts – does it really matter? I don’t think it does.
Go the rain! That’s awesome.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Oh yeah, time travel and alternative universes make a lot of sense when chucked into the original film as concepts. I struggled a bit with the lack of a linear narrative. Oh! I didn’t know that Seth Rogen was in the original film. The new things you learn everyday. Read the plot, and with your ideas in mind, the story makes sense. The development of the film followed the slow hard road of the ‘sweat until you make it’ school of hard knocks. Impressive, and I’ve developed a new appreciation for the work.
It was a bit colder here today, with drizzle. Quite unpleasant conditions really. A day to spend indoors, which we did, as we enjoyed a delightful long lunch with the guys from the big shed fame. Me full tonight, and so skipped dinner, and am now slowly supping on a soothing mint tea. Hope Jane is doing well, and the catch up was good. My mind is a bit hazy, was that the day of the dreaded alarm testing? Hopefully the weather radar allowed you and H to dodge the rain?
The possibility of 60ft waves and 100mph wind scares me silly. Not a time to be out on the Great Lakes, and did you notice the sheer volume of sunken ships on those waters? One per week for a hundred years… We’ve discussed this ship before and the issues with the choices made on that fateful night. The song is pretty good too.
Oh my gawd, the history you linked too was basically driven by economics. I didn’t mention this, but a couple of days ago I received an unsolicited email from a goobermint department which basically looks like it’s dragging the profession into clutches. I read the email, and said to myself: What could they possibly want now? Are we offered any recompense for this unpaid work? Hmm. Just more obligations, for some reason they’re freaking out about mad cash laundering, like I know anything about that subject. What the heck.
I might dodge those visual images, but the circumstances afterwards with that mutiny were not good. Essentially that is the problem with escalation, nobody wants to consider backing down. Your ancestors did pretty well getting out of that mess. The gulags in the far east did not sound conducive to one’s continuing good health. Still, as you note, not everyone ended up in such a place, I’m sure a bit of settling of old scores occurred.
The name is very suggestive as to the possibilities with that vehicle. No good. A fine book to read at this time. I spotted an article today about bursting computer tech bubbles. I mean, what market is there which can pay for the huge capital and ongoing costs of those systems? Of course, I could be missing something.
😉 Takes one to know one, and you may have noticed my similar tendencies!
Your pumpkins will be fine, maybe. Are you going to roast them, and then puree it into a mash for the pie? A dessert pumpkin pie would confuse people down under, and we were actually discussing pumpkin meringue pie today. 🙂
Ah, so the auction house folks still do such jobs. I see. There used to be massive interest in those clearance auctions back in the day, and probably still is. And that makes sense, make the work easier for the auction crew, and costs will be lower.
Yeah, Jim Morrison would be a difficult guest, and would we even get a word in? Might even cause a scene! And the facts suggest that there’d be a lot. That Twain chap would be well practised with the gentle singing for his supper.
Sometimes there’s a place for the occasional use of profanity. Hey, if you had plenty of parrots, there’d be no dog poop, big or small. 🙂 Nobody wants to tread in a steamer. The battle will be long. There may be sacrifices.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Death by 1,000 paper cuts? 🙂
Speaking of movies, I swung by the library to pick up another copy of “The Postman.” I’m hoping it to, isn’t defective. I’ll check it out, before I make the popcorn. 🙂 Last night, I watched a fairly new movie, “Weapons.” Sort of a horror movie. I really can’t say to much about it, as, spoilers. I thought it was quit good. Might end up being a cult classic.
Speaking of the library, they’re usually closed Sunday and Monday. Well, this week, we have a Tuesday holiday, Veterans Day. So, they’ll get a three day weekend. There was also an announcement, that the library online won’t be available, for a large chunk of tomorrow (Sunday) as they’re doing system upgrades. 🙁 What new horrors … Tell me, have you ever heard of a system upgrade, anytime, anywhere that was better than what was replaced?
Our high yesterday was 55F (12.77C). The overnight low was 39F (3.88C). Our forecast high for today is 57F. No rain and little wind. I think the song about the Edmund Fitzgerald, really caught on, because in form, it was like a sea shanty. Which, who knows why, were always catchy little tunes.
The alarm testing was the day before I visited with Jane. An interesting thing about our food boxes. Usually, there’s a lot of stuff on the swap table. Hardly anything, this round of boxes. I don’t know how many people in the building are on what we used to call food stamps, but apparently, a lot. They’re holding onto their stuff. Inez (a lovely person), our community outreach person, sent around a memo that if anyone was really stuck for food, she had “resources.”
It sounds like you had a lovely visit, with your Big Shed friends. I had an odd an interesting morning. First I had to have a chat with Dawg, that contrary to what she might have heard, there are places that dogs shouldn’t go. Like restaurants.
Then I headed out to go to an AA meeting, that is held in the small banquet room of the Centerville Cafe, in Centralia. Which happens to be the cafe I worked in, for a couple of years, under another name. (The cafe, not me. 🙂 And, the building I camped out in, for 15 years. It was the first meeting I’ve been to, since You Know What. And, being in that space also felt a bit strange.
I was told to get there early, as, it’s a big meeting. But, it wasn’t Turns out there was a conference down on the coast. So, I got to have quit a chat with the owner, Kyly, before the meeting. We chatted about the building, restaurants that have come and gone on Tower. We knew people in common. The cafe has expanded into my old space, and completely renovated the front. I guess the old theatre is still in back.
I had a Denver omelet. That’s an omelet with diced ham, green bell peppers and cheese. Hash brown potatoes and toast. Coffee. $15. Long on everything but the eggs, but nothing like the largesse of the old days. I remember when breakfast was the cheapest restaurant meal, of the day. I hear, as the birds are migrating, that bird flu is making a comeback. The other night, I bought a dozen brown, large, cage free eggs at the yuppie discount store. $5. Some other eggs were $6-7 a dozen.
Will I go again? I don’t know. Even though I’m fully vaccinated, a lot of people crammed in a small room, gives me the fantods. 🙂
Part of what the government calls money laundering is the more legitimate gray economy. I think they’re mostly interested in tracking every penny, so they can extract their pound of flesh.
Yes, I roast (or bake?) the pumpkins, and then mash them up. I measure out 1 cup amounts, put them in plastic bags, and freeze them.
I saw an interesting article on German bread.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/german-bread-best-in-world
Sigh. So many breads, so little time. 🙂 Lew
Hi Lewis,
😉 Got it in one.
Hope your copy of the DVD for the Postman film works, and I hear you about defectivity stuff, but don’t you reckon that is where a plan B comes in handy? Thus the popcorn continues to flow. You’re juggling a few unknowns there. Thanks for avoiding the spoilers.
Well, librarians are just like the rest of us, and they deserve an extended holiday break. Not to sound whiney, or maybe a little bit, public holidays are generally no income moments for the self employed small business owner. On the other hand, like fictional character, Cugel the Clever, it keeps a bloke sharp.
And you’ll get no argument from me. What new horrors are about to be inflicted upon us all by the tech bros in the latest upgrade? Let’s find out! 😉 Actually, I delay upgrades for as long as possible on the basis that the beta testers get what they deserve.
Similar weather here my friend. The wood heater is keeping the place toasty warm today, and I worked out in the rain this afternoon. What other option was there than upgrading the fortifications for when bambi strikes deep into the territory? Photos to come…
Nothing wrong with a sea shanty. The timing for such melodies is perfect: Flash And The Pan – And The Band Played On (Down Among The Dead Men) [1978]. Go the sea shanty! Incidentally, I didn’t understand the symbolism of the parrot in the video.
The paucity of stuff on the swap table is what fear looks like. Before the older forms of societal interactions reassert themselves, first will be the moments of hoarding. Nice to see that a person has your collective back and has made this known.
🙂 It was a fun visit, and we had lunch at the prestigious, yet also rustic, Guildford Winery. The chef, Zac, there is a genius in turning every day produce into true gems. You’d have enjoyed it. I’ve not had a better feed in a long while.
H must take the good with the bad, and there is a lesson in there for all of us. 😉
Respect for facing your inner workings and heading to the event. Fear it has been remarked upon elsewhere, is the mind-killer. However, that’s a double (or maybe triple) whammy, and like you may have wondered, can a person go back? I get where you are at there, and once went back to help out a very wealthy dude, and it was all a bit strange feeling. For me it was both comfortable and awkward all at the same time. But it’s good to hear you tried on your past.
Man, the Denver omelette sounds awesome. 🙂 Eggs are ‘spensive take it from me. Ignoring talk of bird flu, the economic concentration of chook breeding, has only pushed up prices for the birds, all other considerations to the side. Need I mention my recent dramas, none of which involved disease? Your dozen eggs are pretty cheap, from my perspective, and things are more expensiverer down here, sorry to say. Chook breeding is genuinely something I’ll have to do in the future. It’s a real problem.
I hear you about that going again, people can be pretty careless from what I’ve experienced.
I’m not involved in any part of that gray economy stuff. It’s not worth it. But what you said is what I’m kind of thinking too is driving the push. My gut feeling suggests that such arrangements keep prices down.
German bread is denser from my perspective than other nationalities, which is similar-ish to the stuff I bake. The cynic may suggest that it has less other stuff in it to create the fluffiness that people so desire. It takes a lot to make bread fluffy.
Oh my gawd, it’s 9pm! Yikes. Better get writing. Cheers!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Well, the DVD “The Postman,” was defective. 🙁 Oh, well. So it goes.
I always found that public holidays never brought any jingle into my small business till. Or, Tower Street events. Just people looking for free entertainment, and a bathroom. It occurred to be that you have occasional public holidays for sports events. We don’t Not a single one I can think of.
Our high yesterday was 52F (11.11C). Our overnight low was 37F (2.77C). Our high today is forecast at 62F. No rain, but maybe some tomorrow.
That was a bouncy little number. A real toe tapper. The parrot? “Sometimes a cigar, is just a cigar.” 🙂 Well, there was that pirate bit that came and went and came again. Pirates = parrots. And, when the photographer was taking a picture of Capt. Smith, he did what photographers used to do, to distract their clients and get a more natural look. “Watch the birdie.” I suppose any birdie can do, but, they had that prop parrot handy …
I picked up two books from the library, yesterday, and they turned out to be on writing, more or less. Oddly, both authors are from Michigan. Must be the water. I think we have a Michigander who stops in here, every once in awhile. The first is “Joyride: A Memoir”, by Susan Orlean. (2025). She’s one of my favorite authors. She mostly writes nonfiction essays about people. She began her writing career, working for the local Portland, Oregon “underground” newspaper, “The Willamette Week.”
The second book is …. (wait for it … drum roll please) … “Watching Evil Dead: Unearthing the Radiant Artist Within.” (Malerman, 2025). With a title like that, how could I resist? And the first page of the book really resonates. So, in the interest of review purposes, I’m posting the page, here.
“Allison and I are still just falling in love when she tells me she hasn’t seen The Evil Dead.
I’m not the kind of cowboy who judges anybody on what they have and have not seen. If you’re short on travel, drugs, sex, or art, you’ll likely make up for it in the coming years. Maybe you’ll even overcompensate. Some courses are fun to overcorrect.
We’ve all got gaps. Inexplicable holes in our history of movie-watching, book-reading, band-knowing, and painting-seeing. Who cares why? Most gaps aren’t the result of planting a dogmatic flag in the sand; usually they’re just there . . . because. But gaps are fun. Because, come one ordinary night, with no indication of anything special in the sky, you find yourself filling one. You’re suddenly, spontaneously experiencing a work of art long lauded by the people you trust. You’re inside it now, finally, living the legend, packing dirt into the gap that’s forever marred your lawn. More often than not, you get why the thing was praised so highly and for so long. The real thrill, though, is this: you’re so entranced by the work itself, you don’t ask yourself what took you so long.
You just enjoy it.
Who cares if you’re late to the party?
You’re partying. Put a hat on.”
I thought this first page, really caught the essence of what happens here, at your blog. “Chris’s Fern Glade Farm Salon.” 🙂
Well, if you sent me those parrot eggs, I wouldn’t have to worry about other people’s dog poop. 🙂
I got snarky, over at Mr. Greer’s blog.
H and I are headed down to the Club, this morning. See if we can have a chat with Uncle Carl, the retired nurseryman. He wasn’t there, last week. “Had something else to do.” H was disappointed. Lew