What did ya do today?

[dneal]

We're a few days into 2023, and the world's still turning. Been a couple of years of crazyness, and maybe more is in store.

I think it's time to work on getting back our humanity. Knowing your neighbor, so to speak. Maybe just sharing what you did today.
_________________

I'll start.




I got a nib in the mail today, and tuned it up. I didn't like it, to be honest, and that's always disappointing.

My son had the day off so I went over to his place, we ate Chik fil A and played 3 games of chess.

I got home and ground a nib. I really like it.



Handwritten notes would probably be cool too, and hey! you get to use a pen!

[Bold2013]

Who won in chess?

I have been playing backgammon and “1000” (a polish card game) with my sons lately.

[Lady Onogaro]

I worked on the shells of my online courses in the morning. I went to lunch with a friend of mine who retired over a year ago. We hadn't seen each other much lately, and I missed him. He's 73 and I don't want to lose track of him as sometimes happens when someone retires.

Then I went to the University and looked for an old gradebook that showed the grades for a student who was in my developmental class years ago. She is getting ready to graduate after 10 years, and because she was such a strong writer, I had recommended that she be given credit for ENGL 101. Somehow, that never happened. Thankfully, the problem was solved when the former Writing Program Director found documentation that she had received 101 credit for her portfolio of work she had done in my ENGL 90. So that was great! (And I did find my gradebook from that semester, but they didn't need it.)

Then I went to UL Press and signed a contract for a book of poems that they accepted for publication.

Finally, I went home, fed the cats (inside and out), and had a meeting with my fellow Board members for the Festival of Words writing collective. We sponsor a literary weekend, activities for youth, reading series and writing workshops.

Tomorrow I hope to spend a good part of the day at the sewing store quilting with my friends.

The semester starts Monday.

[Chrissy]

Yesterday (Thursday) finished off an ink review after finally receiving the last nib I needed to write with on it. Will scan it all and hopefully post it soon.
Watered two Vanda orchids by soaking them each for an hour in a large bucket of rainwater inside the greenhouse as it was at last a high enough temperature (15 °C) to give them a long drink after spraying them every day inside the house where they currently have to live.
Refilled all of my wild bird feeders in the back garden and sat and watched the birds feeding for half an hour.
Watched the last episode of Amazon Prime Rings of Power and found out who Sauron is.
Watched TV in the evening.
Couldn't sleep because Friday (today) I have to have a blood test and I'm the proverbial stone that no-one can get blood out of.

[dneal]

Who won in chess?

I won 2 1/2 games. I made a stupid mistake in the 2nd game and mentally wrote it off as a loss. He pointed out the escape and I ended up winning.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Still feeling off from a spill earlier this week, so I'm working on a few things at once:

Laundry.

Putting away Christmas paraphernalia.

Organizing material for my next ebook.

Neatening up in various rooms.

Mending a few things, with the extra added attraction of stabbing myself with a long headpin.

[Prettypenguin]

I just went grocery shopping and went to the pet shop to pick up some parrot food and say hello to Rosie, the shop’s resident Amazon parrot. I had to go looking far and wide for a #2 padded envelope as well. I cut some brass sheeting into pieces that were more useful for shims. Last thing I did was enroll in credit monitoring. Currently trying to get more chores done with a bird in the crook of my elbow (known as the crelbow around here).

[dneal]

My wife and I went to town and had deli sandwiches for lunch. One of those chain places with consistent food.

They bring your food out, but the person who did (who also had bussing duties) was very attentive. Added an extra fork for the one slice of carrot cake. Noted my drink was almost empty before I did. Brought us 3 little to-go boxes for each's remaining 1/2 sandwiches and remaining cake (big slice).

This isn't the kind of service you get in one of these places, and I noticed she was covering every table around me just as well. Super happy and pleasant person, just making sure people were taken care of. I gave her a $20 bill and told her she was killin' it. She smiled and laughed, and we left.

Got home and changed all the lubricants in my truck (front and rear diff, engine and transmission, and transfer case). She packed away Christmas stuff.

Got these in the mail today. More to follow...

74538

[Bold2013]

My wife and I went to town and had deli sandwiches for lunch. One of those chain places with consistent food.

They bring your food out, but the person who did (who also had bussing duties) was very attentive. Added an extra fork for the one slice of carrot cake. Noted my drink was almost empty before I did. Brought us 3 little to-go boxes for each's remaining 1/2 sandwiches and remaining cake (big slice).

This isn't the kind of service you get in one of these places, and I noticed she was covering every table around me just as well. Super happy and pleasant person, just making sure people were taken care of. I gave her a $20 bill and told her she was killin' it. She smiled and laughed, and we left.

Got home and changed all the lubricants in my truck (front and rear diff, engine and transmission, and transfer case). She packed away Christmas stuff.

Got these in the mail today. More to follow...

74538

That young person has a bright future.

What make is your truck? I’m a Toyota diehard (Land Cruiser and 4Runner currently).

[dneal]

Nissan Frontier right now. I've had a few Tacomas too. The Taco seating position makes my knees hurt.

[Bold2013]

Nissan is a solid company. I have a Nissan NV for the family (basically a 12 seater titan).

[Chrissy]

Update: Friday almost turned out to be a complete write-off when the first phlebotomist got no blood out of my arm after 3 attempts. She gave me the chance of giving up and booking another appointment on another day or letting someone else have a go. I decided to choose the latter and fortunately she achieved success at her first attempt. Phew. Thank goodness that's over.

I drew a unicorn for the last Inkvent 52 prompt of 2022. Myth. Not sure whether I like it enough to post it on here or not.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nothing so far except a supermarket pickle run. It's early yet.

[dneal]

Only 5 or 6 degrees colder than yesterday, but today it's that damp cold that soaks in. Cloudy skies spit the odd sprinkle of sleet/snow, but nothing that didn't melt as soon as it hit the ground.

I stayed in, wore sweatpants all day, and played with nibs. Tune, dip, test, balance, tune, etc... Ink, write, rinse, dry, ink, write, rinse, dry...

It was a lot of fun actually. I posted an update to an 8 year old review (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/11023-Visconti-Classic-Review?p=386647#post386647), in fact.

Now I just have to decide on the color. These are the final contenders.

74579

[Sailor Kenshin]

Another supermarket run for milk and bananas, but stumbled on some candy in deeeep discount. Made 'wafflized' tater tots for breakfast (never again, too much fuss), watching some golf, and it's still early.

I should wait until nighttime.

[Bold2013]

Only 5 or 6 degrees colder than yesterday, but today it's that damp cold that soaks in. Cloudy skies spit the odd sprinkle of sleet/snow, but nothing that didn't melt as soon as it hit the ground.

I stayed in, wore sweatpants all day, and played with nibs. Tune, dip, test, balance, tune, etc... Ink, write, rinse, dry, ink, write, rinse, dry...

It was a lot of fun actually. I posted an update to an 8 year old review (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/11023-Visconti-Classic-Review?p=386647#post386647), in fact.

Now I just have to decide on the color. These are the final contenders.

74579

Your handwriting is light years nicer than mine

[countrydirt]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230109/e715a4f14fafe137901f1ada20615bda.jpg
Took a little hike to enjoy the nice afternoon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dneal]

Took the tubs of Christmas stuff down to the shop, where they will live on a plywood shelf until next year.

Decided on Regency Blue.

Drove the truck around a little bit to warm it, and rechecked fluid levels (the ones with dipsticks, anyway).

Ordered a M nib for my wife's Visconti, and a "SuperFlow ebonite feeder for Jowo #5". We'll see what that fits in and how well it does or doesn't work.

Played with this a little. It may get the ebonite feeder...

74611

[dneal]

Treated an old friend to a burger at the new burger joint.

I think I'm going to figure out how to make a video so I can show the flow of a particular ink I have in mind.

[Chrissy]

I think I'm going to figure out how to make a video so I can show the flow of a particular ink I have in mind.
Looking forward to seeing it. :)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yesterday, I waited until night. Ended up with multiple stab wounds from sewing equipment.

Today is National Houseplant Appreciation Day. I've been growing green onion stubs.

[dneal]

Had a really good 2 o'clock power nap.

First attempt at even playing around with filming. Seems if you can get the angle right, it's the easiest way to review ink. 20 second ink review.

lol


http://youtu.be/zEJAO8wQt3Y

[Sailor Kenshin]

Day is done.

Somehow ended up with three pens filled with Robert Oster Carbon Fire, so I transferred/consolidated into two pens. Then I painted my nails, only afterward realizing there was still Carbon Fire under one. It will probably last longer than my manicure.

Went out on multiple errands. Entered an actual store for the first time in ages. Home again to bake a loaf of bread.

Now listening to a 900-song mix. One at a time.

[manoeuver]

Today it's roaster repair. This repaired 20 Amp heating element will join 2 others in the roaster.
https://www.thecoffeemess.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-01-11-09.43.03-scaled-e1673448267375.jpg
Then I'll roast some coffee.
Hope to get some time in the studio (same building, different unit) to work on a record.
https://timhofmann.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-01-08-09.50.27-scaled.jpg

[Bold2013]

Had breakfast with my pastor. Worked on a lecture. Had a solid deadlift session. Smoked a highly anticipated cigar. Played with my kids.

[dneal]

Got a really good haircut.

A really good haircut is a special thing.

[dneal]

Went to the dentist. Getting your teeth cleaned is not as special of a thing as a good haircut.

I just switched to this office, and society is nowhere near not needing pens anymore - if my experience today is any indication. My electronic gadgets were of no use with all those pages to be filled out. Luckily I had my trusty Kaweco Sport. I even wrote in cursive (well, signed in cursive).

I did get some stuff in the mail today. The extra nib for my wife's Visconti showed up, and was just fine right out of the box. Cleaned it up, popped it in the pen with a cartridge of Bilberry (also newly arrived). It writes really good and she's happy with it.

Next project is this. New multi-channel ebonite feed on left, old plastic one on right, and the troublemaker.

74734

[Sailor Kenshin]

Woke way too early, saw it wasn't raining. Good, we can run to the store and grab some snacks to send a relative staying in an extended care facility. The instant we got into the car, it began to pour.

Mission accomplished anyway. 👍🏻

I was right about my manicure. It's chipping away on Day Three, but the Carbon Fire stain is still going strong.

Organized sewing supplies. No stabbings took place.

Now listening to that 900-song playlist: Calico Girlfriend, Papa Nez and The First National Band.

[dneal]

Took big risks on Friday the 13th, and finally got this Conway Stewart running well. It started out (typically) drying up after a paragraph or two, only to near gush when it reprimed itself. The problem was that not enough air was returning to the reservoir.

That ebonite feed above has a wider channel to allow more air, but just tamed it enough to reduce it to a saturated/faint sort of surging. Part of the problem was that there's no breather hole in the nib, but the truth is that the feed simply isn't long enough. Hmmm... what to do?

The nib/feed holder has a molded portion where the nib goes, and a "stop" that will only let it go in so far. Since I can't lengthen the feed, I shortened the nib. I took just under 2mm off the end, and now when everything is inserted properly the end of the feed lands closer to the tip. Where the "M" size marking used to be visible, it's now just under the edge of the section. Since it's ebonite, it's heat-set properly too. Flow regulation and consistence corrected.

Still a little to broad for me, and I'll likely regrind it.

Ooh, it reverse writes too! First time I ever bothered smoothing that side. Maybe I'll grind a stub and leave the reverse writing portion.

7475674757
74758
74759

And I'm still experimenting with videos... ;) Maybe I should review this pen.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5h7Fl9xyeA

[Sailor Kenshin]

Pretty ink. And pen.

Thursday the 12th ended in a deluge that woke me several times. Friday the 13th? Hid under the bed. Not actually, but...

Cleaned a pen, answered a letter. Re-filled a Lamy Al Star with an InkVent Mix, 'Raspberry Robin.' In spite of having so many pens and inks, I have a tendency to stick with an ink/pen combo I like.

Wandered around the yard glancing fearfully at the ominous, lowering sky. Picked up sticks.

Looked at a blazing red/orange sunset.

Now on the giant playlist (which has everything from Beatles to Steppenwolf and just about anything in between plus our own 'promos'): Tanita Tikaram, Twist in My Sobriety.

[dneal]

I stubbed it already.

[dneal]

Sometimes I say being retired is like a closet full of perfect Saturdays. Just pick one out. Today happened to be a perfect Saturday all by itself.

Had a nice 30 minute powernap, and took my wife on her errands. Found a variety case of Fitz's soda's at Sam's Club. I couldn't tell you the last time I drank an Orange soda. Tastes like children's aspirin. Not what I remembered. Blech... lol

Maybe I'll try a grape one tomorrow. The Cream Sodas and Root Beer is what I bought it for.

It's cold, so that means jigsaw puzzle season. In between bouts of puzzle blindness, I tried a lot of inks, and stopped on R&K Cassia. I don't know why. It's vibrant, but it's purple. Hmmm. Third attempt at a video. Gotta keep my thumb out of the way because it screws up the focus.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpnNPe3Jt2w

[Sailor Kenshin]

Most days, I perform mundane tasks hardly worth the mention: meal prep, laundry, dishwashing, yard work.

But today, I saw my Jints beat the Vikes. Go Jints! :cheer2: :hail: :thumb:

[dneal]

Today I fried a donut.

74840

I put it in this.

74841

[dneal]

60 degrees today. Cleaned up the shop, and a lot of dead ladybugs.

A lot.

[Kobaken]

I returned from my traveling to https://westgateresorts.com/hotels/florida/ Travelling helps you develop love and compassion for others. But in order to develop love and compassion for others we must first develop it for ourselves. Traveling will help you with that, too. Also its great way to meet new people and taste local food ahaha

[Sailor Kenshin]

60 degrees today. Cleaned up the shop, and a lot of dead ladybugs.

A lot.

😱

This from yesterday, since it's still early: cleaned out a couple of pens, decided I really hate staining inks, and came up with Stupid Question of the Day: are ALL TWSBIs gushers?

dneal, even though I love the way your inks seem to flow so well in your videos, I can't stand when a Fine nib writes like a BB. And not even Pelikan inks can tame it.

I also realize why people have said they hate the TWSBI Go. Ow, my thumb.

[dneal]

dneal, even though I love the way your inks seem to flow so well in your videos, I can't stand when a Fine nib writes like a BB. And not even Pelikan inks can tame it.

I'm a maintenance guy, and I like to make things run well. Tuning a carb (or even a bank of carbs) is fun for me. The same is the case with nibs, and I spend a lot of time tweaking and adjusting because it makes me happy when I get it right. I've come to appreciate wetter adjustments, but I know what you're talking about with the gushers.

The Visconti-branded nib I posted about recently is in the zone. I love it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIeDtCkWlTE

I'll adjust your TWSBI if you want. Shoot me a PM.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for the generous offer, but the nib is what it is...the 'ow' was for that spring. I think its original home was in an automotive shock absorber.

Made a ham/bean soup from the bone off the Christmas ham. In the Instant Pot. I'm terrified of pressure cookers, and have returned or given away every one we bought (starting with the one my MIL gave us). The IP is something different. 40 minutes, no noise, no smell, easy to clean. Win!

[dneal]

Went to my favorite convenience store and took a couple of their housemade meatloaf sammiches over to a buddy's house.

Meatloaf sammiches are a special thing.

The pic of the "fried donut" made me laugh again. I love the way a fresh cork bubbles in paraffin wax, as it soaks it up. It's pretty when it's done too.

74904

74905

[dneal]

So I've fried 3 donuts. They all had the original seals. One wouldn't hold vacuum. So while I had all the stuff out anyway...

74934

Kugelfischer was a German fuel pump manufacturer. I have two models that are VDO (the gauge company) branded. Most of the Sports I would find at the Flohmarkt were seemingly corporate branded.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Pardon my ignorance, but what are the 'donuts' and what are they for? Seals, yes, but for what?

[dneal]

Pardon my ignorance, but what are the 'donuts' and what are they for? Seals, yes, but for what?

They're cork seals for piston fillers. Once you get them to size, you soak them in melted paraffin (cue discussion on differing substances called paraffin...).

When they hit the melted wax, they bubble as if they're frying and look (to me) like little glazed donuts. The bubbles are escaping and wax soaks in the cork.

74978

[Sailor Kenshin]

So, the pen trio are piston-fillers. The bottom one is extremely handsome.

All we did today so far was prep/eat two meals and clean up after, and gaze at the miserable weather. Oh, also working on a pen pal letter, and when it's done, will empty another TWSBI.

[dneal]

Kaweco Sport 11
Kaweco Sport 112
Omas Extra (Dama)

The 11 and Omas are postwar (late 40's-early 50's). The 112 is pre or wartime.

[dneal]

The Omas is a solid little chunk of Italian celluloid. It has that smooth, almost lubricated feeling. It's seen use over it's 70-ish years, but I like that patina. I got it retipped some years ago, and finally got around to recorking it - as of whatever donut post the other day...

Today is my fourth (I think) attempt at a video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRflXzJzJSg

[Sailor Kenshin]

You and your pens write pretttyyyy. 👍🏻

So far today, weird morning meal (hambeaner soup, apple, cheese, toast) prepped, served, cleaned up. Popcorn made, because yesterday was National Popcorn Day and we were making up for it. Amazon returns errand run. Two pounds of assorted cheese slices vac-packed in small lots (and by chance today is National Cheese Appreciation Day). Small bit of yard work done.

Try not to envy our glamorous life.

[dneal]

Aldi has this 1000 day old Gouda I eat with an apple, prosciutto, and brotchen - and Sam’s nails them, btw... Dampen and pop in the toaster oven for 5 minutes.

Hambeaner soup sounds good.

Even for a weird morning meal.

[dneal]

Cold, but sunny. Cleaned the garage. Pulled everything out and swept the walls cleaned.

The miscellaneous stuff you acquire moving around the globe…

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ran to supermarket early for sumos. Came back with three. Had to turn head away when they rang us up.

Ran to pharmacy, waited in car. Took off glove to check phone.

Glove vanished into The Great Black Hole where some of my crochet hooks and earrings reside.

(Re) started an exercise program (for the millionth time). Hurt knee on balance board.

Now watching Chiefs v. Jags, ice below and above knee. I feel like one of the players.

[dneal]

Made Gulaschsuppe.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Found missing glove.

[dneal]

That makes for a happy day. Ate gulaschsuppe. It's always better the second day.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Now I'm hungry.

[dneal]

Got new ink today. That's always a plus.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Getting new ink always lifted my spirits. What color?

However...

Looking at all my papers, pens, inks. Thinking.

I'm pretty sure people didn't used to buy in such quantities as we do now. As a kid, even as a young adult, I might have had one set of stationery, and a few school notebooks. Maybe there was a scratch pad or two lying around the house. When these got used up, we bought another.

(There were always a few ballpoint pens around that didn't work.)

The above was mostly pre-fountain pens, though I had a Sheaffer School Pen in 5th or 6th grade.

Now I have sooo much ink. Soo many pens. Enough paper to start a stationery store.

Is this what caused it all? Fountain pens? Chasing the Next Great Ink, Pen, Paper?

Also did some yard work. Picking up sticks.

[dneal]

Getting new ink always lifted my spirits. What color?


Blue (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/38851-J-Herbin-Bleu-de-minuit?p=388101#post388101)

Played with ink today, got some hangers for the string trimmers and whatnot, and dedicated a spot in the shop for that stuff.

Contemplating the idea of a Commonplace Book.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Getting new ink always lifted my spirits. What color?


Blue (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/38851-J-Herbin-Bleu-de-minuit?p=388101#post388101)

Played with ink today, got some hangers for the string trimmers and whatnot, and dedicated a spot in the shop for that stuff.

Contemplating the idea of a Commonplace Book.

Cool. I tried doing a Commonplace book… then I looked at examples and got both inspired and intimidated.

[dneal]

Woke up to snow this morning, although nothing of account.

Still, used it as an excuse to sit inside a warm house and drink coffee all day.

[Sailor Kenshin]

So I was looking at a thread on FPN (The Tyranny of Choice, about Too Many Inks), and whining about that very thing. What did I do? Woke restless at 0dark30, rummaged through inks, filled six pens in addition to the six that were already filled.

These were all inks from last year's InkVent. The first filled pen was a Waterman Kultur. It immediately spewed its entire load of Garland into the cap. Shame on Waterman. I've had two-dollar Chinese pens behave better.

There followed four Nemosines with Harmony, Garland, Copper, can't remember fourth color, and a Jinhao Shark fude with Nightshade.

So much for tyranny of choice.

[dneal]

Got a sterling Aurora from another here, making a trifecta of this pen style.

I lightly buffed the body with a flannel silver cloth, chose the best of the 3 nibs (I had one in particular in mind), and popped in a cartridge of Aurora Blue-Black.

There's nothing not to like, and actually the first time I've used that ink.

A fine day.

[dneal]

Watched a ruby-red sunrise amongst lavender clouds.

[Chrissy]

What to do today:
Today I plan to sit, watch and count all of the wild birds visiting my garden for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Have been preparing by cleaning out and refilling all of my feeders. Fingers crossed my regulars will visit. :)
At 4pm GMT here I plan to join a morning Zoom meet for a US pen club. :)

[Sailor Kenshin]

It's too early for today's report, but yesterday there was the usual cooking/cleaning, plus picking up sticks, and a heavy wooden picnic table (ow).

I had a Jinhao Shark loaded with InkVent Nightshade, but it wasn't going well. Then I discovered a leak into the section. Shark's in pen sick bay, and Nightshade is now in a nice gushy Pelikano Jr.

[countrydirt]

Exciting Saturday around here. Laundry and dishes then off to brunch with my honey.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dougc]

Took big risks on Friday the 13th, and finally got this Conway Stewart running well. It started out (typically) drying up after a paragraph or two, only to near gush when it reprimed itself. The problem was that not enough air was returning to the reservoir.

That ebonite feed above has a wider channel to allow more air, but just tamed it enough to reduce it to a saturated/faint sort of surging. Part of the problem was that there's no breather hole in the nib, but the truth is that the feed simply isn't long enough. Hmmm... what to do?

The nib/feed holder has a molded portion where the nib goes, and a "stop" that will only let it go in so far. Since I can't lengthen the feed, I shortened the nib. I took just under 2mm off the end, and now when everything is inserted properly the end of the feed lands closer to the tip. Where the "M" size marking used to be visible, it's now just under the edge of the section. Since it's ebonite, it's heat-set properly too. Flow regulation and consistence corrected.

Still a little to broad for me, and I'll likely regrind it.

Ooh, it reverse writes too! First time I ever bothered smoothing that side. Maybe I'll grind a stub and leave the reverse writing portion.

7475674757
74758
74759

And I'm still experimenting with videos... ;) Maybe I should review this pen.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5h7Fl9xyeAIs this one you got from me? I never had issues.
I wonder if it was the weird angle I use.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[dneal]

My son's birthday. Had BBQ for lunch, he did laundry, wife made brownies.

Protip: some crumbled up brownie, cut up banana, and 3 dollops of vanilla greek yogurt. Mmmmm.

[dneal]

Worked on 3 guitar studies. Two I knew from muscle memory, one not so much. Sor, Carulli and Sagreras.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Stayed up to watch The KC Chiefs over the Cincinnatti Bengals. Exciting game! People were talking about it in the supermarket.

After numerous tries, different inks, different converters, I gave up on a Jinhao Shark. My work is done.

[countrydirt]

With a high of 12 F and about 3 inches of snow on the ground, I filled the birdfeeder for the freeloading sparrows and finches and retreated to the warmth of the house. Oh and started playing around with the mystery inks.

[dneal]

20 and gray here - typical January.

Got out and bought some notebooks, but otherwise meandered back and forth between the house and the shop.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Watched a snow flurry. It's gone now. Too much cooking/cleaning. Now staring out window and wondering which pen to use today for a letter.

[countrydirt]

My group of retired musician friends got together for the first time since early December to play a little old timey stuff and limber up our unused singing voices.

[Sailor Kenshin]

My group of retired musician friends got together for the first time since early December to play a little old timey stuff and limber up our unused singing voices.

Fantastic.

As a kid I had lessons in piano, violin, viola. Used to be able to read music. Last year I bought a lap steel guitar (why?). I can't even tune it. Also a viola, but at least I can get a sound from it.

[countrydirt]

My group of retired musician friends got together for the first time since early December to play a little old timey stuff and limber up our unused singing voices.

Fantastic.

As a kid I had lessons in piano, violin, viola. Used to be able to read music. Last year I bought a lap steel guitar (why?). I can't even tune it. Also a viola, but at least I can get a sound from it.

I've been hacking at a guitar for probably 18 years. I also tried banjo for a while but mainly work with the mandolin now along with singing harmony. I've been blessed to have some really great musical mentors and friends that help and encourage.

[countrydirt]

My "honey" and I met for coffee this morning and then got together later for cake and strawberries. That's a pretty good day in my books!

[dneal]

A lot of this lately.

75324

[Lloyd]

A lot of this lately.

75324
Be careful - a putterer's job is never done.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[kazoolaw]

Sanded furniture to prep for refinishing: the final piece released a cloud of old, cheap varnish. Knew those K-95's would come in handy!

[Sailor Kenshin]

A lot of this lately.

75324


We do a lot of that.

A few days ago when the cold snap hit, we put some peanuts on the patio. No wildlife touched it. Then I thought, 'If I tie them in a net bag and hang it from an empty suet feeder the squirrels cannot overlook this opportunity for mayhem.'

Within 30 seconds of hanging it, the bag was demolished and the peanuts hoovered up.

Yesterday, I finally got a nibble on my FPN PIF. I was beginning to think no one liked me. It must somehow be tied to the squirrels.

[countrydirt]

I decided to ride my bicycle downtown for coffee this morning. I drink tea at home and only have 1 or 2 cups of coffee a week. It was cooler (around 40F) when I started but 4 or 5 miles of pedaling warmed me up. One of the downtown coffee shops was closed, so I rode over to the next one. It had a line out of the door, so I rode back uphill to a different one. The line was out the door for it too, so I decided to ride on home and have a cup of tea. It felt good to move my legs and get some fresh air. 10+ miles of riding before breakfast - might be a good way to start my day more often.

[countrydirt]

Headed down to a local pub for open mic night. Had fun and always love hearing good local musicians. I finally got the right balance between mic and guitar amplification and could hear myself sing and picked songs on the right key. Even heard some applause from the dozen or so there.

[Kobaken]

Preparing for exam and ue help of residency personal statement review service (https://residencypersonalstatements.net/) during writing three essays. First, plan out your essay by brainstorming and outlining your ideas. This will help you stay organized and focused as you write. Second, write in a clear and concise manner, avoiding unnecessary words or phrases. Third, prioritize your time by focusing on the most important points and skipping over minor details if necessary. Finally, make sure to proofread and edit your essay before submitting it, even if you are short on time. By following these tips, you can write an effective essay even under a tight deadline.

[dneal]

Split a smash burger and tater tots with my wife.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Split a smash burger and tater tots with my wife.


You're making me hungry and it's too late to eat.

It was warm, so we did lots of yard work: leaf-raking, pickin' up sticks, planting out green onion stubs. The crocus and snowdrops are appearing!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Not a thing except watch the KC Superbowl highlights and get ink all over my fingers.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Made a successful pan of Monkey Bread while watching Rory McIlroy miss the cut at The Players. Chopped ham and pepperoni for a different kind of bread that will be made tomorrow. Edited an entry for someone's Blogathon.

[dneal]

I've been chatting with a buddy who does offensive and defensive cyber ops. After seeing screenshots of the spam we've been experiencing, he laughed and said "That's Xrumer...". You can find more on that if you want, but it's built primarily to boost Google results and advertising; although it's seemingly common for everyone from nations to boneheads in their momma's basement to use it to spam forums.

Although it sets up proxies (if configured correctly), and is therefore hard for a typical admin to identify by IP; he has tools that can track traffic to this IP address... and then I got lost in the technical jargon. Pings and tracing routes and other whatchamacallits.

Apparently tracking the proxies back to the source isn't difficult (for him anyway). Then he'll just send an email informing the originating server/domain/whatever admin that Xrumer spam is coming from their servers/domains/whatever.

[Chrissy]

I've been chatting with a buddy who does offensive and defensive cyber ops. After seeing screenshots of the spam we've been experiencing, he laughed and said "That's Xrumer...". You can find more on that if you want, but it's built primarily to boost Google results and advertising; although it's seemingly common for everyone from nations to boneheads in their momma's basement to use it to spam forums.

Although it sets up proxies (if configured correctly), and is therefore hard for a typical admin to identify by IP; he has tools that can track traffic to this IP address... and then I got lost in the technical jargon. Pings and tracing routes and other whatchamacallits.

Apparently tracking the proxies back to the source isn't difficult (for him anyway). Then he'll just send an email informing the originating server/domain/whatever admin that Xrumer spam is coming from their servers/domains/whatever.
Interesting. :) Would the FPG admin. need to allow him server access in order to track the proxies? If so we would need a "real" email address for Eric as he seems to have no interest in responding from the FPG one. :noidea:

[dneal]

He described it as watching traffic to a parking lot. Doesn't matter if you take different routes, switch cars, etc... if it all originates from the same place. It's how they identify troll farms and denial of service attacks.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I've been chatting with a buddy who does offensive and defensive cyber ops. After seeing screenshots of the spam we've been experiencing, he laughed and said "That's Xrumer...". You can find more on that if you want, but it's built primarily to boost Google results and advertising; although it's seemingly common for everyone from nations to boneheads in their momma's basement to use it to spam forums.

Although it sets up proxies (if configured correctly), and is therefore hard for a typical admin to identify by IP; he has tools that can track traffic to this IP address... and then I got lost in the technical jargon. Pings and tracing routes and other whatchamacallits.

Apparently tracking the proxies back to the source isn't difficult (for him anyway). Then he'll just send an email informing the originating server/domain/whatever admin that Xrumer spam is coming from their servers/domains/whatever.

'Mrs. Peel…we're needed.'

[kazoolaw]

Actually 2 days ago: arrived to start a vacation
Can you go on vacation when you've retired?
Trying to catch up on some reading and writing.

[Chrissy]

Actually 2 days ago: arrived to start a vacation
Can you go on vacation when you've retired?
Trying to catch up on some reading and writing.

I sincerely hope you can go on vacation when you've retired. We're travelling to the US next month. :)

[dneal]

Made some “Smoky black bean and sweet potato chili”.

Wasn’t sure how it would taste, but it’s delicious.

76237

[Lady Onogaro]

Took my car to the shop to have the brakes done again (I just had them done in December, but they kept squealing and screeching; this is the second time I have brought the car back because they missed something!)
Went to Lola Pink (fabric, quilting, embroidery store) to get my friend a gift card for her birthday. Ended up buying that and $100 worth of fabric for me.
Ran other errands like the bank, grocery.
Came home and graded. Had dinner. Graded again. Watched an episode of Inspector Morse on BritBox ("Death is now my neighbor" in which he reveals his first name is Endeavour).
Graded again. Finally finished.

[Chrissy]

Took my car to the shop to have the brakes done again (I just had them done in December, but they kept squealing and screeching; this is the second time I have brought the car back because they missed something!)
Went to Lola Pink (fabric, quilting, embroidery store) to get my friend a gift card for her birthday. Ended up buying that and $100 worth of fabric for me.
Ran other errands like the bank, grocery.
Came home and graded. Had dinner. Graded again. Watched an episode of Inspector Morse on BritBox ("Death is now my neighbor" in which he reveals his first name is Endeavour).
Graded again. Finally finished.
We watched the last everl episode of Endeavour last night and saw that they are available all on ITVX along with all of the Morse episodes. :)

[kazoolaw]

[QUOTE=Lady Onogaro;391263]
We watched the last everl episode of Endeavour last night and saw that they are available all on ITVX along with all of the Morse episodes. :)

Still waiting for the US release.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Made some “Smoky black bean and sweet potato chili”.

Wasn’t sure how it would taste, but it’s delicious.

76237

It should be; the only way I like sweet potatoes is baked soft and mashed in the shell with butter, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Or maybe cubed and sauteed with onions, garlic, and splashed with hot sauce.

Yesterday I made pepperoni rolls, wnich didn't look impressive but were instantly Hoovered up. And I got my fingers covered in MB Irish Green but I cured my Osmiroid 65 leak.

[dneal]

Went to get tires put on the truck. Scheduler messed up and tires weren't there yet. Going back tomorrow morning...

Speaking of car stuff... Lady O: squealing brakes are a big pet peeve! Sometimes it's because the mechanic doesn't grease the pins, but brake pad material can be a culprit too. Rule of thumb for me is to order OEM brake pads.

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

[Lady Onogaro]

Went to get tires put on the truck. Scheduler messed up and tires weren't there yet. Going back tomorrow morning...

Speaking of car stuff... Lady O: squealing brakes are a big pet peeve! Sometimes it's because the mechanic doesn't grease the pins, but brake pad material can be a culprit too. Rule of thumb for me is to order OEM brake pads.

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

It was the brakes, again. Took the car back and they replaced the pads and the hardware. The squeal is gone! :)

[Lady Onogaro]

Took my car to the shop to have the brakes done again (I just had them done in December, but they kept squealing and screeching; this is the second time I have brought the car back because they missed something!)
Went to Lola Pink (fabric, quilting, embroidery store) to get my friend a gift card for her birthday. Ended up buying that and $100 worth of fabric for me.
Ran other errands like the bank, grocery.
Came home and graded. Had dinner. Graded again. Watched an episode of Inspector Morse on BritBox ("Death is now my neighbor" in which he reveals his first name is Endeavour).
Graded again. Finally finished.
We watched the last everl episode of Endeavour last night and saw that they are available all on ITVX along with all of the Morse episodes. :)

Endeavour will be on our PBS channels in a few weeks.

I like Endeavour, but I just don't see how Shaun Evans's Endeavour becomes the gruff Chief Inspector Morse. But it's probably because I liked John Thaw so very much. It broke my heart when he died.

I think Endeavour takes place in one of the other multiverses, like Star Trek Discover, Strange New Worlds and the Star Trek movies with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. I know Discover and Strange New Worlds are supposed to be prequels to the original series, but I just can't wrap my head around them, and no one will ever really be Spock besides Leonard Nimoy, as much as I like Zachary Quinto. I just wish they would all make up their own space stories and leave Star Trek alone.

I get BritBox which carries all the Morse episodes. I also have Acorn and just finished Detectorists, which I loved so much! I also liked Holding. I am watching Wild Bill now.

[Lady Onogaro]

Lastly - sweet potatoes. Wife and I gobbled down that little pot of chili. I usually prefer them "make your ears ring" sugary-sweet, with pecans (and no marshmallow, please). I'll eat them baked (with lots of butter) if I have to, and the occasional foray into sweet potato fries is no longer novel or appealing, so I wasn't sure about the chili at first. They're super healthy, and now I've found at least one healthier way to eat them.

We were eating gumbo at a popular Lafayette restaurant yesterday, and the discussion of whether to eat potato salad in your gumbo came up (it's not uncommon around Acadiana for Cajuns to put potato salad in their gumbo along with their rice; it probably is due to the German immigrant communities around here, like Robert's Cove). Anyway, she said she always puts sweet potatoes in hers. I had never heard that before. She said her family has always done it, but they were farmers and grew sweet potatoes. We used to have a sweet potato canning facility around here for many years, so I suspect that's why she uses sweet potatoes.

FYI: I have potato salad on the side but take a forkful and dip it in my gumbo. I like the mix of hot and cold.

[dneal]

Wife and I had lunch with the boy. He chose Cracker Barrel. The worst thing about that place is deciding between breakfast or dinner. Breakfast can be eaten at any time of day - even for supper. Fight me (lol). The meatloaf won out over Uncle Herschel.

We have 5 types of woodpecker around the house. Downy, Hairy, Red Bellied, Pileated, and the Flicker. The first 3 are always at a feeder, and the Downies are damned near tame. You hear the pileated in the treeline, and occasionally catch a glimpse or semi-decent view of them (they look like Woody, with the red-crest; and raise all kind of commotion with their jabbering).

The flickers are hard to spot, also shy, and are usually on the ground eating bugs. They're also often paired. This afternoon, they were just outside the back door next to the patio.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FUnsbWBlBI

[Sailor Kenshin]

We have Downies, Hairys, Red-Bellieds, and Flickers (not at all shy, see them all the time). No Pileated, no Cracker Barrel. 😢. Want both.

[dneal]

The Downies sit in arms reach and watch my wife fill the feeders in the morning. The Flickers take off as soon as they see you.

Here's a video of two Pileated last summer.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKDWvPqRVkg

[Sailor Kenshin]

Awesome! Downies are fearless, but so are our flickers. We'll be sitting on the patio while they root in the ground two inches away for insects, and they look at us like, 'I'm doing you a favor!'

[RobJohnson]

70 years old today. I sat and remembered all those that I have known that are no longer around and for those who gave their lives to make the world a better place.

Took in a neighbours one eyed lonely rescue cat, he doesn't like the rain and was home alone, gave him some bacon. He wandered around, played football with the plastic top from a detergent bottle and then told me to follow him when he wanted to go back outside.

Making some Hot Cross Buns and a Simnel Cake, both are Easter favourites.

[Lloyd]

70 years old today. I sat and remembered all those that I have known that are no longer around and for those who gave their lives to make the world a better place.

Took in a neighbours one eyed lonely rescue cat, he doesn't like the rain and was home alone, gave him some bacon. He wandered around, played football with the plastic top from a detergent bottle and then told me to follow him when he wanted to go back outside.

Making some Hot Cross Buns and a Simnel Cake, both are Easter favourites.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROB!🥳🥳🥳

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Sailor Kenshin]

70 years old today. I sat and remembered all those that I have known that are no longer around and for those who gave their lives to make the world a better place.

Took in a neighbours one eyed lonely rescue cat, he doesn't like the rain and was home alone, gave him some bacon. He wandered around, played football with the plastic top from a detergent bottle and then told me to follow him when he wanted to go back outside.

Making some Hot Cross Buns and a Simnel Cake, both are Easter favourites.

Happy birthday! 🍻 🍰 🎉

Yesterday on a suburban street, we saw a doe fail to make her jump over a black iron fence (this is rare; they can do standing jumps at heights over five feet). She was okay, and ran into the woods.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Today we are recovering from the Memorial Day Weekend by dashing to the store, returning Amazon purchases, doing laundry, and struggling to master roasting a chicken on a new rotisserie (hint: the chicken's winning).

[Dougc]

Dropped off grandkids that have been with us for a week.
Nuff said...

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Lloyd]

Dropped off grandkids that have been with us for a week.
Nuff said...

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
Were they YOUR grandkids or just a random herd of them that invaded your home?

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Chrissy]

Dropped off grandkids that have been with us for a week.
Nuff said...

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
Phew. Now for some recovery time. :)

[Dougc]

Not sure... they were just too fast . They did EAT like ours do.

Recovery is tomorrow. Cleaning is today.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Sailor Kenshin]

Following a long, hard battle, we conquered the rotisserie bird.


https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2023/05/30/c453eaf60331098b39dbd004e18d10a2.jpg

Nom.

[Carpio]

Hello,

I've read all the pages in this thread, and I've taken a leaf out of your book(s)..... Emptied 2 pens and refilled 3 pens. (only warm water used)
I ordered a new pen. YAY! A Pelican M200 Brown Marbled. I am so chuffed. I saw it on Amazon, and thought 'I 'avin that, thank you very muchly'. I so almost bought it their and then, but then I thought, nope, check elsewhere first. So I looked on several UK sites and spotted it at 'Cult Pens'. I swear, I nearly fell out of bed. I didn't hesitate to order from them. I saved,.... go on, guess?....aww, ok, I'll tell you. £63.00. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or give birth to kittens. Oh, and sorted my yahoo fantasy baseball team out.

Carpio

[Lady Onogaro]

I sandwiched a quilt today. I also started makin g a pair of pants; saw they were laughably too big, so my friend who is teaching me to make pants is going to show me how to correct the problem (tailor them).

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ran to store. Cleaned a pen that is going back. Started a letter. Mowed grass. Fought a different sort of chicken battle today. This was a draw.

https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2023/06/01/7df797959891dfdea4b39394abf745ad.jpg

[Kobaken]

I worked on my porject in google excel online. For helper I prefer to use bulk email verification (https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/clean_email_list_bulk_email_verification/53011246076) Using a clean email list during work on Google Excel can bring several benefits. Firstly, it ensures accurate and reliable data management by eliminating invalid or outdated email addresses. This enhances the quality and integrity of the information stored in the spreadsheet. Secondly, a clean email list helps improve communication efficiency. By removing bounced or undeliverable emails, it ensures that messages are sent to active and valid recipients, reducing the risk of missed opportunities or miscommunication. Additionally, it helps maintain a professional reputation by preventing spam complaints or negative experiences. By utilizing a clean email list, users can streamline their workflow, enhance productivity, and establish effective communication channels within their Google Excel projects.

[Cyril]

I am working on my" Portfolio Photography' web . which needs badly upgrade and house cleaning as I have several submissions to do this month.

[kazoolaw]

A series of low tech days:
-picked peaches
-wrote a series of thank you notes
-spent an hour+ reading a book
-cleaned several fountain pens
-bought fresh blueberries
Today aiming to catch up on correspondence.

[Sailor Kenshin]

We picked some cherry tomatoes, aired out the house, had breakfast.

It's early yet.

[Dougc]

Finished cleaning the house and went out to double-check how the new landscaping is coming along.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[dneal]

Hmmm. Been a while since any updates. Thanks for bumping the thread.

Over the past 90 days:
- Graded everything on the south side of the house, mainly between the shop and the house; and reseeded.
- Cleared out the overgrown pond bank with one of the neighbors (everybody owns a share of the acre pond).

Last few days:
- Cleaned the shop and replaced the lower control arms and brakes on the wife's Subaru. She wants to keep it, so I'll keep maintaining it. The transmission failed last month at 9 years and 98k miles, but Subaru extended the warranties on their CVTs to 10 years and 100k miles. That old joke of stuff breaking on the 91st day of the 90 day warranty worked in my favor for once!

[dneal]

A series of low tech days:
-picked peaches
-wrote a series of thank you notes
-spent an hour+ reading a book
-cleaned several fountain pens
-bought fresh blueberries
Today aiming to catch up on correspondence.


So the retired life ain't too bad after all?

[kazoolaw]

So the retired life ain't too bad after all?

Nope, not so bad at all.
Backed away from some of the online noise.
Look at trips down and back up a flight of stairs to retrieve frozen food as exercise, not a chore.
7 days in-a-row walking the dog.
Whoever said that career and retirement come in the wrong order may have been right.

[dneal]

Proper "what I did today", now that it's done.

Spent a lot of time on the porch watching it rain, which we sorely needed; and our annual swarm of hummingbirds play in it (when they weren't fighting and eating).

Storm turned to a tempest, and put on a big show right before we lost power (got it back 30 minutes ago).

Unfortunately had to put down an aardvark for violating the social contract.

[dneal]

Watched it rain some more, but I think it's about done.

Spent a few hours looking for new shocks/struts for the wife's Subaru. Bilstein B6's were out of stock/backordered everywhere I looked. Even more curious was that the few places that did have them only had the left side strut (shocks go on either side, but struts are side-specific). Who orders only one side? I don't buy critical components off of Ebay, but I eventually found the one set left in CONUS.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yesterday, dentist.

Today, picking more tomatoes, preparing to make bread tomorrow, doing side dishes for chicken grilleration.

[dneal]

Watched more sporadic rain, unfortunately; and had smashburgers with the wife at our favorite burger joint.

They have one with a sort of compote consisting of sautéed onions and bits of pork belly in a mildly sweet BBQ sauce, on top of two angus patties, lettuce and white cheddar. The jalapeño cheese grits seem out of place with a burger, but they're so good I always get that instead of fries or tots.

The indigestion seems worth it.

[John Macmillan]

If your day was all about tackling chores, you might want to consider letting professional cleaners handle the dirty work. With Emop, you can enjoy a sparkling clean home and even get cashback up to £150 on one-off deep cleaning services. It's the perfect way to free up your time for more enjoyable activities. Check them out at https://www.emop.co.uk/ and make the most of your day!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Making bread, ordering pizza, and swapping around a couple of trash-picked large TVs.

[dneal]

Mowed everything (about 3 acres). We haven't had a lot of rain this summer, so I've only really had to mow the new grass the wife keeps watered; but all the rain over the past 4 days created quite the growth spurt.

Ordered all the other parts for the wife's Subaru (shock mounts and whatnot). Recently discovered the local dealership has online parts ordering, and is actually a little cheaper than the big "parts deals" sites. Weird, but I'm not complaining. Should be in next week, so I know what I'll be doing next weekend.

Also treated myself to a new scan-tool. A bi-directional tablet that can control the ECU functions for under $400? Those things used to be thousands, and you can't do anything without them anymore (steering angle reset, ABS bleed, or even change the rear pads and rotors on these new-fangled electronic parking brakes...).

The boy came over to do laundry and is playing cards with his mom.

Not a bad day overall.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Store run for lettuce and cake. Smoked ribs. Discussed various cookers/methods including those we are tired of. Restored sounds on my desktop. Dip-tested a trio of pens. All three scratchy beyond belief.

[joolstacho]

For the first time in about 15 years we went to the Footy (Aussie Rules) at the big roofed 'Marvel stadium' in Melbourne. We - Carlton, had a great come-from-behind win, t'riffic to hear the roar and feel that good natured tribalism again.

[dneal]

Sat on the porch this morning and listened to the racket that only pileated woodpeckers can make, closer to the house than normal, with one landing on the trunk of one of the oaks in the yard doing god knows what.

Wife left to visit a friend at Fort Knox for the week, the boy went home earlier than expected, so I sat around the house and enjoyed the quiet; and entertained myself reading Nature (and other essays), and watching nature.

The busiest I got was running into town for mediocre Chinese food.

[calamus]

Totally scattered. Doing six things at once. Arrgghhhh!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Totally scattered. Doing six things at once. Arrgghhhh!

My usual state of affairs.

Yesterday, I renewed my fascination with mules and spent a lonnnng time watching the 'tube and reading about them.

[dneal]

Clouded up and threatened to rain yesterday, but it was the first day with the house to myself; and I ended up binging the first season of Ted Lasso. Possibly the best television show I've seen in the last decade.

Today I sprayed about 2 gallons of roundup on the driveway. The rain means I can tear the gravel up with a box blade before I have about 15 tons of fresh gravel brought in - which I then get to spread.

[Lady Onogaro]

Went up to the University to learn a new annotation tool. My friend uses it and it looks interesting. It's called Hypothes.is.
Then we went to lunch and talked for about two hours. (We hadn't seen each other in a while.) I'm going to be teaching face-to-face for the first time since Covid, and I'm a bit nervous about it.
Then I went to the hairdresser and had a color and cut. She's a former student, so we talked about this and that regarding school, students, teaching, learning, and just stuff, including the fact that it's been over 100 degrees here for more than two weeks, and probably will be over 100 degrees every day for the next month. Well, it might only get as high as 99 tomorrow. And they are only predicting 98 for August 15.
Some rain would be good. We have a burn ban and watering ban in effect until further notice. Hoping for the rain they keep telling us will come next week (though we do not want any torrential downpours--just a nice steady three day rain would be good).

[dneal]

Accumulated a bunch of shocks and struts (decided to upgrade to some Bilsteins on the truck once I started parts shopping... lol). Waiting on a different style of spring compressor that should be here tomorrow, because the usual two threaded rods with hooks style I have are actually pretty dangerous.

Being this is the last day that I'm unsupervised, I bought a couple of boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and had that and beanie-weenies for lunch (and dinner *urp*). I don't know what's in that packet of orange chemical powder, but it's delicious. Probably a close second to Fruity Pebbles as the tastiest non-food in the world.

Filled a bunch of humming bird feeders. How a bunch of little birds the size of your thumb can drink a gallon of sugar water each day is beyond me. We do have a lot though...

Good thing the humming bird food maker gets home tomorrow.

[dneal]

Put the rear shocks on the truck before the heat of the day set in, and waited for the Amazon guy to get here with the spring compressor - which of course arrived at 3:30 or so.

Waited for it to cool off a bit, and did the front. That compressor is the shiznit. I was surprised what bad shape the factory shocks were in, the truck has just under 50k miles.

I usually sit on the porch in the morning and drink coffee, and the hummingbirds float around the yard eating the gnats that hang out in little clouds at that time of day. The morning sun also makes them easy to see, and the hummingbird wings are neat to watch with the backlight.

This morning, I was also admiring the rays of light due to the humidity; and noticed a strand of spiderweb that caught the light because of the dew - and followed it to the right and then saw the web. That's roughly a 30 foot span. I have no idea how they manage that.


79496

[Sailor Kenshin]

Early supermarket run, worked on pens, grabbed some Chinese takeout, planned out (woth fountain pen and Rhodia grid) a rock path clean-up and refresh.

[dneal]

Been watching squirrels gather hickory nuts out of the tree and run across the yard with them. I never knew what they did with them though, and assumed they were just hiding them somewhere.

Today I discovered that they just hide from the other squirrels while they eat them, leaving little piles of rinds here and there.

[Sailor Kenshin]

We had green acorns raining like hail yesterday. In fact I thought it WAS hail.

Sorting fountain pens/inks for PIF. Ran errands, prepped for breakfast and lunch, grilled chicken, cleaned up, and after that burst of activity, now my tongue's hangin' out a bit due to chronic underslept-ness.

[penwash]

I'm slowly editing the 368 photos I took during the road trip.

One of which is this

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53123894788_4682800935_b.jpg

[dneal]

Rescued a humming bird this morning.

It had gotten in the shop yesterday evening and kept trying to get out through the cupola. I coaxed it out of there and hung a feeder by the main door, which usually works. Discovered it was still in the shop this morning, on the floor in a corner and covered in cobwebs; coming out of topor or just exhausted. I dunno.

I gathered it up and carried it to a feeder on the porch, and put it's beak in one of the "flowers". Didn't look like it was drinking, and I figured it was done. I set it on the grass, and it squeaked 3 times with a sound I hadn't ever heard before. I held it back up to the feeder and stuck its beak back in. It drank fervently for a while, and then flew about 10 feet and landed in the grass.

It only sat there for about 10 seconds and flew up into the maple they like to congregate in. I saw one an hour later that looked to have some web debris still on its head, at the feeder, so I assume it was the same and was ok.

Then the second 15 ton load of gravel arrived, I paid the man and spent 4 hours spreading 30 tons of 1" minus with a little Kubota and a 4' box blade.

I should have taken "before" pictures, but here's "after".

79604

79605

[VertOlive]

Not so much. Worked my new job in Spreadsheet Hell, then escaped home to be reunited with my dog. Next up: finish reading my Zombie Apocalypse trilogy.

Onward.

[dneal]

Put the shocks and struts on the wife’s Subaru.

Everything went easy as pie, until literally the last bolt. I see why there are no left side struts available. Must have been a manufacturing defect. One of the two holes for the steering knuckle bolts was a couple of thousandths out of the proper location, making it nearly impossible to get one of the two bolts in (the second one you chose to install). The top bolt is the eccentric adjuster for the camber, so I fought the bottom and won eventually. Had to clean up the threads with a die a little as a matter of prudence before installing the nut, but the suspension is good for another 75-100k miles.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Seems like a million small things, most of which I've forgotten by now. Can't even remember what we ate.

I do remember a fruitless late morning search for yard sales. Good weather, so that was more like taking a ride to relax.

[dneal]

Temps and humidity both in the 90's today. I observed it from the comfort and safety of the AC.

The boy came over last night, and left around noon once his laundry was done. Mom stopped by on her way to my brother's house, where she'll spend the night. Tomorrow they travel for the birth of her first great-grandchild. I've always been a great uncle in practice, but now I'll be one in name as well.

Also, got a text with this picture. A two-month wait has reached a conclusion.

79693

[Dougc]

Temps and humidity both in the 90's today. I observed it from the comfort and safety of the AC.

The boy came over last night, and left around noon once his laundry was done. Mom stopped by on her way to my brother's house, where she'll spend the night. Tomorrow they travel for the birth of her first great-grandchild. I've always been a great uncle in practice, but now I'll be one in name as well.

Also, got a text with this picture. A two-month wait has reached a conclusion.

79693You're getting NINE new cars?

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[dneal]

No, that’s my buddy Ed in the yellow shirt. He’s been out of town for a couple of months and just got back. We’re going to have a smash burger once he gets those cars unloaded.

[Sailor Kenshin]

The day is yet young, but yesterday I pulled the feed on a glitter-clogged Pilot Parallel AND managed to clean it and re-insert it.

[penwash]

Still editing my road trip photos ...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53134770665_0fa35328a9_c.jpg

The hike to reach this place is fun and not obvious at all for tourists, even when looking at the map.

[dneal]

Didn't have smashburgers with Ed, but felt sorry for all that work he did unloading those cars and brought this home:

79725

[Dougc]

Didn't have smashburgers with Ed, but felt sorry for all that work he did unloading those cars and brought this home:

79725You can stand me up anytime!

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Sailor Kenshin]

Been breakin' rocks in the hot sun.

[dneal]

Mowed. Started at 10, done by 12. It was still hot!

Wanted to wait, but rain is supposed to come with the cooler weather.

[kazoolaw]

Dog day:
Took the boy for a bath, with shampoo and conditioner.
Then home for a blow dry and brushing.
More work/effort than my grooming, but then he's better looking.

[dneal]

Ran errands, and the wife came along after the suggestion that we get smash burgers for lunch.

I stopped by Harbor Freight to get a set of line clamps, and she wanted to go in because she apparently has never been in one.

She was nonplussed. I told her it’s the man equivalent of JoAnn Fabrics.

“Ok, that makes sense…”

[Sailor Kenshin]

I became fascinated by guitar restoration videos. And I can barely play mine.

[dneal]

I became fascinated by guitar restoration videos. And I can barely play mine.

I love them too, but I'm really a sucker for watch restoration for some reason. The Acoustic Guitar Forum has a section with luthier builds in progress.

[joolstacho]

Yes there are some fascinating youtube vids on guitar making and restoring.
I don't really make mine anymore, mainly because of the wood-dust and the lungs.
FWIW here are some of mine:
www.whittakerdesign.com.au/guitars

[Sailor Kenshin]

Cigar box guitars also fascinate me. There's a fella I watched who makes guitars out of colored pencils, newspaper, waste plastic, and shovels.

[Carpio]

Hello,


Yes there are some fascinating youtube vids on guitar making and restoring.
I don't really make mine anymore, mainly because of the wood-dust and the lungs.
FWIW here are some of mine:
www.whittakerdesign.com.au/guitars

Are they 'Seymour Duncans' in the 'Tele' style geetahhrrr? (a beauty as it stands) Very talented :clap2: :thumb:

[Sailor Kenshin]

Stabbed self with bamboo skewer while prepping lunch.


https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2023/08/26/a3fdb7dc12ee09ad2d89e35b5a51ed3d.jpg

Enough excitement for the day. Going to sleep.

[dneal]

Been waiting for the heat to break so I could wash, clay and wax the new car; which the forecast said was today (with rain tomorrow).

Woke up at 4:30, and heard thunder.

It was heat lightning from the approaching storm front, so I was washing at 5:30 with LED floodlights on a tripod. Got done and the car back in the garage about 30 minutes before the rain, and spent the next 4 hours detailing.

Once that was done, I gave the wife’s Subaru the BG109 treatment to address slight oil consumption (likely a stuck oil control ring). Seafoam helped, but I brought out the big guns today.

Got done by lunch, and she had a sammich waiting.

Sammiches always taste better when someone else makes them.

[dneal]

On the 7th day, he rested.

I did too.

Well, mostly.

Woke up to a morning in the mid 60s. Completed the last task for the Subaru - cleaning the throttle body and doing an idle relearn - before breakfast. Had a lunchtime snooze and we ran into town for ice cream afterwards.

A beautiful day is ending with the sound of tree frogs singing under a bright moon waxing gibbous in a clear evening sky.

[dneal]

Took advantage of the cooler weather and changed the transmission drive belt on the mower.

My acute dislike for mechanical engineers has increased.

[SIR]

Took advantage of the cooler weather and changed the transmission drive belt on the mower.

My acute dislike for mechanical engineers has increased.

mechanical engineers or their corporate overseers?

[dneal]

Engineers, who give little to no thought for the people who will eventually perform maintenance on their designs. Germans are the worst about this, and Japanese are the best.

[Chrissy]

Been waiting for the heat to break so I could wash, clay and wax the new car; which the forecast said was today (with rain tomorrow).

Woke up at 4:30, and heard thunder.

It was heat lightning from the approaching storm front, so I was washing at 5:30 with LED floodlights on a tripod. Got done and the car back in the garage about 30 minutes before the rain, and spent the next 4 hours detailing.

Once that was done, I gave the wife’s Subaru the BG109 treatment to address slight oil consumption (likely a stuck oil control ring). Seafoam helped, but I brought out the big guns today.

Got done by lunch, and she had a sammich waiting.

Sammiches always taste better when someone else makes them.
Please could you "translate" clay the car, BG109 treatment, Seafoam and big guns for those of us foreigners who may not understand what they mean?
We also have a new car to look after. LOL We've had to switch off the feature where the passenger side wing mirror automatically dips to show the kerb when reversing. It doesn't come back up. Mercedes report it as a known problem that they need to write some new code for.

[dneal]

Sure, but some of it will get kind of technical...

New cars are usually shipped from factories by rail. Lots of contaminants end up on the paint - "rail dust" (fine metal particles from wheels) being the worst. Automotive "clay", used by body shops, removes the majority. Car detailers learned this and clay products are available commercially. Google "how to use a clay bar" and you'll find more than you could ever want. It's not absolutely necessary, but I do it when I get a new car before I wax it.

Car manufacturers are under never ending pressure to improve fuel economy. They use smaller, lighter pistons with shorter piston skirts (usually the cause of cold-start "piston knock" - another topic); and fewer piston rings that are less stiff than in the past. This results in less moving mass and lower friction. Most modern pistons have two compression rings and one oil control ring. The oil control ring scrapes the cylinder wall clean, but also gets contaminated with carbon build up. They end up "stuck", and cause oil consumption. Wife's Subaru has started consuming about 1/2 a quart of oil every 1500 miles.

"SeaFoam" is a brand of petroleum additive with detergents. You can put it in your fuel and it will help clean your injectors, but you can also put it in your oil (at a particular ratio) 100 miles or so before your next oil change, to clean oil passages and piston rings. It's relatively mild. It improved the consumption problem slightly.

BG products is a brand of automotive chemicals. Their product number "109" (hence BG 109 for short) is a professional level of detergent concentrate. You add it and run the engine at 1200 rpms for 10 minutes, and then drain/change the oil.

New engines are technological wonders that introduce new problems mainly revolving around carbon management, which require chemical treatments that previously would have been considered "snake oil". Oil control rings are one problem, and another is direct injection that results in carbon build-up on the intake and exhaust valves.

In the past, I traded cars every 3-4 years. Commuter mileage was the main reason, but also because they were under warranty and I didn't have to worry about doing any upkeep myself - which was also problematic because of time and other reasons. I enjoy it and was a mechanic when I first joined the Army. I have the time and space I didn't have before.

My truck is a 2019, but was built with the same components designed in 2005. Bluetooth is the most "modern" tech in it. Wife's 2014 Subaru is similar, but she loves that car and didn't want to get rid of it. We added the Honda HR-V specifically because it has the same K-series engine they've been refining for decades. No turbos, no direct injection, etc... She can take it on trips to see family, and I don't have to worry since it's got a warranty, roadside assistance, etc... It does have all that "driver assist" crap, unfortunately; but I turned most of it off. It's just stuff that sounds like a good idea, but ends up being more annoying than it's worth (when it works properly - like your MB mirror).

[Sailor Kenshin]

I know I did something yesterday. It'll come to me, I'm sure.

Oh, right. Got short-changed at the drive-through window (not taling pennies here), and it took forever to have them sort it out.

[Robalone]

Finished a small copperfoil window I started yesterday 😎😊79857

[Sailor Kenshin]

WOW.

Went for dental stuff yesterday. 😱

We had a small beach rock patio surrounding the mailbox. Over the years it became impossible to manage; rocks sunk, weeds sprouted, and no good way to eradicate them. We dug and moved what seemed like ten tons of rock, then leveled and filled in, and put down a mix of grass and clover seed. Yesterday the project was declared done for now; but the ground still needs leveling.

[Robalone]

AAAAAARRRGH dental stuff 😩….the bane of my life !!
Project sounds rewarding 👍🏻

[dneal]

Finally got a "membership" with the local car-wash franchise, since they opened a new facility on my end of town. $18/month unlimited washes vs $20 for an individual wash.

Took the Mrs for dinner at the best Mexican joint in the area (about 20 minutes away, and sadly would be just fair to middlin' in San Antonio).

It's going to be an uncomfortable evening, but it was worth it.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Started out with a fountain pen dream in which I gave many away, moved to laundry and dishes, then some takeout that was about three long, steep staircases below what dneal had. In short, awful, and we'll never go to that joint again.

Followed by weeding. Don't envy my glamorous life.

[dneal]

The best Mexican places are like the best BBQ places. Little holes in the wall that as soon as you walk in, you know you're either going to get food poisoning or the best meal you've ever had.

[Sailor Kenshin]

The best Mexican places are like the best BBQ places. Little holes in the wall that as soon as you walk in, you know you're either going to get food poisoning or the best meal you've ever had.

As this was a chain restaurant, we could only be assured of food poisoning.

It wasn't quite that severe.

There were fountain pens in my dream again. Today we're preparing a slab of baby backs for tomorrow's cook. I'm editing something, and we're also trying to find out what's wrong with the peonies.

[VertOlive]

Massive water change for the 75 gallon cold tank: the two juvenile black Ranchu, Biggie Smalls and Quasimodo, are happily rearranging their sand after the upset.

Little water change for the planted 5 gallon with just enough plant scraping to tick off The Betta Tango mightily.

Vodka soda break.

Pen some letter replies next.

[Judy Charlton]

Guardians, gather around! 🚀 Destiny 2 has us all hooked, right? But let's talk strategy - Levelupper is changing the game. They're the wizards of D2 boosting, offering everything from Arena boosts to Warcraft raid domination. 🎮 Picture this: Your Guardian, now a force to be reckoned with, thanks to Levelupper's expertise. It's like they sprinkle "awesome" dust on your gameplay. ✨ Say goodbye to the grind and hello to epic results. 💪 Dive into the action at 👉 https://levelupper.com/d2 and let the gaming revolution begin!

[dneal]

Laundry.

Now I’m watching the evening battle begin before they head off to topor.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkY5CDdKhPY

[Sailor Kenshin]

WOW!

[dneal]

It gets worse. A bunch are hiding in the trees as she’s taken one of the feeders and getting a full one.

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's not the hummingbirds cheeping, is it?

[dneal]

It's them. They're really noisy.

Here's what it looks like in the mornings with coffee.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJUYaRdA280

[Lloyd]

It's them. They're really noisy.

Here's what it looks like in the mornings with coffee.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJUYaRdA280
From the hyperactivity of the little tweeters, I'd guess there's some of your morning coffee in their feeders.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Sailor Kenshin]

This. Yesterday.

https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2023/09/03/88b14b3f0fee5d799fcbf95bf4dd9ba8.jpg

[dneal]

Watched it threaten to rain off and all all day, and got an early sprinkle-plus. Grass is just starting to need cut, but it also needs water.

I ended up mowing around the house with the deck set high and just knocking the top off the lawn.

Now I'm enjoying a show of heat lightning off to the west as the wind is picking up.

I love the sound of an approaching thunderstorm. The leaves of the trees, the frogs singing, and a faint rumble of thunder in the distance.

The smell is probably only second to fresh baked bread.

[Sailor Kenshin]

A million little things with old computers and printers that refuse to do my bidding. 🤬 Then harvesting some grapes and watering plants.

[dneal]

Took advantage of the local tire shop's "tires at cost" annual sale, and put decent tires on the new Frauwagen. The stock Hankooks are crap, so they were replaced with Toyo's with the 3-peak winter certification (basically a midwest winter capable tire that you can run all-season).

Got a haircut.

Watched the heron - that occasionally shows up at the pond - land in the yard and walk into the woods. There's another small old farm-pond in there, so I assume he went to hunt frogs.

Tried to get a picture, and realized after the fact that a hummingbird photo-bombed it.

79979

[penwash]

Herons are beautiful. Spotted this one (I think it's a heron, I'm no bird expert) in Vancouver's Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen garden.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53169957114_3e51031fbd_c.jpg

PS: This is a manual focus lens, there is some amount of luck in getting this shot :)

[dneal]

I’m no expert either, but the great blue heron is native and present year round - so it’s not a difficult identification. Seeing them in the woods isn’t unusual, as long as there’s a decent creek for them to fly along; but that’s the first time I’ve ever seen one walk into the woods (that are too thick for it to fly through).

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a decent camera with a telephoto lens, but I know that it would be a waste of money. I admire good photography, but not really interested in getting into the hobby. The phone is always close to hand…

Anyway…

Made meatloaf. Messed around with an ad hoc recipe more conducive to feeding two with ingredients on hand.. A pound of beef, one onion, pepper, and egg, heaping 1/2 cup of oats and a 1/4 cup of milk. Turned out fine, and great for meatloaf sammiches. I think I’ll add a little Worcestershire to the mix next time.

[dneal]

Reached over 50% of the lights in the garage not working properly or at all.

Removed the fluorescent tubes and ballasts, and rewired them for LEDs.

Much brighter.

Also are several meatloaf sammiches.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Most of our lighting here is a pain. There is a fluorescent light in an upstairs room and I despise it. Wish there was some way to deal with it.

Editing story #3 of 5 today. Also, front lawn mowing has taken place. Still cheering on the peppers and 'maters.

[dneal]

The fish and chips truck was in town today. Ice cream was postponed, but it was decided that there will be ice cream Sundays on a regular basis starting tomorrow.

[Chrissy]

Watched the heron - that occasionally shows up at the pond - land in the yard and walk into the woods. There's another small old farm-pond in there, so I assume he went to hunt frogs.

Tried to get a picture, and realized after the fact that a hummingbird photo-bombed it.


Woke up early because it was too hot and decided to spend just a couple of minutes Photoshopping your picture. :) I really like herons. :thumb:

80028

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yesterday, in doing an ink transfer/piston fill, I got a thick, dark blue ink all over my fingers. Looked like a Druid all day.

Next, we ran to the hardware store to refill a propane tank, and I spotted a standard poodle, sticking his head out of a silver SUV and grinning. Struck up a pleasant conversation with his owner. The dog was the subject, and he knew it.

[dneal]

Did a transmission relearn on the Subaru. Wife had been saying that there was a hesitation from a stop. I was riding with her the other day and she was letting off the gas.

“Are you doing that?”

“Yes, it feels like it needs to shift but isn’t.”

“It’s a continuously variable transmission, it doesn’t shift to fixed gears. You taught it to do that hesitation.”

“Oh, crap. Can you fix it?”

Then I made Gulaschsuppe, since the temps dropped to the 50s at night and 70s during the day.

I love soup season.

[dneal]

Found another aardvark in the yard this evening violating the social contract.

It got a warning for now, but I know it’s not going to end well.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm pretty sure I did a bunch of mundane stuff yesterday, but it's all a blur now.

[dneal]

Puttered mostly.

There is a Trundlelump in my brush-pile that is waiting to be burned. He evicted the rabbit, apparently.

I know he's dug a hole in a very small dirt pile under there, and will hibernate, which means I can't burn the pile until spring.

I'm scheming on a way to evict him before winter.

It's a substantial pile, with many sections of trees and whatnot from helping the neighbor clear around the pond.

[Lloyd]

Pardon my ignorance, of which I have a great deal, but what is a "Trundlelump"?

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[dneal]

The nickname for the groundhogs around the house. They're very cautious (I suspect because many things find them fat and delicious), and scare very easily. They run as fast as their fat little bodies will allow, back to their holes, and it is a sort of speedy "trundle". It's even better when they're in the driveway and you can hear their feet make the "slap-ity, slap-ity, slap-ity" sound.

Many things got silly nicknames when my son was young, and it's become habitual. Often it's a nod to a winnie-the-pooh-ism (e.g.: heffalumps and woozles), but sometimes it's from my wife having a brain-cramp. We get chicken sandwiches at Chik-a-fil, and enjoy fajita warps. Sometimes it's from me making a joke.

Her: "I saw one of those, uh, crap. I can't think of the name. Those things you call 'armored possums'"
Me: "You mean 'aardvarks'?" *snicker*
Her: "Yeah. No you idiot, that's not what they're called..."

And now Armadillos are Aardvarks at my house, by default. Groundhogs/woodchucks are trundlelumps (one in particular is simply "fatty", and he loves over-ripe bananas - if they're already peeled).

-edit-

Here is a picture of three baby trundlelumps, venturing out. Pic is from mid-May this year. I saw them from the window in my shop office, and this was the best I could do with my phone through the glass. Opening the door would have them trundling off instantaneously.

You can also see why I had 30 tons of gravel delivered.

80165

[Lloyd]

We have groundhogs, too. Cute and destructive.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[dneal]

We have groundhogs, too. Cute and destructive.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

The social contract requires that they not dig around the foundations. That’s a capital offense.

They are in compliance, and reap the benefits of the occasional peeled overripe banana left at the offering tree.

They don’t like beets. I don’t blame them.

[Lloyd]

We often refer to them as schlinks...a
corrupted form of the toy "Slinky".

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[dneal]

I assume you’re referring to ground hogs and not beets, but I see that resemblance.

[dneal]

The aardvark committed several felony destruction of property offenses last night.

While the visual impact isn’t a large concern, the ankle-spraining sized holes signed the warrant.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'll eat any beets you don't want.

Cool, overcast, windy: requiring an early beach walk.

[dneal]

The beets were a gift from one of my wife’s friends. I don’t know why anyone would grow them if they don’t like them and have to give them away. Maybe they just have a malicious sense of humor.

If they force any more on us, I’ll keep you in mind.

I will note that there is a little French restaurant in Parkville, MO that served us beets one time. They still tasted like dirt, but well seasoned dirt. If I had the recipe I’d make them.

[Robalone]

Finished this one today…..I’m sorta making a bit of a comeback to this hobby….I had a shop in Sherbrooke Quebec, and one here in Fremantle ..but that was many years ago, but I still have a lot of glass left….so the bug has bitten me again .
I think it’s one of those 'things ya never lose'80221

Can you guess the ship ?

[dneal]

Had another "ice-cream Sunday" with the missus.

Sitting on the porch listening to a couple of barred owls carry on a conversation before bedtime, the aardvark made an appearance and had the warrant served. On the way to dispose of it, there was a second one!

Definitely not a task I relish.

Hopefully we have a brutal winter so they'll stay south of here.

[dneal]

Can you guess the ship ?
Forgot to address this…

A clipper of some sort. Cutty Sark (label) is what came to mind when I saw it.

Nice job regardless. I like the glass used for the sky. Really looks like sun though stormy clouds.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Beautiful work!

Just made pink applesauce. About to go play with pens and inks.

[dneal]

Bump to get the spam off the top.

Wife took the new frauwagen to visit family, so I have been enjoying the bachelor life for the past few days.

Now I am cleaning, because she returns tomorrow.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Watched it rain.

Made applesauce.

Watched it rain.

Made grape goo (from our own grapevine).

Watched it rain.

Cleaned up.

Et cetera.

[dneal]

Your rain has made it here. Nice and gentle, with interesting lighting that has little thunder.

[Sailor Kenshin]

We still got it.

Repairing a piston-filler for PIF. Watched a bodybuilding movie while eating egg foo yung. Thinking about some indoor lighting solutions.

[Chrissy]

I used to love egg fu young. :) Delicious. :) haven't had that for simply ages. I've been writing with a few different inks.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Watching mushrooms grow on the front lawn, finalizing a PIF, hemming pajamas, making candy.

And watching The Making of Pumping Iron. 😹

[dneal]

Changed the oil in the Frauwagen.

I guess I'm old-school, but I still like to do an early oil-change on a new motor.

[junglejim]

Went to my doctor's office for the annual physical and medications renewal, then next door for the blood draw. After that a quick drive down the street to the pharmacy (chemists) for the new Covid, flu, and RSV shots. Yeah, arms both hurt now, LOL!

[dneal]

Bump to knock down our newest spammer’s posts.

The fox is back and has made several appearances, and none of the trundlelumps have been seen for days. A full grown groundhog would be a significant challenge for a single fox, although a fox will evict one and turn a groundhog hole into a den. Groundhogs also have multiple holes for breeding and hibernating, so there’s no guarantee what is causing the disappearance.

I was seeing reviews of new models of vehicles coming out, and Toyota has a few. In particular, they have a new Tacoma. The current generation with the venerable, underpowered and indestructible 2TR-FE is going away, so I traded my Nissan Frontier for a bare-bones utility version. I’ll miss the extra 130 horsepower, but the extra 7mpg is a fair exchange.

I sort of enjoy the slow, not fancy and mechanically simple.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Bump to knock down our newest spammer’s posts.

The fox is back and has made several appearances, and none of the trundlelumps have been seen for days. A full grown groundhog would be a significant challenge for a single fox, although a fox will evict one and turn a groundhog hole into a den. Groundhogs also have multiple holes for breeding and hibernating, so there’s no guarantee what is causing the disappearance.

I was seeing reviews of new models of vehicles coming out, and Toyota has a few. In particular, they have a new Tacoma. The current generation with the venerable, underpowered and indestructible 2TR-FE is going away, so I traded my Nissan Frontier for a bare-bones utility version. I’ll miss the extra 130 horsepower, but the extra 7mpg is a fair exchange.

I sort of enjoy the slow, not fancy and mechanically simple.

As do we.

Invented a game. Back later to detail it.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Today got away from me.

https://pics.ourpatioparty.com/images/2023/10/03/7248f15e9060e5d2c64d5b5b6275c240.jpg

Chow chow relish, cheese rolls. Not seen: Pita chips. I read there's a shortage so I made some.

[dneal]

Spied a trundlelump today, sitting up and eating acorns.

Unfortunately it’s the one that lives in my brush pile.

That’s the one I need the fox to evict.

🦊

[calamus]

Shot a test roll of film (Ektar 100) in a Minolta SRT-101 I bought for $30 bucks at a thrift store (including an immaculate f/1.4 58mm prime lens). Forgot to push the little button on the bottom of the camera before rewinding the exposed film, and broke it off inside the camera. Removed the canister in a changing bag, opened it up, cutting my finger, put a bandaid (sticking plaster) on it (on my finger, not on the film), wound the film back into the canister with more than a little difficulty, still in the changing bag, couldn't get the now deformed donut-shaped disk to cap the end of the canister, so I sealed it with gaffer's tape. Probably flashed the last couple of frames, and may have scraped off bits of the emulsion as I fumbled the film back onto the spool. Very curious about what I ended up with.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yard sales; actually bought a book or two.

Cutting down the tomato plants. We got a lot more tomatoes this year than last, enough to give some away. Gonna need to sharpen the clippers when done!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Made these!

https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/kool-aid-pickles/

Still need to wait a week to see if they're any good.

[dneal]

They can’t be worse than beets.

[calamus]

Update to post #231. Got the scans from the lab. Four of the 36 exposures were flashed to heck and/or on the end of the film where it broke. The others look pretty decent. Very sharp lens, meter spot on. (Though not spot.) (Rimshot.) (Groan.)

I think the reason Sumgai priced it so low was because the mirror was locked in the up position, so when he looked through the viewfinder, all he saw was nuthin'. Probably didn't know much about film cameras. They had some pieces of garbage in terrible condition marked at over $100.

Here's a sample photo. I was just shooting off a test roll, so no show-stoppers here. It's got the muted, earthy palette typical of Ektar.

80684

[Sailor Kenshin]

They can’t be worse than beets.

Beets rule! :rockon:

So far, ran around like maniacs to this store and that, chopped some vejables (okay, two of them were technically fruits) to add to a brine mix, removed a window air conditioner for the season, and now await pizza.

[Sailor Kenshin]

The instructions for those Kool-aid pickles are simple, and the work time about five minutes.

Be sure to make a batch, using the cherry flavor.

Then, give them to your worst enemy; this is the most egregiously hideous, wretched-tasting abomination ever palmed off on humanity. What a waste of decent pickles.

[Lloyd]

The instructions for those Kool-aid pickles are simple, and the work time about five minutes.

Be sure to make a batch, using the cherry flavor.

Then, give them to your worst enemy; this is the most egregiously hideous, wretched-tasting abomination ever palmed off on humanity. What a waste of decent pickles.
I've got to wonder, what were you expecting? Have you eaten at at a deli and gotten a KoolAid pickle? For hundreds of years, people have perfected pickles, and I've NEVER heard of KoolAid pickles being a hot commodity. I doubt these guys offer KoolAid pickles....https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231015/9aef9e08442f19029e3f4559f57dcb38.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20231015/9191fe7f2e548eb778509f3412d3c8be.jpg

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Sailor Kenshin]

I liked the colors.

[dneal]

The instructions for those Kool-aid pickles are simple, and the work time about five minutes.

Be sure to make a batch, using the cherry flavor.

Then, give them to your worst enemy; this is the most egregiously hideous, wretched-tasting abomination ever palmed off on humanity. What a waste of decent pickles.

So definitely worse than beets.

[Lloyd]

I liked the colors.
It sounds like they'd taste better if you used Noodlers inks or tempera paints.

Typos courtesy of Samsung Auto-Incorrect™

[Sailor Kenshin]

The instructions for those Kool-aid pickles are simple, and the work time about five minutes.

Be sure to make a batch, using the cherry flavor.

Then, give them to your worst enemy; this is the most egregiously hideous, wretched-tasting abomination ever palmed off on humanity. What a waste of decent pickles.

So definitely worse than beets.

All they share in common is a color.

[kazoolaw]

Pulled perennials-found and fought the vicious ground nesting bees-2 mile walk with my wife and the dog-bit of reading Brief Cases stories from the Dresden Files-nap time-bit of music-taking out the garbage.
All this time I thought retirement would be boring.

[dneal]

Pulled perennials-found and fought the vicious ground nesting bees-2 mile walk with my wife and the dog-bit of reading Brief Cases stories from the Dresden Files-nap time-bit of music-taking out the garbage.
All this time I thought retirement would be boring.


Big Dresden fan here.

[kazoolaw]

Was disappointed by the TV series.
The intros to the collected stories share some of the world building which I think is interesting.

[dneal]

I agree on both points.

[Kgbenson]

I removed a foreign body from a ferret. Because ferrets will ferret.

[Chrissy]

Cleared up fallen leaves. AGAIN!!!!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Pine needles here. And the instant you turn around, they dump more. 🤣

[Dougc]

Sprayed for weeds, sorted out recent photos that I had printed.
Oh, and I took out the trash cans to the street and found a 5 dolla bill!

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