Ian Abel

Chewsday and Valentines Day Little to report from yesterday, Mrs went with Meagan and Otis to the Vet and they seemed happy with the recommended ongoing care for him. Not sure why he had the seizure but watching and monitoring, as well as close check on his diabetes. Today will be departing early as we have a regular tradition of a Valentines Dinner at the Como Conservatory, a mini-Kew Gardens place. The dinner is put on as a fund raiser for the conservatory and we're happy to support the place. 2c and overcast retrieving the newspaper, light rain started and a high of 4c expected. Rain tapering off later but supposedly light snow overnight! Carry on.

Morning all... Busy weekend, some personal items accomplished, moving ever closer to getting the indoor layout space sorted so we can MAYBE make a start at recreating a layout <phew> Jemma had Whitney over early Saturday. She was off to Heathrow and return, then she and Brendan are on vacation, heading to Edinburgh tomorrow or Wednesday. So we have Whitney for about 10 days. Sorted out the bar area in our basement/family room and relocated the wine cooler onto some newly built shelving - job done! Some clearing of the ice/snow remaining on the driveway in preparation for the storage unit that's showing up Thursday. Sunday, somewhat relaxed. Mrs off to a book club theatre performance leaving me to walk Whitney and do more pratting around in the basement. Managed to wrench my wrist doing "something" down there, so now taking some over-the-counter pain killers. Also, a panic with Meagan/Trevor and their dog Otis, who had a seizure, so they were at the vet ER almost all day. Today, Mrs with Meagan and Otis at the regular vet to see what he Otis needs medium-long term. He's older (15) so I think we're going to need to provide plenty of support for Meagan soon, Otis is her baby. 😒 Weather cooperating with the ice removal on the driveway, -3c first thing and sunny supposed to have highs of 3 - 4c next few days. Onward.

POETS Yesterday a success it seems! Insulation contractor very knowledgeable and had good suggestions/ideas etc. We'll see how much damage it really is when we get the estimate. 🤯 Memorial service very heart-warming and the family appreciated our performance in helping celebrate of the lady's life. Long rehearsal followed as we're preparing for a supporting role backing the Black History Month concert next Sunday 19., plus gearing up for Ash Wednesday. Today, hopefully peaceful from the client perspective and I can POE, always helps with the start of the weekend. Weekend, zero plans. Whiteny return (she left last evening) Saturday as Jemma is off again flying around the planet. I'm surea to-do list will magically appear as I have designes on the free time for some hobby activities! Somewhat cold again here, -12c first thing and sunny, only going to make -1c for the high apparently. May be a few degrees warmer over the weekend, here's hoping. Carry on.

@PhilJ W My condolences Phil, echo what others have said sorry you weren't able to see him one last time. BIN day, out and serviced already. Busy day here it seems! Work is slow for now but; We've contractors coming over to the rental property at 10:30 to give us their estimate to re-insulate the attic there. Also, the "Vacate the Estate" small business will evaluate what it'll take/cost to get all the CARP out of the attic and into a temporary storage unit arriving in our driveway on the 19th. Once it's all there, we will at our leisure (YA RIGHT!!) decide what's to be kept, donated and trashed. Later, very early call (4pm) for choir/schola as we are singing at the memorial service of a schola members mother at 5pm. Then, choir rehearsal after that and with luck something in the way of sustenance? -6c first thing, overcast. Expected to reach 1-2c for a high. Onward.

"Trendy pseudo-Cowboy boots..." rather popular in NYC around the time I was there. @PhilJ WSorry to hear about your bother, hopefully he will be well cared for and kept as free of pain as possible. HUMP day... Another quiet day yesterday and looks to be the same today. Nothing happing to report. -4c first thing bright sun, expected to reach 4c today. Carry on.

Baz beat me to it, but I do seem to recall that there have been occasions of folks being hit by the "coming down" ammo. Lower velocity so not as bad as standing in the direct line of fire but seems some of the yahoo element at firing ranges in the US have manage that sort of thing when acting like aresouls (spelling to avoid the dreaded censor). Chewsday, nothing much to report from yesterday other than a flurry of report updating for the client. Otherwise, calm. Going through my aging pictures I offer this one below, mostly because a similar picture of this vehicle parked in our cul-de-sac (sans human occupant) has stumped the WhatsApp group of remaining members of the 8 families. I'm going to post this, especially as one of the "younger" ones commented on the previous picture as "...has to be a dumb guest at #2 or #3...". We lived at #2 and I was visiting over Christmas '79, none have twigged, yet 😃 I give you, yours truly with the Avis Daimler Soverign I had rented after zipping across the Atlantic in Concorde - those were the days; Weather maintaining an uptick, -1c and sunny first thing, +2c the high forecast. Starting to lose some snow cover and wet roads appearing from all the runoff. Onward.

Morning.. well, almost afternoon even here! Busy weekend after all, who knew! Ya, right. Saturday Mrs invited some family over for a dinner/movie night ("The Martian", as she's reading the book with a great-niece, and they wanted to watch it. That's me helping with cleaning the house and making it "presentable". Also, some light shopping for supplies, oh well. Sunday, involved in clearing up after Saturday, then went down a "rabbit hole" looking through some very old photographs/negatives and starting to scan them into digital form. That was interesting and also meant I relived the last almost 50 years as these were from the "old country" and I'd always meant to get to them. Re: Schooling/languages: The grammar I attended required us to take French from 1st - 4th year, mandatory. Worked OK for me as I did use it some, especially when I worked in Montreal for 18 months - passably useable even though they speak "Quebeqois". From 2nd - 4th year we had to choose between Latin and German. Determining I wasn't going to be a doctor or chemist I opted for German. Also useful for 2 years when I worked at Shell at Waterloo and was seconded as the technical half or a linear programming team. The other half was a German who was on UK assignment for two years and planned on improving his English. We shared an office, and his requirement was for us to spend half the day conversing in English, the other half in German. Was nice to better my German, and used it while skiing in Europe a few times. Dropped BOTH moving to 6th form and "A" levels as I wasn't interested enough to continue them. Used NEITHER with a vengeance since, so given the Montral work was in the late-70s I probably have no expectation I'd manage with either now even if pressed! Today, work ramping up as they're full-steam ahead into the yearly audit carp. Weather vastly improving (it's ALL relative mind you) with a morning of -8c under sunny skies, high of 2c expected with tonight only down to -4c! Yay!! Tally ho.

HAH!! That rodent, and more importantly/accurately, the idiots that continue that farcical charade are only right 40% of the time anyway, would be simpler to toss a coin. Adding insult to an already shaky scenario, how'd they manage to decide on "Gobbler's Knob" as the site of such a travesty of weather forecasting, I would expect to discover that the caretakers of the creature could well be "Incontinentia Buttocks" and her hubby "Biggus Dickus" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

BINGO! I WIN! Outside temperature this morning retrieving the newspaper... -25c - a dubious win for sure, but I don't expect any other ERs can beat that. POETS, will give that a shot, but going outside NOT in the plans. Quiet yesterday, just a couple of us at the pre-rehearsal happy hour, others AWOL in warmer climes. Rehearsal was brisk with a full attendance, and the schola are on for another funeral next Thursday afternoon, mother of a choir member and one of the post-rehearsal happy hour group. Leaving rehearsal, it was -19c, didn't see much traffic about, everyone else not stupid enough to be out, I guess! 🤯 Managed to get the bird feeders topped up and the bird bath serviced also first thing, much to the appreciation of the feathered contingent, how they survive I have no clue. Today looks to be quiet all round, so we head into the weekend with plans for time to indulge in hobbies - until a to-do list appears, I'm sure. Whitney will be dropped off tomorrow morning, Jemma off on a JFK-DUB-BOS-DUB-JFK jaunt over several days. Reports that Trevor and Meagan have a new car, not sighted yet, but I'm sure we'll see it soon enough. They've been needing to replace both their cars and this is the start. As reported -25c first thing, mostly overcast, headed for a high of -19c. The weekend picks up some with low tonight of -13c and highs next two days +1c - +3c, YAY!!! Onward towards the weekend.

BIN day... considered not bothering since we've only two days of carp. The MANAGEMENT decided it all has to go out anyway! Yay, long walk in the VERY COLD. Other than that (was accomplished late yesterday evening) nothing to report from yesterday. Today, I'd be staying IN due to the temperatures, however, we do have choir and a pre-event happy hour, so I will brave the cold for it. 🤯 -22c and sunny first thing, -9 the expected high, will be -19c forecast around happy hour time!!! Tally ho.

Morning... Back home after a week vacation in Arizona. Haven't, and probably won't, manage to go back and see all the posts for a WEEK!!! More on the trip with some pictures once I get some time, suffice to say, some enjoyable hikes, a visit to a railroad/model museum, and a wine festival. 😃 Weather was fine, for us, though the entire AZ population was moaning about it since it was below average, you'd have thought it was even approaching "cold" <sigh>. Most of the time was in the low to mid 12c - 18c, but they expect 20c - 24c so were all kids of fretting about the weather! Now needing to get busy with some work as the "client" has found some things for me to do in my absence. Weather here is COLD with a CAPITAL C!! -19c and sunny first thing, high of -6c expected THEN, -22c overnight with tomorrow a high of only -11c. Carry on.

Morning all. Very busy weekend <phew> Don't even REMEMBER Friday evening, Zoom with plenty of chat and wine... Saturday, singing at the funeral/memorial celebration for a long time church/choir member. 17, yep SEVENTEEN grand-children there, just wow! Evening we were at a supper-club to hear some local musicians, great evening excellent music and food with a couple who are neighbors. Sunday, was going to be quiet, turned into a support gathering for Meagan, as her older dog has been diagnosed with diabetes and we all decided she needed sort of an intervention to help her with the issue. She was grateful and has a better idea of the path now. Vet has explained it can be managed but as he's old (14) anyway she's having to confront the inevitable. It's a lot of stress on her as Otis has been there for a lot of her ups-and-down a while back. Today, last day of work before we take off for a week in AZ. Some sorting of various items before we leave, scheduling feeding for Bob by various folks used to the task, and of course deciding what to PACK! Not going to be as warm (hot??) as one might have expected/hoped, with highs only around 16-18c and lows 4-6c. Shant be taking shorts this year! -12c and overcast, supposed to remain overcast all day, high of +1c if we're lucky. Onward.

POETS, Doing that. Yesterday, not much, Whitney dropped off, Jemma headed to Heathrow, Mrs moving the last of the Christmas decoration, all I have to do is haul the large boxes to the basement. 🤯 Then, on to choir happy=hour/ rehearsal and that was about it! This evening a Zoom happy-hour with our Arizona friends and probably discuss some options for when we're out there next week. Somewhat busy weekend, tomorrow morning singing at a funeral for a long-time choir members husband. Evening we're off with a couple of neighbors to a dinner/supper-club to hear some great local artists. Sunday "MAY" be quiet, though I'm sure we can find some items requiring attention, especially since we're leaving Tuesday. Planning cat sitting etc., already done but always last-minute things to attend to. -7c overcast but no expected precipitation today, high around -2c Later.

BIN day... they appear to be back on schedule as two of the three services picked up by 8am already, recycle us usually later in the day anyway! Another day gone and still no contact with the "pest control" barstewards about the double billing. May have to visit in person!! Yesterday, all quiet, nothing to report of any interest. Today much of the same work-wise Jemma will be dropping off Whitney soon, she's off again to Heathrow, couple of turns over the next several days. Tonight, choir rehearsal, provided it's not "called" due to weather We're expecting 3-6 inches by the end of the day. The schola are supposed to sing Saturday at the funeral of a long-time choir member at the request of his wife. We'll rehearse the necessary pieces after the main choir practice, so a later than usual evening. Snowing already and -3c and BIN time, zero the expected high, snow most of the day. Tally ho.

and if you check items to "quote" the "quote" tag covers the top of page arrow so you have to use the scroll bar to get back to the top of the next page if you're needing to move to the next page. Seems something is broken, it used to be that when you used the next page navigation or any selected page # you'd be automatically placed at the top. Now you're placed at the bottom of the page...

Not wanting to be too insensitive but isn't a waiting list to be dead rather pointless, unless they've come up with some way for you to stay alive beyond your "due date". If they HAVE, I'm sure lots of us would like to know how to do that!! 🤯🤪❓

HUMP day... Not much to report from yesterday. Mrs spent time with a grand-niece, somehow the schools had TWO days off for MLK observance this year, no !@$!@$!@$ idea why that was/is necessary! RANT ON The story (so far!) Rental property scheduled for some pest abatement in late December. Renter had identified a company to perform task, contacted them, had them inspect/quote. Company sent email contract to renter to electronically sign, she said NO, contact/have landlord create account as they(we) want to be billed directly. Company have me set up account, send me email contract, I sign and return. Work scheduled and completed. Company extract charge from RENTERS credit card as they had it on file - NOTE: Even though she had NOT signed anything! No problem, had her deduct from January rent. Company send her invoice stating PAID, she provides it to me for our records. done deal, right??? NOOOOOOOOOO... I'm NOW getting email reminders to pay the outstanding invoice and the possibility of a late charge. My "account" with them shows the charge and the service provided. I've called "support" who sound like they're based in the expected/ubiquitous "foreign location". After 20 minutes on the phone with them, including on hold TWICE while the individual checked with a supervisor, I was informed the local office needed to handle it. Can't get them on the phone, they're never there. Left voicemails, no response, sent nasty-gram no reply. How is it possible for a company to have the explicit data for the same service done on the same day/time at the same address, by the same service tech., not realize they're double billing!! BOTH invoices show exactly the same datag with a photo of the same tech! They're IDENTICAL! If you hear of a pest control company building in a Minneapolis suburb mysteriously catch fire or have shite thrown at their door, it wasn't me 🤣🤣🤣 RANT OFF -2c overcast and windy first thing, zero the expected high. Carry on.

CHewsday, AWOL, and late posting <phew> Busy working days and weekend was busier than expected for reasons known only to higher powers! Saturday a great dinner out with Trevor and Meagan at a local Korean restaurant. Sunday up 'o crack sparrow to sing with the schola at the MLK services, THAT was tiring. Quick nap early afternoon then a trip to the rental property to review the attic carp. We want/need to have the attic re-insulated and that means all the carp we decided to leave/store there after we moved has NOW to be sorted/chucked and/or stored here. Wasn't as bad as expected, so we're starting to determine when to start on it. Given we head to AZ for a week next Tuesday, there's probably not much will get done before that trip. Weather all over the charts here, we had above zero temps the latter part of Sunday and yesterday, including some rain, until the temp dropped then it turned to light snow! -1c and overcast first thing, supposed to remain overcast all day with a high of +1c. Onward.

Arrrgghhh... AWOL from posting yesterday too panicked. Been crazy busy with large amounts of "panic additions" to client reports due to end-of-year and the need for departments to suddenly add all kinds of new accounting data, resulting in new lines, to be added to myriad reports! That was my Thursday "work time". BIN men didn't come again, no clue as to WHY, they showed up before sunrise TODAY! Also, schola rehearsal last evening, with the "pre" happy hour, fist of the year. Today still in busy/panic mode with reports. Later, who knows, nothing planned but some relaxation post work. Tomorrow we're taking Trevor and Meagan out to dinner at a very good/authentic Korean restaurant. Celebrating his "arrival day" as we do every year. We get to remind him that we were almost snowed in at the airport waiting for his arrival that year as it was mid-blizzard! 🤪 Sunday the schola singing at the MLK services so up early for me. -10c first thing a lot of very slippery roads as it thawed some yesterday. -5 expected high, the weekend will be "warmer" the dizzying heights of as much as +3c!! WOW. Tally ho.

Actually, a few places here recycle old light strings, I used BIN rather too liberally, for BIN, read recycle 🤪 I think - though can't confirm as of right now, that Home Depot take light strings for recycle. Whether any of the places truly recycle them or not is up for discussion

No, but what it DOES do, is determine if I'm going to BIN them or not. Often with some older strings of lights, they'll end up broken/damaged simply as a result of getting them untangled and off the tree. Since I'm moving over to all LEDs anyway, if a string deems itself "temperamental" it gets BINNED. 🤣

Amusingly, I can recall WAY TOO MANY times, where I've been called from various levels of client staff over the decades, and the fix has actually been to turn it off and back on again. This is notably a very popular and frequent requirement with the last zillion updates for Winblows 11!!!! 🤪🤯 HUMP day. Yesterday pretty much nothing to report other than Jemma picking up Whitney and hanging around for a chat for an hour or so. Work entailed some minor report changes. Then I was instrumental (read: given the task of) in removing the lights from the christmas tree, testing before storing same, and then heaving the tree out onto the pile of snow next to where the BINs will reside this evening. Tree will be taken by BIN folks, thank you. Today likely quiet also, with the Mrs spending some time with one of her grand nieces. -3c first thing, high overcast, forecast for a high of 1c and expecting some snow later Onward.

Have to agree, the prices are starting to get way stupid IMHO. As my dad would've said - "I don't want to buy the entire bl00dy factory!"

Chewsday and little to report. Long Island client rousing and posting some minor requests for changes <yawn> Jemma due in this morning to collect Whitney after her London trip. Seems they were 2+ hours delayed out of Heathrow yesterday evening, so not into NY until past 10PM. Will be interesting to discover the reason for that delay... Christmas decorations being removed gradually by the Mrs yesterday and today, with my primary role being the removal of the lights from the tree, testing and storing same for next year's deployment. At my grammar school the irony of the English department was that the head of department was a Mr. O'Donovan, such a broad Irish brogue that it was impossible to understand him 60+% of the time without him repeating himself! 🤪 Separation, AND REQUIREMENT TO TAKE, were language and literature, required until 'O' level. The most boring (apologies to any fans of same) and uninteresting read we had IMHO was "The Canterbury Tales", a true yawner if ever there was one. Only other thing I remember from the deluge of "literature" presented, was "A Tale of Two titties Cities" (schoolboy humorous title revised)! We waded through endless Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens and Burns as I recall. Weather first thing overcast and gray/miserable looking, -6c with a high of -1c expected. Tally ho.

Monday... Successful weekend overall. Friday, Zoom with friends now winter-relocated to Arizona, planned our trip there for the end of January, a week in a warmer climate (at least temperature wise!) Saturday, enjoyable dinner/movie night with neighbors, very excellent Indian take-out obtained, and plenty of wine consumed. Sunday, Brendan dropped Whitney off, both he and Jemma now out on trips. A few to-do items handled, then late afternoon and evening spent at the Mrs sisters' birthday gathering, Actually for both her AND her hubby, my BIL. Just family and a very nice get together. Working today, quiet so far. Weather all weekend has been sunny but cold, -14c first thing, expected to make 0c if we're lucky! Onward...