Ian Abel

HUMP day... missed yesterday here as the "report writing" was ramped up! Monday little of interest, though I did manage to plant my two rose bushes after work. Hopefully they will thrive in the sunny location. Yesterday work busy and otherwise "quiet". 17c partly cloudy first thing, expecting some rain later and a high of 24c. Air quality still hit-and-miss, but sounds far worse on the US east coast. Carry on.

Monday, after a very busy weekend. Friday the choir party was lots of fun, good food, some wine and plenty to chat about in a relaxing locale. Saturday, weather (air quality) totally carp! Indoor activities for the most part, then an evening venture out to the concert the Mrs wanted to attend. Great 90 minutes of varied music form a lady and her band. Another good food/drinks event. Sunday - off to get some rose bushes, prep an area to plant them and THEN retreat to the comfort of the house AGAIN, as the air quality went to sh!t Evening at our place with our travelling friends, take-out Indian, hadn't had Indian in a while, very nice... Back working today, still carp air quality here, "supposed" to improve later as a front moves in and some rain hopefully washes the mess out of the air. 30c the high both days over the weekend <ugh>, today 19c to start, and overcast, high of 28c later with rain moving in by early evening. Carry on.

Lunchtime with the Mrs, she wanted to take a couple of cherished pictures to be reframed - now I'm down a couple of deltics or more likely WC/BB/MNs <sigh> Lunch was nice though 🤪

Not sure about the case you cite, couldn't find it with a "quick" search. However, in the US at least, it is the case that if you stream music via Apple/iMusic, it IS ONLY "RENTED". You have it only while you maintain your subscription. Once the subscription lapses Apple deletes all music on your library and it becomes unavailable. POETS - this IS happening 👍 BIN day today, and already serviced. Yesterday another uneventful and quiet day for me - the Mrs spent the afternoon with a great niece who is home for the summer from college. The weekend looks to be busy. Tonight is our Choir party. 6-10pm, should be lots of fun, spouses/partners all included. Saturday - possibly some daytime gardening, then off with the Mrs to a supper club/concert/album release show for one of the Mrs favourite local artists. Sunday - no daytime plans, but evening hosting a happy hour with friends. I think I'll need a day off to recover from all that 😀 Weather moving away from the forecast, 19c and cloudy at BIN o'clock, high expected to be 30c and now rain in the afternoon forecast. Onward.

As a new month starts, just a friendly reminder, 206 days to Christmas <runs for cover> Non-BIN day - caught me out, well, almost. Was gathering all the necessary trash then realized that given Monday was a public holiday, BIN day isn't until tomorrow! Yesterday, mostly harmless, today will be a repeat. Work and that's it. Good thing too as we look to have a busy weekend ahead, apparently. Weather, a boring pseudo-summer pattern for the next 5 days. 20c and sunny first thing, 30c expected high. Repeat 5 times apparently! Carry on.

I have a similar situation to @polybear re: molar implant. All proceeding swimmingly until the COVID carp - with fewer staff and scheduling nightmares, my next consultation, to see if we can "simply" proceed, isn't until July 5th!! Cost for such (at least when it was approved pre-COVID, is around $3,000USD, may well be re-addressed and I GUARANTEE it won't be downward 😒 HUMP day. Uneventful yesterday with nothing to report... Today will be a repeat! Only major oddities are the weather where we've now fast forward into July level temperatures. <pant> Air quality has thankfully improved significantly 17c first thing, sunny mostly clear sky, 31c the high... Carry on.

Chewsday already, that's what happens when a three day weekend strikes <yay> Friday overall quiet, and indoors to avoid the bad air quality. Saturday, air quality MUCH better, foray to the garden center to obtain various perennials and annuals for the garden. Determined a decent area out front that gets enough sun for some rose bushes. Now all that's needed is to dig up the awful bushes (no idea what they are) that have been residing there, and prepare the ground. Saturday evening dinner out with Jemma, Brendan and his parents, great time together, they're really one the same wavelength as us on many things! Sunday another round of sh!!ty air quality, so much so that I stayed in/home while the Mrs went to the lake for the day with Trevor and Meagan. I did manage to plant 4 astilbee before I needed to retreat back into the house and a/c. Sunday evening weather improved enough for us to have a very nice neighborhood happy hour on our patio. Monday relaxing staying inside again as the air quality when in the tank again. Working today. Mrs off with a book group to some event then lunch... Early morning hours thunderstorms, weather today, air quality better, 16c partly sunny first thing, high 29c expected. Tally ho.

ARRGHHHH.... To quote Monty Python/Holy Grail "...I'm not dead yet..." Been stupidly busy with work issues and haven't made time to post <sigh> Nothing really to report anyway, other than the above. Weekend is a 3-day here, Memorial Day. Be nice to end Sunday and STILL have another day off. Nothing definitive planned for the most part other than dinner with Brendans parents tomorrow - some nice restaurant everyone wants to check out, reports will be forthcoming. His parents are in town for a few days over the holiday weekend and we usually get together when they're here. Someone, usual them or Brendan/Jemma have some flash place they want to try, one that usually requires advanced booking, so expectations are higher than a "regular" evening out! Weather has been very welcoming here, though I hesitate to say we could use a LITTLE rain. Lovely days, sunny and 22-24 temps, cooler evenings. Today, 12c first thing, sunny, 24c the expected high, no rain in the forecast all weekend. Being touted as one of the FEW really nice/exceptiona Memorial weekends in a while. THAT should put the kibosh on it 🤪 Enjoy the start of the weekend.

Chewsday, and late reporting... Yesterday and today a variety of work/report updating. Yesterday a RETURN to COSTCO as the Mrs has now decided on the Air Fryer/Toaster Oven she wants, AT COSTCO - but, but, but, we were just there!!!! Wasn't too bad, actually got out without decided that humanity was completely crazy and all the crazies were with us, jury out on that. Not much else for later today, probably staying INSIDE, air quality heading into the sh!!ter again, and I can already feel it. 16c first thing, partly sunny, light breeze CARP air quality. 27c the expected high. Onward <kof> <kof> <wheeze>

Monday awl... Weekend went by too fast. Brief rest to start Saturday, then off to the funeral. Everyone loved our performance, particularly appreciated by the widow/choir member, who had all her and her hubbies favourites to send him off. Time THAT was done and we then shot off to shop for plants for the various pots the Mrs is organizing around the patio, it was time for dinner and bed! Sunday, some more shopping for flowers/plants/pots and a prep of the various items. Then off to the last, for the season, fund raising concert. Me having to be there early to help the lost souls who can't apparently manage to FIND the email receipt/ticket stub they need for entry. Oh well, I can't imagine how some folks managed to get out of bed and dress sometimes!! Great concert, and that finished off the weekend. That was nice, do I get another one?!?!? Ya have to wait for another 5 days mate, time to get slogging again... Today some "light" work requests, and a regular quarterly reminder that ALL my work passwords expire in 8 days - a complete flustercuck changing then! Weather all weekend was delightful, sunny, not too hot, and clean air. 15c and partly sunny first thing, expected high of 25c. BUT, later this evening/tomorrow we're supposed to get more of the Canadian fire residue back here, there goes trying to breath easily 🤪 Carry on.

POETS - probably the afternoon off. Yesterday the Canadian fire-effect resulted in a lot of folks with issues around the area. That included me, asthma flare and sore throat. Many of the schola similarly affected. Driving to rehearsal - only time I went out all day - the smog/smoke was obvious and very visible on the roads, reduced visibility quite apparent. Rehearsal was good, though some severe throat issues for several of us! Today, air quality alert was lifted around 6AM, seems much better out there, but I didn't sleep well, so will be some naps/recovery this afternoon for sure. Weekend plans include the funeral service tomorrow, and a fund-raising concert, last of the season, on Sunday evening. Beyond that, the weekend is "free" 😀 Morning weather was clear and sunny though only 7c. Clouding over later and an expected high of only 14c. Carry on.

Late today - BIN day. Got that sorted. Yesterday, NOTE TO SELF: If you're expecting to only spend a limited time on a trip to COSTCO -you're just fooling yourself! After wandering the aisles "just in case we missed something we need", Jemma made the fatal mistake of replying to a text from Meagan/DiL and informing her we were at COSTCO. Result, "pick up a ... cake while you're there please, dad can drop it off on their way home" ARRGGGHHHHHH! In total with all the fannying around AND the detour to Meagans, we were gone THREE !@$!$!#$!#$$!$@ HOURS! Today, slow work, followed by a happy-hour pre-choir rehearsal, as we prepare for a funeral Saturday. Not affected as much as those folks up in Canada, BUT, air quality warnings here due to the Canadian fires. Both Jemma and I suffering as a result <sigh> 13c first thing, moderate rain from BIN time until maybe an hour ago, brightening now, high of 21c MAYBE. Carry on.

Happy belated birthday @Gwiwer HUMP day. Quiet workday yesterday. Outside work the following to be reported; 1) I'm either getting a gold star OR banned from choir for eternity! We're SUPPOSED to hand in our music as the year progresses and we move from one service set to another. I've often (MOST OF THE TIME!!) simply emptied my folder at home before the star of a enw set, creating a small mountain of music. Yesterday, a FRANTIC email from the choir director to all involved searching for a piece she hoped someone managed to have as she couldn't find a single copy. VOILA - I have not one, but THREE copies in my collection. She was elated (via email) when I reported I have said piece and could bring it Thursday - funeral rehearsal. It remains to be seen how it's received (See heading above) 🤪 2) Watched and enjoyed the Coronation Concert. Late to the "party" I know but we decided to give it a try. We were suitably impressed with the entire thing, well worth the watch from our point of view. Initially, we thought we'd try it, expecting nothing much, but it was really an impressive display of both talent (IMHO) and visual effects. Today, lunchtime I'm "helping" as the Mrs and Jemma are doing a Costco run! 🤯 10c and partly cloudy first thing, 21c the forecast high. Tally ho.

Chewsday. Very quiet yesterday gave me some time to recover from the weekend! Odd, I thought that was what a weekend was for. Nothing but work planned for today, so on with that I guess. 12c and partly sunny first thing, high of 26c forecast. Later.

Moaning all! Weekend was busy with various to-do's and then we hit SUNDAY! Here in the US it was Mothers Day, AND, though it's only occurred a handful of times since she was born, Jemma's birthday. This resulted in yours truly rushing around providing ALL the comestibles for a family "do" to celebrate both events. It all went off extremely well, according to all partaking, and I received plenty of praise for what I'd managed to achieve. Buqqer, I'm TIRED!!! Wish today was a day off 😵 Back at it, working, may have to nod off briefly though at some point <yawn> Lovely weather here, 10c first thing and sunny, 22c the expected high. Some light rain over the weekend, none in the forecast for a couple of days. Carry on.

Minneapolis "proper" (we're in an inner-ring suburb) which we enter eastbound barely 1.5 miles from here, has a "Twenty is plenty" also. Times two is the norm and often more, I try and maintain 25 but fear for being rear-ended at that speed even by the nut jobs around. If you were thinking of me, I was directly in the other direction to the NordicTrack, VERY QUICKLY by many reviews and personal references, so not affected 👍 Mine is the Nordictrack S22i Studio cycle.

Yikes!!! So that week got away from me 😵 Weekend busy especially with an evening happy-hour on Saturday, ostensibly for the Coronation, but somewhat glossed over that. The entire WEEK has been a non-stop client barrage of changes and feature additions to report - all needed hastily, AND I had already planned to take Tuesday off to head to the cabin with Jemma and the Mrs to open it - install the pump and clean basically. There's usually a 50-50 chance of the water system needing "something", this year was a good year, pump installed, and everything worked perfectly, no leaks! So, here we are already at POETS. Probably be a little early, but plenty to still battle through for the client. We've got Whitney today through Sunday as both Brendan and Jemma are flying. Jemma is the first family member to head south of the equator, flew overnight to Sao Paulo, returning Sunday early, in time to be here for a Mother's day and HER birthday dinner. Weather becoming early summer suddenly, 15c first thing, partly cloudy, some rain overnight, high of 21c expected and 21c-26c highs next 4 days. Tally ho.

POETS, yep, let's do that. Yesterday, another quiet one. Today, Whitney already dropped off by Brendan as he's off on a 4-day trip, and Jemma is out till Sunday late. Later we're going to sort some goodies for the get together tomorrow, though I doubt we'll be able to find Union Jack bunting 🤪 We'll hopefully catch the Coronation on a rerun, certainly NOT going to make the live performance - enjoy. 9c and rain first thing, expecting 19c for the high and rain off and on all day. Tomorrow looking to be a repeat of today. Onward.

They must be taking a page from the US playbook, or vice-versa... The two major pharmacies here are CVS and Walgreens. Typically, they can be found in very close proximity to one another such as below; what's even CRAZIER about this particular scenario is that Target (a well-known big-box "everything" store in the US) is literally one block behind where the picture is taken from, and they (Target) have an IN STORE CVS pharmacy as they contract with them since giving up their own pharmacies!!! BIN day... BINS out early, already serviced. Yesterday, we discovered a Robin has taken up accommodation on the trellis under the eave by our porch/patio. She seems fairly comfortable even in such close proximity to the house, hopefully, especially since she certainly saw plenty of movement while building the nest, she'll find it OK being here for the duration. That was more than enough excitement for yesterday, nothing else worthy of reporting. Sent out a "notice" gathering the neighbors for a Coronation Party Saturday evening - not going to try for the early real-time here, 4:30AM isn't anything I'm interested in. We'll watch a rerun and have some drinks/appetizers. At least I'll be able to say I've attended TWO Coronation parties in my lifetime. 👍😃 10c at BIN time, and sunny. 22 the expected high. Weekend will be cooler (16c highs) and rain expected tomorrow and Coronation day. Tally ho.

Happy birthday @45156 Stewart. HUMP day. Yesterday mostly the dentist visit. Two fillings and was painless, UNTIL, the injections wore off, then had a very sore jaw for many hours! Nothing else exciting (or otherwise) to report. Pleasant enough to be able to once again use or sun porch. Still a little early/cool for the patio, hopefully by the weekend. Very pleasant and sunny 5c first thing, expecting a high of 18c. Carry on.

Chewsday. Nothing to report from yesterday <yawn> Today much the same, with the exception of my needed to attend the dentist midday and sort out two cavities they found at last check-up. Oh joy! 😒 First thing, 4c and sunny, 14c the forecast high. Sunny all day, no precipitation forecast until Fridat/Saturday. Onward.

Morning all... Busy weekend, lots of "to-do" items, all happily completed. Saturday evening a good dinner with Trevor and Meagan, new Thai restaurant take-out and a couple of card games played. Sunday, servicing the bird feeders, needed to do a trip to the hardware store for various items, then an early evening "Thank You" party as we are sponsors of the church Concert Series. Great food and drink at the top of the Intercontinental Hotel at MSP airport. The top of the hotel features a great view of the airport and both Twin Cities. Owner Jim Graves is a congregation member and provides the venue for various events like this for us! Quieter today, work looks to be slow, and nothing post work planned. Weather over the weekend was chilly and showers both days. Today 3c first thing, sunny but quite windy. 11c the expected high, sunny and windy all day. Carry on.

HUMP day... Yesterday repeat of Monday, many workers sorting the landscaping and rebuilding the egress window well. All done and dusted now and looks very nice, though did manage to use up a LOT of tokens! No activity at the racoon trap - pest control guy said it could be several days... Today, Whitney already picked up early by Brendan, back from a quick trip. The lady/company that does moving of "stuff" for us, will be over this afternoon, to take all the "keepers" the Mrs has identified, to the storage location. Nothing else planned. Work slowly rolling along. For those that were touting their daffs, what seems to have been months ago; Ours finally appeared! I know it's just a small collection, but with the climate here ANYTHING that survives a winter/snow cover that we've had, is pretty much a miracle! 1c and sunny first thing, 13c the forecast high, no precip in the forecast. Onward

GOOD GRIEF!!! We're a VERY amateur choir (all are welcome) but she sounds simply AWFUL, I think most all our sopranos and altos sound twice as good as her! 😒 Happy birthday @Dave Hunt Chewsday... Yesterday can be summed up as YIKES!!! The landscapers arrived on cue, and as we reviewed the work to be done; 1) Reworking the front area - all no big deal at all. That was completed by late afternoon, expanded space for the outdoor railway - YAY! 2) Water mitigation/drainage work on the south side of the house, including an egress window well. The window well is FAR WORSE than it seemed. Apparently, it was originally installed by a numbnut cowboy who sheared all the locking lips off of every stone on every course. Net result was the whole thing was probably one winter from falling inward! So rather than some minor repair during the drainage work, they're now completely replacing the entire egress window well!! Then, the Mrs had call a local pest control guy as she'd heard "something' in the attic. We figured mice, squirrel?? Nope, A RACOON, setting up home! The racoon was actually ON the attic access panel and was NOT pleased when he tried to open it. Much growling ensued! Entry point determined to be the large vent extractor on the roof, the mesh shield all torn apart. Trap placed on roof awaiting capture. We hear sounds up there occasionally now, definitely a "family" being created. Once the female takes the trap bait (could take several days before she ventures out) he'll remove her and then go into the attic for the others. What FUN!!! 😵 Lastly some GOOD news, I won 8x 3ft sections of Aristo straight track for the garden railway. Today, Whitney dropped off early as Jemma is off on a 6-day trip to Paris (twice). Lunch with some friends today. Weather, zero and sunny first thing, expected to reach 10c this afternoon. Carry on.

Morning all. Weekend update, as usual. Saturday, "Hamilton" was excellent. Worth seeing if you haven't. This was our second time, some folks have apparently seen in MANY more! Sunday - Earth Day services with the choir in attendance for the last time this year, went extremely well but very tiring. There is a very good A/V presentation as part of the service with the choir singing various pieces, new result, too much standing <phew>. After that, spent the afternoon taking up the garden railway tracks. We're having some landscaping done in front, including EXPANDING the space for the train <yay>, but it all needed to be removed to facilitate the work. Time for a NAP after that!! Already had landscap4ers here at 8am, and a Vet visit for Bob at 10am. Bob is fine, regular check shows he's in good health for his age. Was p!ssed at having to go to the Vet though, no surprise there. So much so, they elected to NOT take a blood sample - I said that was a GOOD decision 😃 Weather chilly all weekend, -1c first thing today, mostly sunny, high of 8c forecast. Tally ho.