Holy Shit!

18 Sep 22

06:45 hrs

     Good Morning Dear Readers! As you may recall, I have had to radically change my diet and take a bunch of meds daily so I can tame The Beast. Well, things are really shaping up. My three month blood glucose test shows I am at 7.2, which is less than half of what it was when I started this journey, and last night when I was getting dressed  - we were going out to see a comedian, but more about that later - I decided to try on a pair of jeans that I haven't been able to wear for an extremely long time. They fit. I was absolutely stunned. I almost ran to the scales - well, I thought about it and decided not to - and weighed myself. Down another five pounds. Crazy!

20 Sep 22

08:30 hrs

     Unless you have been living in a cave this past week you will know that Her Maj has past away after 70 years on the throne. She was one of the longest, if not the longest, ruler of Britain and figure head of the Commonwealth. When I joined the service I swore my Oath of allegiance to Queen and Country so help me God. Why? Not just because I had to but because I was stating that I would do as I was asked/told or lawfully ordered to do by my Sovereign or Her representatives. In doing so I was putting my Faith in my leaders ability to do what was right. Yesterday Her Maj was laid to rest with all the pomp and Regal circumstance England could muster. I did note that the soldiers who were slow marching beside the casket were carrying arms. It is the SA80. A bullpup design where the magazine - the detachabke box that hold the bullets - is mounted behind the trigger group and not forward of it. This allows the weapon to be shorter and more maneuverable in tight places - ie buildings and vehicles. Unfortunately, the shorter length poses a unique problem in how to carry it during a ceremonial march. Normally, a long gun is carried over the shoulder as the 'Mericans do or it is tucked into the shoulder and held in ace by holding the pistol grip. The British soldiers were carrying their arms in their right hand reversed - butt forward, inverted - the magazine pointed up and gripping the muzzle with their left hand passing behind their back. Talk about super awkward. I'm sure that many of the troops, after slow marching five kilometers to Her final replace, were thinking, "Thank God this is over!" I know I would have been thinking it!

23 Sep 22

08:00 hrs

     I'm off today and so my Better Half and I are going to spend some time doing stuff today. I've been working non stop providing security assistance for contractors and she has been working non stop running the Wayward Inn and looking after the Oma-nator. So, this will be fun.

     It's an overcast day, which is nice since we have had little precipitation in the past couple of months. 

     On the international scene, Poo-tin is trying to round up 300K bodies to send to the war with Ukraine. Those in Russia who know the truth about the conflict do not support the war. Individuals who are protesting the conflict are being jailed. They're going to be underarmed and undertrained and when the face the Ukrainians they will be dead. In Iran at young lady was detained and died in the custody of the country's Morality Police for not properly wearing he hijab. Now millions of people are protesting in the streets, women are cutting their hair and burning their hijabs. 

     I have noticed that the new hotel being built by the casino is moving along nicely. What is needed is a hotel on our side of the bay. Sure, there are plenty of B&B's but there is only one motel here in Comox and often quite a few rooms are set aside as housing for substance abusers. I would like to see another place built here but the majority of the Valley's restaurants are not on this side of the bay.

24 Sep 22

05:15 hrs

     The autumn is here. The sun is slow to get out of bed and the leaves are turning colour. Here on the Left Coast we don't have the bright palette of the Eastern hardwoods but what we do have has quite the splash on the Beauforts. 

     I'm up to prep for work. The speed of the projects are accelerating. In a weeks time the work will continue through the night. Graveyard shift to be precise.

25 Sep 22

07:00 hrs

     Yesterday morning I was tossing out a heavy bag of garbage and I lifted the bag incorrectly straining my right rotator cuff. Having blown out the left one last year I knew how much this will pain me. I immediately began some remedial exercises. It was a short day and when I got home I doubled down on some meds and then racked out for three hours. After supper, a walk, a shower and more meds I racked out again. This morning my shoulder is still tender and I'll have to go easy on it for a few days.

     There's a rumour afoot that the Chinese leader Xi may be under house arrest and may be deposed. The country is in lockdown. Of course, being that this is China anything is possible. I'm sure the Western intelligence agencies are trying their best to have a peek behind the Great Wall. How much intel they are going to be able gather is up for debate as China has been a mosr secretive country since forever. I expect an announcement one way or another in the next week or so.

     In the past week I've noticed a few more restaurants have closed up shop. The shawarma shop is now shuttered as is the Cornerstone. The Cornerstone was a rather interesting spot with local musicians, interesting meals and numerous craft beers. I know that many restaurants, not just here but across the province and country, were tested by the Beer Flu. Many failed and closed up. Some did not. Maybe it wasn't the Beer Flu. Maybe the owners said screw it and closed up tossing their staff to the street. Some owners are assholes. I wouldn't be surprised.

     On a final note, our Jr. Loin Fruit has been graded again and he achieved the Second Dan (level) in karate. We are all very proud of him.

     

Rainbows and kitten kisses

30 Aug 22

19:45 hrs

     Well Kidlettes, it would seem that quite a number of my Dear Readers had read my previous blog and thought that I was depressed, hard done by or just plain sad. I hate to tell you this but I wasn't angry I was just saying that I'm getting older - who isn't  - and I was just mentioning things that irked me. That's all. So, to put everyone at ease I will endeavor to drop the negativity and try to look more on the positive side. How does that sound?

     The Valley is still looking for some precipitation. It rained for about twenty minutes last weekend. Certainly not enough to keep the forest wet by any means.

01 Sep 22

04:45 hrs

     Yes, I am awake. 

     And.....I'll be taking a travel mug of espresso to work.

     Everyone in the Valley - and probably the entire Great White North  - is looking forward to this holiday weekend. Children hate it because it marks the end of summer. Parents love it because it marks the start of start of the school year. Regardless of where you live please remember to check your speed when approaching, driving through and exiting school zones. I would suggest that when possible use alternative routes to avoid school zones altogether. The Jr. Loin Fruit will also be heading back to the local college for a fully loaded semester.

     The nights a growing longer and the daytime high temos are bleeding off some at night. Just enough to have dew forming every night. 

02 Sep 22

05:45 hrs

     I'm up at the crack of dawn. Only dawn hasn't arrived yet. The nights are getting longer and the sun will be rising as I'm driving into work. That's also when our local Bambi population is out on the roads too.

06:45 hrs

     I'm at work and the sun is just coming over the peaks of the coastal range mountains on the Other Side of the salt chuck. A huge orange ball. It cooled off enough last night that we have ground fog in the low areas of the runways. I would love to take a photo of it but photography is strictly Verboten. 

03 Sep 22

07:15 hrs

     Good Morning Campers. I trust you all had a good rest last night. I did. I finally got more than five hours of sleep  but I know it's not enough. I'll try to grab a nap later. 

     I have a couple of chores to do today. I have to finish remodeling the Princess Ensuite. The shower doors are coming off, the upper track will be removed and a regular shower curtain and rod will be installed. This is being done to make it easier for the Oma-nator to take a shower. I've asked the Couch Monkeys to give me a hand. Hopefully we can complete the task without too many complications. 

     Have you heard of the James Webb telescope? Many years ago the Space Guys in the Hugh-ess sent the Hubble telescope up into an Earth orbit. Free from the light and fossil fuel pollution Hubble gave us some amazing views of the stars. However, this new piece of kit is showing the world things that people have only dreamed of. The James Webb unit was designed to look for exo-planets. Exo-planets are those planets that are more likely to have some form of life on them. I guess we're tired of being alone. 

     I saw on the weather channel that after this weekend there will be a 24°C temperature drop in Cowtown. Once that happens summer will be definitely be over for my L'il Sis. 

04 Sep 22

07:30 hrs

     We had run last night with a promise of more rain today. My Lobster is ecstatic! When I had pulled the plug in the Peg I could have moved anywhere in the country. We discussed what our requirements would be post-service and one thing that stood out was that she wanted to move someplace where it rained a lot but got little snow. Having lived on The Rock earlier in my career I knew that it was the perfect spot for us. And here we are almost twenty years later.

     I made muffins this morning. They started out as coffee cake muffins but I added some grated carrot and chopped pecans and then I ran out of batter so I mixed up some basic muffin mix and added the rest of the filling mixture. Baking is supposed to be a science. Well, not today it isn't. If they turn out to be edible I'm calling them Everything but the Kitchen Sink muffins.

     I've been reading alot of books lately and not just my well thumbed old standbys. The Sage had given me a copy of Bill Browder's second book, Freezing Order. Bill Browder had brought high finance and world banking to Russia after The WALL fell in the early 90's. He made money. The Russians made money - lots of money. But, as everyone knows money is power and when combined together people will get greedy. As a result the oligarchs,  protected by Putin, began to cheat, rob, plunder and murder their way for greater acquisitions. Some their corporate takeovers were Browder's clients so he fought back - legally. This resulted in the Russians - Putin - going after him. Browder fled Russia and his Russian lawyer - Sergei Magnitsky - stayed to fight the cases. Sergei was jailed on some bogus charge. He was starved and eventually beaten to death in a Russian prison when he wouldn't sign a false confession. Browder's first book was Red Notice and it detailed most of what I just told you. The second book, Freezing Order, continues with the story of Putin's attempts to have Browder arrested and deported to Russia. Oh, and did I mention the hit squads? If you haven't read them I suggest you head to your local library or book store. Both are well worth the read.

     Another book that I have been slogging though is Stanley Tucci's book Taste. Tucci is an actor but he is a huge foodie. The big difference between him and me is that he has the means to live in England, travel the globe for work and dine on everything that simple or decadent or plain or extravagant. I, on the other hand, must be content with our own dining creations - and I am - and salivate when I read the gastronomic tomes.

17:30 hrs

     It's Greek night at the Wayward Inn.  The Jr. Loin Fruit is making homemade pita bread things, my Better Half has made a Greek salad, I have chicken stickits on tbe Flame Pit and I think there's some other stuff too. All in all it will be quite the feast. Tomorrow my Lobster and I will head up to Paradise Meadows for a walk in the woods. Watch for pictures.