The Onion is back!

05 Nov 21

22:00 hrs

     Yes!

     The Onion has landed on The Rock. And has been at the Wayward Inn since yesterday. On Sunday we (The Oma-nator,  my Better Half and myself) will take her back to Hub City where she has re-enrolled in university. We will be taking her and her stuff - that has been stored at the Wayward Inn for the past year or so.

 06 Nov 21

20:45 hrs

     This morning I fueled the Ram and headed over The Hump to visit my fishing buddy and his Lobster. It was a great visit which included watching Dodgeball - the movie. Always a good laugh. I got back to the Wayward Inn at about 17:30 hrs. The Onion is still sorting out her stuff yo take back to Hub City. 

07 Nov 21

14:00 hrs

     The Ram was on the road by 09:30 hrs, loaded with cargo and pax to return The Onion back to Hub City. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to build a LAPES type system for the Ram which would have made the deployment of her belongings really easy. If you know what that is you won't have to ask. Otherwise, simply Google " Hercules Lapes". 

      The temperature has dropped the past week and the torrent of precipitation has blanketed the Beauforts with snow. I've only caught glimpses of it of course due to the low ceiling level but one of these days the clouds will part and the mountains will be bathed in sunlight. The view from The Spit will be unobstructed and magnificent. 

     This Friday will be our Sr. Couch Monkey's twenty-third birthday and have no clue what to get him. After the Jr. Loin Fruit's accident we had dash cans installed in all of our vehicles. I installed the one in The Ram and in Jr.s car while my Better Half and the Sr. Couch Monkey had theirs professionally installed. 

     I know that this blog has come in fits and starts but I've been distracted lately. Nothing serious or worrisome. I've just been trying to find a direction to get some projects underway but the timing is never great.

     L'il Sis is still plugging away in Cowtown and The Sage is keeping busy at her place. My Lobster's relatives are all hunkering down for the coming winter too. Just think Christmas is less than two months away. Where has the time gone?

Oh Ho!

24 Oct 21

06:45 hrs

     ARRR! There is trouble on the high seas, me hearty!

     It would seem that one of the many giant container ships that come from Hither and Yon - this one is probably from Yon - to bring goods that we and the Hugh-ess really want but probably don't need has accidently dumped forty sea-cans into the sea strait between Capital City and the Hugh-ess. You will recall that the very southern end of The Rock is surrounded on three sides by the Hugh-ess.  Some of these containers were known to contain toxic chemicals and some may sink completely and some may not which makes them a hazard for ships plying the waters. This all happened two days ago. This morning I learned that the container ship is now on fire and the crew is being evacuated. All in all it is not a good situation. 

     The Wayward Inn has been decorated for All Hallows Eve. Well, mostly decorated as I still have the bats and faces to hang. I'm going to get one of the Couch Monkeys to lend a hand as it is still difficult to work above the shoulder with my left arm. The place looks good. My Lobster wanted the place decorated earlier this month but we didn't get to it. I know that right after Rememberance Day she'll be chomping at the bit to get the Christmas lights up. Speaking of Christmas,  I was at the Big Box Store the other day and they already have artificial trees and some lights for sale.

     Another thing happened last week that I had forgotten to write about was the fact that the Tree Hating Asshat behind us had the removal service at his place to take dow a couple more trees. But, it didn't stop on his property as trees were felled next door to him and behind him. That three properties out of the five that all join together at the back right corner of our property. Obviously there was some collusion happening. We know from the conversations with the Asshat that he wanted more sunlight for his garden and earlier he had quite a few trees removed for this reason. Now, the Redneck who had lived beside him removed a bunch of trees at the same time because he wanted to build a work shop. After removing these healthy trees he discovered that there was not enough clearance on his property for the new building so after being there for less than a year he sold the place. I don't know what the new owner has against trees but the arborists took some of his too. And why the third house removed their trees I have no idea except maybe the Asshat talked them into it and paid for the removal. All in all my Better Half is pissed. We used to have this nice quiet shaded grove where the sight lines to the neighbours was blocked and we had all sorts of birds hanging around. Now, its wide open and from our kitchen window we can see over the fence down through four or five yards. And that's just from ground level. If we had a two story home we would be able to see everything the neighbours are doing down the length of the block. I can envision planting some more trees this coming summer. 

     If I haven't mentioned, it our Jr. Loin Fruit has passed his final drivers licence road test. Good on him. And here's another shock...he's talking about forgoing the Queens's Cowboys and joining the Forces instead. Well, I wish him all the best. Today's military is not the same as the one I was in and is a million miles removed from the one my Friend from over the Hump had joined. But there is a constant and that is the camaraderie between members. It's not as prevalent now as it was when I served but as I pointed out to him some of the people he may meet could very well be true Brothers in Arms such as my friend from Over the Hump,  The Great Ghiz and Slam. 

     The Sensei and his Lobster are slated to come for supper tomorrow night. In preparation for the meal Chef Blaine has massaged the seasonings into two pork shoulders. It will be a plethora of pulled pork. He has also taken Timothy out, but that is for tonight.

26 Oct 21

10:30 hrs

     Well, last night Sensei and his Lobster Shar came over to the Wayward Inn. Chef Blaine had initially wanted to do both roasts as pulled pork but he was advised by Sous Irene that it would be too much when the sides were added in. By the time they left the number of dead soldiers and dirty tumblers and shot glasses would have impressed even my old crewmates.  

 14:45 hrs

     Another task done. Chef Blaine took a package of Italian honey garlic sausages and put them through the smoker along with one of those carver hams that I use for my lunches. The sausages are now hanging in the shop fridge to air dry. They'll be there a month before they are ready. I may share them.

27 Oct 21

05:15 hrs

     Another day. I'm down to one hearing aid. The other is in need of maintenance. Once in place all I could hear was snap, crackle and pop. I tried my best to clear the issue myself but to no avail. So I took it to the professionals. It'll be three weeks before I get it back and until then I will be hearing clearly only on one side of my head. 

     There has been some advancement in the pursuit of bringing justice against the Tangerine Tyrant. It would appear that there was much more behind his last big rally on Jan 06, 2020. Aides and associates have begun to spill their guts (to protect themselves before the investigation committee) and the tale they are telling is that elected GOP members knew exactly what was going to happen and they did nothing to stop it. Hang them all! Or, as the prisoner in Monty Python's Life of Brian said, "Nail them up. Nail some sense into them!" 

28 Oct 21

06:45 hrs

     It's a quick cup of joe before heading to the gym but this news item may be interesting to you. Remember the container ship I told you about - the one that lost some 40 containers and then caught fire? Well, it would seem that it was alot more than 40 containers. More like 106. And some of them have been found at the washed up on the northern tip of The Rock which happens to be over four hundred miles from the south end.

     And on a final note, I saw an advert on the telly from the Left Coast nurses union blaming the government for the loss of members from the profession because of the vaccine mandate for healthcare providers. What bullshit is this? And whose side is the union on? If they are backing the nurses who do not want to take the vaccine do they also back those nurses who did take the vaccine? Or is the union opting for a third direction by backing the freedom of choice by the member to vaccinate or not? I just can't understand how a healthcare provider who has faced patients who are suffering and dying from the Beer Flu and then they refuse to get vaccinated. Well, the union can say what they want but fact of the matter is that the law states that the employer can set the requirements of employment and since the government is paying their wages then they can legally state that if you are a nurse and you want to work then you must be vaccinated. And this situation is not just in the healthcare industry either. Where I work there are two individuals who have refused to get vaccinated and as a result the boss is scrambling to replace them because the company has made it a condition of employment no different than needing to have a first aid course. 

     

Good Morning Campers!

20 Oct 21

08:30 hrs

     Let's start with the weather shall we...

     The forecast is for rain! What did you expect? After all, as my dear Friend from over The Hump says, "This is a rainforest.  So get used to it." That being said I still have to pick up some rain pants for work. Something that has some Hi Vis reflective markings on it. They will make life nicer when I'm out in the wet.

     Okay, a quick sidebar. Why do we refer to garments covering our lower extremities in the plural? A pair of pants or shorts. Is it because you have to put both legs in them? A skirt or a kilt is singular. Panties and boxers are plural but jock strap is not. Something to think about.

     There is more snow on the White Whale. But, the snow that had fallen across the Beauforts has vanished for now. When the steady rains arrive and the temperature drops then there will be a very pretty mantle blanketing the peaks. As long as it stays there I'll he happy. I never really liked the snow too much. After fifteen years in the Peg I'm kinda done with it for as long as possible. There is a running joke about a guy who retired from the service and when asked where he was going to retire he said he was going to put his snowblower into the back of the truck and head south until he got to a place where someone asked him what was the contraption in the back of his truck and that was where he was going to retire.

     My Aunt D commented that she was happy to see that I was going to the gym. Thanks. In fact I went this morning. She said that she used to go, had stopped but easplanning on going again. Great stuff.  Even if you just go and walk on the treadmill it's a start and I think there is never a time not to start to do something. I know I feel better. I'm walking taller. My clothes are fitting better. I ache less. Other than my left shoulder. Sometimes when I'm walking through the neighbourhood I almost feel like Wolverine eventhough I probably only look like a well tone groundhog.

As God is my witness...

10 Oct 21

07:00 hrs

     Good Morning Dear Readers! 

     That's right. Here in the Great White North Happy Turkey Day is almost upon us - the folks down in the Hugh-ess are a month or so behind us and unless you were living in a cave during the 1980's then you should be able to recall when the title words of this blog were spoken by the General Manager of WKRP in Cincinnati. If you can't recall ever seeing this I am truly saddened at the fact that you haven't seen one of the funniest bits on a sitcom ever. It's almost as funny as Abbot and Costello's Who's on First?  I said amost as funny because in my opinion nothing can top that routine. So, Dear Readers, I want you you to go to your Googlemachine and type in the words "WKRP turkey drop". You can watch the the five minute video but for the full story i would suggest you watch the full version. 

     How are you celebrating Turkey Day? This is the second one since the Beer Flu hit the world and unfortunately some people didn't get the message about restricting the size of your holiday social gatherings and as a result the virus had the opportunity to spread exponentially wherever stupid people gathered to dine with others. This year the size of the gatherings will vary from province to province depending on the infection rate in each location. Here on the Left Coast we can have up to ten individuals sitting down to the feast and we have 82% of the population vaccinated. In the Redneck province next door and in Sa-hatchewan the rules are different. Up to twenty people next door and fifteen individuals at a private gathering in the Wheat Province. In both provinces almost 70% of their population has been fully vaccinated but it's the 30% who are hold up in their bunkers who are refusing to get vaccinated and it is these idiots who are being hospitalized when they get sick and are keeping the virus alive and putting their neighbours at risk by not getting vaccinated. I have no sympathy for those assholes who eventually, intubated in their hospital bed, will profess their ignorance before begging and pleading for all those who hear their message to take the shots.

11 Oct 21

05:30 hrs

     Today is our Turkey Day. I have been bringing a turkey breast and a couple of huge drumsticks for two days. They'll be going into the smoker at about 13:30 hrs for three and a half hours at 250 degrees. I may put the stuffing in the smoker too. We'll be having assorted veggies and yesterday I made a pumpkin roll for dessert. I gave the Oma-nator a sample and she gave her approval. 

     I have all but abandoned "Who let the Goats out?" as it needs a completed rewrite. I will get it done eventually but in the meantime I am focusing on my cook book. I have decided on the title "How to cook your way out of a wet paper bag". My Lobster doesn't like the title nut cannot come up with a different one. If you have a suggestion drop me a line. The original idea was to pass on the kitchen knowledge I have gained to those who a single and just starting out on their own. I would include some simple recipes - even family favorites - that would up the reader's game. I think my Better Half thought that this would be a family recipe cook book and that's why she feels that title doesn't fit. I am planning on placing some special family recipes in another book but the scope of this book is still aimed at the young adults who are striking out on their own.

15:00 hrs

     Out on my walk I spotted an elderly gentleman walking his cat on a leash. He said the cat was quite used to it as she was 18 years old. That's a long time to be on a leash. Mind you .....

     Today might be a holiday but the minions are busy working on the new rabbit hutches. Not all the workers are in. Those who are in are probably playing catchup so the rest of the crew can get a fresh start tomorrow. Of course, the stupid bridge project downtown is still dragging on and will continue for another couple of months. Some other changes have taken place in the Valley. A major car dealership has relocated to a place up the hill by the Big Box Store. There is talk that the former site may become another Rabbit Hutch. If its affordable for first time buyers I'm all for it. Another dealership is going to relocate to the bottom of the hill at the site of the former Crappy Tire store. It's about time. The place has sat empty for years.

12 Oct 21

05:00 hrs

     Snap, Crackle, and Pop! 

     You know you're getting old when these are the sounds you hear when you get up to go to work!

     In the news, if you haven't heard, our Illustrious Leader is still backpedaling and licking his nuts after his massive hypothetical faux pas last week. Good! Maybe this will show his Party's Faithful that he is just all smiles and empty promises. On top of that there is the additional scandal where the The Holy C was supposed to pay out some 25M to the survivors of the Rez Schools but didn't. The two other denominations involved scraped up their share and ponied up. It seems that in Sa-hatchewan The Holy C had a friend in the Courts who ruled that the instructions the gave to the Rez students was payment enough. The Feds appealed this decision because it was bullshit - and everyone knows it. But, less than a week into JT's previous term someone authorized some second grade numpty in the Justice(?) Department to quietly drop the appeal. It wasn't even brought to the attention of the Ministry. Why? Maybe because she's a First Nations person and would have wanted to pursue the case. Well, I'll tell you one thing that slowly numpty would not have done this on his own. Someone much higher up the food chain was calling the shots.

     Have you seen the Shit Storm building in the Hugh-ess? Ex-Presidents think and acting and telling every GOP zombie who will listen that he still is the Prez. These clowns are going to come out in force during the mid-terms in 22 and at the general election in 24. And when I mean in force I don't just mean at the polls. They will be armed and they may attempt to take the current administration by force. There are 120.5 guns for every 100 persons in the Hugh-ess. That's over 400 million privately owned weapons that the government knows about. They are owned by about 42% of the population who in all likelihood vote for the GOP.

     Have a nice day.

Let's get Serious!

30 Sep 21

06:00 hrs.

     In the past few days we have had some interesting things happen here at home at the Wayward Inn and farther afield. Our good friend, the Great Ghiz, made it back home. He resides to the right of the Golden Horseshoe and quite near my Outlaws and when I say quite near I'm saying they are in the same geographical area. I saw him the night before he departed at the Flying Canoe where we had an ale and I gave him a jar of homemade relish - sorry Ghiz, the homemade horseradish wasn't ready yet. When the rest of his crew didn't want to play we bounced to the Irish Place where we found a subdued birthday party taking place. Ooooh Aaaah! Not to worry, the change of scenery was good. A couple of sour ales Mr. Barkeep if you please. Ghiz ordered the McKraken rolls to snack on. 

     My Better Half had a guest come to the Wayward Inn for lunch yesterday. A close friend and former co-worker (JAB) is now living in Capital City. Her work has moved her family several times in the past ten years but now they're back on The Rock. I arrived home from the salt mine in the middle of their luncheon and not wanting to intrude I simply said hello before retreating to my aerie. Later my Lobster told me it was great for the two of them to catch up. Oddly enough the Great Ghiz and JAB had also worked together a number of years ago. Small world.

     One of my counterparts has taken some holidays and of course things may get busy at work. That's okay. I like to be busy.....at work.

     With the wet winter weather starting to hit the Left Coast it will be difficult to get my steps in walking through the neighbourhood. It's not that I don't like walking in the rain it's that I don't like walking through a monsoon. So the alternative is to breakdown and purchase a gym membership. I've been to the local place twice now with my Better Half. The equipment is first rate and the majority of the members are people like myself who are trying to improve their health at a later stage in their lives. I haven't seen any of the posturing and preening Alpha gymrats who lift chrome while eyeing themselves in the mirror and kiss their big guns after flexing them. These jerks need to be humiliated at any cost.

     The Big Swede has finally pulled the pin on the long Duration Expedition. He was Out in the Weeds. I can't wait to find out about the data derived from the plethora of audio recorders he had blanketed the Valley with. That should prove to be interesting. 

03 Oct 21

07:48 hrs.

     Can you believe that I didn't get up until after 0700? Crazy times.

     A couple of nights ago we - my Better Half and I  - were invited for dinner at Sensei's house. We gladly accepted. We were informed that main course was to be bbq'ed ribs. I brought my Lone Star bib.  The meal fantastic.  The ribs, home grown green beans, Mac and Cheese made from scratch and coleslaw. His Lobster really out did herself. The meal was followed with craft beers and whiskey for the men. My Lobster had her regular black bubbly and our Hostess enjoy a rich red vino. Cards were dealt and games were played. Some people won some...didn't. Unfortunately,  we had to trundle home earlier than I would have liked as I was employed the next morning. Ah, such is life.

     If you're looking for pocket books about the South East Asian Wargames (1963 - 1974ish where the You-Alls placed 2nd) a dear friend of mine provided a bunch for me to read and/or put in the Big Book House in front of the Wayward Inn. 

     Today I have a couple of jobs to do. I have to pull the horseradish so I can preserve it this week, I have my lavatory to clean,  i have to repair a statuary that Oma has asked me to fix, I have to get on to prepping breakfast, there are the three bee houses that still have to be cleaned and repaired for next year, I need to go to the gym - yes Dear Readers I now have my own gym membership and by the Gods in Asgaard I will use it - and somewhere in all the chaos i want to have a nap.

     Autumn and the coming winter is fast approaching to the Left Coast. The leaves are changing and the volume of rain increasing daily. A lot of the smaller birds have departed but flocks geese from the north are arriving daily. In a month or so the big swans will be here too.

12:30 hrs.

     Out for a walk. My Lobster headed in one direction and I another. When I get back the Oma-nator will be awake and I have some things of hers to repair. I cut up the horse radish. I split one plant and replanted it. I cleaned off the other one and cut it up. Both plants had been very root bound in the pots we had them in. Better luck next year. 

14:45 hrs.

     The cut up horseradish has been ground up with vinegar,  salt and a bit of sugar. There is not a lot but there is enough to bake the hairs out of your nostrils. I love it. Reminds me of the stuff we would have with the roast beef when we went to Beef & Ballet in the Peg. That stuff would clean out any sinus infection known to mankind.

     Well Kidlettes,  it's time to sign off this post. I still have a lavatory to clean and I would like to get some writing done on the cook book. If you have any suggestions for a snappy title let me know.

Bent out of Shape

24 Sep 21

21:00 hrs

     So Dear Readers...

     Did you vote?

     Not that there was any real change in the Political Spectrum here in the Great White. But I sincerely hope you did cast a ballot. The outcome was very similar to the outgoing Parliament. In fact it is so similar that the ele ton has been referred to as a $600 million cabinet shuffle. Once again the vast majority of the winning seats came from the central part of the country and the vast amount of the opposition seats are in the west. Several parts of the country are once again feeling very alienated from the rest of the country. As I have mentioned before, a means to defend against this unbalance is to have a Triple E senate - Equal, Elected and Effective. There would be an equal number of senators from each province regardless of their population size - EPI (Enlarged Potato Island) would have the same number of senators as La Belle Province or Sa-hatchewan or the Left Coast. The members would be elected - there would be no more padding g the Red Chamber with cronies who were now beholden to the ruling government. This new body would be effective. At least that's the belief.

25 Sep 21

08:00 hrs.

     My friend the Great Ghiz is in town for a week. We went out to a local eatery to catch up, tell lies to each other and drink beer. The plan was to take him to see our mutual Friend from Over the Hump but Ghiz is working - babysitting in my opinion - the entire trip. So the trip is a no go. Tonight we are headed over to dine with Elric the Stalwart and his Lobster. We were asked to bring a salad. I'm also bringing a couple of specialty beers and a bottle of red elixir. They will certainly add to the pleasantness of the evening.

27 Sep 21

04:15 hrs.

     I am awake for some unknown reason and so I am also vertical. Coffee is cooking. Breakfast yet to come. Last night the Great Ghiz came to the Wayward Inn.  Without breaking OpSec, the planned missions were a No Go and so my Lobster and I put on a spread. The Flame Pit was fired up for steaks, marinated chicken boobs, whole curried onions and a couple of veggie patties for the Jr. Couch Monkey. There was oven roasted yams and home grown potatoes and Timothy provided us with a pair of sourdough focaccia.With six of dining there was not a lot of leftovers.

     It was twenty-six years ago that my Lobster and I were married. And on the night before our wedding the Great Ghiz and my Brother from Another Mother accompanied me on a last night out. We were to be babysat by two of my Better Half's Cuz'n in-laws through the Nation's Capital. Hmmm...good luck with that. Last night we discussed the facts of that event that could be barely recalled over several craft sales. The Couch Monkeys were entertained and the Sr. Loin Fruit brought out this elixir called Tofino Espresso Vodka. Sounds horrible but we thought it was worth a try. The Great Ghiz stated he was going to have to pick some up to take home.

     I'm working today and my Better Half has several appointments to attend to. We have The Roof Guy coming back to identify, locate and repair the leak that appears to have not been fixed the last time he was at the Wayward Inn. The other night I was awakened to the sound of dripping water. I got up and wandered around trying to locate it. I thought that I was dreaming because the issue was supposed to have been fixed. Later, when everyone was up I checked the previous location and there was a fresh water stain on the Oma-nator's ceiling. Not impressed. 

     Our dear British friend is in hospital. She had taken a fall at home and now needs medical care. The timing could not be worse as her house has been sold and she was in the process of moving into a friend's suite while her new place in the Seniors Rabbit Hutch is completed. The rest of her household is in the process of moving deep into the Interior so this calamity has put a strain on them as well. My Better Half and I stopped in to see her. For being nearly a century old she's looking pretty good.

     Well Dear Readers I will close this out. I have to rustle up some breakfast and make my lunch for work. Take care and share the blog.

Busy

12 Sep 21

21:00 hrs

     It started with a ZOOM meeting at 0800. That was followed by moving the last of the earth into the composters with my Better Half. I hauled the smoker out to cure a half dozen sausages - they'll air dry for a month - and while the smoker was working its magic I washed off the tarps that had covered the soil. 

     It was now 11:00 hrs and I took a quick snack break and started on the prep for supper. Boneless pepper chicken thighs on the rotisserie. Seasoned boneless chicken thighs were threaded on to the skewer with a thick slice of rolled bacon between each thigh. Chicken breasts were flavoured with Greek seasonings as my Lobster was having wraps. The wraps were made with our sourdough starter - Timothy. It was a Turkish flatbread recipe and it turned out fairly well. My Lobster and I worked on them together. She also made a great salad. Somewhere along the line I managed to go refuel the Ram for the coming week. 

     There is a nasty rumor that a new apartment building to be constructed in the Valley will have five floors! Will wonders ever cease.

14 Sep 21

07:00 hrs

     Oh Blessed Rain!

     But for some trees it doesn't matter. On my neighborhood walk yesterday after work I noted quite a few trees that not only have begun to drop their leaves, without changing colour I might add. It seems as if they have just given up the will to live. It seems their owners did not water them due to the water restrictions eventhough you were allowed to hand water- with a hose -your flowers, trees and veggies. My Lobster and I would routinely go out and wet everything down was the sun was setting and thing were beginning to cool off. Two trees in our area have actually died and are slated for removal. They have been cut down leaving just a four foot stall which now sports a bright pink ribbon of flagging tape. Supposedly, the town will replace the trees which is stupid because it's the owner's fault. 

     When the developer started construction the whole area was a forest which for a developer is an eyesore. Calling all loggers! Every natural tree was promptly removed acre by acre. And when construction was completed the contractor was obliged nee mandated to place a - singular - tree on each property.

15 Sep 21

07:00 hrs.

      PROGRAMS!

     GET YOUR PROGRAMS HERE!

     You can't call your horse without a program!

     You also can't go to a restaurant without your vaccine passport. Here on the Left Coast 2.5 million residents downloaded their personal vaccine passport in the first week that it was available. And it's not just restaurants but sports venues, voting booths, shops and a host of other places where YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR VACCINE PASSPORT! There is even talk of restricting travel between provinces if you don't have one. 

     Papers? Nyet! We don't need any papers!

     Well then...ya ain't coming in then!

     Don't be a schmucks! 

     Get your vaccine and get your passport!

     From my current location I can see the first dusting of snow high on the Beauforts. Looks real pretty and a sure sign that winter is coming. I'd take a picture but to do so is strictly Verbotten!