Happy Spring 2022

Happy Spring equinox, everyone.  It was a beautiful day today, sunny here with temperatures getting up to the mid-60's.  I slept in and we had a lazy morning but then early afternoon we took a walk down to the Atwood area for a lunch and conversation at Wilson's and a short stop at the Harmony.  The bike path was very busy, as expected for how beautiful this Sunday was.  There were lots of walkers like us and bicyclists trying to make their way, too.  It is a bike path, after all, though on days like this and for summer events the walkers seem to outnumber the bicyclists by a lot.  I got this picture looking back on the way down when few were around us for a minute, and it was much busier on the way back.

The green in the far right middle is fake grass, but still a nice outdoor area behind the ice cream shop that we will visit when it gets warmer.  Otherwise, there's not any green that is noticeable yet, unless you look very close and in the right place.  We do have a few things around the yard starting to grow, and you can now just start to see buds on the trees.

We had some new snow on the ground yesterday morning, but not much and it didn't last long before melting.  The next few days will be cooler with a 'wintry mix' at times, but only a couple nights below freezing in the forecast and no highs below, thankfully.  You can finally really feel that spring is in the air, so hopefully soon I can write less about the weather and more about going out and doing things when the opportunities arise.  I plan to walk more now that the weather is getting better, and just try to get out to do more things.  There will come a time when the heat of summer will force us inside, hopefully not too often, but working from home now for so long I know I need to make more of an effort just to get out of the house a whole lot more often than I have.  Winter is not an excuse anymore and with the pandemic seemingly under control getting out and about should be easier to do this year.

Happy Spring, everyone.  I have high hopes.

Latest Listening Pleasure 39 - The Warning

I can't remember exactly where or when I first learned of The Warning, but it was about 2 or 3 months ago and probably while in some Youtube rabbit hole.  They are the Villarreal sisters from Monterrey, Mexico.  Yes, sisters - Daniela, Paulina and Alejandra - and surprisingly young when you see some of their earlier videos as kids, but even then you could see the talent.  

I found they first got some popularity from an early cover of Metallica's song Enter Sandman back in 2014, and they actually collaborated on that song for Metallica's Blacklist album that came out last year.  They've been writing their own music now for a while and have a couple releases out there, and a new song coming out next Friday called Money.  And they do seem to have lots of fans already, with several Youtube channels posting all sorts of videos with and about them, even livestreams of their shows.

There's a 5 minute documentary video they released a few days ago and shows their charm and growth, musical and otherwise, including talking with the parents.  Unfortunately, though, it doesn't look like they allow embedding so you can see it here, I recommend it.

Instead, here's the latest video and single by The Warning, Disciple.

What seemed to catch me first was the voice.  I like a strong, female rock voice (think Lzzy Hale or Liv Sin).  Then to see her play guitar and sing live was impressive, while the younger sisters were no slouches, either.  Plus, I must admit, I was intrigued by the novelty of what were young kids playing good songs well.  They've grown up a bit now and play tight and loud and have some very good songs out.  I think the best is their most recent EP, Mayday, but that's to be expected as its the first I heard.  I have one earlier album from 2018, Queen of the Murder Scene, that is also very good and a little more diverse.

And if you know me, you know I love the live stuff.  Here's a great livestreamed show I watched almost a month ago.  Live, from Saltillo, Mexico; The Warning.

If they continue their current trajectory I think we'll all be hearing more of them in the future.  They're just about there, and I think one 'hit' song just might break it wide open for them.  Maybe I shouldn't have predicted that, I just know what I like and find interesting to listen to and lately this has been at the top of my list.  It's always fun when I find my next latest-greatest!

Previous LLP Posts:

LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird LIVE
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O. LIVE
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
LLP 15 - Faster Pussycat LIVE
LLP 16 - Sebastian Bach
LLP 17 - Cradle Of Thorns
LLP 18 - Amaranthe
LLP 19 - Lindemann
LLP 20 - Halestorm
LLP 21 - Garbage LIVE
LLP 22 - Arcade
LLP 23 - Nightwish LIVE
LLP 24 - Ace Frehley
LLP 25 - Darkc3ll
LLP 26 - Dementia
LLP 27 - Rammstein
LLP 28 - Marilyn Manson LIVE
LLP 29 - The Harp Twins LIVE
LLP 30 - Diamante
LLP 31 - Steel Panther LIVE
LLP 32 - Scum Of The Earth

LLP 33 - Marty Friedman LIVE
LLP 34 - Buckethead LIVE
LLP 35 - Alice Cooper LIVE
LLP 36 - Poppy

LLP 37 - Code Orange

LLP 38 - Wargasm UK

LLP 39 - The Warning

Beef, Vacation and Weather

This morning I took a road trip north to pick up our next quarter cow, three days short of when we picked up the last one last year and our sixth quarter cow overall.  I mentioned recently that we were about to call them when they had a devastating fire, so I wound up waiting and just called them on Monday.  We expected 4-6 weeks until it would be ready, and that's what they said on Monday, but I got the call that it was ready to pick up on Wednesday as I was recovering from anesthesia while still in the hospital.  Turns out, our order for a split half just worked out well with other orders they currently had so was available much sooner.  We weren't about to complain, and I had the time for a road trip this morning.  It was a little over an hour's drive each way so I was home by noon easily.  A pretty uneventful drive, though I did pass through spots of sun, clouds, and three separate spells of snow flurries along the way.

When I got there this morning I saw firsthand what was left of the building that had burned.  Most had been already removed, but there was an adjacent building that had been boarded off on that end and you could see the blackened remnants on it.  They had a makeshift office and store in one of their production buildings and were selling sausage and other products from a nearby meat plant that had been helping them recover with use of their facilities to continue business for their workers and customers.  The employees were in good spirits and looking forward to getting back to full capacity and the new building they would be getting built.  We were glad to give them our business.

We expected it to cost more this year, not due to their circumstance but everything else that has been going on in the world, and while it does go up a bit each time it's still better than grocery store prices.  This time it was smaller, 108 pounds compared to 131 last year, and $5.98 per pound, up from $5.21 last year.  Still a good deal and we're glad to have it.  But we do have a few steaks and a couple pounds of hamburger to eat yet from last year's cow.

Otherwise, we've been teased with Spring weather now and again though it has definitely not fully arrived yet.  We still have some leftover snow from several inches that fell earlier in the week and temperatures have still been mostly below freezing.  Pictured here is how the back yard looks currently, still a smattering of snow and no thoughts of any fires or outdoor chores quite yet.  Milder temperatures are expected this coming week and I hope this will be a definite turn of the corner towards Spring.

So that's about it for this vacation week, it was nice but for the medical stuff and I will have another week off in 2 months to look forward to.  And I still have the weekend here before I must turn my attention to work matters again.  Stay well, everyone.

And Another Thing!

March.  A bit of Spring, a bit of Winter, and a whole lot of dirty snow piles, bare trees and filthy, dormant grass.  We've had melting and freezing, puddles and ice sheets.  Temperatures have been teasingly warm then plunge below freezing again.  We've only had about half the snow we normally get, but it's not over yet.  Today's high is 60ºF (16ºC) - highest of the year so far - while a week from today only 29ºF (-2ºC) expected.  Today is also rainy with thunderstorms expected tonight and there is snow possible next weekend.  March is a necessary evil, but at least we know we're going in the right direction.

The last few weeks have been extra stressful for me.  Work has been very busy and I have so many extra projects on my plate and keep hitting obstacles in trying to accomplish anything.  Home has been difficult recently but hoping to get that moving in the right direction again just like the weather will be.  I was going to write about work in more detail last weekend, but it would have just sounded like complaining as I really can't give details.  Suffice it to say that I took this whole upcoming week off on rather short notice, and they let me.  I had to have off in the middle of the week for a medical procedure and my wife convinced me to just ask for the whole week off.  A very good idea as I had time to use up and will get all my time back at the end of the month.  And it will be very nice to have the time away from work, hopefully get myself a bit more centered again.

Tomorrow I go in for only my second Covid test ever, the first was when I was admitted to the hospital in November.  That may seem strange to some, but I've been mostly holed up at home since I had Covid in early 2020, when you could only get tested if you went to the hospital (that was bursting with Covid at the time).  The numbers have gone down far enough that our local mask mandate expired at the end of last month, though still required at medical facilities and some government buildings while private businesses can decide for themselves.  Fitting to happen while Spring is arriving, but will still feel a bit strange when I do get out.  It's been so long now, and I've spent the last two years on the over side of cautious.  Anyway, I have to have the Covid test a few days prior to going in for a colonoscopy, ahead of schedule do to my recent diverticulitis.  Good times.  At least it was the impetus for a whole week off.

I've been watching while the whole world reacts to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and I like what I'm seeing.  Not just governments and their sanctions, but private businesses shunning Russia in many ways.  I don't like the unnecessary suffering because of this, both Ukrainian and Russian civilians, and I think this may end up being the downfall of Putin.  We can only hope.  It would be nice to see Putin and Trump share a prison cell.  Sounds like a late-night television sitcom, doesn't it?

Enough for now.  I'm seeing some sun peek out so hopefully there is a chance for a good walk sometime today between showers.  Have a good weekend, everyone.