Expensive Updates

Another expensive day, today.  I had taken today off some time ago, and it came in handy.  Hamish had another vet appointment for an ultrasound today.  He's back home now but we still haven't gone over the results with the vet.  He has put on a few ounces this past week, but still is not feeling well, and his fur and demeanor easily reflect that.  Also, each of his ear tips droops a bit now due to putting medicine on them every day.  I'm not sure if those will recover as he will still need the medicine even if we get past this current state.  I feel so bad for him, but we're doing what we can.

My car also went into the shop this morning and, amazingly, we just picked it up.  I figured they'd have it at least two days, but I'm happy to have it back.  Oil change, new brakes and new shocks - another high expense.  These last few months have been brutal, financially.

Mostly what's been happening this past weekend is my wife recovering from surgery.  She had surgery on her sinuses on Friday morning and has been miserable ever since.  She didn't expect the recovery to be so painful or last more than a few days.  I'm glad she has the whole week off because she may need it all.  But the surgery went very well and she will fully recover eventually, thank you.

In other news, Jake from the roofing company is to be here after work tomorrow to do the needed repairs.  I have more timeline markers to post, tomorrow night or after.  In two days it will have been 3 months since the roof was replaced.

Well, with all that's been happening we haven't gotten any more yard work done.  The last few sunflowers are now dying due to the cold overnight temperatures the last couple days, but the highs have been getting up to about 60ºF, so not all that bad.  But that will change in a couple days.

This was a recent late night picture of Hamish not feeling so well.  And the sunflowers picture was taken a few days ago.  Not a long post today, but truthfully I don't feel much like writing.  I wanted to get this out there before the roof saga continues tomorrow.  Oh, and I've not even touched upon the Blue Wave yet.  Let the Tangerine Toddler temper tantrums begin!  Cheers, everyone.

October This-And-Thats (Part 2)

It's been a busy few weeks around here.  I've been worried about our cat Hamish, excited watching the Brewers, and exhausted due to not enough sleep.  I've also not been writing very much and I have a few things to touch on so here's a second TATs post this month.

Hamish has Irritable Bowel Disease, and has medicine to take for it.  Well, he stopped eating his med in treats or pill wraps, so we tried crushing the pill and mixing it in with food.  That worked for a bit, then he stopped eating that food, like he could taste it or something.  Without getting his medicine he got sick, basically continuous, terrible indigestion and lost weight he couldn't afford to lose.  My wife took him to the vet just over a week ago for help.  His med is now doubled and in cream form that we rub into the tip of his ear.  In his other ear he gets a medicine to make him hungry.  He has shown improvement, but still has a ways to go, I think.  The good news is he should get better and his kidneys are just fine.  It can be hard to watch when he's really feeling ill, purring and dry heaving, so I hope he comes around sooner than later.  If he loses even an ounce more he's going back to the vet.

The Milwaukee Brewers had a dominant run though the Major League Baseball playoffs, culminating in winning the World Series on Wednesday night.  This is the main reason for my exhaustion.  I've been up late every night this week watching the Brewers then last night the Packers.  I'm very thankful that I had vision to take today off.  I managed to sleep in today and there is no game I want to watch tonight so probably in bed early.  Anyway, it's been so much fun watching this team all year, and following them through their first championship has been very gratifying.  I watched all the hoopla, interviews and ceremonies, just taking it all in.  You never know if something like this will ever happen again.

The new furnace was installed a week ago Tuesday, a day after the salesman was here.  It has been working well and is much quieter than our old one, but not before an initial setback.  The installers verified everything was working with the furnace and the new air conditioner, set the furnace on heat for us and went on their way after spending all day.  Then we noticed the fan didn't stop.  The furnace got the house up to temperature and turned off, but the fan ran on.  I had to manually turn off the furnace for it to stop, so we ran it manually to heat the house that night, then again the following morning when I also called the company back.  They had someone out after work for us, one of the original installers and another.  It seems they just forgot to set something correctly in the new furnace.  The original installer accepted blame and apologized, and now all seems well.  But nothing can go smooth for me, it seems.

My wife's car has been fixed but I still have not booked mine into the shop yet.  I'll get that done soon, but oil, shocks and brakes is going to be another hard hit in the wallet.  I'm still trying to get the stains out of the driveway from that and the old air conditioner, but it hasn't rained enough to was away the cat litter I have ground into the stains on the concrete now.

Sunflowers are done, leaves and branches stripped but for a few small late blooms.  The stalks will dry out and I'll remove them, chop off the roots and lay them by the garage for winter.  In spring they will become kindling.  The cone flowers in the stump area are done, but for one.  Sometime this weekend we'll likely spread those seeds and cut them down.  Lily of the Valley along the garage have been strimmed and the hostas are starting to melt.  Still no fires, but maybe tomorrow night?

Halloween decorations have been out front for a couple weeks now.  I still haven't found something to replace the mummy in the front windows, but I found something I bought on clearance after Halloween last year that might be good.  I'll likely post pictures tomorrow night or the next day.  I seem to remember not many trick or treaters last year, so not sure what to expect this year, but we have two big bags of candy so hopefully more handed out than eaten.

And, finally, Blue Witch is back!  She had issues with her site recently and thought she lost everything - 24 years worth of posts and comments.  Thankfully, she found someone that went above and beyond to help her and her site is now back online.  After this, though, I think she's going to look into a different platform to use.  Good luck, BW!

That's enough for now, I think that's all I had on my mind.  I did hear back from Matt today about finishing our roofing project, but we'll just have to wait and see, I guess.  Have a great Halloween weekend, everyone.

Sunflower Cat Contractors

I've not done an official count or inventory of sunflowers yet.  I feel it's still too early to tell what may come of these.  There are two different plantings, about 17 days apart.  Many of the first were destroyed early, thus the second planting.  While almost all are still around since the time of the second planting, they are still small and there are a few broken and many twisted yet.  Sunflowers are pretty hardy, when allowed to grow, so even broken or twisted may mature to the best of their ability.  I'll take stock of all soon enough.  This post is mainly to get the bad taste of the last post out of my mouth. 

A productive weekend here, mostly.  I still have some relatively bigger projects on my list that I want to get done soon, but all in due time.  This week, I was impressed by the first contractor's pitch, but it was also a bit over the top so I'm a little hesitant.  The second I sent on his way as this kid did not project the confidence or knowledge that I wanted to hear, so I was nice but didn't want to waste his time or mine.  The third seemed confident and level-headed.  I really hope I like what he comes back with.  I expect to make a decision by the end of the week, and it may also include new siding everywhere.

The cats are enjoying the windows and porch being open today, and I'm going to go enjoy the Brewer game now.

Happy Sunday and have a great week, everyone!

Spring Vacation Part II, Ring Cameras & Hail Update

Tuesday and Wednesday, days 7 and 8, I had dental appointments in the mornings.  See day 1 notes last post for all the dental details.  After the root canal on Tuesday I went home, and as I was driving down the street the neighbor's cat wandered out right in front of me, oblivious, as was her owner just on the sidewalk.  I stopped right behind the cat, waited a moment, then gave the horn a quick beep.  The cat scattered out of the roadway and I pulled into the driveway.  Next thing I know, this neighbor was coming down my driveway, flipping me off and swearing up a storm.  I started yelling back that her cat was in the damn road, but my mouth was still numb so didn't say a whole lot more other than to get the hell off my property.  This is the same neighbor that slashed my tire right after we first moved in, in 2009.  She's trash that's come into money and acts like she's the baddest bitch on the block.  We've never been friendly and we never will be.

We have dashcams in both cars now, more security for us.

I told the story to my wife and showed her the dashcam video.  My wife said that's it, we need a doorbell camera.  I spent that day and Wednesday researching and we bought a Ring doorbell and I got a Ring spotlight camera with solar panel for the back.  The doorbell camera I installed last weekend, and the later-arriving solar panel and spotlight camera were installed on the house this morning.  I must say, having the extra security feels pretty good.  Otherwise, I didn't do a whole lot on these dental days.

Thursday was day 9.  I know I took too long to write about all this; I haven't the foggiest idea what I did on Thursday.  There were many little jobs and projects that I did along the way, so I imagine a few of those and probably lunch out.

Friday, day 10, I had to go into work.  Ahead of time I had requested a certain client for a community outing, and we spent all day out and about, only going back in time for him to catch his bus.  I did not want to lose my vacation vibe yet, especially with a three day weekend after.

Kate had to work the weekend due to the holiday, so we missed my niece's high school graduation on Saturday, day 11.  Also on Saturday I planted 24 more sunflower seeds.  I'll plant 12 to fill in around the yard here and the other 12 I'm going to make some cages for and take them to work, we'll see how they fare there.  I originally planned on all 24 going to work but that seemed a bit ambitious and would take more of my own resources.  Twelve is much better than the two (of 3) I grew at work last year.  We'll have to find out if the critters out there will behave.  This new batch of seeds just popped out of the soil on Wednesday so should be ready to plant very soon.

Sunday and Monday, days 12 and 13, were mostly rest and relaxation as far as I can remember.  

A great view of the back.  The actual view extends about 25% further up and down, this pic is the size of my phone screen.

No fire pits on this vacation.  I had a couple opportunities but mostly it was too windy or I was too tired.  Last night would have been perfect too, but I was beat, and tonight is too windy again.  So far this year I've only had the one fire on the Spring equinox.  Let's hope I have another before the Summer solstice and before the mosquitoes emerge.

*          *     Hail     *         *

Also happening during this time, our auto claim for hail damage got settled.  The insurance company totaled my wife's van as the repairs would cost more than it was worth.  The settlement was for blue book value if we signed the van over to them, or the lesser trade-in value if we wanted to keep it.  Well, even used cars are much more expensive these days, so my wife opted to keep the van rather than hurriedly shop for cars and invest thousands more dollars, possibly tens of thousands.  We'll have to get the windshield replaced, but the dents will stay.  Final payment should be in our account by early next week.

The house claim has also mostly been settled.  Now I will have to fix the basement window, find someone to replace the roof and gutters, and we have to decide if we will have the window flashing replaced.  I am not planning on replacing the siding as those dents are not as noticeable and when we do replace some siding we'll do the whole house and maybe something a little different.  There also may be a few window screens to replace, and I think that's about it.  Once all is done and receipt copies uploaded, this will be done, too.  Repairs are happening rapidly all over this side of town, but I've been more patient.  All will be done long before winter.

And within the last two weeks we had our insurance premiums due for house and cars.  They did go up, but I'm not sure if the claims had anything to do with that or not.  What do you think?

Pleasant Compost

Most of what you see on the left is pulled weeds.  I've been busy with the weed puller.

Normally I remove the fresh soil from one side of the compost bin in fall, while the other side gets used all year then filled up with fall cleanup.  Then when winter begins we switch to using that empty side and let the full one sit.  Recently my wife added scraps to the full side, which brought about thought and discussion.  Moving forward we'll change that time to spring, the dirt will be removed for the gardens then we'll start using that side and let the other sit.  This way, we will add the wetness of kitchen scraps on top of fall's dry yard plants all winter.

That's the thought, anyway.  Either way it will compost itself.  Any opinions?

I have not mowed the lawn yet.  In fact, I haven't even switched its place with the snow blower yet, but this weekend will be that time.  In the back right now you can really see where the crocus are in the lawn.  Hard to see back by the gardens here, but that view was on the recent crocus post.  They get bushy after they flower.

Sure didn't take long for the fire pit to fill with sticks again.

No more storms recently, we've had some nice, calm weather this week.  Next week will cool to more seasonable, in the 60'sºF.  I made my fifth batch of tortillas after work today so we could have fresh tortillas for a taco dinner tonight.  Turned out well, and gives me ideas for more improvement.  The cats turned 13 on the 20th, I forgot to post anything for them.  I even forgot that day, remembering the next.  I think I may plant sunflower seeds inside in another week or so, while my wife wants to start other plants inside, too.  (We've been saving toilet paper tubes since fall!)

This is a pleasant time of year.

Watching The Snow

... Before it all melts.  Up to 50ºF this weekend?  But beware - it's still mid-February, after all.

Winter Solstice Fire Pit 2025

The winter solstice was yesterday morning, and since I put in the fire pit in 2018 I've liked celebrating the occasion with a fire, when possible.  Temperatures never got above freezing yesterday, they stayed just a bit below, so it was definitely chilly but very manageable.

I shoveled some snow out of the fire pit and considered melting more with the garden torch but there were sticks in the pit already so I felt I had a good enough base to build the fire.  I didn't want to be out there long and it would get colder after the sun went down so I got started around 3:30 in the afternoon, about an hour before sunset.  I built the small fire up right away, then basically just let it burn down until I could go inside.  I think it's pretty safe to say this will be the last fire pit of the year, but, of course, now that I said that...

I made a couple discoveries while I was out there.  First, I realized that I left the gnome outside under the lilac.  I didn't take him into the garage for winter like I usually do when doing the fall cleanup, but I still may sometime.  We've had him for quite some time now and he's starting to look a bit faded and rough.  I always have my eye out for garden gnomes but haven't found one to replace him yet.  I have a smaller one that's been living on the porch all year that I may put out come spring.

The next discovery was bat guano under the bat house.  I don't know exactly how long it's been there, but it's a bit too cold for the bats to be out and about this month so I'm guessing since October, or maybe early November.  Hopefully they found a warmer place to hibernate, but not my attic!

Saturday started a run of 10 out of 16 days off for me.  We do have some holiday obligations, but I welcome the time off.  Next post will be holiday wishes, so I may get that written up and scheduled soon so I don't forget.  Happy solstice, everyone.

Mid-December Ramblings

We've had a few more snows since last post but nothing quite as significant.  Everything around us is holiday themed and we've had plenty of cold.  This weekend's highs are about 6ºF, or negative 14ºC.

The cats have been utilizing their warming pad often, and my wife had been using our heating pad on her back for several days this past week after hurting it shoveling snow on Tuesday.

I brought in the trail camera a week ago since everything was snow covered and not showing much activity.  The SD card just shows a bunch of squirrels nibbling away, or maybe the same one appearing over and over, not sure.  I was worried the batteries may have died, but it was still working when I brought it in despite every picture and video showing a red X on the icon, lower right, since I put it out about a month ago.

We've been making our holiday plans and gathering gifts.  I have a lot more shopping to do, but only for my wife.  And I have to keep in mind she has a birthday in January, too.

Kate noticed this hole along the side of the driveway yesterday.  It appears some critter needed to create a home for the night.  My guess is an opossum, but we may never know.

That's pretty much the highlights.  We're just making our way to the holidays and trying to stay warm.  Kate still has things to get in order for her dad's passing, but that takes time so she will be dealing with plenty well into the new year.  She has my full support to take all the time she needs as her life forward will be completely different than the last decade plus.  

I'll have Wednesday and Thursday off for the Christmas and New Year holidays but will have to work those Fridays before the weekends allow me two more days off.  I'll take it, of course.  And yes, I'm reading news every day but it's mostly so absurd to me that I have to disassociate from it.  That's about all I'm going to say about that right now.  I'll probably be back here before the holidays, but leading up to them I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season as they see fit.  Cheers, everyone.

Fall Is For The Birds

The autumn equinox was Monday, and it came with little fanfare around here.  I've not had a fire since before my vacation, and I went downhill after getting home from work that day.  My wife had been sick over the weekend, a stomach bug with mostly extreme exhaustion as the symptom, and I was getting it.  I spent the next two days at home, mostly in bed.  Today was my second day back to work and while still tired I've got a few good meals in me again so feeling much better, thank you, but cold and flu season is coming.

I caught the birds above in a spur-of -the-moment video just a bit ago.  Though only one sunflower survived there it got big and made the birds very happy for the cover and extra seeds.  And the cats spend lots of time sitting there watching (and chirping at) them.  

I took the pics below yesterday afternoon.  I've not done much in the yard the last few weeks, and the flora is certainly losing its luster.  Many of the sunflowers are half brown, but their last little buds are still blooming.  I'll do some mowing and cleanup tomorrow, but it's still too early to pull and compost most everything.  The ten-day forecast shows beautiful weather for us for this time of year, probably our last taste of summer temperatures, and I hope to enjoy it fully.

New Mums for fall, on the steps.  Plenty of time for those blooms yet.

If I find good seeds available on the sunflowers I will save them, otherwise I still have enough from my big sunflower two years ago to plant more next spring.  At that time I will make myself more prepared to harvest the seeds from the first, biggest, and strongest blooms for the future.  Right now, the heads get poached before the seeds are even ready to harvest, by birds and small critters that climb the plants  to get after their bounty.

I'm very tired tonight, but maybe after some cleanup of the yard tomorrow I may try to have a fire while watching the Brewer game.  Then later tomorrow night I have another live-stream concert I want to watch.  I love a good concert better than a movie any day, always have.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

*Well, I guess you can't upload a short video just to Blogger anymore.  If I get a better, longer video I may upload to ToYoube, which seems to be the only way to put a video here now.  I'm too beat to do anything else right now, sorry.

Vacation Recap

I was looking through the pictures I took last week and found there weren't many.  I truly did just try to take it easy, and apparently I managed that pretty well.  Yet, there were some highlights so let's see what I can remember.

First off, we'd had fall-like temperatures for a few weeks, but as if on cue the weather started turning nicer and warmer during my vacation.  This looks to last for at least another week, which is good.  It was way too early to have to switch from shorts to pants!

I didn't mention it last post, but there was a bit of a bigger project on my list - actually more of a PITA than "big" - that I chose to ignore all week.  There is a drawer in the kitchen I need to figure out how to fix.  The old, outdated hardware simply wore out and my first fix, didn't, so I do still have that to do but I have a new plan and will get that started this weekend.

I began the week by going to my Mom's on Saturday for the Badger game.  We hung out, I cooked dinner, and I spent the night.  It was nice, but I got some wires crossed in my head about the Packer game that Sunday so left for home earlier than I needed to.  Not a big deal, but another lunch out with Mom would have been nice.

On Monday we had a new rug delivered for the living room, which led to maybe the biggest chore of this vacation.  The new rug was for the living room, so that rug was to move to the bedroom, and that rug was to move to the porch.  So, basically, we had to work backwards; clean up the porch for the rug from the bedroom, clean up the bedroom for the rug from the living room, then clean up the living room for the new (bigger) rug to be placed.  It was certainly good to get the cleaning done, but we wound up moving around most all of our furniture that day.

Some shopping, mowing the lawn, and plenty of time spent with my feet up all week.  Oh, there were a few little jobs done here and there but hardly anything else worth mentioning.  Now that I said that, I did want to mention the dill pickle bread I made.  It was interesting and not bad, a good baking exercise, but I may look for a different recipe if I make similar again.  

Most importantly, my wife and I did get to spend some good time together and enjoyed several lunches or dinners out, and several drinks out during the week.  It was nice to spend the time together, but later in the week the less I seemed to do, and that was good, too.  Now, sigh, back to work.

Madison's Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine falcons are one of the most widely distributed birds in the world, but fascinating none the less.  There is a livestream of a nest on the MG&E building downtown Madison, overlooking Williamson (Willy) Street and Lake Monona.  (The same building with the three tall smokestacks seen in background of this recent post.)  The falcon home page with the livestream is here, if the embed doesn't work or last below.

It's hard to catch them at home sometimes, but you can back up the stream to see them.  I did a deep dive on them recently, pun intended, and they are a fascinating creature.  I'd love to witness the hunt in real life sometime.  A good four minute video is here if interested.  And a good story on the site linked in the previous paragraph of the origins of the nest and happenings since 2009.

*Edit: I just found this page that has livestream links to other peregrine falcon nests at other power plants in Wisconsin.

Labor Day is Monday, so we have a three day weekend.  Today, I made two batches of flatbread this morning, we went out for burgers for lunch and now I'm watching the Brewer game while typing this.  This evening we're going to grill out jerk chicken and I'm hoping to have a fire.  I also need to call my Mom and plan an overnight trip as I have a week off coming very soon.  My wife will have things to do for her dad the next two days for several hours each day, but we'll still have some time to rest and recreate together.

I know I've had some pretty shallow posts recently, but there really hasn't been much to say.  I'll post some pics if I have a fire tonight.  Or if I'm too tired then tomorrow looks like good fire weather, too.

Henry Vilas Zoo on Friday

I had the occasion for work to visit our local Henry Vilas Zoo again recently.  Not a group outing this time, just me and a client taking advantage of an opportunity to join another staff and client's outing for a few hours of strolling through the zoo on Friday morning.  

A beautiful day and very busy, as always, but if you can find parking it's a great way to fill time and spend zero money.  I was working so my full attention was on my client, but still I couldn't help but take a few quick pictures of some of the residents of our very nice local zoo.  It's easily taken for granted to have this in our city.  I didn't spend a lot of time getting every exhibit or even perfect shots, even though I managed to omit getting the many people, including many moms and lots of kids, in the pictures I did take.  Enough pictures I thought it would be good to share, so please enjoy.

There's a few of them, so after the break, of course.

Saturday Picture Post +

Plus commentary, that is.

My wife and I spent time on separate chores this morning, mine at home and hers more unexpected and difficult.  By early afternoon we were able to be done and go out for a nice, but very filling lunch together, then relaxed at a pub for a few drinks before coming home to watch the Brewers win their game and extend their lead in the division, league, and all of Major League Baseball.  

'Chuffed' isn't a word often used here in the US, but seems to aptly describe our pride as fans of our small-market team doing so well.  It's happened with our different Wisconsin teams at different times, but it's always really nice to look at the standings and see your team on top and enjoy it while it lasts.

Saturday Picture Post

Vacation Projects, Baking, Street Reconstruction #19 and More

I've been busy this past week, resting and recreating takes a lot of time and effort.  I'm on my first real vacation in a year since being new at a job and other than having Covid when I was on vacation last September.  As usual, a staycation to take care of little projects and other things without the interruptions of work.  So far I've gotten a few things done and we've had nice weather, for the most part.  There's a lot to say so I may jump around a bit, and I'll likely add a break due to the length once I add pictures.

Vacation Start

I started this vacation by going to my Mom's on Saturday.  We got a few little things done for her, but it was more about spending the time, I think.  I was just there a few weeks ago, but an overnight visit allows for more time and relaxation while catching up on what's going on in her life.  I got back to town mid-day Sunday and I don't think I did much the rest of the day.

Lots more after the break!

Easter This-And-Thats

I haven't really been in a writing mood recently.  I managed to post about the pavilion, but there are a few other topics I've been meaning to mention so time to sit, type and see what happens.

• Today is Easter, but this doesn't mean much to us.  I had a paid holiday for Good Friday and my wife and I may venture out later today, as we tend to do on Sundays, but will have to check ahead to see what's open.  I was going to go down to my Mom's yesterday as my sister and her kids are there this weekend, but things to do and I've been real sick of driving lately so I stayed home.

• My wife was laid off from her job this past week.  She found out about it 2 months ago, so had to endure all that time knowing, but meanwhile her anniversary came and went so she got all her time off back which will be paid out, and a severance package as well.  Another bad decision by a terrible company that keeps losing contracts, but it was her career.  She does not plan to look for a new job until her dad dies, and we're in a good enough position she can do that.

• 
  Also this past week we had to take Basil to the vet twice.  He'd lost weight, had a UTI and we already know he gets crystals real bad.  He'd also stumbled at times, and started withdrawing from us and eating less.  He got an antibiotic shot, a pain shot, and was already on medicine for hyperthyroidism but that dose got doubled.  It's taken several days but he does appear to be acting normal and feeling much better now, thankfully.  And today both the cats turn 13 years old.

• We recently bought two new computers, a laptop for my wife since she had to turn in the one she was using and a desktop tower for me because of the display driver issue this one has, plus it often shuts itself off.  Never while I'm using it, but while it's in sleep mode, and it seems to be happening more.  Both are made by Lenovo, a new brand to us but great reviews so we just went for it.  I'm going to have to take my wife's in for help getting it out of S-mode - Microsoft's new security that goes overboard in trying to save you from yourself.  I just hooked up the desktop and got that going briefly, and thankfully I don't have it on this one.  I did hook the old computer back up because I have some work to do before making the switch.

• 
  I've taken a few weekends off from baking recently, but I did make a cheesy garlic bread yesterday that I saw in a ToYoube video.  It just looked so good, so I made it and it was, but it made a mess of the oven.  I used a frozen bread dough loaf so it was quicker and easier for me, but this is one of those recipes that was fun to try but I may never make it again.

We still may get out this afternoon, but it is raining now and the day seems destined for rest and relaxation indoors.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend.

First Fire and Bat Shit

I had my first fire pit of the season on Friday night.  I was out there early, well before dark, as I didn't want to be out there very late.

It was a nice evening, cool but not cold, and the winds were light.  I got all the little stick litter burned up that had accumulated in the fire pit since last fall.  

The lilac that I had to remove for the fence installation last spring got cut into smaller pieces to burn, but is a bit wet yet.  

And I forgot about a pile of sticks from neighbor Jane's small trees that were hanging over our driveway by the garage.  I'll have to get those next time.

The moon was a day away from being full, and nice to see the last two solar lights, which I left out all winter, continue to be working well.

I was happily surprised to see bat shit under the bat house on the back of the garage.  And happier to realize that it was indeed guano and not bird shit as they've tried to build a nest on top of the bat house in years past.  I did not see any bats in it that night or the next day when I took these pictures, but I will be checking.  

After several years with just a rare visitor or two, I'm very pleased the bat house is getting used.

Spring Porch And Dishwasher Ending

The porch warms quite nicely on sunny days during spring and fall.  The cats love the warmth and access again while we welcome the warmth into the house as the porch will need to close again around sunset.  Temperatures this week will be nice, even up to the º70F range on Friday.  Still, don't trust March.

The porch, mostly neglected over winter, will need a cleanup.

One thing I haven't kept up on here is our new dishwasher; yes, there was a problem.  Within a week we noticed water under the sink.  Upon further inspection, it was leaking about a half cup of water every time we ran it, and from what I could see - and I'm too old and broken to be getting under sinks like that - it was coming from the connection between the hose from the dishwasher and the air gap that rises above the sink.  We got the company's installer back out to look at it and he concluded it was an issue with a defective hose and they would be in touch.  After a week, I called to get an update.  It was handled as a warranty issue so the new hose part was coming from LG, and LG would have someone out to fix it.  A week later, that day came and their guys agreed with my assertation that the connection was the issue, and they fixed it easily.  I was initially impressed with this company, the availability of product and ease of installation.  Still, it got corrected somewhat timely and at no cost to us, so I guess we're happy for now.

I've been ill since I first recognized last Thursday afternoon.  It's not been a good several days this week but I feel I must be on the better side of it by now, though I'm still getting symptoms if I'm late taking the cold meds.  Never the less, I must get back to work.  But I know what I'm scheduled for tomorrow and I couldn't ask for much better for a first day back from this.

Cold

On Friday it got up to 50ºF, while today and tomorrow will hover just above and below 0ºF.

Before last winter I got a warming pad for the cats, and they do seem to appreciate it.  Often.

January This-And-Thats

Well, time to break the seal with the first new post of 2025.  The holidays have come and gone, and we've settled back into daily life here.  I don't have any big news or anything like that, and I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so time to start typing and see what spills out onto the page.

• 
  I've been baking quite a bit again recently, though still only on the weekends.  Most recently I made cinnamon rolls again, though this recipe is a bit of a cheat as I used the frozen bread dough.  Still, they turned out very well and were a nice, sweet treat with whipped cream cheese frosting.  I also made another batch of flatbread yesterday, and for the first time in a while I made the classic baguette recipe that I used to make all the time.  Also yesterday, I tried a new whole wheat baguette recipe that I modified a bit from a ToYoube video.  While it tastes good, I did not get the rise from them that I should have so wound up with skinny baguettes.  I believe the water was too warm, though I waited for it to cool some it evidently was not long enough and likely killed some of the yeast.  I should know better by now, but I'll make a few tweaks and try this recipe again soon.
• 
  We had Kate's van in for new tires last week, so another hefty bill.  Thankfully the brakes are still good for some time so we didn't have those done.  Now, my light just came on in my car so I'll have to get it in for an oil change soon.  Always something...
• Sometime during the last week the last of the pumpkins on the stump were fully consumed.  Though we've had cold, we've not had a whole lot of snow here yet (*knock wood) so they haven't been buried much.  I'm fine with not much snow, but come spring we'll miss the water if we continue like this.  I sometimes feel bad for putting our veg compost in the bin rather than leaving it out for the critters, but we do not need to attract more animals to our yard.
• 
  The latest project update for our street reconstruction just tells us that trees will be planted in spring, and they still plan on going ahead with the bike/pedestrian bridge over the creek, scheduled for summer this year.  I still believe it is a waste of our taxpayer dollars as there is a bridge 2 blocks north and 2 blocks south of the site.  This current city administration has plowed ahead with unpopular projects and I highly doubt will win re-election.  But I still can't fathom how our voters approved the city to raise our property taxes above state-mandated limits - and with no end date!
• Last month we replaced the suet feeder with a double suet feeder for winter, though we seem to get less birds now.  Perhaps they migrated or just have different habits for winter.  But we have been getting more woodpeckers visiting, which is kind of neat.  I'd also consider a hummingbird feeder next spring as I know they're around and nice to watch.
• 
  I bought my wife a birthday present recently, for a week from today.  I couldn't get it through Amazin' because she would see the notifications, so I went through another popular online retailer.  It was pretty expensive and the box is oddly shaped, so I never figured it would be delivered in its original box, but it was.  And my wife retrieved it, when delivered, so she knows what it is now.  But she said she didn't look closely and does not want it early.  She expects it on her birthday, and wrapped, so that's what she'll get.  I was kind of proud of the gift and I hope she truly likes it.  Maybe I'll share what it is after next week.
• Playoff football is upon us.  Ohio State and Notre Dame will battle next week for the college championship, and the NFL playoffs began this week.  My beloved Packers will be playing the Eagles this afternoon and I'll be watching the game closely and cheering on my team.  Go Packers!
• The day after my wife's birthday is inauguration day.  He's already distracting from false promises he made while campaigning ($2 gas, cheaper groceries, no taxes on overtime, etc.), the things that made many people vote for him.  Why they think these rich, white men care about them is beyond me.  Oh, well, what's done is done.  The circus is about to begin.

I started typing this morning and my wife and I went out for a bit this afternoon.  A rare weekend day that she didn't have to go over to her dad's.  She had the kitchen this morning for cooking otherwise I would probably be trying that whole wheat baguette again.  But I baked pretty much all day yesterday (though a lot was rise time), and was pretty tired last night so good to take today off.

Have a great week, everyone.