Counting The Days!

I'm thinking Spring!

Conjuring Spring!

C'mon Spring!

Confetti!

Did a bit of house keeping this weekend and organized my file cabinet.

I went through all the documents and files, pulled the ones that I no longer needed or wanted to hold onto, and then alphabetized the folders\documents I kept.  Was able to reduce two full drawers of docs down to one well organized drawer.

I further sorted the documents I pulled to be recycled and those with personal information, e.g. bills, financials, old tax documents, etc., I spent hours shredding; literally hours! Well my documents anyway.  There was SO much to shred, that I was able to completely fill a 30-gallon leaf bag! 

Very nice to get this to-do tackled and completed!

Nothing But More Hot Air!

WTF?

With ALL the issues in this country! With ALL the problems SO many are facing!  WHY is this even a story at all that warrants time or print or the morons at the White House wasting time discussing or commenting on?

WHY is it that the victims are forgotten and the perpetrators fought for?  This POS killed someone in a murder-for-hire and has been incarcerated for more than 30-years.  WHY so long?  WHY do the victims and their family need to wait SO long for justice and be forced to live the ordeal over and over as this foolish back and forth takes place?

Big deal, nitrogen gas was used.  I hope it hurt and I hope the bastard suffered immensely! 

A Cut Above

So, I ordered these kitchen shears from Amazon back on November 15.  They were on sale and something like $2.50 each, which I thought was a good deal.  Plus I have one already and it has been very handy, so why not pick up a couple extras at a great price.

When the order was placed, Amazon indicated I would receive the items by November 18. Fast forward to early December and the items had yet to arrive, UGH!  I had texting the company several times via Amazon chat with no responses, more UGH!  Finally on December 8, I requested a refund and on December 10 I received confirmation that I was given a full refund, HORRAY!

You can imagine my surprise when on January 23, some 69 days after I placed my original order, these two items arrived.

Not sure where the issue\delay was?  Was it that the items were coming from China or that they were being delivered by the USPS?!

Amazon delivery has me spoiled these days, UPS too.  Both these carriers are typically prompt, professional and deliver the packages right to the front door.  USPS and FedEx are the complete opposite.  In my experience, I see them as unreliable, lazy and unprofessional and it's hit or miss where I find my packages too. I would happily pay extra to be able to chose the delivery carrier whenever I place an order.

Not Gilligan's Island

Incredible how powerful Mother Nature can be!

This new story and video has been all over the news and social media the last several days.

We hear and see these types of natural disasters stories happening all over the world, and seemingly more and more lately.  This particular event is more personal to me, as my dad worked on Roi-Namur for several years back in the late 1980s!  He would fly to work every day from Kwajalein island, where he was living with my mom and brother.  I even visited them once during their stay, Roi-Namur too.

It's a beautiful place, paradise like, out in the middle of the Pacific and the Marshallese people who call it home are wonderful.

Here's a video of a rogue wave crashing Marshall Island's Roi-Namur army base.

The islands still have remnants of the fighting that occurred between the US and Japan back in the early 1940s - concrete bunkers, rusted metal items and ammo casings to name a few.  My dad even found someone's old military ID tag! Unfortunately, it was too rusty to read.  Coconut crabs can be found there also.

Animal Kingdom

Well, that didn't take long!

Honestly, I thought this was going to be much more difficult that it turned out to be.  I started it this past Sunday afternoon, while watching football, and finished it last night.

Once I start, that's it. I get fixated and determined.

The White Stuff

Woke to about an inch of snow the other morning.

It always looks nice first thing in the morning and before it's been disturbed.

We've had a couple snow storms - shovelable amounts.  Hope Mother Nature is all done.  I've had enough and would be perfectly happy stopping where we're at.

Brrr, It Was A Cold Night!

This old gal started acting up earlier in the week causing the basement CO alarm to go off.

I was able to put the boiler into "pilot" mode, which kept the pilot light lite and would also continue to circulate the water through out the house to prevent the pipes from freezing, not that it got that cold.  This eliminate any gas CO issues and allowed me to remain in the house for the night.

My plumber was here first thing the following morning, where he spent over an hour doing a complete, deep and through cleaning of the system.  He added putty to several areas that looked to be allowing air flow into the unit and also tightened up some loose pieces and parts, again to help eliminate extra air into the system.

Fingers crossed, and have remained crossed this past week, that this work fixed the issue and that it will get me through the winter months!  It's an older system, some 30-40 years old, and although solid, I've been kicking the can for far too long.  Hoping she hangs on, so I can address when it's warmer and not now under these conditions.

I can't say enough about Chris Henry at Franklin Plumbing, Heating and Gas!  He is terrific and has saved my butt several times in the last couple of years.  I HIGHLY recommend, if you're in need of a local plumber.

Cold Feet!

My favorite birds are still around despite the bitter cold and snow, and still posing for some great pics!

Happy vs Sad

Yup, pretty fucked up...

**This is NOT related to a cheating ex-wife!

After The Storm

Treated to a rainbow yesterday afternoon.

The first pic, although faint, is a double rainbow that never really developed -

A couple minutes later this arch got real bright to show it's awesome colors -

#Blessed

Someone Is Tired

Ms. Trixie luvs her new sweater.

She's out like a light, shhhh

Who Remembers 'Bradlees'

Circa 1958

On my afternoon walk the other day, I scored myself a vintage but new, never used 32-gallon Rubbermaid trash barrel.  There were a number of items curbside, free for the taking, as the house had just been sold.  C'mon, how could I resist such a find?!

Being that this barrel is in pristine condition, intact with lid and never used is impressive when you take into account that the Bradlees stores filed for bankruptcy in 2000, with all of its stores eventually closed by March 15, 2001!

A quick search on Amazon for a similar 32-gallon, heavy duty trash can runs about $25 bucks, which does NOT include built-in wheels or locking lid and on Walmart, it'll set you back about $20.  The price increase isn't too steep seeing it's been ~23 years but I suspect there's a noticeable difference in the products quality and durability. Sadly, things made today just don't last.

True

Grumpy The Cat

Gosh, I really hate cats.  Honestly, they're really good for nothing, especially when they're a house cat.  You could argue an outside cat or a barn cat has some value to some degree and earns it's keep by keeping the rodents in check but otherwise what good are they, UGH!  That being said, I think I took a great picture here, which sorta backs what I'm saying.

This is my aunts and uncles cat, Pepe or Pele or PeePee or some shit, and he just look so darn grumpy and miserable, just look at that face. To boot, like most cats, this cat doesn't have a care in the world, yet hello mister what-r-you-looking-at...

Good Morning Boston!

For those not following along on social media...

Here are a couple pictures of the sunrise over the city of Boston, as viewed from the 27 floor of my office building and over a couple different mornings.

Commuting into the city on public transportation - the MBTA, is not a fun experience for me.  I get anxious and cannot stand being that close to people; strange, weird and odd people.

However, my rewards for facing my fears, rising early and an getting into the office long before most others, pays off in spades with views like this one!

#Blessed

Just Plain Lazy!

This is how FedEx delivered the neighbors package the other day!

He backed the extra long truck down the driveway, opened the rear door, struggled with that large box and essentially dropped it right where it came off the truck.  He made NO effort to move it closer towards the garage doors and under cover, nope, closed the read door jumped in the truck and zoomed off.

I believe FedEx outsources some of their delivery drivers and this knucklehead is clearly one of them.  He's rubbed me the wrong way from the moment I first saw him.  During the warmer weather, he's often in a wife-beater t-shirt, shorts and some obnoxious bright sneakers.  The truck radio blaring some sort of awful foreign music and he drives it like a sports car zooming up and down Lincoln street. Like this pic, I've seen him drop packages off curbside at the base of mailboxes, against trees in peoples front yard, in the middle of driveways and more.  From where I sit, I view him as lazy and unprofessional!  A regular POS.

It would be nice if online stores let you select who you wanted packages delivered by.  I tell you what, if I could, I wouldn't order a thing from companies that used FedEx and the USPS.  As far as I'm concerned both carriers as useless, like it's said, they're both as "useful as tits on a bull"...

Yet another indication of our current times.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho Outside To Shovel I Go!

First snow storm of 2024

All in all not too bad.  We didn't get as much snow as predicted, which is perfectly fine with me.

Here are a couple 7AM pic -

Here I am several hours later shoveling the front walkway -

and using the roof rake to clean snow from the edges of the roof -

Also, shoveled a path to and around the fire hydrant that is across the street.

The temps are expected to fall into the 20s tonight and I thought it best to remove some of the roof snow to avoid any ice dams from forming.  Better safe than sorry.

Now for a piping hot bowl of fresh made chili!

Pending Snow Storm

We have a winter snow storm moving in this weekend with anywhere from 3" to 12" expected.

I took care of the milk, bread and eggs and stocking up on some other essentials a couple days ago.  Filled up my propane tanks, just in case I need to fire up my generator. Fully charged my spare power adapters for my phone and iPad and put fresh batteries in the flashlights.

This morning I fired up the crockpot and in the process of making a batch of chicken chili - smells delicious -

Also, made some cornbread too -

Chili, cornbread and football! I'm ready, so let it snow!

The Iceman

C'mon! My house isn't THAT cold!

A visiting Floridian having a difficult time adjusting to Winter in New England. Ironically, the same winters he grew up in.

This image reminds me of my mom and how she was always bundled up on the couch.  As my brother said, seems I've turned into my dad.  Tug at my heart but one of the most heartfelt and best compliments I've ever received and one I couldn't be more proud of.

The apple didn't fall too far from the tree, on both accounts!

What Colors!

Another outstanding sunset off my back deck last night!

As cold as it was I sat out there and enjoyed this view till the colors were gone.

This just doesn't get old!

#Blessed

Early Morning Frolic

I haven't seen them in quite some time but of course that doesn't mean they're not out there, as this picture shows.  My security camera captured these two does at 2:14AM this morning 1/6, nibbling on what's left of my Ladies Mantle plant.  Also, seeing that they're visiting at 2AM would explain why I don't see them as often, as in bed and sound asleep at this time.

I suspect they can sense that a snow storm is coming and looking to bulk up as much as they can ahead of time.

No Maybe

An Ode...