Good morning from the Pacific Rim. It is 10c with a HOC.
It was a long day yesterday. Water shut off at 0800hrs and the contractor, plumber and two helpers were here until 2215hrs last night doing the rough in for the plumbing for the master bathroom. I am so glad I am not doing this one. I did have to jump in and help a bit, but didn’t mind. I don’t know how much the new tub weighs but three of them gave their all to get it upstairs.
So day two is behind us. At the end of each day the bathroom is spotless and all junk is removed. So far I am very happy with these guy’s.
Going in to Vancouver tonight for a Mothers day dinner with the kid’s. It is suppose to be a higher end establishment. The kid’s arranged it and all have high paying six figure jobs, yet my wife comes in and tells me to make sure I pay for the dinner. Kid’s will always be kid’s in her mind and she thinks they are still reliant on us. They are in their 20s and make more than I ever did at that age working for the Feds.
I was up at 0430hrs and got dirty looks from the dogs who still haven’t moved. Five hours is about how much I ever sleep and I never nap, so I get lot’s of quiet time while the wife and daughter put in their 9 hours.
Time for a walk around the grounds with the second cup of coffee and then the guitar at the far end of the house so I don’t wake the masses. We are also experiencing a higher number of birds this year. We don’t put out food but the wife has lots of beautiful flowers everywhere that seem to be most inviting to them.
Daughter’s prom went well. The park where everyone goes for pictures was busy, but not crazy busy, so that was good. Had a nice evening around the campfire last night with my wife and oldest daughter. Life is good.
Minimal plans today for Mother’s Day. Simple gift and then dinner of her choice (she wanted me to make Philly Cheesesteaks on my flat top). Otherwise, I think the day is pretty open. Train time?
Allergies kicking my butt today. Not a lot of sleep because of them either. That time of year.
Hope everyone has a good day, especially the ladies today.
On forgetting things, I have taken to writing down the reason for going to the basement because too many times I’ve arrived downstairs only to have forgotten why I came!
Mind you this works best when I take that piece of paper with me…
My wife’s bro-in-law considers himself a wine connoisseur. Maybe he is? Anyway, he saw somewhere a bird feeder with an upside down wine bottle and the plastic stemware. There’s coiled 3/8" copper tubing supporting the whole think. Kind of clever but it is a pain to refill the bottle and the birds will empty it in about an hour. Plus water gets into the goblet even though I drilled some 1/8" holes along the bottom. So much for art!
Good news is the Orioles have arrived yesterday and they brought along the grosbeaks with them. Somehow the hummingbirds got lost, though!
TF, is that an AI bridge or somebody playing with Photoshop? Too blurry to tell. I don’t plan on riding a train across any bridge that has only every fourth tie spiked and the guard rails not spiked at all!
The aftermath of an accident at Taumarere near Kawakawa, Bay of Islands, when two Engliish Electric diesel-electric locomotives, New Zealand Railways Dg class, Dg 752 and Dg 774 left the tracks due to excessive speed, the derailed leading locomotive Dg 774 lying semi-submerged in tidal mudflats.
Photographer, Ronald Thomas Bateman Clark.
Ron Clark Collection, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1207-1223
No known copyright restrictions
Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them. Kia Kaha.
Cheers, the Bear.
Good morning Diners. A sunny day with the temperature in the low 20s C.
Keep the coffee coming please, Flo. I’ll sit by the window and watch the world for a little while.
So much for a happy Mother’s Day. My wife and my youngest daughter were both not in great moods since neither slept enough Saturday night. One button gets pressed, and then another. On the flip side, I had a lot of time doing my own thing yesterday. No correlation!
Both my dad and my father-in-law have told me that once women reach a certain age, they just can’t get along in the same house. I used to think that was a bunch of hogwash. Used to. Not saying men are better. Not counting the dog, I’m the only male in the house so I can’t speak to that. It’s all a bit silly.
I thought about playing this yesterday, but thought better of it.
Oh, That reminds me, How was Mothers Day for everyone?
It was good here, My mom got a lot of stuff, and me and her made a Carrot cake (For my birthday) and a Cranberry Cake (for my dad as he doesn’t like Carrot Cake), We celebrated my birthday and that went well! I’m hoping everyone also had fun yesterday!
Good morning, diners. Chloe, I’ll have something different today. How about coffee, eggs, bacon, and hash browns, please.
Mike, you’re preaching to the choir here – I had my wife and three daughters all hit the same moods at the same time during the teenage years. The daughters were all within four years of each other (talk about headaches with all of them in college at the same time). Like you, I learned to keep my mouth shut and ride it out. If it’s any consolation, now that they are all grown with their own families, the wife and daughters are all best friends and talk daily. I still keep my mouth shut.
My wife had a great Mother’s Day (for her). A grossbeak showed up at the feeders, and then one of the daughters sent her this photo. This was in the daughter’s yard. We don’t have these in our part of the country, so my wife was very excited. I think the girls inherited bird watching from their mother:
Judy had to work yesterday but had some flowers on the table for her to come home to. Today she got a suprise day off, so we’re trying to figure out what to do with our day over a late coffee this morning.
The 18 hole miniature golf with real greens is open. And they have a new yellow ducky paddle boat over there. I’ve gotta feeling I’m gonna be looking silly today
Is that a pileated woodpecker John?
Huh! I’m obviously not as observant as you are Ed. Didn’t notice that till you brought it to my attention. A good question, but don’t have the answer. My brother texted me those photos a year or so ago. I’m wondering if he knows, so I’ll have to ask him next time we chat.
Wherever you are, seeing a Pileated makes for a good day! Only thing better in the U.S. would have been the Ivory-Billed, now thought to be extinct since the '40s or '50s (depending on whom you read). There was quite a flap about sightings 15 or 20 years ago but they were debunked by most scientists and folks in the birding world.
Good morning from quietville where it was so quiet as I walked the grounds with my first cup of coffee, I had to make sure my ears were still attached, 16c-HOC.
The wife goes to Costco either Monday or Tuesday and leaves at 0900hrs almost without fail. This morning as she walked out to the car her phone buzzed and it said, "if you are going to Costco take such & such street as there is construction on … street today. LOL. Gotta love AI.
Dinner last night was good, we all had a great time. My wife gave me the EYEBALL to remind me I was to pay the bill. I pulled it off in expert fashion before my son knew what happened. He said, Dad, that was the slickest move I have ever seen.
I did a very good inspection of the plumbers work on our bathroom reno this morning and must admit they are good. It is HVAC today and I brushed up on the codes to be ready.
