What did you do today?

[Flyover]

I'm three days into planking every day for at least one minute. My goal is to increase that time incrementally so that in maybe a month I'm planking for ...uh...I have no idea how big an increase is realistic, only that I'm sure I can increase it. Curious to see if/how it affects how much weight I can lift during other exercises.

Meanwhile the pool opens up after Memorial Day so I can start going there a few afternoons per week. Swimming is by far my favorite way to exercise. This will be the first time in my life when I'm regularly both lifting weights and swimming (in the past it's always been one or the other), so I'm pretty excited.

We found out this weird thudding noise we were hearing from our bedroom ceiling is a woodpecker attacking the gutters. (Neighbors saw it.) He attacks them every weekend morning. I know why he attacks them (probably there's tiny caterpillars or tasty bugs or something in there) but I don't know why he only attacks them on weekend mornings--that part makes no sense to me. Also, his attacks are noisy but pretty futile; I can't even see a scratch on the gutters anywhere near where the neighbor said he saw the pecking taking place.

 

[zannej]

Eddie, that sounds delicious. I need to stop thinking about carbs so much. Spicoli is trying to help me go low/no carb.

Flyover, is planking where you lay on your stomach on something and stretch out straight horizontally?
I wish we had a pool at home because I'd take up water aerobics. The only public pool in the area is outdoors in the sun.

The woodpecker sounds annoying. We still have the cardinals slamming themselves into Mom's bedroom window. But now the male is going around to the front after I feed the dogs and taking dog food one piece at a time. Not sure where he goes with it, but he lands on the bowl and picks up a piece, looks around, looks in the bowl, looks around more, ponders the universe, looks in the bowl, and then flies off.

The original installer AC people actually called back so I canceled with the other guy. He was cool about it (no pun intended) since I told him I'd been calling the original installers. They had a new fan motor in their truck (that was the culprit). So they installed it. It started raining pretty hard while they were working on it. I gave an otter pop (flavored ice in a plastic sleeve) to one of them since he was the only one who accepted the offer. I had to change shirts bc I was soaked but had a hard time getting the clean shirt on bc it kept sticking to my wet skin and rolled up at the back and didn't want to come down.

I got satin pillowcases on my pillows to make them cooler (had microfiber on before). Its nice and cool now and I'm about to take my meds and get some sleep. I'll see how many cats feel the need to pile on now that its colder.

 

[Spicoli43]

People in my neighborhood in WA nailed platforms to the sides of their houses and put fake Owls there to keep woodpeckers away. The real Owls didn't keep them away, but the fake ones worked.

 

[BuzzLOL]

I made 3 two-ingredient biscuits

I made biscuits for sausage gravy over biscuits... they're also good with just butter...
Biscuits made with milk, butter, selfrising flour, egg, corn oil...
We ate 3 biscuits, froze 6 for later...

 

[BuzzLOL]

The original installer AC people actually called back so I canceled with the other guy. He was cool about it (no pun intended) since I told him I'd been calling the original installers. They had a new fan motor in their truck (that was the culprit). So they installed it.

Around here A/C can last 20 years but in Vietnam where it's over 100 about 10 months of the year we burned through window A/C units in 3 years when I was there in the army...

 

[Eddie_T]

I'm thinking of trying milk with oil in lieu of heavy cream to make two three ingredient biscuits. The heavy cream is easier but I fear some will go bad on me if I continually keep it on hand. I could also try buttermilk biscuits if the milk and oil works out. I use 1c SR flour and ½c cream to make 3 large biscuits (cut with a tuna can). I'll have to determine the right amount of oil to make the ½c oil-milk emulsion.

Speaking of buttermilk I tried a new culture yesterday and it seems to have worked out OK. I used Aldi buttermilk for the first time as a starter. Some brands don't work as well and the buttermilk separates radically into whey and solids. I noticed the date on the whole milk was April 25 but it still passed both smell and taste test. Shaking every day keeps it from spoiling.

 

[zannej]

My cat Biscuits doesn't like when I put butter on him.
7 cats piled on me last night. I'm still barely awake. Trying to motivate myself to get up if I can get cats off of me.

 

[Eddie_T]

My cat Biscuits doesn't like when I put butter on him.
7 cats piled on me last night. I'm still barely awake. Trying to motivate myself to get up if I can get cats off of me.

My MIL made cat head biscuits.

My Russian Blue has some congestion that is hanging on. He was a feral and visiting a vet isn't an option. I am debating whether to try some Fish Mox amoxicillin mixed in coconut oil on the back of a paw for him to lick off.

 

[zannej]

I got up and fed the cats. Dogs were out all night so I put them up. Peanutbutter managed to pop the door open and get out so I had to put her back in. They have a bed in there and should be comfortable. They don't want to be outside because they come right back in.

 

[Spicoli43]

Around here A/C can last 20 years but in Vietnam where it's over 100 about 10 months of the year we burned through window A/C units in 3 years when I was there in the army...

We took over the Iraqi Republican Guard barracks, AC undoubtedly provided by American ingenuity and cash during the Iran/Iraq War. Maybe I'm making that up, don't care. It didn't quit the whole time we were there.

 

[Flyover]

Got word around 8:30am today that my grandfather had died about four hours earlier. We were close. He was almost 99 and had been in and out of the ER/hospital a lot the past few years so it wasn't a huge shock or anything, though he had an important scientific project he was working on right up until the end and never got to finish. I feel pretty bummed out.

I took the morning off and had planned to take my daughter for a round of frisbee golf but it was raining, so I did some woodworking in the garage instead. Built that balance beam the kids have been asking about. It comes apart so I can store it in a corner of the garage but all assembled it's probably 15 feet long.

 

[zannej]

Spicoli, I think the humidity/moisture in Vietnam may have had a part in the AC dying. You mentioned to me that Iraq has a dry heat. I think Vietnam is like Florida and Louisiana with the hot wet weather.
Of course, it also depends on the quality of materials used. They used to build things to last longer. Now they deliberately make things to break down so they can charge more $ to sell new ones.
Flyover, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather. 99 is a long life but when its family its not long enough. Balance beam looks cool though. Are he kiddos into gymnastics?

I've been out of it today. My right ear is itching like crazy & I think I scratched inside it too much yesterday bc now it is sore. I have clear liquid coming out. When I shake my head I can hear it sloshing a little and my hearing is impaired in that ear. I can feel the liquid inside and it makes the inside itch. It may be the start of an ear infection.

I really need to cut back on the carbs and eat more meat & regular veggies.

My brother didn't take his stuff out of the cooler and all the ice melted. He blamed me for it but I'm not having any of it. He can be responsible for his own crap. I just hope I won't have to be the one clean the stuff out if it rots.

Kept the dogs in most of the day bc it was hot and just let them out. Of course they are now on my bed. I've never seen hounds that hate being outside this much.

 

[Flyover]

Zannej, the oldest is into gymnastics. But no kid can resist a balance beam. Few able-bodied adults can either, when it's right there!

By the way, that robin has now hatched three chicks, with the one remaining egg beginning to hatch (note the tiny beak-hole). This morning she was out getting food so I nabbed a photo:

 

[Spicoli43]

Sorry for your loss, Flyover. That's one heck of a life though. My Grandma lived to 97, family record holder.

Zannej... Yeah, Dry heat in Iraq. Brutal dry heat like Death Valley. I don't know if I hated Miami more though with the humidity and rain every single day for an Hour. I was only there for a week, but couldn't live there.

 

[Eddie_T]

Flyover, as kids we used a nearby railroad as balance beams (we just couldn't resist), I had forgotten how pretty robins egg blue is. The nest is a work of art. Rough material in the structure and fines in the finish work resulting in a near perfect circle. No training required, all programmed into the DNA. I wonder how many lines of code are involved?

 

[Flyover]

Thanks again for the condolences, everyone.

I watched the robin build the nest. The reason it's a perfect circle is because the robin puts the stuff down and then sort of turns around in a circle to tamp it down using its belly. Since its legs are fairly centered under its body and its body doesn't change size as it rotates, all it has to do is make sure its feet don't wander as it executes the turn. But yeah, its ability to know what coarseness or fineness of material for what part of the nest is also really cool. With some birds it's even more advanced, e.g. hummingbirds using spider silk, waterfowl using down, etc.

That fourth egg hatched this morning, so now there are four chicks in there.

 

[zannej]

Flyover those are adorable baby birds and the egg is very pretty.

Birds are amazing at nest-making. There are some that can make little huts with doors. Not sure how, but they engineer it so they can pull the door shut. My dad told me that when he was a kid his grandmother or aunt (can't remember which one) had long red hair. She would take her hair out of her hairbrush and put it out the window. So all around the neighborhood the birds' nests all had red hairs worked into them.

Anyone seen the videos of birds dubbed over in some sort of computer-like voice where the one bird says "Becky, let me smash"? It's weird but funny.

Spicoli, when my parents were first married they lived in Death Valley. Mom said it was hot there but she said the heat here is worse because of the humidity. At least in dry places you sweat can evaporate and cool you off, but here the sweat and moisture just cling to you and don't cool you off.

I went to the Chinese place, then to Samsclub, then Walmart, post office, & to my friends house to drop off some Ensure. It's not the healthiest thing for him but it's better than sodas. I was telling Spicoli I don't know how this guy survived to his 30s not eating fruit, vegetables or drinking regular water. He exclusively drinks sodas and energy drinks. But he stays skinny. For now at least.

When I got there the baby was covered in food and crying. My friend was getting ready to leave for work and the mother was ignoring the baby. So I got a wet paper towel and started cleaning him up. He flinched at first (I think his mom hits him). She's very rough when wiping off his hands and face to the point he's afraid of her and squirms to get away. But once I showed him I was being gentle he held his hands out and let me clean between his fingers and wipe his mouth. I then showed him how to wipe his high chair tray with the paper towel and let him try. So, he started trying to wipe it himself. Poor baby will probably spend the next few hours stuck in that high chair bc once my friend leaves, his mom will probably stay on the porch or go into my friend's bedroom, shut the door, and play on her phone like she always does. She really should not be having another baby when she doesn't like the one she already has.

 

[Spicoli43]

zannej... Was your Dad stationed at Ft. Irwin?

Speaking of the Military, I watched an episode of "The Unexplained" last night that featured disappearances. One guy went hunting for an Ancient Inca City and never returned, a story about that Malaysia Jet that disappeared, and then of course on any "disappearance" show they have to include the Bermuda Triangle.

I heard in the past, and this episode included WWII era planes that were lost in the Triangle, but a different show said they might have the exact location of the triangle off, so it could be further north, or a bigger triangle.

That got me thinking. All my trips to the Middle East included Dallas to Maine, then to Ireland or Germany. Same thing on the return trips. I used to think it was for fueling, but it's not like we were in puddle jumpers. Now I'm wondering if the Maine part was to ensure the planes didn't travel through the Triangle?

Dallas straight to Ireland or Germany would be very close....

 

[Spicoli43]

Well, back to riding lawnmowers. Many of you remember my unending problems with the electric Cub Cadet last year. I eviscerated them for releasing untested junk and eviscerated Home Depot for selling it to the point they got rid of my review.

I tried Lowe's this year, bought a Gas Husqvarna at the start of May, expected delivery 3 weeks ago. Got a call saying someone cut the battery cables and took the batteries on all 6 of my model. Ok, well maybe don't leave them outside all night? Please bring me the mower and a battery and cables and I'll hook it up. It's not Rocket Surgery... NOPE, that would void the warranty.

Ok, so how long until someone repairs one and brings it to me? Two weeks... Fine... Wednesday I get a call... "We have your mower, someone will call you in the morning to arrange a block of time to deliver"... Great. No call Thursday, I check the website, says it's delayed. Okay, whatever, I'll call Friday...

Talk to customer service Friday morning, she says the mower is ready. It's supposed to be delivered, I don't have a trailer. Ok, she will call the manager and have him call me. Great. I wait all day, no call. I call back and ask to talk to someone in the garden center last night. I get the same guy that told me the batteries were taken weeks ago. He says "Nobody called you? The mower is here, but there's no battery."

Weeks have gone by, the same mowers have sat there the whole time, nobody there or me is authorized to hook up the battery / cables and they have to be shipped to Lowe's corporate or their authorized repair center or whatever. The person responsible for this operation is not some freshly hired schmoe off the street, it's not One manager... It's TWO MANAGERS in that department that are the only ones with the authority and the mowers haven't moved an inch.

The guy I'm talking to is great, just as frustrated as me, but he says my only option is to come see what they have in stock.

Nah, probably not... I'm going to Home Depot to look at what they got, hopefully a Toro. I have to avoid Cub Cadet for obvious reasons, and Cub Cadet's Brothers Craftsman and Troy Bilt which are the same exact tractor mower. I'm trying to avoid John Deere because the service center is 90 miles away and if you go to their website, problems are answered with "That's too bad, call your dealer" for every complaint.

I don't think I'm supposed to have a riding mower by force of nature. I think I'm going to run off, get married and join the Circus or something and never mow a lawn again.

 

[ekrig]

@Flyover Sorry to hear about your grandfather. Even if one might be somewhat expecting it, it still hurts.

@Spicoli43 The service of the big box stores just keeps doing. I used to be a faithful HD client back when they pretty much always had the best prices and great costumer service. Then I caught them charging much more that other places several times and I started going to Lowe's and they have great prices (on _some_ things) but their costumer service was always bad... Trying going back to HD but their costumer service has also gone downhill big time. They don't care because there is almost no competition, and frankly it is our fault, for letting ourselves get trapped with only those few choices... Anyway, removing bad reviews is simply corrupt on HD's part. Thanks for sharing.

Try a ACE hardware or Tractor Supply if there's one close to you? Best of luch