coreman wants to become the authoritative figure for flashlight crapfest on Google. Who am I to stop him? I figure that if I throw a link his way then the next time I get spidered, Google might bump his rating a little.
The picture is from the back parking lot at the shack. It would seem someone made the decision to get rid of some furniture in the middle of the night. Quite a sight to drive in to in the morning. 🙂
Saturday morning I ventured out into Sue’s mom’s backyard to explore what a frosty morning was like in the garden. It was a wonderful crisp morning, with a clear blue sky. As the sun started to come out and backlight the leaves on the willow tree, they became a brilliant green.
I wasn’t expecting to find much to shoot in the yard, but I was pleasantly surprised. One thing I desperately wanted to capture was the steam rising from the fence as the sun warmed its timber. Alas I did not want to trample the greenery below.
This past weekend was a fun trip to Vancouver. Nothing spectacular, but we got some visiting in, got some shopping in, and got some relaxing in.
The trip over was hell (more on that later), but once we were there, it was smooth sailing.
Saturday we had a brunch with some of Sue’s friends. Afterwards we went out for some shopping at Ikea and Petsmart. We got a variety of things from the former (some Xmassy, and some home essentials), and one item from the latter. Dog food is $10 a bag cheaper there than anywhere in Victoria, so we got 4 bags. The PetsMart checkout guy asked if Yoshi could have a treat, so we said sure. The guy grabs one of the hugest dog cookies I have ever seen. It was almost as big as my PDA (3 inches by 5 inches). Y make quick work of it though. 🙂
Sunday was a little more of a work day. After breakfast we headed out to a nearby farm to pick up some firewood. Y had a great run around the farm. Back at Sue’s mom’s place I helped string some Xmas lights, and answer a few computer related questions.
All too soon we had to head to Tsawassen for the 1 pm ferry. We got home at a reasonable hour, unloaded the truck (including stacking the wood in the pitch dark carport).
It was a nice break from the ordinary.
On the weekend I bought a pair of Columbia Trail Meister shoes. Since I don’t have any hiking boots, I needed something that I can wear in the mud and snow, and now worry about getting my toes wet. Before these shoes all I had were runners, and they just weren’t cutting it anymore.
These are very comfy so far, and I can tell that once I break them in, they will just be even better! I have walked Yoshi wearing these a couple times, and they work well!
Monday I dropped my truck off at Tommy’s Auto Upholstery here in Victoria, BC. I was getting the drivers seat fixed, and the front passenger side seatbelt replaced.
Under the seat there are three springs that keep tension in the seat. One end of the spring is hooked over a metal rod, the other through a hole in a piece of stamped metal. Two of the springs ripped out of the stamped metal causing the bottom of the seat to sag (quite a bit as it turned out). Also the foam of the seat needed to be reconstructed because it had all collapsed.
When I picked it up, I wasn’t sure what the seat would feel like. As soon as I sat down I knew the money was well spent. Instantly my butt felt more comfortable. I have also gained at least two inches in seat height! I have a whole new view of the road! I am still adjusting to the new seat though. I had to reposition the mirrors, and I can’t quite decide if I need to reposition the steering wheel or not. I also had to lean my seat back one more notch. Enough boring details of my life.
I will now be a lot more comfortable when heading out to places to get my laces muddy. Which reminds me, I need to add my next photo shoot to the list of events.
Soon I will be leaving work. My destination? Silver City.
Our office has been given the afternoon off, and a few of us are going to see the Matrix Revolutions.
I am a little excited, and a little apprehensive. You see, I didn’t enjoy the second one as much as I was anticipating I would. I was actually a little let down by it, and was dissapointed with it. The second one left me a little confused (yes I have seen it twice, and that didn’t help), and I absolutely hated the ending.
I have tried not to hype myself too much for this one, nor have I set my sights too high. I just want the story to be completed in a rational manner. I will report back later my thoughs.
Stoopid Oak trees. Last night there was a huge wind storm. My backyard needs to be raked again, and there are way more leaves in the front yard too.
I find it somewhat amusing though. At least I didn’t dispose of the already collected leaves, and hopefully I can stuff the rest of them into my truck so I can get them all in one load. :cross:
I love fall though. I love walking throught the leaves (in parks, not in my yard). I love the crispness in the morning air. I like the change brought on. Like many people I think fall is my favorite time of year. It is usually quite dry out, the rain isn’t too bad, and the temperature is agreeable to many outdoor activities (if you dress appropriately).
On a side note, I have not been sleeping well lately. I keep waking up earlier than I really want to. If I go to bed early, I don’t end up getting to sleep until sometime after 10:30. That is one thing about myself I would definitely change if I could.
Now for some good news today.
I found my missing vest today. Last night I was laying on the couch watching tv, and I got cold. I grabbed the blanket from the chair in the corner. This morning I was packing my stuff for work, and lo, on the chair in front of me was my vest. I was dumbfounded. How had I missed this in my search of the house. Then I remembered grabbing the blanket. My vest must have been under the blanket. 😎 Yay!
The other news is I found an RSS aggregator that I actually like! :shocked: Every single one I had tried up until today was pretty crappy (in my mind). Somehow I stumbled onto SharpReader. It is fast, stable, and has a good interface (good to me isn’t necessarily good to you). It has a couple quirks, and has crashed on me once, but so far it is light years above what I was using. Using SharpReaders export/import functionality I will be able to sync my feeds between the two computers I use the most. Trés cool!
Leeches! They are all leeches!
Yesterday, after riding, I worked in the yard raking leaves. I only got the backyard done, but my truck was stuffed. I still have the front yard to do, but there are a lot less leaves there.
I decided that I would get rid of these leaves before raking the rest of them, so today at lunch I headed over to the recycling yard nearby.
What a pain in the ass it is to get rid of a compostable material. Budget Steele wanted something like $50 a tonne, with a $10 minimum. :wtf:
I have a load of leaves that would cost me $10 to get rid of. Plus I have more leaves at home, which would also cost $10 to get rid of. Uhh, no thanks. I will wait. When I got back to work I started calling around. To use the Saanich yard, you must live in Saanich (makes sense). Hartland landfill has a $5 min, but they are a ways away. A friend offered to let me dump them in his yard where a Saanich truck will come and suck them up.
Why is it so difficult to get rid of leaves? I would have thought that since they are biodegradable they would be extremely easy to get rid of. Makes me want to doa run to Oak Bay in the middle of the night and dump them on a side street.
A couple days ago the kitchen sink started draining really, really slowly. Then when the dishwasher was running, and the empty cycle was going on, the disgusting water was backflowing into the sinks. It was just nasty, nasty.
Yesterday our landlord came over to see if he could fix the problem. Between the two of us, with him doing most of the work, we got everything unclogged and emptying smoothly again. It was pretty disgusting seeing the crud and gunk that settles into the pipes over time. We could definitely tell when we cleared the clog too. The stench of sewer wafted through the crawl space. :yuck:
Today we are getting the chimneys cleaned. This will be a much cleaner job since we have hired people to do it. 🙂