C.J. Cherryh's Blog, page 206
October 29, 2009
Back to the rink…it tried to snow today, but didn't.
I was sore today and so darned sleepy (probably allergies) that I wasn't worth much. We did run into old friends, had lunch with Kay. I'm still just exhausted, for no good reason, and had trouble breathing…just a little asthma, I think. No other reason for it.
The weather is what Jane calls 'slushing' on us. Not quite snow, too cold to be rain.
Jane is still battling the fan switch after her second trip to Lowe's, who first sold her a broken already-been-returned 4-way switch, after the...
October 28, 2009
Earth hit by asteroid, yep,…and the media was too busy with the movie reviews…
Check out www.spaceweather.com for the details, but a 30 foot (10 meter) asteroid smacked into Asia, and detonated mid-air with the force of several A-bombs, touching off nuclear explosion detectors all over the map, and causing widespread panic.
They're out there.
This one fortunately broke up before it hit anything. Dunno precisely why it blew, but I'd figure its own bowshock finally took it apart as it densified the already densifying air.
October 27, 2009
Well, we have put the pond to bed for the winter…we're tired!
I'll let Jane describe the joys of disconnecting the pump in 18″ of very cold water, and the delightful aroma while removing several dozen yards of filter material to dry out as we removed the guts of the waterfall for the winter.
We moved in everything that could be damaged by ice, and coiled up several hundred feet of sprinkler and regular hose—brought in the UV light rig, and installed the surface heater that will keep an area ice-free.
The fishes are all snugly asleep under their 6 foot...
October 26, 2009
93985…and back on the ice.
We went back to the rink today, trying to get our feet under us: again, pretty good: my sense of balance isn't shot, but it's kinda wobbly—instinct recovers when I let a foot drift ahead, and the leg strength is there, to yank that straying foot back under me. But the really weird thing: I'm intellectualizing stuff. Normally, on ice, I'm able to slop about and settle my weight here and there with the knowledge I can pull myself off a too-far-rear or too-far-forward weight-centering on my...
October 25, 2009
How to propagate spider mums…yes, you heard it here first…
We really, really want some of the larger, more fragile mums for the Japanese-garden pondside, and I have searched the web for spider mum or football mum *plants,* to no avail.
What I did find was the way to propagate them from a bouquet. It's really pretty simple. Get a watertight container and some sand. Fill container. Take longstemmed mum from bouquet and snip off the cut end, just to 'freshen' it, then cut off the flower, leaving about eight inches of stem and leaving 2-3 leaves on the...
October 24, 2009
It's Jane's birthday…
We're celebrating today. Got to run about and get some last-moment items.
October 23, 2009
We're 8 members away from 600!
And this is such a good community…we really appreciate you guys, one and all.
Well, we finally did something about the fireplace…
This place has 2 non-working fireplaces, one in the basement, one upstairs, and they're a bit of an eyesore. We try to decorate the topside one to make it look less forlorn. But this year (and a really good discount at Electric Fireplaces Direct) means we actually fix the problem, and because this is the season, Jane and I are combining our Christmas presents to each other, splurging just a bit, and getting something nice—an electric log set. I'll let you know how this goes. Should be here...
October 21, 2009
Well, weird day…involving the police fraud division…
…and a phone call from somebody representing herself as an agent of an insurer of ours. They need to meet with us about a really important new feature of our insurance, and could they do this tomorrow, oh, and we're going to need our insurance papers.
Right. The more we talked to this individual, who did not have our account number, and who needed our papers, the more suspicious we got. For all we knew, somebody would show up, get the account numbers, do us both in, and go to Argentina on the ...
October 20, 2009
Kicked AVG off, installed Norton 360.
Hopefully this will stop the 2-DAY-long system scans and other small annoyances.
I have wanted to boot AVG off for a year and a half now. Jane finally got 360, and I pounced. It's taken me all evening to get rid of one and get the other installed, but those of you who have followed the local soap opera will be delighted to know it has a backup function, and other nice items. A registry cleaner. Online storage. A startup cleaner.
I am hoping for the best.
