Daily Archives: January 17, 2021
Really, We Only Planned To Eat Half . . .
Today being sunny and in the mid-60’s, it seemed like the perfect day for another visit to the Three Acres Food Truck Park.
Along with our usual Clam Chowder and Fried Mushrooms, we tried a couple of new things, a Chicken, Cheese, and Bacon Quesadilla,
and an order of their Chicken Tenders.
Both really good, as usual.
And of course we had to finish up with a Deep Fried PB&J, mine with Grape Jelly, and Jan’s with Strawberry.
We cut them in half, planning to eat half and take half home, to have with all the rest of our meal that we took home for later. But it didn’t work out that way.
Though we had plenty of Friend Mushrooms, Chicken Tenders, and Chicken Quesadilla left over, none of either of the PB&J’s made it home.
Then it on over to the HEB for a few things before heading home.
A very nice end to the weekend.
For you Murdoch Mysteries fans, Season 14 is set to premiere on February 20th, 2021. Starting out on Ovation, it will consist of 11 episodes. Really looking forward to it.
Norway Raises Concern Over Vaccine Jabs for the Elderly
Norway expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising an estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29.
However, it’s not just Norway. Other reports show that fifty-five people in the United States have died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, according to reports submitted to a federal system.
Deaths have occurred among people receiving both the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, according to the reports.
In addition to the deaths, people have reported 96 life-threatening events following COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as 24 permanent disabilities, 225 hospitalizations, and 1,388 emergency room visits.
And it seems like more and more healthcare/emergency workers are declining to being vaccinated.
Drive to get COVID-19 vaccine to L.A. firefighters loses steam as 40% fail to show up
Maybe they know or suspect something that we don’t?
And wrapping up,
Germany to Put COVID Rulebreakers in ‘Detention Camp’
Germany is set to put COVID dissidents who repeatedly fail to properly follow the rules in what is being described as a ‘detention camp’ located in Dresden.
To further quote the article:
Camps. For dissidents. In Germany.
What could possibly go wrong?
Thought For The Day:
“I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.” – Thomas Jefferson
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” -George Washington
January 17, 2011
Mammoths and Ibises . . .
And the clouds parted…and the sun came out.
Finally!
We were beginning to get waterlogged.
It was supposed to be even warmer and sunnier this afternoon, so after coffee I headed out for clients and errands. But many of my errands did not go as planned, since I didn’t remember that today was a Federal Holiday.
Heck, most days I’m not sure what day of week it is, I’m supposed to keep track of holidays, too?
I mean, that’s why we have one of these hanging in the coach.
Of course I have to remember to look at it, don’t it.
I did stop by Kroger’s on the way to get some PowerBall tickets, then it was on to my client’s office.
Looks like I’ll be going back up there tomorrow night while Jan’s at Bingo. I need to install the new 2011 UPS shipping software when the office is closed since I’ll have to take their computers offline for about an hour or so.
Leaving the client’s I stopped off at Home Depot again trying to find an icemaker water filter that will work in place of the one I have now, which has been discontinued. It goes under the sink at the rear of the cabinet, and there’s not a lot of room to mount anything too much different.
Luckily I was able to find something that I think will work, and even better, it costs less money than the original.
Heading home, I stopped by the H.E.B. Market in the Victory Lakes area to pick up some unsalted butter and decaf coffee for Jan, finally getting back to the rig about 3pm.
Just as I was entering the park, our daughter Brandi called to see if we were in her area, and if we could pick up Landon at daycare, and meet her at his pediatrician’s.
Last night he developed a allergic rash on his face that had subsided this morning, but came back during the day, so Brandi wanted to get it checked out.
Unfortunately, it would have taken us about 45 minutes to get back up there, so we weren’t much help.
The doctor gave him some Benadryl and said to see what happens in the next couple of days.
As soon as I got home I started working outside on the wheel well flanges. I was able to get all the old rivets drilled out and ready to mount the new ones.
I also found out I like my new Sears air compressor even more than I thought.
I wanted to top off a couple of tires on the truck, and while I was looking for an extension cord, I noticed that the tank gauge still showed 130#. I found that I was able to add air to three tires and the tank pressure only dropped about 5#. Great!
By the time I was finished, Jan was ready to go out to supper. Tonight it was the Chili’s up in Kemah. Jan had the Margarita Grilled Chicken and I had the Chicken and Green Chile Soup and Salad.
Coming home I stopped off at the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts on SH146, looking for some diesel fuel algaecide, but with no luck.
Getting back to the rig, I had enough light to start mounting one of the new flanges, but the wind had picked up and with the temp in the low 50’s my fingers started to get numb fast.
So I’ll try to finish up tomorrow, since it’s supposed to be even warmer.
And now to other stuff.
First, I found some more info on the story about cloning a mammoth in the next few years. Check it out here. More Mammoth Stuff.
I got these photos the other day of a group of birds around one of the ponds around the park.
I call this one “What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
It turns out this is a juvenile white ibis. It’s the first time I’ve seen an ibis in this area. They apparently become pure white when they reach adulthood.
And this is our old friend, the Great Blue Heron. He’s always around here somewhere.
That’s it for today. More tomorrow.
Thought for the Day:
Half of all Americans are above average. Most politicians come from the other half.
January 17, 2013
Mission Accomplished . . .
or Oops!
Well, I got our Splendide washer/dryer reinstalled this afternoon and so far it’s working fine.
I mentioned yesterday that I was going to put straps on the washer to help me get it out next time. And there will always be a next time.
The straps are fastened at the top rear of the washer and run down the back and then underneath and out to the front. I’ll then tuck them behind the retainer strip so it will look like this.
About 5:30 Jan and I headed to Chris and Linda’s for a meal of homemade gumbo. Chris did the cooking and did a great job, making it with shrimp, crabmeat, and Cajun sausage. Really, really good, served with rice and French bread.
And for dessert we had homemade bread pudding with rum sauce. Heavy of the rum, very heavy. And very, very good.
And even better, we got to see Piper and her boyfriend Casey since she wasn’t working tonight.
We finally headed home about 8pm after a long, busy day, and a delicious meal. And it looks like tomorrow will be busy too.
As far as the “Oops!”, it seems like in their hurry to ban magazines that hold more than 7 rounds, the New York State Legislature forgot to exempt police from the ban, and their pistols all hold 13 – 17 rounds. After being told by law enforcement that the law applied immediately to civilians, civilians are now trying to perform citizen’s arrests on police officers.
The Legislature says that they will fix problem in the next week or so. Several people have said that they plan to file lawsuits to force the police to obey the law.
Thought for the Day:
The Second Amendment: When they tell you you don’t need it, Is when you need it most.
January 17, 2017
Frack By Night . . .
Last night was a little quieter than last night, with only about 20 trucks coming in, so not bad at all.
Except for the rain. And rain. And more rain.
It wasn’t long until the entire pad was flooded, especially the potty trailer area.
What wasn’t under six inches of water, was just six inches of mud. Very heavy, very sticky mud. Your boot would sink in and it was hard to pull it back out.
But even rain doesn’t stop the frack. Nearby lightning, yes, rain, even heavy rain, no.
Otherwise the crane is just one big lightning rod.
And it doesn’t stop at night either. With enough light, they just keep going.
It’s looking more and more likely we’ll move over to Westhoff. a town without a traffic light, just a two-way stop sign in the center of town. But instead of a 2 hour round trip back to Kenedy, we’ll only have about 10 minutes. Much nicer.
And much cheaper, with both gas and park rent.
Thought for the Day:
Movie theater popcorn cost more per ounce than filet mignon.
Who hadn’t already figured this out?
January 17, 2018
OOPS!
It went down to 23° here in Santa Fe last night, our lowest so far this year. But we made it through with no problems. Our water bay, where I installed the heat lamp last night, never dropped before 37°. I also wrapped a towel about our site water faucet, a PVC pipe that extends about 2 feet above the ground, And when I checked this afternoon it was still OK.
The only thing I ‘OOPS’ on was that when I was being sure my truck door wouldn’t freeze up by opening it several times during the evening, I completely forgot about Jan’s side of the truck.
So when I went out this morning it took me about 5 minutes to get it open. Of course it wasn’t as bad as in 2008 in Sturgis when it took me over an hour to get in then.
I did go outside about 8:45, cranked up the truck, and then turned the defrost and heater on High, so the windows were clear and the inside was toasty when we were ready to go.
Originally before the storm came through, we had planned to leave the rig about 9:45 for Jan’s 10:30 appointment this morning. But with this weather, we left home a little after 9am. Based on all the reports, I was expecting a real mess on the roadways, but zero, zip, nada. The roads were clear and dry.
I wasn’t planning on taking I-45 north due to the many overpasses along the way, and the news reports of all the wrecks this morning. I just had to get over the FM646 overpass and over to Hwy 3. I figured then I’d be home free with no overpasses.
And if I couldn’t get over on 646, I had a backup route to turn around and then take FM517 up to Alvin and then into Clear Lake on FM528 with no overpasses along the way. But this would take a lot longer so that’s why we left so early to allow for this reroute if necessary.
But the 646 overpass was heavily sanded and not a problem, and it was clear sailing the whole way to the hospital.
Jan’s procedure was scheduled for 12:30 and it all went pretty much on schedule. They have a really neat service where they text you as things happen during the procedure.
For instance, I got one when she was taken into the Operation Room, another when the procedure actually started, and another when she was taken to the Recovery Room.
Everything went fine with the lithotripsy, and we were on our way home by 5pm. She said that she was really surprised that she was not having any pain or soreness and probably won’t need any further painkillers.
On the way home we made a Jason’s Deli stop for a couple of large Broccoli-Cheese soups for Jan to have over the next couple of days.
She’s got a follow-up checkup on Feb. 2nd and then hopefully will be done.
Thought for the Day:
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. – Aristotle
January 17, 2019
The Eyes Have It . . .
We were out the door a little after 6:30am, heading for the Bay Area Surgicare Center adjacent to the Clear Lake Regional Hospital, where Jan used to work before we started RV’ing.
By coming in at 7:30, Jan was in the ‘second wave’ of cataract surgeries, so, after all the pre-op stuff. she was finally taken in a little before 9am. And as on her left eye, she was out in post-op, and ready to leave by about 9:45.
However, unlike last time when we went out for breakfast afterward, this time Jan was very nauseous and didn’t want to eat, so we just headed home. Then as we got closer to FM646, Jan decided that she would like a Broccoli Cheese Soup from Jason’s Deli, so I made a slight detour for that.
Back at the rig, and since neither of us slept very well last night, Jan had a little bit of the soup and then we both went back to bed. When Jan got up later she was feeling fine, so a little before 5pm we headed out to have dinner at Chili’s.
We both had our long-time favorite Grilled Chicken Caribbean Salad, something we’ve been eating there for years.
In fact, when they stopped carrying it about 15 years ago, we stopped going until several years later, when they brought it back. Guess they missed us.
Recently I noticed that the hot water from our Atwood 10 gallon Water Heater didn’t seem to last as long as usual. Normally the amount of hot water is not a problem for us, since I usually take my shower at night and Jan takes hers in the morning.
So I figured it needed to be flushed out. So when Jan got her shower that morning I had her turn off the water heater beforehand, so I wouldn’t have to dump a lot of hot water down the drain before I worked on it.
When she was done, I opened the faucet to drain the rest. Then I went outside and turned the water off. Then I removed the T & P valve and opened the drain plug enough to dump out a couple of gallons of water.
Next, using a funnel, I added about a 1/2 gallon of vinegar to the water heater and then replaced the T & P Valve. Back inside I opened the hot faucet and flushed the air out until the water heater tank was full. Then I turned it back on and let it percolate for a couple of hours.
Back at it, I turned the water heater off and drained the hot water out again. Then outside again, I turned off the water and opened the drain plug to empty it.
Then using my water heater wand hooked to a hose, I used it to flush out the heater by directing it in through the drain plug hole and twisting it around until nothing lumpy came out.
Then all I had left was to reinstall the drain plug, turn the water back on, and checked for leaks. Last up, I flushed the air out from the hot water faucet, turned the heater back on, and I was done.
Be aware that if you do this, be very careful not to turn the heater back on while the tank is empty of water. If you do, you will burn out the heater element in just a few seconds. So be safe out there.
Tomorrow morning, Jan has her checkup for today’s operation, then we’ll head off for breakfast before I head into work.
The Headline of the Day:
Man brings Emotional Support Alligator to Assisted Living Facility
Thought for the Day:
I’ve reached that age where my brain goes from “You probably shouldn’t say that.” to “What the Hell. Let’s see what happens.”
