Snow cleared

[HRM Resident]

It was simply too cold yesterday to go outside for old people like me!
For the first time in my life I threw up my hands in frustration at snow
and left it there. There wasn’t much, but I out waited it!

Had to use a hair dryer to get the car door open. That’s a first too.
Anyway, it’s all good and I am waiting gleefully for the next one tomorrow
evening. 80-100 kph in the wind warning from EC. At least it’s not
supposed to be cold along the coast. Lots of fuel stocked up, so let’er
rip! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[Lucretia Borgia]

I went out to Shad Bay today, not a very pleasant drive out, better
back in. We went for lunch at a place called Rhubarb, at Indian
Harbour, absolutely excellent - if you're in that area, I totally
recommend it, interesting for sale artwork on the walls too.

http://www.rhubarbrestaurant.ca/

[Mike Spencer]

HRM Resident <hrm...@gmail.com> writes:

> It was simply too cold yesterday to go outside for old people like
> me! For the first time in my life I threw up my hands in
> frustration at snow and left it there. There wasn't much, but I out
> waited it!

I feel like I've wimped out in old age. Until the last decade or so, I
never resorted to longjohns until the temps were below zero F (-17C).
One night I walked 3 or 4 miles from Northewestern to the railway
station in Chicago when it was (big illuminated sign over the street)
20 below (-29C) -- yes, wearing longjohns and a very heavy woolen
topcoat. One winter in western Massachusetts we had a whole week of
20 below nights warming up to 0F at midday.

Given the nature of our ca. 140-160 y.o. house, I'm very grateful that
it rarely falls below 0F (it hit 0 last night). And now I wear
thermal-knit longjohns when it hits single digits F. I still have
that heavy woolen topcoat -- it's probably as old as I am and in
great condition -- but rare occasions to wear it.

My long-time friend in Berkeley complained that their furnace died the
Tuesday after Christmas and they suffered through three terrible,
onerous days before it could be fixed. Outdoor temps mid 40s F,
burned up all their half-cord of (otherwise recreational) fireplace
wood in that time.


--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

[Lucretia Borgia]

On 16 Jan 2022 18:48:51 -0400, Mike Spencer

I hate to point this out - but I realised why I seemed to feel the
cold more these days - old age creeping in :) Don't you recall how
old people always seemed to have the heating too high etc.??

One good thing in condo life - the generator operates elevators,
garage doors, hall way lights and totally services the party room so
we can go there and use the stove etc. The wifi is also operative and
so is the tv, guarantees the males can watch football or stuff :)

[HRM Resident]

Lucretia Borgia <lucreti...@fl.it> wrote:
> On 16 Jan 2022 18:48:51 -0400, Mike Spencer
> <m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>snip<

>
> I hate to point this out - but I realised why I seemed to feel the
> cold more these days - old age creeping in :) Don't you recall how
> old people always seemed to have the heating too high etc.??
>
>

I am starting to mind the cold too. It’s been getting worse the past
couple of years. Like everyone else, when I was young, I never had to
dress like this—two pairs of pajamas, two heavy shirts, and a pair of
coveralls on cleaning the snow today. Guess I will have to follow Mike’s
lead and longjohns will be next. My parents and uncles/aunts all complained
about the cold past age 70. They had it 80-85 F in the house. I used to
sweat like all get out.

I found Mike’s story of the Berkeley friend having a “cold spell” at 40
F amusing and informative. It’s confirmation of relatively! :-)

Everyone is going in slow motion. I watched an hour of a call-in show
on CBC NEWSNET, based in Vancouver between 5-6 PM, and every single one of
the callers was suffering from various forms of burnout. From health care
professionals to truckers to oil patch workers. Maybe they screen out the
nut-bars callers m, but everyone seems very frustrated with the
anti-vaxers, etc. The problem seems to be those who follow the rules are
empathetic and not violent, and the 25% of the nuts seem to be the nasty
ones. One trucker from Texas even phoned in livid his fellow drivers won’t
get vaccinated and won’t wear masks.

That’s it for TV news for a week unless something really big that will
affect me occurs. We zoned out for the rest of the evening watching B/W
1960/1961 . . . you guessed it, Gunsmoke. Matt Dillon shot 4 guys in 3
episodes. I still have plenty left on DVD. And, if it’s not obvious, I’m
slowly going insane! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

Yes, it's obvious. :) But insanity seems like a reasonable response to
today's world. :)

[Mike Spencer]

Lucretia Borgia <lucreti...@fl.it> writes:

> I hate to point this out - but I realised why I seemed to feel the
> cold more these days - old age creeping in :) Don't you recall how
> old people always seemed to have the heating too high etc.??

Yes. But then, I knew people my own age (20s) who did the same. My
father complained of the winter cold weather when I was in high
school (his early 60s) but didn't keep the house unusually hot.

> One good thing in condo life - the generator operates elevators,
> garage doors, hall way lights and totally services the party room so
> we can go there and use the stove etc. The wifi is also operative and
> so is the tv, guarantees the males can watch football or stuff :)

A gen set keeps everything going here, too. A smaller one in the shop
if I want to use power tools there and the (normally electricly
heated) micro-greenhouse has a thermostated propane heater that doesn't
need electricity. The down-side, of course, is that I have to start,
fuel and supervise the generator, string the extension cord from the
woodshed, fire up the propane heater etc. all myself.

And we don't have to worry about power for heat and cooking with the
wood range and back-up propane hot plate.

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2022-01-16 9:26 PM, HRM Resident wrote:

>snip<

>> And, if it’s not obvious, I’m
>> slowly going insane! :-)
>>
>
> Yes, it's obvious. :) But insanity seems like a reasonable response to
> today's world. :)

I infer from that response that you, too, are going insane. It’s
inevitable, brother! Too bad all the hospitals and asylums are full, with
patients jammed everywhere, or we could share a room and babble at each
other! :-)

Covid has even taken away the ability for fools to be with other fools
before they exit this clown circus! HA! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

Let us whistle pass the cematary together. :)

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2022-01-17 9:29 AM, HRM Resident wrote:
>> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 2022-01-16 9:26 PM, HRM Resident wrote:


>snip<

>> Covid has even taken away the ability for fools to be with other fools
>> before they exit this clown circus! HA! :-)
>>
>
> Let us whistle pass the cematary together. :)
>
>

I am skipping the hospital and doctors, not that there’s much hope of
finding either, and heading straight for the funeral home/crematorium. Cut
out the middle man! :-)

--
HRM Resident

[James Warren]

On 2022-01-17 12:51 PM, HRM Resident wrote:
> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 2022-01-17 9:29 AM, HRM Resident wrote:
>>> James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 2022-01-16 9:26 PM, HRM Resident wrote:
>
>
> >snip<
>
>
>>> Covid has even taken away the ability for fools to be with other fools
>>> before they exit this clown circus! HA! :-)
>>>
>>
>> Let us whistle pass the cematary together. :)
>>
>>
>
> I am skipping the hospital and doctors, not that there’s much hope of
> finding either, and heading straight for the funeral home/crematorium. Cut
> out the middle man! :-)
>

Saving for your future? :)

[HRM Resident]

James Warren <jwwar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>


>snip<

>> I am skipping the hospital and doctors, not that there’s much hope of
>> finding either, and heading straight for the funeral home/crematorium. Cut
>> out the middle man! :-)
>>
>
> Saving for your future? :)
>

I am leaving everything to you! You can do whatever you want with it.
Start an Evangelical Religious cult if you wish! Become another Jim Bakker.
Solicit money to help spread the word. Another PTL club. Maybe pick
another name because PTL seems to have a stain on it. Move to Texas! :-).
The possibilities are endless.

Or buy a ticket and shoot into space with Jeff Bezos. :-)

--
HRM Resident

[jvangurp]

Once the temperature heads below -15 we start to notice the house changing shape... e.g. doors sticking and furniture wobbling a bit where it doesn't normally. I'm not sure how it happens as I have the feeling the foundation is poured directly on bedrock, but maybe it's not. Maybe it's a huge slab of stone with water under it. The cement itself was a really bad mix with all sorts of debris in it like cinders and bits of bone and stones and miscellaneous mineral materials. You could easily crumble it with a sledge hammer. At least it's very thick, so the mass is what's holding the house up. We built a deck 3 years ago and in extreme cold it gives sharp cracks. I used to worry about this stuff but the place has been standing for over 100 years so I don't think it will fall down any time soon despite cold weather.

But like you folks I'm moving slower these days... between the pandemic and the dark evenings and age there's a bit of lethargy. My bother at age 70 outs me to shame with a 20km cross country ski up and down big hills every second day or so. 10 years ago he was still doing the great Canadian Ski Marathon in the Courier Des Bois category - 160 kms in 2 days but you carry all your necessities like food and a sleeping bag and sleep outside on scattered hay around a campfire. The guy is unnaturally healthy and fit! I am a slob in comparison.

Cheers!
John

[HRM Resident]

On 2022-01-18 9:16 p.m., jvangurp wrote:
> Once the temperature heads below -15 we start to notice the house changing shape... e.g. doors sticking and furniture wobbling a bit where it doesn't normally. I'm not sure how it happens as I have the feeling the foundation is poured directly on bedrock, but maybe it's not. Maybe it's a huge slab of stone with water under it. The cement itself was a really bad mix with all sorts of debris in it like cinders and bits of bone and stones and miscellaneous mineral materials. You could easily crumble it with a sledge hammer. At least it's very thick, so the mass is what's holding the house up. We built a deck 3 years ago and in extreme cold it gives sharp cracks. I used to worry about this stuff but the place has been standing for over 100 years so I don't think it will fall down any time soon despite cold weather.
>
> But like you folks I'm moving slower these days... between the pandemic and the dark evenings and age there's a bit of lethargy. My bother at age 70 outs me to shame with a 20km cross country ski up and down big hills every second day or so. 10 years ago he was still doing the great Canadian Ski Marathon in the Courier Des Bois category - 160 kms in 2 days but you carry all your necessities like food and a sleeping bag and sleep outside on scattered hay around a campfire. The guy is unnaturally healthy and fit! I am a slob in comparison.
>
> Cheers!
> John
>

Howdy, J-V-G. And thanks for the post/update. I think the sounds
you are hearing are probably due to the relatively wild swings in
temperature. Everything, including the ground and our houses, is
contracting and expanding as the temperature falls and rises so rapidly.
We noticed this in the past few years . . . as my ancestors used to say
(about driving their teams and sleighs on frozen lakes to haul
firewood), we need "steady" weather. Unfortunately, our weather has been
anything but steady in recent years, and climate change ensures it will
only get worse.

Yes, we're all slowing down. Age, Covid fatigue, or whatever. More
and more body parts don't work as well as they used to. There are
outliers, and I suspect your brother is one of them. They age slightly
slower, or live better . . . who knows? Mike Spencer is older than I am
and has twice the energy! He's out splitting wood, etc. I could do that
stuff until 2-3 years ago. Arthritis and simply getting too tired put an
end to my heavy work.

I was gung-ho to learn blacksmithing circa 2015-2016. A lifelong
dream that I never had the time to do. I was getting up to speed and
spent a lot of money getting the gear, including a ton and a half of
Cape Breton coal. I made some blades like on that "Forged in Fire" TV
show and was moving into traditional ironwork like pokers, those old
"cookhouse" dinner bells, the holder for my civic sign, etc. Mike was a
great inspiration. I used many of his hints and suggestions.

However, around 2018/2019, I simply could not hit hot steel on my
anvil for long enough to do anything useful. I wasn't going to invest in
a power hammer . . . it was a hobby, not a job or source of income.
Don't start a physically demanding hobby in your mid-60s. I had 3 years
of it, and it was satisfying, but I can't do it anymore. Kudos to those
who can and started early enough to learn to do it the smart way.
Anyhow, I can say I did it. Not long enough, nor did I reach any
significant level of expertise, but it was on my bucket list . . . so I
have to cross it off regardless of whether I want to or not.

The neatest thing is making Damascus steel blades . . . but my
forge welding never got to the level where I could make the billets. So
I bought some pre-made ones from an outfit in Florida and then forged
and shaped the blades. When you get them tempered correctly (something I
can do well,) the pattern that emerges when you etch them in the ferric
chloride/vinegar "acid" is magic! Beautiful raindrop and ladder patterns
emerge. I gave all of my adult kids a couple, and I have a couple I
saved for myself. My last project was a sword** made from 1095 steel
(.95% carbon.) That damn near killed me, but I stuck at it until I had
it finished.

** Yes, having a sharp, tempered sword is legal. I asked the cops. It's
in the category of a baseball bat. If you walk down Barrington Street
with it yelling obscenities, either will get you in trouble. On the
other hand, it's OK if you have it on your property or a suitable
location where it's expected to be, and don't try to harm someone.

--
HRM Resident

[Lucretia Borgia]

On Wed, 19 Jan 2022 11:30:33 -0400, HRM Resident <hrm...@gmail.com>
wrote:

Yes, it's legal, I asked too when I had to register a pair of old
duelling pistols - they would likely do more damage to your hand if
you tried to fire them, than any opponent. It seemed ironic that a
samurai sword was okay and ancient duelling pistols no!