Got out OK and got fish (very expensive) and lamb (nice cut but should have been trimmed better), fresh herbs, and a replacement French Press caref (very surprised but available at Duck Soup).
I made two recipies of bread. In the first I used all purpose flour and in the second bread flour. The bread flour batch is much better but both are very good indeed.
The soup was rather more trouble than I'd expected and it took a bit to get the spices right. I ended up using a bit to much pepper so it has a bit of a bite but still very good indeed.
Tomorrow I'll do the rest of the meal.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Start cooking
Got off to a quick start this mourning to make the soup and bread for tomorrow's dinner.
Had a bit of a misadventure when the coffee pot broke! I noticed it after 10 cups of coffee spilled onto the counter, floor and along the way ran into several drawers! It took a bit to clean up and, of course, I'll need to buy another French Press or find a replacement glass caref (unlikely). It's not a big issue since I think I can get one in Sudbury and I've got to go out later to get fish and meat.
I'd given some thought to going caching later today. Just now it's about 10°F outside and after yesterday I'm less than wildly enthuiastic. But the weather is suppose to warm up around noon so I'll check then.
Had a bit of a misadventure when the coffee pot broke! I noticed it after 10 cups of coffee spilled onto the counter, floor and along the way ran into several drawers! It took a bit to clean up and, of course, I'll need to buy another French Press or find a replacement glass caref (unlikely). It's not a big issue since I think I can get one in Sudbury and I've got to go out later to get fish and meat.
I'd given some thought to going caching later today. Just now it's about 10°F outside and after yesterday I'm less than wildly enthuiastic. But the weather is suppose to warm up around noon so I'll check then.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Caching and errands
Left the house about 10 or so to go caching and run some errands. It's cold, around 20F, and windy with gusts to 40 or so. When the wind blows its VERY cold. When it's still it's not to bad.
Decided to go to the area around Cambridge Res. There are a large number of caches there and I'd hope to get my 25th.
First attempt was Reservoir Runner - Starting Point. Found the wall easily but there was a muggle cleaning the walks and parking lot so I didn't actually look. There was some sign of others recently there.
From there I went to Reservoir Runner II. Found the site easily, parked, and walked along the retaining wall next to the water. The ground was frozen and a bit slippery plus I left my gloves in the car. I looked for a bit but did not find it. 0 for 2. Not a good start.
Then on to Reservoir Runner. Unfortunately, it was NOT in my GPS because it's a micro! Things are just not going well.
Off to Reservoir Runner - Scenic View. Drove into industrial area but no parking! I should have parked back where I was. Now at 0 for 4 getting to 25 seems rather doubtful.
Undaunted I tried HD Handyman's Hope Chest. There were MANY muggles about and the area was covered in trash. I walked about a bit but decided against a real search. 0 for 5!
Still undaunted I decided to try Hobbs, Maggie Thora and Casey, Tigger, & Ella. At last success. From there I went on to Alaska & Guinness. Another success. This is an interesting area. While I was there I ran into 4 groups of dogs being walked. They were all very friendly and happy being out in the cold and wind. I'm less sure the people were. At any event here are some videos of the adventure. Remember to click through if you want to see the videos.
Boyed by some successes I decided to go on to sacajawea610. Another success and quick find. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. But I did wave as instructed to in the cache. I'd planned to go on to Central Mass RR Truss Bridge but as I was walking along the old train right of way the wind howeled between the ridge and office buildings. It was more than I was willing to endure so I gave it up and decided to find a less windy area. I'll go back on a less windy day.
Since I was in the area I decided to try Just Off The Beaten Path. It was a bit of a problem to get to because of the one way roads in Lincoln. But I managed and found it. Here's the video.
With just one to go to get to 25 I made a try for RESERVOIR RUNNER IV, Turnaround Point. I managed to park OK but didn't find the cache in a wall absolutely littered with hides. It may have been on the other side but I was reluctant to cross the wall since it looked like private property.
At this point I was about frozen and a bit hungry so I headed back toward Sudbury. Along the way I stopped at the library to pick up BB's books and then the grocer to get some things. Afterward I decided to drive by X marks the spot to checkout parking. Under ideal conditions there might be some but it would be VERY tight.
By now I was very hungry and went home to eat and thaw out.
Decided to go to the area around Cambridge Res. There are a large number of caches there and I'd hope to get my 25th.
First attempt was Reservoir Runner - Starting Point. Found the wall easily but there was a muggle cleaning the walks and parking lot so I didn't actually look. There was some sign of others recently there.
From there I went to Reservoir Runner II. Found the site easily, parked, and walked along the retaining wall next to the water. The ground was frozen and a bit slippery plus I left my gloves in the car. I looked for a bit but did not find it. 0 for 2. Not a good start.
Then on to Reservoir Runner. Unfortunately, it was NOT in my GPS because it's a micro! Things are just not going well.
Off to Reservoir Runner - Scenic View. Drove into industrial area but no parking! I should have parked back where I was. Now at 0 for 4 getting to 25 seems rather doubtful.
Undaunted I tried HD Handyman's Hope Chest. There were MANY muggles about and the area was covered in trash. I walked about a bit but decided against a real search. 0 for 5!
Still undaunted I decided to try Hobbs, Maggie Thora and Casey, Tigger, & Ella. At last success. From there I went on to Alaska & Guinness. Another success. This is an interesting area. While I was there I ran into 4 groups of dogs being walked. They were all very friendly and happy being out in the cold and wind. I'm less sure the people were. At any event here are some videos of the adventure. Remember to click through if you want to see the videos.
Boyed by some successes I decided to go on to sacajawea610. Another success and quick find. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. But I did wave as instructed to in the cache. I'd planned to go on to Central Mass RR Truss Bridge but as I was walking along the old train right of way the wind howeled between the ridge and office buildings. It was more than I was willing to endure so I gave it up and decided to find a less windy area. I'll go back on a less windy day.
Since I was in the area I decided to try Just Off The Beaten Path. It was a bit of a problem to get to because of the one way roads in Lincoln. But I managed and found it. Here's the video.
With just one to go to get to 25 I made a try for RESERVOIR RUNNER IV, Turnaround Point. I managed to park OK but didn't find the cache in a wall absolutely littered with hides. It may have been on the other side but I was reluctant to cross the wall since it looked like private property.
At this point I was about frozen and a bit hungry so I headed back toward Sudbury. Along the way I stopped at the library to pick up BB's books and then the grocer to get some things. Afterward I decided to drive by X marks the spot to checkout parking. Under ideal conditions there might be some but it would be VERY tight.
By now I was very hungry and went home to eat and thaw out.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Errands and caching
I ran a few errands this mourning - bank, groceries (forgot the list and didn't get egg beaters), coffee, and library. While I was out I made another run at the Firefighters cache. DNF even though most of the snow is gone. I suspect it's been muggled so I sent the owner a note.
After I got home the exterminator showed. I'd forgotten they were coming so it was fortunate that I returned when I did.
We're now having a slushly rain/snow while I'm waiting for the cleaning service. After they come I'll try another nearby cache weather permitting.
After I got home the exterminator showed. I'd forgotten they were coming so it was fortunate that I returned when I did.
We're now having a slushly rain/snow while I'm waiting for the cleaning service. After they come I'll try another nearby cache weather permitting.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Quiet Sunday
Spend a fairly quiet day at home.
BB and I went over the grocery list of things we'd need for Thursday. She went out shopping, twice, and managed to get almost everything we'll need. I'll have to go out to get a few more things and get the fish, meat, and fresh herbs.
Walked about 2 miles.
BB and I had an interesting made up dish of rice, noodles, asperagus, and shrimps. It turned out very well.
BB and I went over the grocery list of things we'd need for Thursday. She went out shopping, twice, and managed to get almost everything we'll need. I'll have to go out to get a few more things and get the fish, meat, and fresh herbs.
Walked about 2 miles.
BB and I had an interesting made up dish of rice, noodles, asperagus, and shrimps. It turned out very well.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Out caching
BB and I spent some time together this mourning then she went out shopping - not sure why or for what. She'd talked about going for a walk with me but apparently didn't really mean it.
Went out caching to try The Great Wall of Kay? again. DNF. Here are the photos. Remember to click through to see the movies.
I'm not sure it's there anymore. Tried to get to Conservation Land Kid Cache from there without success. Drove to the next parking lot and went in. Found it OK even though there were many people about waking dogs and such. Decided to try Lincoln Logic since I was in the area. This was my first puzzle cache but appeared to be fairly simple. Found the first part OK and went to the second (I cheated and took the coordinates since I was unsure how to solve with my GPS). Found the second part OK and took some trade items. Here are the photos.
Found & got home. I got somewhat lost on the way back. I really need to remember to set waypoint and turn on tracking.
BB nowhere about so I'll read or otherwise amuse myself. I'm rather disappointed since I'd hoped to spend some time with her.
Went out caching to try The Great Wall of Kay? again. DNF. Here are the photos. Remember to click through to see the movies.
I'm not sure it's there anymore. Tried to get to Conservation Land Kid Cache from there without success. Drove to the next parking lot and went in. Found it OK even though there were many people about waking dogs and such. Decided to try Lincoln Logic since I was in the area. This was my first puzzle cache but appeared to be fairly simple. Found the first part OK and went to the second (I cheated and took the coordinates since I was unsure how to solve with my GPS). Found the second part OK and took some trade items. Here are the photos.
Found & got home. I got somewhat lost on the way back. I really need to remember to set waypoint and turn on tracking.
BB nowhere about so I'll read or otherwise amuse myself. I'm rather disappointed since I'd hoped to spend some time with her.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve
Had a quiet mourning. Got out the heater and cleaned up the deck ice so it will be useable on NY eve.
Mike is down with a nemonia. It doesn't seem overly serious but the doctor has put him on antibiotics. Likewise Cindy is not feeling well. She is clearly uncomfortable and wining a lot. I hope it's noting serious.
Went out to Beyond the Stream and DNF. Parking was good. The trail was well traveled and most of the snow gone. I found the location easily enough and dug around all the trees in the area per the clue without success. I logged the DNF. Remember if you want to see the movie you need to click through.
BB was back from her hair appointment when I got home. She went out again and was gone some hours.
Plan for dinner is scallops.
Mike is down with a nemonia. It doesn't seem overly serious but the doctor has put him on antibiotics. Likewise Cindy is not feeling well. She is clearly uncomfortable and wining a lot. I hope it's noting serious.
Went out to Beyond the Stream and DNF. Parking was good. The trail was well traveled and most of the snow gone. I found the location easily enough and dug around all the trees in the area per the clue without success. I logged the DNF. Remember if you want to see the movie you need to click through.
BB was back from her hair appointment when I got home. She went out again and was gone some hours.
Plan for dinner is scallops.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Geocaching`
Went out geocaching to find Firefighter's Exercise Trail. Bright Winter day with temps around 20F when I was out. Got to the area OK with good plowed Winter parking on Craven Ln. Skied in over easy terrain and found the general area and rocks without difficulty. Unfortunately there was about 6" of new snow on top of 2" of crusty snow. I spent 30 min or so digging around the rocks, nearby trees, and brush without luck. I skied back and DNF it.
Cold mourning
Woke up this AM about 8. It's cold, about 8F outside! The afternoon promisses to be warmer. Had a hearty breakfast of biscut and sausage gravy to help me face the day.
Surprisingly, I'm not especially sore this AM after yesterday's vigorous exercise. On another positive note my weight is down to 214.5.
Spent some time last night planning geocach approaches. It looks like Witches Cove Trail is about a mile in and out. Beyond the Stream is much closer. About .25mi or so. MIHF also looks close as does Firefighter's Exercise Trail. X marks the spot and Return to Tradition #8: Henry's Hill Hybrid would provide a nice short pair. Given yesterday and the cold I think I'll go for something short. I may also give John and Marie a call to see if they are interested.
Surprisingly, I'm not especially sore this AM after yesterday's vigorous exercise. On another positive note my weight is down to 214.5.
Spent some time last night planning geocach approaches. It looks like Witches Cove Trail is about a mile in and out. Beyond the Stream is much closer. About .25mi or so. MIHF also looks close as does Firefighter's Exercise Trail. X marks the spot and Return to Tradition #8: Henry's Hill Hybrid would provide a nice short pair. Given yesterday and the cold I think I'll go for something short. I may also give John and Marie a call to see if they are interested.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Geocaching
If you want to see the movies you have to click through to the web album!
Went out today to try geocaching in the winter. Got my cross country skis out. It's been a few years but I found everything OK. The day was very clear and crisp with temps in the upper 20Fs. Great but tiring day.
Desert Supply Station - Found it! Finding caches under the snow is a challenge. I think I could use some sort of a probe. It was only about 750' in on a level trail from good parking but I spent 20 minutes finding it. Here is the web album.
Try Town Junction - After finding Desert Supply Station I decided to go on to Try Town Junction. It was quite a bit farther but after about a mile of skiing I finally got there. It took me 20 plus minutes to find it but I did for my second winter find. By the time I was done my feet were really cold and I was beginning to tire. I re-hid the cache and started skiing back over 1 mi. Here are the photos.
The ski back was somewhat tiring. I met another skier out with his dogs and a woman walking her dogs. By the time I got back I was fairly tired and my toes were bad. Drove back the long way to check out parking for another couple of caches.
Notes:
Went out today to try geocaching in the winter. Got my cross country skis out. It's been a few years but I found everything OK. The day was very clear and crisp with temps in the upper 20Fs. Great but tiring day.
Desert Supply Station - Found it! Finding caches under the snow is a challenge. I think I could use some sort of a probe. It was only about 750' in on a level trail from good parking but I spent 20 minutes finding it. Here is the web album.
Try Town Junction - After finding Desert Supply Station I decided to go on to Try Town Junction. It was quite a bit farther but after about a mile of skiing I finally got there. It took me 20 plus minutes to find it but I did for my second winter find. By the time I was done my feet were really cold and I was beginning to tire. I re-hid the cache and started skiing back over 1 mi. Here are the photos.
The ski back was somewhat tiring. I met another skier out with his dogs and a woman walking her dogs. By the time I got back I was fairly tired and my toes were bad. Drove back the long way to check out parking for another couple of caches.
Notes:
- Wear snow pants so I stay dry.
- When panning camera go SLOW.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Getting ready for New Years dinner
I ran errands today to get the things we'll need for the New Years party - wine glasses, blender, cooking utensils, steak knives, and some graber plates. I'm not sure about the grabber plates but we'll see what BB thinks. While I was out a checked the parking for the beyond the stream cache. It looks good so I'll probably try to go there tomorrow.
Spent the rest of the day reading.
BB was lukewarm to the purchases. We had a bit of a row. I think she may just have been tired.
Stimulus check showed. I'll deposit it ASAP.
Dinner was left over beef roast and roasted vegtables.
Mike is not feeling well.
Spent the rest of the day reading.
BB was lukewarm to the purchases. We had a bit of a row. I think she may just have been tired.
Stimulus check showed. I'll deposit it ASAP.
Dinner was left over beef roast and roasted vegtables.
Mike is not feeling well.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Snow day
It snowed overnight. About a foot or so by the time it was done early afternoon. I cleaned off the decks and helped Mike up the driveway. He'd gone out to work but came back early and couldn't get up the driveway. It turns out that he'd come home late last night after the snow started and had slicked up the driveway. Sooooo, I got his car part way up, put some sand in it, cleaned off the driveway, sanded and after backing out again got up. Along the way I had to mix new gas for the snow blower. It seems to like this much better than the last batch and ran rather better.
BB and I talked again about Dave and the $20K. I'm more than a little put out about the situiation, but hopefully she'll actually do something about getting Dave to sign and notorize the POA. We'll see.
BB and I also setup the table for our New Years dinner. It turns out we have almost everything we need save for 12 wine glasses, steak knives, and place plates. I'll go out tomorrow and get them as driving today is VERY poor.
Spent the rest of the day watching the football game, reading, and looking at recipies.
BB and I talked again about Dave and the $20K. I'm more than a little put out about the situiation, but hopefully she'll actually do something about getting Dave to sign and notorize the POA. We'll see.
BB and I also setup the table for our New Years dinner. It turns out we have almost everything we need save for 12 wine glasses, steak knives, and place plates. I'll go out tomorrow and get them as driving today is VERY poor.
Spent the rest of the day watching the football game, reading, and looking at recipies.
Quiet movie day
BB and I slept in and after some time together finally got the day going about noon.
We went out with John and Marie to see Invictus in the afternoon and then they came over for soup - tortilla soup. We had a nice visit ant then read and watched TV in the evening.
We went out with John and Marie to see Invictus in the afternoon and then they came over for soup - tortilla soup. We had a nice visit ant then read and watched TV in the evening.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Geocaching: 2 Found, 1 DNF
Went out about 10:00 AM to get a bit of exercise and see if I could find a couple of geocaches.
Started today's adventure with Annie Oak Leaf. I wasn't able to find it yesterday but today armed with rather more study and a photo clue I decided to have another go. Success after a bit more searching. The cache was VERY well hidden and as the description notes NOT Winter friendly if there is snow on the ground. Here's a link to the photos and videos I took. To see the videos you'll need to click and go to the Picasa Web album.
Flush with success I went off to Brianna's 1st. Parking was very easy and the cache was only about 600' or so away so off I went. This one threw me a bit of a curve. I thought for a bit that the cache was on top of the rock. So I hiked up there and looked around. While at it my GPS hung up and the buttons becam unresponsive. I pulled the batteries. Even so the unit continued to beep and click. After a bit it seemed to settle down so I put the batteries back in and started it up again. Along the way the compass hung and I recalibrated it. I'm not sure the PN-40 is all that I'd hoped. Interestingly there was a bunch of limbs stacked on top of the rock. Of course the cache wasn't there. Eventually I went down to the front of the rock and after a bit of searching found it. Here are the photos and videos I took. Click to see the videos.
With two successes and not enough exercise for the day I decided to try Pine Cone Palace. This was a bit of a walk in but nearby. Unfortunately I DNF! I'll have to study it more closely and try again. I did find where I thought it was buy try as I might didn't find the cache itself. Here are the photos and videos I took. Click to see the videos.
Today's geocaching was the longest yet, about 3.25 miles. By the time I got home at 2PM I was a bit tired and cold. Took a steam bath to warm up and then had a hearty lunch of open faced chicken sandwich. All in all a good deal of exercise and I'll have to admit to being a bit tired.
Started today's adventure with Annie Oak Leaf. I wasn't able to find it yesterday but today armed with rather more study and a photo clue I decided to have another go. Success after a bit more searching. The cache was VERY well hidden and as the description notes NOT Winter friendly if there is snow on the ground. Here's a link to the photos and videos I took. To see the videos you'll need to click and go to the Picasa Web album.
Flush with success I went off to Brianna's 1st. Parking was very easy and the cache was only about 600' or so away so off I went. This one threw me a bit of a curve. I thought for a bit that the cache was on top of the rock. So I hiked up there and looked around. While at it my GPS hung up and the buttons becam unresponsive. I pulled the batteries. Even so the unit continued to beep and click. After a bit it seemed to settle down so I put the batteries back in and started it up again. Along the way the compass hung and I recalibrated it. I'm not sure the PN-40 is all that I'd hoped. Interestingly there was a bunch of limbs stacked on top of the rock. Of course the cache wasn't there. Eventually I went down to the front of the rock and after a bit of searching found it. Here are the photos and videos I took. Click to see the videos.
With two successes and not enough exercise for the day I decided to try Pine Cone Palace. This was a bit of a walk in but nearby. Unfortunately I DNF! I'll have to study it more closely and try again. I did find where I thought it was buy try as I might didn't find the cache itself. Here are the photos and videos I took. Click to see the videos.
Today's geocaching was the longest yet, about 3.25 miles. By the time I got home at 2PM I was a bit tired and cold. Took a steam bath to warm up and then had a hearty lunch of open faced chicken sandwich. All in all a good deal of exercise and I'll have to admit to being a bit tired.
Delorme
Spent a lot of time fooling with Delorme this AM. It DOES take a fair bit of getting used to and is more than a little quirky. The documentation is also a bit dodgy and very imcomplete.
The GPS itself seems a bit buggy as well. I've had a couple of lock ups and the compass becomes non-functional from time to time.
Another complaint is that the road maps are not always correct. It appears that the maps are based on town maps, not actual roads as is the case with Google. The net is that the unit shows roads that are just not there.
All in all, however, I'm generally satisified given what I paid.
The GPS itself seems a bit buggy as well. I've had a couple of lock ups and the compass becomes non-functional from time to time.
Another complaint is that the road maps are not always correct. It appears that the maps are based on town maps, not actual roads as is the case with Google. The net is that the unit shows roads that are just not there.
All in all, however, I'm generally satisified given what I paid.
Geocaching walk in the AM
It's COLD, really really cold around 10F this mourning. I decided to start the day with a hearty breakfast a short stack of pan cakes, with an egg on top and 4 link sausages. After that and a couple of cups of coffee I took the trash out and then got on with planning the day.
The weather is offputting but I've got plenty of warm clothes so I'll go for a bit of a hike. After a bit of research I decided to go back to Anie's (DFN from yesterday) and then over to Briania's and, time permitting, Pine Cone Palace, Desert Supply Station and Witches Cove Trail. It will be a bit of a stretch given the weather but nothing ventured.
While I'm out and about I'll drop a book off at the library and take out the trash (it's always friday).
The weather is offputting but I've got plenty of warm clothes so I'll go for a bit of a hike. After a bit of research I decided to go back to Anie's (DFN from yesterday) and then over to Briania's and, time permitting, Pine Cone Palace, Desert Supply Station and Witches Cove Trail. It will be a bit of a stretch given the weather but nothing ventured.
While I'm out and about I'll drop a book off at the library and take out the trash (it's always friday).
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Day's end
BB went to her gyno today. She got back about 5 or so.
Dinner was shrimp sauted with garlic, salt, pepper, and tiger sauce served on a bed of lightly sauted baby spinich. I made a little sauce with some of the new chicken stock. Yum!
We spent the evening reading and watched a Netflix video.
The pedometer reports 2.58 mi for the day. My legs were a bit heavy but all in all I felt well.
All in all a nice day.
Dinner was shrimp sauted with garlic, salt, pepper, and tiger sauce served on a bed of lightly sauted baby spinich. I made a little sauce with some of the new chicken stock. Yum!
We spent the evening reading and watched a Netflix video.
The pedometer reports 2.58 mi for the day. My legs were a bit heavy but all in all I felt well.
All in all a nice day.
Geocaching and errands
After getting up and spending some pleasant time with BB I did some things around the house then decided to go geocaching when BB went out to run errands.
Without regard for the weather (15F!) geocaching . I'd hoped to visit three - Annie Oak Leaf, Ghiloni/Mello Supply Station, and Brianna's 1st. Annie was a DNF. I spent 30 plus minutes looking around without success. I think there is something bogus about either my GPS or the coordinates. I'll add it to my DNF list and go back to visit based on this photo:
I think I can find the tree and presumably the cache is nearby. Given that the description now has the cache on the ground, 6' lower, and it likely remains in the bucket it will hopefully be easier. The other photo puts the location about 60' off of the grass area.
I finally decided to try for Ghiloni/Mello Supply Station. Just a bit of hiking got me to the area and a quick search found the cache!
At that point I was getting a bit tired - 2 miles walking in the cold - and it was getting late. So I called it a day.
Tomorrow I think I'll try Beyond the Stream and Tri-Town Junction or perhaps go back to try Annie's and Briania's. We'll see.
Note to self:
Without regard for the weather (15F!) geocaching . I'd hoped to visit three - Annie Oak Leaf, Ghiloni/Mello Supply Station, and Brianna's 1st. Annie was a DNF. I spent 30 plus minutes looking around without success. I think there is something bogus about either my GPS or the coordinates. I'll add it to my DNF list and go back to visit based on this photo:
I finally decided to try for Ghiloni/Mello Supply Station. Just a bit of hiking got me to the area and a quick search found the cache!
At that point I was getting a bit tired - 2 miles walking in the cold - and it was getting late. So I called it a day.
Tomorrow I think I'll try Beyond the Stream and Tri-Town Junction or perhaps go back to try Annie's and Briania's. We'll see.
Note to self:
- Study the arial photos FIRST and plan much more carefully.
- Don't forget to set a waypoint on the car and turn on tracking.
- When it's that cold wear a neck warmer.
Plan for the day
It's cold, really cold, about 24F today. Winter seems to have finally found us.
BB and I slept a bit late then got up to get the day underway. The chicken stock is ready so I filtered it and put it away with a view to a soup in the next several days.
I'd like to get out geocaching and for a bit of a walk today but with BB and the cold I'm not sure it that is possible. It may be that when she goes to the doctor I can take a quick trip to Marlborough where there are three caches on a golf course and try to find them, do a bit of walking, and on the way back stop at Staples to get several things I need there.
BB and I slept a bit late then got up to get the day underway. The chicken stock is ready so I filtered it and put it away with a view to a soup in the next several days.
I'd like to get out geocaching and for a bit of a walk today but with BB and the cold I'm not sure it that is possible. It may be that when she goes to the doctor I can take a quick trip to Marlborough where there are three caches on a golf course and try to find them, do a bit of walking, and on the way back stop at Staples to get several things I need there.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Day's wrapup
BB was out this evening at an office X-Mas party so I was on my own. The roast chicken from last night was so good I decided to have it for dinner. Of course, the outstanding gravy had much to recommend it as well.
Spent the evening reading and watching TV. I'd recorded The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but the editing on this version was so bad I turned it off and decided to read instead.
BB got home about 9 or so and promptly fell asleep on the couch. After the third time I finally convinced her to call it a night.
The pedometer reported that I walked 2.25 miles yesterday. On one hand it seems like a lot on the other it had no effect whatever on my weight which I'd like to get under 200 lbs.
BB will be home tomorrow but has a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I'm not sure what the day will be like but it promisses to be colder.
Spent the evening reading and watching TV. I'd recorded The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy but the editing on this version was so bad I turned it off and decided to read instead.
BB got home about 9 or so and promptly fell asleep on the couch. After the third time I finally convinced her to call it a night.
The pedometer reported that I walked 2.25 miles yesterday. On one hand it seems like a lot on the other it had no effect whatever on my weight which I'd like to get under 200 lbs.
BB will be home tomorrow but has a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I'm not sure what the day will be like but it promisses to be colder.
Geocaching numbers 9, 10, 11, and 12!
Went out geocaching to get number 9 and 10 and possibly more.
The Mattress Graveyard and The Rock were quickly found. Since this was my 10th geocache I decided to make a video to post with this blog entry. Both caches were quickly found but I had a bit of misadventure when my camera battery failed and then the camera ran out of memory. By the time it was all dealt with my hands were rather cold. Still both caches were found and I now have 10! Yea!!
Since these were quick finds I decided to look for some others and drove a few blocks down Edgel to Nobscot Cagers. This is just a few blocks south so off I went. The cache was in an interesting little park that I'd never visited. Easy parking and a fairly quick find. Here are some photos and videos. Following the day's theme of failed batteries the GPS batteries gave up just as I found the cache. No harm though as I'd just found it.
Well since I was on a role and hadn't really walked very far, I decided to checkout Nobscot Woods. I'd been intending to do this after I discovered where the parking was. My original intention was to just checkout the parking to see if it was accessible in my car. But, once I got in the parking lot and realized that the cache was only about 1/4 mile away I decided to finish my exercise for the day and see if I could find it. Off I went. I was a bit unsure of the trails but followed those that were readily visible until the GPS started pointing well off trail. At that point I decided to just cut cross country. It turned out to be mostly up hill although the walking was easily enough. After about 30 minutes I found myself standing right on top of the cache. My 4th for the day and #12 overall!
Well that's today's geocache adventure! Oh, and the pedometer read 1.95 miles in the cold and about half up hill walking through snow!
Note to self:
1) Try to change batteries when I'm in a warm place.
2) Get bigger camera memory.
3) When it's cold, dress plenty warm.
The Mattress Graveyard and The Rock were quickly found. Since this was my 10th geocache I decided to make a video to post with this blog entry. Both caches were quickly found but I had a bit of misadventure when my camera battery failed and then the camera ran out of memory. By the time it was all dealt with my hands were rather cold. Still both caches were found and I now have 10! Yea!!
Since these were quick finds I decided to look for some others and drove a few blocks down Edgel to Nobscot Cagers. This is just a few blocks south so off I went. The cache was in an interesting little park that I'd never visited. Easy parking and a fairly quick find. Here are some photos and videos. Following the day's theme of failed batteries the GPS batteries gave up just as I found the cache. No harm though as I'd just found it.
Well since I was on a role and hadn't really walked very far, I decided to checkout Nobscot Woods. I'd been intending to do this after I discovered where the parking was. My original intention was to just checkout the parking to see if it was accessible in my car. But, once I got in the parking lot and realized that the cache was only about 1/4 mile away I decided to finish my exercise for the day and see if I could find it. Off I went. I was a bit unsure of the trails but followed those that were readily visible until the GPS started pointing well off trail. At that point I decided to just cut cross country. It turned out to be mostly up hill although the walking was easily enough. After about 30 minutes I found myself standing right on top of the cache. My 4th for the day and #12 overall!
Well that's today's geocache adventure! Oh, and the pedometer read 1.95 miles in the cold and about half up hill walking through snow!
Note to self:
1) Try to change batteries when I'm in a warm place.
2) Get bigger camera memory.
3) When it's cold, dress plenty warm.
Fooling with speech recognition
Since I hope to be doing a good deal of bloging I decided to install them and experimental with Vista's speech recognition facility. It's OK, but like my previous experience with speech recognition it's not necessarily any faster than typing. Still, it's worth a bit of experimentation.
After installing things and reviewing the tutorial I tried creating a blog entry but it seems that the speech recognition does not work within the browser page. That means that I would need to dictate in wordpad and then copy into the blog. It's not clear that it would save any time or be any quicker.
After installing things and reviewing the tutorial I tried creating a blog entry but it seems that the speech recognition does not work within the browser page. That means that I would need to dictate in wordpad and then copy into the blog. It's not clear that it would save any time or be any quicker.
Still trying to get to 10 geocaches
Woke up very rested this mourning after yesterday's exercise. Perhaps a bit leg weary but clear and feeling full of spit and vinegar.
Had some sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast. It was not my best effort but a nice start on a cold day, particularly as it's now below freezing and promises to be cold most of the day.
The plan for today is to get my 10th geocache. There are two just off of Edgel road in the scout camp just down the street from where BB and I lived in her house - the Mattress Graveyard and The Rock. They are near one another and related in that the Mattress Graveyard contains a tape measure to measure the Rock. As it's a bit cold I'll have to dress warmer than yesterday.
I've put a new battery into my pedometer with a view to seeing just how far I walk on my various geocaching outings.
Had some sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast. It was not my best effort but a nice start on a cold day, particularly as it's now below freezing and promises to be cold most of the day.
The plan for today is to get my 10th geocache. There are two just off of Edgel road in the scout camp just down the street from where BB and I lived in her house - the Mattress Graveyard and The Rock. They are near one another and related in that the Mattress Graveyard contains a tape measure to measure the Rock. As it's a bit cold I'll have to dress warmer than yesterday.
I've put a new battery into my pedometer with a view to seeing just how far I walk on my various geocaching outings.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Trying to get to 10 geocaches
8:00 I'm a bit sleepy this AM. Not sure why as I got a full 8 hrs sleep but there it is.
After I got up I made pork sausage gravy bisquets. Yum! I'm the only one in the house who enjoys them. They're very southern. Just fry up a pound of pork sausage in a few tablespoons of bacon grease. Dust with flour to adsorb the grease. After the flour is browned add milk to make a white gravy. Season with fresh ground pepper and pepper sauce. Serve on top of fresh bisquets. Very yum!!
Plan for today is to see if I can end the day with 10 geocaches found. We'll see.
10:00 Went out geocaching to try several that I've not found. Had 2 successes and 3 DNFs.
I started at The Leprechaun Coin Cache and DNF again. I'm not at all sure where it is. The coordinates are on the bridge. I looked very carefully but without success. The water is even higher than it was last time I was by and there is no access to the bridge abutments. It may be that it is only accessible by boat.
Then I went to Wayland's Alpine Field. This is a micro cache in a very public area. Try as I might I couldn't find it. I'll stop back by later since one of the photos gave a fair clue.
After 2 successive failures I decided to try Wayland 5.1 - Vespula's Cenotaph. Success! It was a nice walk although I found myself a bit winded walking up hill a bit. Clearly I need the exercise geocaching provides. Here are a couple of photos.
It took me some time to find the hide but after 30 minutes or so I was finally successful.
My enthusiam returned with success at Wayland 5.1 so I moved on to The Great Wall of Kay?. This is another small cache. I spent 20 minutes or so but did not find it. I think it may be inside a rock. I'll put it on my TBD list.
I then took some time to reconoiter the solution coordinates for Sudbury Garrison. There is parking at the park off of 117. It's about 0.25 miles from parking. So I'll go back and try again at some point.
From there I went to Davis Farm "321". This was an interesting walk and would be a good place to ski. I was able to find the hide without to much trouble. Here's the album.
It was getting a bit late and I'd not had lunch so I called it a day.
6:00 I made roast chicken and vegtables for dinner. Put it in about 4:30 for dinner at 7:00 as the bird was fairly large. I seasoned the bird with salt, pepper, and cajun spices. The vegtables were some of the red potatoes left from the weekend, carrots, onions, and brussel sprouts roasted in some olive oil and garlic. When the bird was ready I made a gravey and we had a very nice dinner. With that big of bird we had a lot of left overs so we'll have chicken again tonight and then I'll freeze the rest for other dinners.
As usual I took the bones to make a stock. I've always wondered why people don't do so commonly, but they don't. More's the pitty as home made chicken stock is so much better than the bought stock. After the stock is ready I'll make a toca soup. It's a favorite for colder weather.
BB and I spent the evening reading and watching TV.
After I got up I made pork sausage gravy bisquets. Yum! I'm the only one in the house who enjoys them. They're very southern. Just fry up a pound of pork sausage in a few tablespoons of bacon grease. Dust with flour to adsorb the grease. After the flour is browned add milk to make a white gravy. Season with fresh ground pepper and pepper sauce. Serve on top of fresh bisquets. Very yum!!
Plan for today is to see if I can end the day with 10 geocaches found. We'll see.
10:00 Went out geocaching to try several that I've not found. Had 2 successes and 3 DNFs.
I started at The Leprechaun Coin Cache and DNF again. I'm not at all sure where it is. The coordinates are on the bridge. I looked very carefully but without success. The water is even higher than it was last time I was by and there is no access to the bridge abutments. It may be that it is only accessible by boat.
Then I went to Wayland's Alpine Field. This is a micro cache in a very public area. Try as I might I couldn't find it. I'll stop back by later since one of the photos gave a fair clue.
After 2 successive failures I decided to try Wayland 5.1 - Vespula's Cenotaph. Success! It was a nice walk although I found myself a bit winded walking up hill a bit. Clearly I need the exercise geocaching provides. Here are a couple of photos.
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| Wayland 5.1 |
My enthusiam returned with success at Wayland 5.1 so I moved on to The Great Wall of Kay?. This is another small cache. I spent 20 minutes or so but did not find it. I think it may be inside a rock. I'll put it on my TBD list.
I then took some time to reconoiter the solution coordinates for Sudbury Garrison. There is parking at the park off of 117. It's about 0.25 miles from parking. So I'll go back and try again at some point.
From there I went to Davis Farm "321". This was an interesting walk and would be a good place to ski. I was able to find the hide without to much trouble. Here's the album.
 |
| Davis Farm 321 |
It was getting a bit late and I'd not had lunch so I called it a day.
6:00 I made roast chicken and vegtables for dinner. Put it in about 4:30 for dinner at 7:00 as the bird was fairly large. I seasoned the bird with salt, pepper, and cajun spices. The vegtables were some of the red potatoes left from the weekend, carrots, onions, and brussel sprouts roasted in some olive oil and garlic. When the bird was ready I made a gravey and we had a very nice dinner. With that big of bird we had a lot of left overs so we'll have chicken again tonight and then I'll freeze the rest for other dinners.
As usual I took the bones to make a stock. I've always wondered why people don't do so commonly, but they don't. More's the pitty as home made chicken stock is so much better than the bought stock. After the stock is ready I'll make a toca soup. It's a favorite for colder weather.
BB and I spent the evening reading and watching TV.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Geocaching and thoughts on retirement.
I slept in a bit this mourning. One of the advantages of being retired is that I can finally get a full 8 hours sleep a night. It is a great delight to wake up truely rested and ready for whatever adventures I'd like to have today.
I love to cook and eat. So the day started with making some cream cheeze with salmon and capers. Yum! I'd smoked some salmon a week or so ago and saved the left overs to blend with cream cheese and capers. It's marvelous on bagels with a nice cup of coffee (thanks to Karma Coffee of Sudbury). It's interesting that while I'd been buying lox cheese from Sudbury Farms it was really rather trivial to make my own. In any case we now have enough to last a few weeks or so and I'm looking forward to a steady diet of great bagels and cream cheese.
Last night BB and I watched a Netflixs video Julie and Julia. It was a nice movie and reminded me that I've never actually read the Julia Child book. I think I'll buy a copy with a view to actually reading it as the movie implied that the book deals in part with technique and not just recipes. So I've gone online and ordered a copy from Amazon (beats driving over to Framingham to pick it up).
Most of the mourning was spent either fooling with the TV or geocaching setup.
On the TV front, I'd scanned channels on the Samsung cable and for reasons I'm not clear on many of the digital HD channels vanished! I tried a number of things none of which were the least effective and finally rescanned as I'd done last night and all is restored. Heaven knows why.
Geocaching activities were centered around Sudbury Garrison cache. It's a virtual cache that references a historical marker to solve a puzzel to get the actual cache location. Now on the whole I'm not especially keen on this cache type but I'd planned to go out caching today as the weather is fairly nice and decided to have a go at this one. I did a bit of research and found what appear to be a good clue to the historical marker referenced in the puzzle at the Wayland Story of Haynes Garrison. It seems that the marker is near Buddy Dog on Rt 20. After the cleaners come by this afternoon, I'll see if it's there and perhaps find the cache.
It's probably appropriate to note that my interest in geocaching is driven in part by being concerned about a certain tendency to sit about reading and generally just passing the days and not getting out and about nearly enough. That's one of the big changes that retirement brings - one no longer has work to structure life. If you want something to happen you need to actually take the initiative to make it so. Now I suppose at some level that's always the case even when not retired but retirement brings so much more time that it changes things.
About 1:30 after the cleaners left I dropped a book off at the library and went to find the Sudbury Garrison clue. Took this photo. The cache says:
Meanwhile, while I was out I did find two caches: Chiswick and Curtice Cache. Chiswick was fairly quick and easy. I'd not known this small park, such as it is, was in Sudbury but I found the stone circle and cache fairly quickly. Here are some photos of Chiswick:
There was a fair bit of large trash in the area but since I was in a small car I wasn't able to take anything out.
I'd been by Curtice Cache once before and DNF. I went back deciding to check other locations based on the fact that someone noted that the coordinates were wrong. I found it OK but NOT at the specified coordinates. Mine were N42 23.0489 W071 26.0434. The listing is likely wrong. I tried to send an email to the person that placed it but they are not registered so no luck there. Here are some pictures:
These two finds bring my total to 6. Not a lot but a fair start.
I also took a bit of time today to experiment with GPS accuracy comparing the Nuvi 255 with the Delorme PN-40. Interestingly there isn't all that much difference. The Nuvi is a little less accurate at about 0.01 to 0.001 decimal minutes different from the PN-40! That said, the PN 40 has a number of other rather nice features and I'm generally happy with it.
After I got back from playing geocache, I worked a bit on my common sense blog. I'm inclined to the view that with age comes a certain wisdom rooted in experience. My common sense blog is my attempt to share this perspective.
Dinner was sauted shrimp and salad. I used some Tiber Sauce and it was very good.
I love to cook and eat. So the day started with making some cream cheeze with salmon and capers. Yum! I'd smoked some salmon a week or so ago and saved the left overs to blend with cream cheese and capers. It's marvelous on bagels with a nice cup of coffee (thanks to Karma Coffee of Sudbury). It's interesting that while I'd been buying lox cheese from Sudbury Farms it was really rather trivial to make my own. In any case we now have enough to last a few weeks or so and I'm looking forward to a steady diet of great bagels and cream cheese.
Last night BB and I watched a Netflixs video Julie and Julia. It was a nice movie and reminded me that I've never actually read the Julia Child book. I think I'll buy a copy with a view to actually reading it as the movie implied that the book deals in part with technique and not just recipes. So I've gone online and ordered a copy from Amazon (beats driving over to Framingham to pick it up).
Most of the mourning was spent either fooling with the TV or geocaching setup.
On the TV front, I'd scanned channels on the Samsung cable and for reasons I'm not clear on many of the digital HD channels vanished! I tried a number of things none of which were the least effective and finally rescanned as I'd done last night and all is restored. Heaven knows why.
Geocaching activities were centered around Sudbury Garrison cache. It's a virtual cache that references a historical marker to solve a puzzel to get the actual cache location. Now on the whole I'm not especially keen on this cache type but I'd planned to go out caching today as the weather is fairly nice and decided to have a go at this one. I did a bit of research and found what appear to be a good clue to the historical marker referenced in the puzzle at the Wayland Story of Haynes Garrison. It seems that the marker is near Buddy Dog on Rt 20. After the cleaners come by this afternoon, I'll see if it's there and perhaps find the cache.
About 1:30 after the cleaners left I dropped a book off at the library and went to find the Sudbury Garrison clue. Took this photo. The cache says:
From the memorial stone you will find two important numbers:Well the monument was erected in 1803 so YY is 03 and there are 6 letters in sought. Unfortunately, doing the math gives N42 25.480 W071 23.740. This is in Concord not Sudbury and the cache description and log entries are a bit ambivalent. I'll take a drive by at some point.
YY - is the last two digits in the year the monument was erected. For example: 1945 would mean YY=45
And:
L – is the number of letters in the word following “settlers” on the monument. For example: “the settlers ran to the garrison” would mean L=3.
Now use the following equations to generate 5 digit numbers (round and drop fractions):
NORTH = 26130.37 – 216.7895 * YY
WEST = 25901.5 – 360.25 * L
This should yield two 5 digit numbers (throw away any decimals).
The coordinates of the final cache are at:
N42 NORTH
W071 WEST filling in the 5 digit numbers you calculated above for the decimal minutes.
Meanwhile, while I was out I did find two caches: Chiswick and Curtice Cache. Chiswick was fairly quick and easy. I'd not known this small park, such as it is, was in Sudbury but I found the stone circle and cache fairly quickly. Here are some photos of Chiswick:
There was a fair bit of large trash in the area but since I was in a small car I wasn't able to take anything out.
I'd been by Curtice Cache once before and DNF. I went back deciding to check other locations based on the fact that someone noted that the coordinates were wrong. I found it OK but NOT at the specified coordinates. Mine were N42 23.0489 W071 26.0434. The listing is likely wrong. I tried to send an email to the person that placed it but they are not registered so no luck there. Here are some pictures:
These two finds bring my total to 6. Not a lot but a fair start.
I also took a bit of time today to experiment with GPS accuracy comparing the Nuvi 255 with the Delorme PN-40. Interestingly there isn't all that much difference. The Nuvi is a little less accurate at about 0.01 to 0.001 decimal minutes different from the PN-40! That said, the PN 40 has a number of other rather nice features and I'm generally happy with it.
After I got back from playing geocache, I worked a bit on my common sense blog. I'm inclined to the view that with age comes a certain wisdom rooted in experience. My common sense blog is my attempt to share this perspective.
Dinner was sauted shrimp and salad. I used some Tiber Sauce and it was very good.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Recovery day
BB and I slept in late after dinner with Bob and Burnedette last night. BB was a bit "under the weather" from overmuch red wine. One of the great sadnesses of getting older is about the time you learn to really appreciate fine liquor you no longer are able to drink without ill effect. So sad.
We met our new nextdoor neighbors. I'd made some oatmeal raisan cookies for their children, young boy and girl, and we brought them over to introduce ourselves. Interestingly they are from Iceland and have been in the US for 12 years.
I've been thinking about this business of being retired and have decided to be a bit more active in this blog as a way to create a personal experience document of the experience.
We met our new nextdoor neighbors. I'd made some oatmeal raisan cookies for their children, young boy and girl, and we brought them over to introduce ourselves. Interestingly they are from Iceland and have been in the US for 12 years.
I've been thinking about this business of being retired and have decided to be a bit more active in this blog as a way to create a personal experience document of the experience.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Bob and Burnedette here for dinner
I tried out the Delorme PN-40 searching for Curtise Cache. It seems to work well but I was unable to find the cache in the snow. I'm also a bit suspicious that the cache location is bogus. I'll try again next week.
Bob and Burnedette came for dinner tonight. I cooked a 6lb rib roast, asperagas, and new potatoes. Cheese cake for desert. Yum! We had a very nice dinner with some outstanding wine that Bob brought including Tres Picos which I particularly enjoyed. Rather surprisingly BB brought up the topic of New Years dinner! After our earlier disagreements I was somewhat taken aback. In any case I'll talk to Bob and see what we can work out.
Bob and Burnedette came for dinner tonight. I cooked a 6lb rib roast, asperagas, and new potatoes. Cheese cake for desert. Yum! We had a very nice dinner with some outstanding wine that Bob brought including Tres Picos which I particularly enjoyed. Rather surprisingly BB brought up the topic of New Years dinner! After our earlier disagreements I was somewhat taken aback. In any case I'll talk to Bob and see what we can work out.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Delorme PN-40 arrived
My new GPS has shipped and is in Chelmsford. It might be here today. We'll see.
It turned out it showed up! Yeh!! I'd read the manual online a when I ordered it. Setting it up was relatively simple. That said the critism that it is complicated is both true and false. The PN-40 is a very sophisticated device with a large variety of features and functions. With sophistication comes a certain unavoiadable complexity. It took me the better part of the afternoon to get things going properly. Part of the issue was with Delorme Topo USA and Delorme Cache Register. I also got tripped up with Geocache.com (only 5 poket queries per day). At any event I eventually got things sorted.
Dinner was left over beef strip on salad.
It turned out it showed up! Yeh!! I'd read the manual online a when I ordered it. Setting it up was relatively simple. That said the critism that it is complicated is both true and false. The PN-40 is a very sophisticated device with a large variety of features and functions. With sophistication comes a certain unavoiadable complexity. It took me the better part of the afternoon to get things going properly. Part of the issue was with Delorme Topo USA and Delorme Cache Register. I also got tripped up with Geocache.com (only 5 poket queries per day). At any event I eventually got things sorted.
Dinner was left over beef strip on salad.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Quiet Thursday
BB and I enjoyed our usual Thursday. We settled on a roast for dinner with Bob and Burnedette Saturday. We bought a nice 6lb rib roast. Yum.
We're still trying to find the smell downstairs. It comes and goes and I've no idea where it is coming from. It smells like a dead mouse. I've checked around the area where the smell seems strongest but haven't found anything. I thought it might be in the heating duct but when I turn on the fan there isn't any smell coming out of the duct. I'll continue to look but at this point I'm really stumped.
Weather has gone cold. Winter seems to be finally here.
Dinner was pork roast, string beans, rice, and cranberry relish. That's the last of the pork.
We're still trying to find the smell downstairs. It comes and goes and I've no idea where it is coming from. It smells like a dead mouse. I've checked around the area where the smell seems strongest but haven't found anything. I thought it might be in the heating duct but when I turn on the fan there isn't any smell coming out of the duct. I'll continue to look but at this point I'm really stumped.
Weather has gone cold. Winter seems to be finally here.
Dinner was pork roast, string beans, rice, and cranberry relish. That's the last of the pork.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Real snow
Woke up to the year's first real snow. I've got about 6" of wet heavy snow and it was still coming down. Since it's going to rain I'll have to get it off before then. Fortunately Mike came home about the time I started and we were able to get the driveway and decks cleared before the rain came.
The snow blower is acting up a bit. I'm hopeful it is bad fuel. It ran but not especially well.
Got a nice surprise and the Delorme PN40 was on sale for $199 on Amazon. Ordered it. It has a number of nice features for geocaching and boating that should prove useful.
The snow blower is acting up a bit. I'm hopeful it is bad fuel. It ran but not especially well.
Got a nice surprise and the Delorme PN40 was on sale for $199 on Amazon. Ordered it. It has a number of nice features for geocaching and boating that should prove useful.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Voting and geocaching
Today was the primary for MA senator. I went out and voted in the Democratic primary (this is, after all, Massachusetts).
On the way home I went out to find the Feeley geocache. That's my fourth. I'd been saving this cache to test out my Nuvi 255 for paperless caching. It worked surprisingly well. While the Nuvi doesn''t report particularly high accuracies as a practical matter it took me to within 4' of the cache location following the directions at http://geocaching.totaltechworld.com/index.html. Very cool.
The first photo shows the general cache location and the second the cache container. I worked out how to load jpg files on the nuvi. That should be useful for trail maps and such. While it doesn't have the accuracy of specialized handhelds it is plenty good enough to start with. That said I'm going to wait until after Christmas before buying anything else.
No response to the couple of emails I sent looking for geocaching buddies but we'll see.
Spent the rest of the day reading and dealing with the first of this years snow. We're suppose to have rain and snow tomorrow so it looks like winter is finally here. I also took some time to look at the Matress Graveyard geocache and The Rock. They are near each other off of Edgel road. Weather permiting I'll try to get by there tomorrow.
Dinner was spegetti. Mike said he was going to eat dinner with us and it was the only thing I had enough of. I ended up making more. Then he decided not to. Oh well.
On the way home I went out to find the Feeley geocache. That's my fourth. I'd been saving this cache to test out my Nuvi 255 for paperless caching. It worked surprisingly well. While the Nuvi doesn''t report particularly high accuracies as a practical matter it took me to within 4' of the cache location following the directions at http://geocaching.totaltechworld.com/index.html. Very cool.
 |  |
| From Geocachin |
No response to the couple of emails I sent looking for geocaching buddies but we'll see.
Spent the rest of the day reading and dealing with the first of this years snow. We're suppose to have rain and snow tomorrow so it looks like winter is finally here. I also took some time to look at the Matress Graveyard geocache and The Rock. They are near each other off of Edgel road. Weather permiting I'll try to get by there tomorrow.
Dinner was spegetti. Mike said he was going to eat dinner with us and it was the only thing I had enough of. I ended up making more. Then he decided not to. Oh well.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Messing with geocaching and nuvi
Spend the day generally messing about with my Nuvi 255, GSAK, and the garmin-nuvi-export macro. I upgraded my nuvi firmware, downloaded Garmin's POI loader, and managed to follow the instructions at http://geocaching.totaltechworld.com/index.html. It took a bit of mucking about but at the end I got all the pieces working and presto the Nuvi can be used for paperless geocaching.
Had some of the pork roast, sweet potato (they are gone now), and French green beans with shitaki mushrooms for dinner. VERY nice!
I've decided not to go down for mom's birthday but will go down in the spring and then again at Thanksgiving next year. BB and I talked about it a bit.
Called Bob L and arranged to have them over for dinner this weekend.
Had some of the pork roast, sweet potato (they are gone now), and French green beans with shitaki mushrooms for dinner. VERY nice!
I've decided not to go down for mom's birthday but will go down in the spring and then again at Thanksgiving next year. BB and I talked about it a bit.
Called Bob L and arranged to have them over for dinner this weekend.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
First snow
As is our custom BB and I slept in Sunday and then had a lazy mourning reading the paper.
I spoke to Art and Avery in the evening concerning plans for Mom's 89th birthday. I may go down but have yet to really decide.
Dinner was left over steak, sweet potato, and french green beans.
I spoke to Art and Avery in the evening concerning plans for Mom's 89th birthday. I may go down but have yet to really decide.
Dinner was left over steak, sweet potato, and french green beans.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Rainy day
BB and I slept in and had a quiet mourning. We ran a few errands in the afternoon and then hung around the house.
Talked a bit about having people over for New Years. BB is not interested. Likewise, I may go down to NC for Mom's birthday next week.
Made sauted shrimp with pepers for dinner. Very good.
Talked a bit about having people over for New Years. BB is not interested. Likewise, I may go down to NC for Mom's birthday next week.
Made sauted shrimp with pepers for dinner. Very good.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Doctor, geocache, and reading
I had a doctor's appointment this mourning to check blood presure. It was very good so the new dosage seems to be working well.
On the way back home I stopped to see if I could find The Leprechaun Coin Cache. The cache is located on a bridge over the Sudbury river. The sight is lovely but I was not able to find the cache. Google places it mid bridge and I walked across looking carefully for it. No luck. I also check under the bridge on the west end. No luck. The east end was underwater so no luck there. I DNF it and will go back in a few days to check again.
After I got home I was curious about using my car Nuvi and downloading to it from the web site. I nipped out to Staples and bought a micro SD and cable. Turned out the cable was wrong but I had one upstairs. The micro SD card went in OK but seems inclined to pop out so I'm not sure I'll use it. At any case I plugged the cable in and tried downloading several caches. Things worked ok. It seems that I get an icon for the parking area and the cache proper. BB and I may try to use it tomorrow.
Dinner was steak with fresh herbs, sweet potato, French green beans with almonds, mushrooms and onions, and cranberry relish. Yum!
On the way back home I stopped to see if I could find The Leprechaun Coin Cache. The cache is located on a bridge over the Sudbury river. The sight is lovely but I was not able to find the cache. Google places it mid bridge and I walked across looking carefully for it. No luck. I also check under the bridge on the west end. No luck. The east end was underwater so no luck there. I DNF it and will go back in a few days to check again.
After I got home I was curious about using my car Nuvi and downloading to it from the web site. I nipped out to Staples and bought a micro SD and cable. Turned out the cable was wrong but I had one upstairs. The micro SD card went in OK but seems inclined to pop out so I'm not sure I'll use it. At any case I plugged the cable in and tried downloading several caches. Things worked ok. It seems that I get an icon for the parking area and the cache proper. BB and I may try to use it tomorrow.
Dinner was steak with fresh herbs, sweet potato, French green beans with almonds, mushrooms and onions, and cranberry relish. Yum!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Day with BB: geocacheing and errands
It was very windy and rainy last night as a front came through. The leaves are now more or less off the trees so next time they are dry, hopefully this weekend, I'll blow them AGAIN.
BB and I spent the day together. After a rather late start and some time together we went geocaching to Winterbrook at Walenbach (Sudbury Valley Trustees). It was a lovely walk through some mature forest. The cache was easily found although I misread the GPS and we ended up doing some walking off trail.
We spend the afternoon running errands. Rt 9 was a zoo particularly Christmas Tree Shop. I should have know better.
My knee is a bit tender. I don't know if it's the increased walking or what. Since I've got a doctor's apointment tomorrow (blood pressure which is now OK) I'll ask after it.
Dinner was chicken fajitas with fresh hom emade quacamola. Yum.
BB and I spent the day together. After a rather late start and some time together we went geocaching to Winterbrook at Walenbach (Sudbury Valley Trustees). It was a lovely walk through some mature forest. The cache was easily found although I misread the GPS and we ended up doing some walking off trail.
We spend the afternoon running errands. Rt 9 was a zoo particularly Christmas Tree Shop. I should have know better.
My knee is a bit tender. I don't know if it's the increased walking or what. Since I've got a doctor's apointment tomorrow (blood pressure which is now OK) I'll ask after it.
Dinner was chicken fajitas with fresh hom emade quacamola. Yum.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Geocaching and library
The weather early today was rather plesant so I took the opportunity to drop some books off at the library and revisit the Tavern of the Damned geocache. It seems to have returned as a letterbox that was not present when I first visited Nov 22 with BB, Marie, and John. At any case it was easily found notwithstanding the somewhat bogus clue that confused the building and chimney foundation. At any event I logged it so now I'm up to 2. I suppose everyone starts somewhere but 2 does seem like a very small number.
While out I checked out the nearby Winterbrook geocache located on Wolbach Farm. I'd not been aware of it even after 10 years in Sudbury. Perhaps BB and I will try to find it tomorrow (weather permitting as it's forcast to be rainy).
BB and I watched a Netflix movie in the evening and read. Dinner was left over Cornish Hen, smoked chicken, green peas, sweet potato, and cranberry relish. Yum!
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| From Geocaching |
While out I checked out the nearby Winterbrook geocache located on Wolbach Farm. I'd not been aware of it even after 10 years in Sudbury. Perhaps BB and I will try to find it tomorrow (weather permitting as it's forcast to be rainy).
BB and I watched a Netflix movie in the evening and read. Dinner was left over Cornish Hen, smoked chicken, green peas, sweet potato, and cranberry relish. Yum!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Quiet day at home
Spent the day reading and working on the net.
I've been considering buying a GPS for geocaching. The Garmin 60 CSx was available at Wallmart on-line and Amazon for $248 and the eTrex Venture HC for $124. In a period of a couple of days while I was thinking about it the prices jumped $40. Welcome to the world of dynamic pricing.
BB went to a wake for the father of one of her coworkers this evening so I feed and walked the dogs. Made some breakfast hash for dinner.
I've been considering buying a GPS for geocaching. The Garmin 60 CSx was available at Wallmart on-line and Amazon for $248 and the eTrex Venture HC for $124. In a period of a couple of days while I was thinking about it the prices jumped $40. Welcome to the world of dynamic pricing.
BB went to a wake for the father of one of her coworkers this evening so I feed and walked the dogs. Made some breakfast hash for dinner.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Rainy day
I'd hoped to go back to Tavern of the Damned today but it's raining and the cleaners are coming so I'll put it off untill tomorrow. It's also the end of the month and time to deal with paper again.
Mike brought home a free Pizza from Sud Pizza that BB and I had for dinner with a salad. He's still hoping for a job there.
Mike brought home a free Pizza from Sud Pizza that BB and I had for dinner with a salad. He's still hoping for a job there.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sun and a walk in the woods.
BB and I slept in and had our usual quiet Sunday mourning reading the paper and spending time together. In the afternoon we went geocaching. Tried to find Tavern of the Damned but the short access has no parking. I'll have to go back the long way. Then we went to Simple and Sweet. Had a nice walk in the woods and found it OK. That's our first found geocache. Hurray!
I smoked a Cornish Hen and some Salmon for dinner and we had fresh greenbeans, sweet potato, and cranberry relish. Yum.
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| From Geocaching |
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Rainy Saturday
BB and I slept in (aren't weekends great), spent a quiet mourning together, and planned menus for the week. Later she went shopping and I cooked things for the week.
I'd found some frozen smoked chicken the the freezer so I heated it with some sweet potato and sauted brussel sprouts. Very good. Surprisingly Mike had some! Later we had fruit salad for desert.
I'd found some frozen smoked chicken the the freezer so I heated it with some sweet potato and sauted brussel sprouts. Very good. Surprisingly Mike had some! Later we had fruit salad for desert.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Quiet rainy day
BB was back to work today. It was rainy and a bit cooler. I spent the day reading and looking at geocaches.
Took Miriam into Logan this mourning. The traffic was relatively light although it was raining very heavily.
After all yesterday's food we had a light dinner of eggs and pancakes.
Took Miriam into Logan this mourning. The traffic was relatively light although it was raining very heavily.
After all yesterday's food we had a light dinner of eggs and pancakes.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thankgiving
Had a very nice Thanksgiving. MM invited us to share Thanksgiving with their family at the Wassermans. It was good to catch up with them again with lots of food, of course, and plenty of visiting. In addition to the usual turkey there was a wonderful pot roast. Bob W made a number of deserts. He's quite the baker. My favorite was a flowerless chocolate cake. Yum.
Miriam came back with us since she has a 9AM flight out of Logan.
Mike was off to his grandparents with Bob.
Miriam came back with us since she has a 9AM flight out of Logan.
Mike was off to his grandparents with Bob.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Getting ready for Thanksgiving
Tomorrow being Thanksgiving it was time to get ready. We're spending it with MM at his sister's house. It should be an interesting time. We'll bring a fruit salad so I went out to a very busy grocer to buy fresh fruit. BB and I will make the salad tomorrow AM and then drive over about 2PM.
Miriam will stay with us thanksgiving evening as she has an early flight out of Boston Friday. It will be nice to have company.
Dinner was left over pork roast. It was one of the nicest roast I've made in a bit.
Miriam will stay with us thanksgiving evening as she has an early flight out of Boston Friday. It will be nice to have company.
Dinner was left over pork roast. It was one of the nicest roast I've made in a bit.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Quiet Day
Spent another one of those quiet days reading while it rained. I did no some more research on GPS devices and after thinking it through have decided on the Garmin 60 Csx. While it's another $124 it would make a good second GPS for boating etc.
Dinner was left over ribs and potato salad. Yum.
Dinner was left over ribs and potato salad. Yum.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Quiet Day at Home
I've been thinking about Geocaching as a retirement hobby. After somewhat disapointing results using my Garmin Nuvi (really made for auto use but it does have Lat/Lon readout) I spent some time looking at various GPS devices. There are three Garmins that make some kind of sense. Top of the line is the 60CSx. It does everything but at $248 (Amazon) is expensive. One thing I like about it is that it would be a good device for biking, boating, or most any other use save auto. There is a less costly Garmin the eTrec Venture HC that is half the cost but doesn't have all the features. It also turns out that the new smart phones (either Droid or Blackberry) have good applications as well. I'm not sure how good their receivers are but I could upgrade my phone for $50 to $100 to use them and have the advantages of a smartphone. The Droid application GeoBeagle is particularly functional when coupled with an augmented reality application. What I don't know is what that would do to my monthly Verizon bill.
I looked into the Tavern of the Damned cache and am now reasonably sure I know where the cache should be hidden. I'll go back in the next several days to check.
I cooked a pork roast with roasted vegtables for dinner. We'd been wanting a roast for some time and this was right on the mark. Yum!
I looked into the Tavern of the Damned cache and am now reasonably sure I know where the cache should be hidden. I'll go back in the next several days to check.
I cooked a pork roast with roasted vegtables for dinner. We'd been wanting a roast for some time and this was right on the mark. Yum!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Geocaching
BB and I slept in after being up late with last night's dinner. We enjoyed a relaxed mourning reading the paper, having a late breakfast, and spending some time with each other.
We went geocaching in the afternoon with John and Marie. We looked for Tavern of the Damned Redux - Smiley's Revenge. We found the site well enough but didn't find the cache. The clue was a bit off as it referenced the south corner of the east wall. What it really should have said was the south corner of the West wall of the fireplace foundation. At any event both BB and I looked into a cavity there and didn't see the cache. I may go back tomorrow to check it. At any event we had a nice walk in the woods.
While on this bit of adventure I tried using my Garmin GPS. It worked OK to a point but almost immediately showed low battery! I'm not sure what that's about but it doesn't seem like a good device for this. I've looked into using my phone as well but that seems like it's going to increase my phone bill $10/month. I also looked into GPS units but they run anywhere from $170 to $400. Amazon has a good one for $248. It's expensive but I'm tempted. I'll think about it a bit and then decide what, if anything, I want to do.
We had eggplant parm for dinner and some more of the Mozzeral salad BB made last night. Yum!
We went geocaching in the afternoon with John and Marie. We looked for Tavern of the Damned Redux - Smiley's Revenge. We found the site well enough but didn't find the cache. The clue was a bit off as it referenced the south corner of the east wall. What it really should have said was the south corner of the West wall of the fireplace foundation. At any event both BB and I looked into a cavity there and didn't see the cache. I may go back tomorrow to check it. At any event we had a nice walk in the woods.
While on this bit of adventure I tried using my Garmin GPS. It worked OK to a point but almost immediately showed low battery! I'm not sure what that's about but it doesn't seem like a good device for this. I've looked into using my phone as well but that seems like it's going to increase my phone bill $10/month. I also looked into GPS units but they run anywhere from $170 to $400. Amazon has a good one for $248. It's expensive but I'm tempted. I'll think about it a bit and then decide what, if anything, I want to do.
We had eggplant parm for dinner and some more of the Mozzeral salad BB made last night. Yum!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Smoked baby back ribs and friends for dinner
BB and I invited John and Marie over for dinner. I'd been wanting some smoked ribs and german potato salid so that's what we had for dinner. The ribs were good, not my best but good none the less. I had some trouble getting the smoker operating as I'd wanted mostly because the wood was not good. I'd bought some hickory several years back and it's gone mostly to rot now so it isn't good for smoking any more. I suppose I'll have to break down and buy some more or see if I can scrounge up some.
We had a bit of misadventure with the ribs. BB had bought some St Louis style ribs at Shaws. When I opened them the meat was spoiled! We exchanged them of course but there were no other St Louis style ribs left so we got another rack of baby back ribs. We also had some Shaws milk spoil and exchanged it as well. That has happened several times now and I've decided to stop buying Shaws milk.
We had a nice evening with John and Marie. John brought some beer over including some Fishermans which I really liked. Interestingly, I'd sent BB out to buy beer and she came back with some Sams Winter and O'Doules. Amongst the things the girl just doesn't understand is beer. Sigh.
We had a bit of misadventure with the ribs. BB had bought some St Louis style ribs at Shaws. When I opened them the meat was spoiled! We exchanged them of course but there were no other St Louis style ribs left so we got another rack of baby back ribs. We also had some Shaws milk spoil and exchanged it as well. That has happened several times now and I've decided to stop buying Shaws milk.
We had a nice evening with John and Marie. John brought some beer over including some Fishermans which I really liked. Interestingly, I'd sent BB out to buy beer and she came back with some Sams Winter and O'Doules. Amongst the things the girl just doesn't understand is beer. Sigh.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Rainy day
Friday was mostly rainy. I worked in my office a bit and spent the day reading.
I looked into some geocache sites near by with a view to going for a walk with BB to see if we enjoy that.
BB and I had catfish for dinner. It was even better than yesterday as the spices had permeated the fish. Yum.
We've invited John and Marie for dinner saturday for ribs. I think I'll also make some german potato salid and BB wants a garden salad. We'll pick up some beer and have an end of summer smoked rib dinner.
I looked into some geocache sites near by with a view to going for a walk with BB to see if we enjoy that.
BB and I had catfish for dinner. It was even better than yesterday as the spices had permeated the fish. Yum.
We've invited John and Marie for dinner saturday for ribs. I think I'll also make some german potato salid and BB wants a garden salad. We'll pick up some beer and have an end of summer smoked rib dinner.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Usual Thursday
BB and I spent our usual Thursday. We got a late start since Mike's car had to be dropped off for service. After BB got back we went shopping at Ocean State then got some fish (cat fish) from the grocer and coffee from Karma (Harare, Espresso, and Somalian).
We had an interesting experience at Ocean State. If you don't know Ocean State it's a low end somewhat shabby discount store. Prices are good though and they have some groceries and cloths that we buy. BB got some discount coupons from the Internet and we used them. What was interesting was what happened when we went to check out. To make a long story short the clerk misrang a pair of socks, noticed her error as she was entering the coupons, and when to some trouble to correct it. It was interesting that a clerk at a discount store would go to that amount of effort over a dollar particularly given our recent experience with other high end stores.
After lunch BB went out again and came back with more groceries. When I asked her why she didn't buy them when we were out she said that she wanted to use coupons and thought I'd be impatient. She was gone for rather a long time shopping I suspect at several stores. She does like to shop.
Mike's got a second job at Sudbury Pizza. If it turns into a regular thing then he'll quit DeAngelo's.
I've decided I need to be more active and out and about. I've considered a number of things and am thinking about Geocaching. It would provide some nice exercise and get me out more.
We had an interesting experience at Ocean State. If you don't know Ocean State it's a low end somewhat shabby discount store. Prices are good though and they have some groceries and cloths that we buy. BB got some discount coupons from the Internet and we used them. What was interesting was what happened when we went to check out. To make a long story short the clerk misrang a pair of socks, noticed her error as she was entering the coupons, and when to some trouble to correct it. It was interesting that a clerk at a discount store would go to that amount of effort over a dollar particularly given our recent experience with other high end stores.
After lunch BB went out again and came back with more groceries. When I asked her why she didn't buy them when we were out she said that she wanted to use coupons and thought I'd be impatient. She was gone for rather a long time shopping I suspect at several stores. She does like to shop.
Mike's got a second job at Sudbury Pizza. If it turns into a regular thing then he'll quit DeAngelo's.
I've decided I need to be more active and out and about. I've considered a number of things and am thinking about Geocaching. It would provide some nice exercise and get me out more.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Last of the leaves?
Mike and I did what I hope is the last of the leaves today. It only took an hour or so.
I finally turned on the heat as we had some ice on the decks overnight. It looks like winter is finally here.
BB is out tonight with friends from work. So I'll eat alone.
I finally turned on the heat as we had some ice on the decks overnight. It looks like winter is finally here.
BB is out tonight with friends from work. So I'll eat alone.
Driveway light
Tuesday was fairly quiet. I'd picked up a two year bulb at Lowes and used it since changing the driveway light is a bit of a chore. I'm not sure why but it's a struggle to put the light back together again after changing the bulb. Next time I select outdoor fixtures I be very attentive to how easy it is to change bulbs.
BB and I had left over rice and chicken for dinner.
I spoke with Mom. She seems to be doing OK but as usual bored.
Such is life.
BB and I had left over rice and chicken for dinner.
I spoke with Mom. She seems to be doing OK but as usual bored.
Such is life.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Quiet day at home
I spent a quiet day at the house. I've begun to organize things to get back to getting the house ready for sales. In that regard, I spoke with Marlyn Green. We are delisting the house tomorrow and will put it back on the market in the spring. There is some interest from a couple of buyers. If anything comes of it during the interval the house can be sold.
I made an interesting rice caserole with chicken for dinner.
I made an interesting rice caserole with chicken for dinner.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday - Quiet day at home
BB and I spent a quiet day at home and did some work around the house.
M&M called late afternoon and we met them for dinner at the Cheateau. It was good to catch up. They are off in early december to do a weeks sail in the islands. Should be fun.
M&M called late afternoon and we met them for dinner at the Cheateau. It was good to catch up. They are off in early december to do a weeks sail in the islands. Should be fun.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Saturday - rain, then some rain, followed by rain and them more rain
Ida's remains finally reached us Friday night with lots of rain but not much wind. It continued through Saturday.
BB and I ran errands then spend the day reading and doing things around the house.
MM called late afternoon. They were up our way and we arranged to meet for dinner at the Chateau for some reasonable Italian food.
BB and I ran errands then spend the day reading and doing things around the house.
MM called late afternoon. They were up our way and we arranged to meet for dinner at the Chateau for some reasonable Italian food.
Friday, November 13, 2009
IDA cometh
According to the weather this mourning IDA should show with very high winds and heavy rain as a noreaster sometime around 3PM this afternoon. Soooo ... first thing this mourning I got up and went to work getting the leaves out of the gardens again! The new Black and Decker blower I purchased yesterday does a very good job particularly with the oscilating knozel. It only took a couple of hours and I got out most everyting. I did try the vacumn. It was not particularly useful. It's a shame someone doesn't make a yard vacumn that really does work.
BB and I had orange salmon for dinner. It was farmed fish and didn't turn out expecially well.
BB and I had orange salmon for dinner. It was farmed fish and didn't turn out expecially well.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday - More Leaves and Errands
BB and I slept in this mourning. I'm not sure what got in to me but I slept soundly until 8:30. BB was up earlier of course. I'm not sure how she manages on so little sleep.
After a late start and a quiet mourning with each other we made a grocery/errand list and off we went - library, Lowes for a new blower, Framingham for several things, lunch at the Agean, gas, and finally home. It was almost 4PM by the time we got back.
I spent a quick 45 minutes with the new blower doing the driveway and adjacent gardens. It has a somewhat bigger motor and an oscilating knozel that really works well. It's a bit heavy but given the job it does it's well worth the extra weight.
We never managed to get groceries so I'll do that tomorrow.
Dinner tonight will be some lunch left overs. Neither of us has a big appetite anymore. It seems a shame that about the time my taste gets more sophisticated I can no longer eat much. Such is ageing.
After a late start and a quiet mourning with each other we made a grocery/errand list and off we went - library, Lowes for a new blower, Framingham for several things, lunch at the Agean, gas, and finally home. It was almost 4PM by the time we got back.
I spent a quick 45 minutes with the new blower doing the driveway and adjacent gardens. It has a somewhat bigger motor and an oscilating knozel that really works well. It's a bit heavy but given the job it does it's well worth the extra weight.
We never managed to get groceries so I'll do that tomorrow.
Dinner tonight will be some lunch left overs. Neither of us has a big appetite anymore. It seems a shame that about the time my taste gets more sophisticated I can no longer eat much. Such is ageing.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday - Leaves, leaves, and more leaves
Mike and I cleaned the yard AGAIN! Even so, when I look at the trees I suspect that I'll still need to do it one more time. I'm not sure why though I suspect it has to do with the wet spring. I'll need to do the gardens tomorrow since the rain is now forecast for Friday. It seems that IDA has reorganized and will be a large Northeaster.
BB was home a bit early. We had salad, eggplant parazan, and garlic toast for dinner. Tomorrow we'll do food shopping and go out to lunch.
BB was home a bit early. We had salad, eggplant parazan, and garlic toast for dinner. Tomorrow we'll do food shopping and go out to lunch.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Quiet Tuesday
Spent a rather quiet Tuesday reading and looking at boats.
The leaves continue to fall and I'd like to delay as long as possible. The remains of huricane IDA are coming up the coast though so I think I'll do the yard tomorrow afternoon.
I made a spiced flank steak for dinner with cauliflower made like potatoes. The meat was good the vegetables not so much.
The leaves continue to fall and I'd like to delay as long as possible. The remains of huricane IDA are coming up the coast though so I think I'll do the yard tomorrow afternoon.
I made a spiced flank steak for dinner with cauliflower made like potatoes. The meat was good the vegetables not so much.
Realistic Boat Choices
I've been looking at boats that we might afford. The Mainship 350/390 looks interesting. There are also a few 400s available. On the plus side they are
In that vein there are a number of gas powered express cruisers at prices well under $100K, often $50,000. Cruisers (som 3575 Esprit), Regal, Sea Ray, Carver, and Chris Craft all have models in the 28' to 32' range with a place to sleep, a cudy that could be used for storage, a head, and a limited galley. They are clearly weekenders where one 'camps' comfortably on the boat but could indeed be used to do the loop.
- Affordable - Several reasonably current and equiped are available for under $150,000.
- Adequate accommodations for a couple - These are 1 1/2 stateroom boats with an acceptable bow birth and a small guest birth that could be used for storage and personal gear.
- Head with separate shower - While there is only one head, it's large enough to have a separate shower.
- Adequate galley - It's not that large but it IS big enough and there is a separate refrigerator/freezer under the lower helm.
- Adequate salon - The salon has reasonable seating with a couch and one or two chairs
- Dual helms -
- Good draft and bridge clearance
- Single head - This is an issue for BB but from my perspective is not all that important.
- Salon and galley share space - This is not a configuration I particularly like but is a trade off I'd be willing to make.
In that vein there are a number of gas powered express cruisers at prices well under $100K, often $50,000. Cruisers (som 3575 Esprit), Regal, Sea Ray, Carver, and Chris Craft all have models in the 28' to 32' range with a place to sleep, a cudy that could be used for storage, a head, and a limited galley. They are clearly weekenders where one 'camps' comfortably on the boat but could indeed be used to do the loop.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Quiet Day
Spent the day reading and attending to several house chores.
The yard is covered with leaves again but since it will be sunny for the next few days I'm going to wait. Hopefully this will be enough time for the rest to fall and this will be the last time I have to do the yard.
BB worked late so we had eggs for dinner as neither of us wanted a big meal when she got home.
The yard is covered with leaves again but since it will be sunny for the next few days I'm going to wait. Hopefully this will be enough time for the rest to fall and this will be the last time I have to do the yard.
BB worked late so we had eggs for dinner as neither of us wanted a big meal when she got home.
Thoughts on boats
After the boats we've seen this summer BB and I have begun to settle out on what we're looking for in a boat. We've more or less settled out on a low to mid 40' trawler. We've seen several we liked including an American Tug 41 with a nice mid ship cabin. We also have seen a 50' Symbol (I know, over long) that we liked a lot.
The problem with these boats is cost. At the end of the day we'd be looking at $300,000 to $500,000. That's rather more than we can afford. So, it's time to get serious and make some compromises to get the cost down to something reasonable. As a first step we'll need to start looking at things we can afford.
The problem with these boats is cost. At the end of the day we'd be looking at $300,000 to $500,000. That's rather more than we can afford. So, it's time to get serious and make some compromises to get the cost down to something reasonable. As a first step we'll need to start looking at things we can afford.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday Mill Warf in Scituate
Sunday was very bright and sunny with mild temps. BB and I had our customary lazy mourning reading the paper and returning to bed. All in all very nice.
In the afternoon BB and I drove to Scituate and had lunch at the Mill Warf. It was a surprisingly warm day so we got a table on the deck in the sun. The food was only so so but it we had a good time watching the boats come and go.
We read and watched TV in the evening. We've had a Netflixs DVD on boating in the North West. It was OK but not as good as some of the others we've seen. The boat this time was a 53' single screw trawler with a bow thruster and seemed very nice. We weren't able to figure out the manufacturer.
In the afternoon BB and I drove to Scituate and had lunch at the Mill Warf. It was a surprisingly warm day so we got a table on the deck in the sun. The food was only so so but it we had a good time watching the boats come and go.
We read and watched TV in the evening. We've had a Netflixs DVD on boating in the North West. It was OK but not as good as some of the others we've seen. The boat this time was a 53' single screw trawler with a bow thruster and seemed very nice. We weren't able to figure out the manufacturer.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Newport and Wickford Looking at Selene 43
BB and I went to RI to look at a Selene 43. The plan was to drive to Newport, RI for lunch and then over to Wickford to look at the boat. Unfortunately when we got to Newport it was the last day of their resturant week (discounts) the place was mobbed and waits were 45 minutes or more. We didn't have time to wait so we drove to Wickford and had lunch at a nice small place there. We'd been to a street artist exhibit there with MM some years ago and it's an interesting town.
After lunch we looked at a rather overpriced Selene 43 on the hard. While it was an interesting boat it really wasn't for us.
Despite a bit of misadventure we had a good day.
After lunch we looked at a rather overpriced Selene 43 on the hard. While it was an interesting boat it really wasn't for us.
Despite a bit of misadventure we had a good day.
Discoveries about Blogger
For reasons passing understanding the editor on this blog was configured for the old one, not the nifty WYSIWYG one. Well I've changed it and this is a test to see how it now works.
With any luck this should be a second paragraph. And indeed it is, resolving one of the issues I've been troubled by for some while.
Ain't live grand!
With any luck this should be a second paragraph. And indeed it is, resolving one of the issues I've been troubled by for some while.
Ain't live grand!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Quiet Friday
Spent a rather quiet Friday around the house.
It was a bit gusty and the yard is covered in leaves AGAIN! So it is with fall. BB and I are going to look at a boat in RI tomorrow so I'll wait until Sunday to do the yard again. While we are down there we'll take the opportunity to have lunch in Newport and try to connect with MM and have a early dinner.
Thursday with BB
BB has been taking Thursday off. It's nice to have a day to ourselves during the week.
We finished doing the leaves in the mourning. BB raked and I ran the blower. When the leaves are heavy it goes much quicker someone moving the heavy piles off the lawn. Mike helped with the side yard. The leaves are particularly heavy this year and there are acorns everywhere. This is the 3rd time I've dealt with the yard this year. It's likely that I'll have to do it at least once more. Sigh!
After getting cleaned up and spending some time with each other we ran errands.
The rest of the day was really quiet.
I called the Symbol dealer that emailed me and arranged for BB and I to go down to RI Saturday to see a 43 he has listed. It's on the hard, wrapped, and overpriced but it's a good chance to see a boat and and spend a day in RI/Newport. I'll give Marc and Miriam a call to see if we can have an early dinner.
I made a nice fish for dinner - haddock with crab stuffing and asparagus with cheeze sauce. - yum!
We spent the evening reading and watching TV.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
House Showing and Leaf Blowing and Dr Visit
Busy day today.
Started with a doctor's visit and flu shot. Good news is that I got the flu shot without waiting at all or having to make another trip. I'd been a bit concerned since seasonal flu vaccine is in generally short supply and Lahey had delayed their flu clinic. Interestingly in speaking with BB it seems that not all hospital employees at Newton Wellesly will be getting swine flu shots.
While there I got a call for an 11:30 house showing. Of course Mike's room was not cleaned up and after last weekend's wind and rain the front entry was knee deep in leafs. So did a quick cleanup and showed the house. Nothing from Marlyn Green. I'm rather disapointed and will speak with her tomorrow.
In the afternoon I spent several house working on leafs again and got about half done. I made a nice eggplant parmesan for dinner. I tried to limit the amount of leftovers but we'll have another couple of meals off of the eggplant.
Started with a doctor's visit and flu shot. Good news is that I got the flu shot without waiting at all or having to make another trip. I'd been a bit concerned since seasonal flu vaccine is in generally short supply and Lahey had delayed their flu clinic. Interestingly in speaking with BB it seems that not all hospital employees at Newton Wellesly will be getting swine flu shots.
While there I got a call for an 11:30 house showing. Of course Mike's room was not cleaned up and after last weekend's wind and rain the front entry was knee deep in leafs. So did a quick cleanup and showed the house. Nothing from Marlyn Green. I'm rather disapointed and will speak with her tomorrow.
In the afternoon I spent several house working on leafs again and got about half done. I made a nice eggplant parmesan for dinner. I tried to limit the amount of leftovers but we'll have another couple of meals off of the eggplant.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Visit To MIT Lincoln Labs
Went to MIT LL for a second visit. The work seems very interesting and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to do some business. That said, I didn't get a good read on what they might do. Only time will tell.
Other than that the day was relatively quiet.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Quiet Monday
I spent a fairly quiet day reading and doing some things around the house.
Heard from MIT Lincoln Labs. They are proceeding and I'll go in tomorrow at 1PM for a visit and to decide which group I'll be working with. Given that BB wants to continue to work and that there is no housing market it's a good decision. I'm also looking forward to being involved in a research environment again.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Quiet Sunday
Day was relatively quiet. BB and I have taken to having Latte and reading the paper in the living room Sunday mourning. Sometime along the way we'll have breakfast and start the day sometime around noon or so. Quite civilized!
My watch died yesterday and coincidentally BB lost hers. So we went out to deal with things - a new battery for me and a couple of inexpensive watches for BB.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Crusing the Conneticut on an American Tug 41
BB and I overslept this AM. Apparently I didn't set my alarm properly. Either that or we slept through it. At any event we got up at 7:42 and rushed out of the house to meet up with the Prestige American Tug crew (Mike and Tom) and several others to do a couple of house going up the Connecticut out of Essex. Fortunately we arrived in plenty of time and had a very nice several hours on the river even though it was rather overcast and somewhat windy. It was an interesting experience of cruising in protected waters.
Both BB and I like the boat even though there are several issues. On the plus side fuel economy is very nice (3 to 4 MPG) at low speed yet the boat is capable of 15 kts or so. On the negative side it's a single (engine failure is a concern) and the saloon is a bit small. Even so, there is much to like about the boat. In the matter of the single screw I remain of two minds.
Boating on Long Island Sound
Drove down to Stamford, CT and then road on an American Tug 41 up to Essex courtesy of Prestige Yachts - thanks Tom and Mike. Barbara and I have seen the boat a couple of times and really like it. The accommodations are very nice with the master midships and a very nice guest stateroom, two heads, wonderful pilothouse, and good galley/saloon. Tomorrow BB and I are going to go for a couple of hour cruise on the Connecticut river out of Essex.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Cold remains miserable
I've felt somewhat better and somewhat worse the last few days with my cold. I just don't seem to be getting over it. I finally broke down and called my doctor. He's prescribed some antibiotics that will hopefully knock out the sinus and chest infection I now have.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Colds are miserable
I've been down for a bit more than a week with a cold. I'm starting to feel better but still nowhere near 100%.
Seth was down for dinner last weekend. We had a good chat about his becoming a nurse. I'm hopeful that he'll follow through but we'll have to see. I helped him with his rent again so he'll have a reasonable stable situation for the next month while he explores the nurse thing.
Mike continues to do well. He's about ready to take his driving test.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Plesant Saturday
We had a pleasant day. John and Marie came over for dinner. BB and I tried a new pork recepe involving a Tamarand marinade. It was VERY flavorful and VERY spicy. Still the meat was wonderful and the sides, roasted peppers and mixed roasted vegetables, were a nice compliment. BB surprised me with a bit of mixed fruit for desert. Yum!
Seth is coming for dinner tonight. BB and I have decided to do what we can to help. We'll see.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Things trucking along
The last few days have been fairly ho hum. Most of life is, of course, like that.
Things with Seth have been bumping along. He's come down with a flue and sounded very bad. As a consequence he wasn't able to come to dinner tonight. I'm increasingly concerned for him. If I was working it'd be possible to do more, but as things stand there are limits to the possible.
Things with mom are OK but she isn't happy with the nursing home. We're trying to sort out the issues. I'd like to be hopeful, but truth told, I'm not.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Quiet Monday
BB was off today and we slept in. It was really nice to wake up with her still in bed as she normally gets up and leaves rather earlier. We had a quiet mourning and didn't really get started on the day until almost 11:00.
I had a number of things to attend to today and didn't get much of a chance to get work done. That said, I did make arrangements to have the appliances serviced. In the way of such things the stove has some dead igniters, the electric oven control panel died, and the dishwasher is misbehaving. Perhaps this is one of those things in threes things.
Mike is not well. It looks like a flue. He's been quiet today. Hopefully it will only last a day or so. We'll see.
I looked at a site HB had asked me to. She's looking for a new job and considering the firm. I'm not sure how much use I can be but we'll see.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentines Day
BB and I spent a quiet Valentines day and went to a movie, Slum Dog Millionair, with John and Marie (out neighbors). It was a good flick and a feel good movie.
I'd asked Seth down for dinner but he called to cancel as he and Erin (his girlfriend) are trying to 'work things out'. That's not a good situation and I'm concerned for him.
I also heard from HB. She's looking at a new job. We spoke for almost an hour. I hope things go well for her.
I managed to get through to my Mom. She's having trouble hanging up her phone so it has been ringing busy for the last several days. I spoke to my sister Elen who was going to visit Mom and asked her to deal with the phone. It's sad when I think about it. As my brother Art said, "We're loosing her day by day." Still it is pleasant to hear her voice and speak with her.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Quiet work day
Today was a fairly quiet day spent working on my GeoWiki project.
The day started on a bit of an off note when Mike slept through his alarm. It brings to mind Seth. I'm a bit concerned for Mike in this regard.
I went by the library to pick up a book. I've been reading some WEB Griffin novels. They are quick and entertaining reads and I've enjoyed them.
I stopped and got BB some flowers and a card for Valentines day. I think well go to a movie and dinner at a new restaurant in town to mark the day.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Life's what happens while you're making plans
It's true, of course.
Seth was going to come over to dinner tonight but called to say he's got a roommate and is helping him move in. While I'm glad to know as it will help him with the rent, I'd really been looking forward to the evening. Well, life happens.
Sent out a number of resumes today and hopefully something will click. I must admit I'm getting more than a little discouraged. It's one thing to get and interview and not get the job. Quite a bit more discouraging when you can't even get a phone screen much less an interview. But I remain hopeful.
Other than that not much is going on.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Once again trying to get back to posting
Well, I've really gotten out of the habit of posting to this blog. So lets take another crack at it.
Things in our life have continued to change.
Mike is living with Barbara and I again and going to Bunker Hill Community College. That seems to be going well and both Barbara and I are hopeful.
Dave was home for the holidays and things went well. He's begun to grow up and turn into a young man.
Seth got in tough. He seems, at age 30, to finally be maturing. He lost his job back in November and has decided to go into nursing. I'm hopeful that will work for him and have encouraged him. He's coming over for dinner tomorrow.
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