Today’s tears water tomorrow’s gardens.”
Matshona Dhliwayo
Today’s Tears
Author: Markman
Enjoying the Last of October
Last night, we must have had around 60 kids come to the door. Even though it was a touch chilly, there was a good turnout. Here are some more photos I’ve taken since the last update on what I’ve been up to. Overall, pretty typical stuff – yard work, people visiting, and taking advantage of the weather while I can.
Marigolds, also known as flor de muertos, are thought to help guide spirits home on el Dia de los Muertos, which is observed November 1-2. Ours grew like gangbusters this year. Grew like wildfire.
New England Autumn Feels
Let’s pumpkin spice things up a bit!”
Monster Mash
We had some friends over Saturday night and ended up actually playing some board games, Golden Girls Clue and Sorry. Ended up being pretty fun. For some unknown reason the GG version of Clue seemed unnecessarily complicated. Perhaps because the directions were not well written at all and in some instances didn’t not seem to make any sense. We trudges on and got the hang on it eventually and we learned that Stan stole the cheesecake in Blanche’s Bedroom absconding with it in Sophia’s purse. Hardly ever play board games anymore these days. LD won at Sorry and they won at Clue. Yes, I did not win any games. It was a good night for that kind of activity though because it was a rainy dreary day.
On Sunday I went solo to check out the Somerstreets Monster Mash. Basically just a thing were everyone gets dressed up and there’s vendors, artisans, musicians, etc. Like a street fair basically.
The utility guys are out front of the house this morning, tearing up the lawn and jackhammering the street out in front. Joy of joys.
Been watching old shows lately since nothing’s really on anymore. Kicking it with some classic NYPD Blue. Remember that show? I also am a little proud of myself after making a nice shrimp succotash gemelli for dinner and it came out pretty good!
A Couple of Real Close Calls!
Yesterday driving home a red tailed hawk swooped right down in front of my car as I was driving down the street. It stopped on the curb of the sidewalk and I stopped to look at it, as we both looked at each other for a couple of seconds. Then the hawk dug it’s beak into the grass and pulled out what appeared to be either a small field mouse or a vole or something. Then it just threw it neck back three times and swallowed it whole and alive. I’d never seen anything like that and so close to me to. It flew off right after before I had a chance to catch any snaps. We’ve also been hearing what appears to be an owl hooting at night nearby as we go to bed.
Last night while watching tv we heard a pop and then running water. I started freaking out, did the sink just decide to turn itself on full blast. I raced upstairs from where I heard the noise and into the bathroom. Water was covering the floor and a bit of spatter on the walls but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I quickly closed the valve on the floor to shut the water off and then I saw it. Apparently the connection from the wall to the tank somehow just blew. Thank God we were home to stop it, could you imagine if no one was here and it just kept running? It would have flooded the house and run down the stairs and everything. The plumber came today and fixed it though so we all good now, thankfully.
And Even More Annoying Now
Just when you thought the utility crews closing down every street couldn’t possibly get much worse, they start digging up people’s lawns and driveways to install new piping. In fact, they just notified me that they intend to dig up the driveway here and relocate the gas meter to the front of the house. That should be interesting to say the least, and also quite disruptive. We all want to hear jackhammers and backhoes all day in the driveway, which we found out they want to do on Monday, and then in 2 weeks or so they’ll need to come inside the house to hook up the new pipe to the existing infrastructure which will shut us down for 5 hours or so. I’ll need to go down there and move some of stuff out of the way temporarily for them to have room to maneuver. And, of course, the traffic around here is terrible now that someone had the brilliant notion to do all of the neighboring streets at roughly the same time instead of rotating the schedule around more.
In happier news, I’ve been replacing the screens in the doors with the glass panes in anticipation of colder weather, and getting some stuff put away for the season. The kitchen and adjoining area are all done now, although we do need to get a new wired door bell chime to match the new décor. It was probably time for an update to that old system anyway. Maybe we can get one that has a better sound too. I also want to purchase a saw to take down on more stray tree that sprouted up over time and just grew. I still haven’t pulled out the tubers or addressed the sump battery yet. Maybe I’ll get to to those tomorrow. sometime.
I’m having great fun playing through Katti. I mentioned this game in the last entry. I’ve been able to get to the second set of levels called “The B-Side”. Excellent puzzle game.
Meeting Some New Pals
Yesterday was a cooking day! We were on fire, in the morning cooking up all those apples – an apple crisp and some apple bread. In the afternoon we went to check out some of the recent arrivals at the sanctuary. Plus we had some canned corn and cat stuff we wanted to get over to them for some time now. In the evening we made a chicken dish and turkey meatballs.
The new paint on the adjoining kitchen room looks beautiful! The second coat will go on today and then it should be all done!
Gametime: Katti
Getting Some Apples for Autumn Goodness
Yesterday morning I went out and did some yard work on the other side of the house. Apparently I discovered another one of those vine-like invasive rose-like tendril plants and had a nice little home for itself so I got the pruners and went to town cutting all the arms down the base of the stalk. This was an offshoot of that giant rose that I spent two days over last month cutting down that monstrosity, so I was glad to get to this one before it got unmanageable. That reminds me that I need to cut the dahlias and bring them in and put them in a vase. Soon I’ll need to dig up their tubers for winter storage.
In the afternoon LD wanted to take a trip to get some apples so we went to Stow and other surrounding areas for a drive. We ended up getting two bags of apples – we didn’t pick, just bought, and plan to bake some today in something. Also got some cider donuts and hot cider. We visited a couple of places and they were packed solid with people. We ended up at a little place that was quieter off the beaten track and got our donuts and cider there, but we did get the apples at Honeypot Hill.
The room directly abutting the kitchen is finally getting painted to match the adjoining kitchen, using the same colors as the kitchen walls so it will match nicely.
If I Was a FunkoPop Figurine
This is me if I was FunkoPop figure.
Unfortunely today I accidently broke one of our ceramic/plastic ornamental pumpkins. We have one with a “P” on the front, and one with an “M” on the front, and guess which one fell out of my had and smashed to the floor in a bunch of tiny bits? Yup, the “P”. We got these years and years ago at the Christmas Tree Shop and have had them for probably close to a decade now. But now one is sadly gone forever. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find the exact replacement again, so I’m a bit bummed about that.
Is It Going to be One of those Days?
You ever get your day going and you just seem to think it’s going to be one of those days were everything just seems to be a little off kilter? That’s what I’m feeling today.
I woke up a little late this morning and when I went to get the clothes out of the dryer this morning I noticed that the drum had been running all night and none of the controls would work. I’d encountered this problem before so after morning shift I went to work, removing the control panel and getting into the guts of the controller. There’s a relay that on occasion will get stuck in there so it just needs to be shaken loose a bit essentially. I then reassembled the control board and put everything back together. Once I did that the dryer was back to working normally. It’s apparently a common Samsung dryer problem.
Another pain in the butt thing that was going on this morning is that they decided to close our street and continue to do more underground utility work, thereby closing off most of the street. Uhmm, a little heads up would have been helpful. Plus, didn’t they finish this area a couple of months ago? Why the hell are they back here again tearing stuff up? It’s super annoying – especially all the rerouting you have to go through to get to anywhere.
Some kids passing by yesterday said hello to me and one mentioned that I was so kind. Not sure where that came from but it made my day nonetheless. Also attended a wake in Medford yesterday morning, just a quick pop in and out to pay respects, for a pal of LD’s. I made a nice risotto last night too as well for dinner. But why am I talking about yesterday?
Quick Update for the Masses
Just a quick update. Had the old landlords over for a BBQ on Sunday – it was actually pretty nice. Even helped make some chili for later as well. Yesterday I spent a bunch of time over at Earth-1 getting the chainsaw fixed, getting some Portuguese soup from this local place that’s part convenient store that makes it really good and authentic – a hidden gem only us locals know about, paying some bills, and getting my Mom’s cats to the vet for their nail cutting. Today after handing out my usual complement of tickets to scofflaws, I took the AC out of the window. Starting the get chilly these days!
Enjoy this pic of two of the Three Sisters Light Houses down in Eastham. Nauset Light replaced these gals years ago.
A Latest Creation with A.I.
My latest AI creation, using Nubble as an inspiration.
After a bit of refinement, it came up with this:
Thoughts?
In a Thick Pea Fog and Pumpkins
Wow, it was thick as pea soup out there this morning. It all cleared up by about 10 am though and turned out to be a pretty good day. So I used it to get some things done that I’d been dragging my feet on the last couple of days. First,
- Added some gas to the vehicle, was starting to get a bit too low for my liking.
- Mowed the front lawn. It’s amazing how fast it grows. Got bit by some bug too which was unfortunate as it itches on my arm. Little f*cker.
- Finally picked “Roger” the pumpkin off the vine. Proud that we grew this variety of pumpkin called a “Hot Chocolate Pumpkin”. Why is it named Roger? After Roger Moore, who played James Bond after Sean Connery. A Pumpkin we grew previously was named “Sean” in the same vein, so just keeping the line going. I suppose Regina should have been named Timothy after Dalton but I decided on Regina instead as it’s Roger’s “sister”. Not sure if Ruru, another pumpkin starting to form on the same vine, will make it, probably not, but Regina has a shot I think.
- Helped LD set up her new Gravity Chair. It’s the bomb, now we can both relax the same way in our chairs!
- Went down and had the propane tank to the gas grill refilled. Grilling season isn’t over yet!
- Still need to refill the sump pump battery with distilled water, making sure not to douse myself in battery acid. Hopefully I can get to that sometime tomorrow.
Books I’m Currently Getting Into
Currently Reading:
Dopesick by Beth Macy, not sure if it’ll be as good as Empire of Pain was, I highly recommend reading that, but it is a Hulu series now.
In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet, about the legacy of witch hunts and why women are still on trial. Plus it’s October, Halloween, right?
Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse. Looks like it might be interesting.
Fall Cambridge Bike Ride in the Books
That time of year! It was time for the fall Cambridge bike ride again so I figured I would partake as it turned out to be a beautiful day. If I find other pictures that people had taken of the ride I’ll be sure to put them up and update this posting. There was one guy that we sort of know through the power of the internet that was also there and appeared to be filming it on his mounted GoPro so naturally I sidled up to him and a couple of times pulled in front just to see if I’ll be in his video later. First time I’d ever seen this dude in person – it’s a long story. I couldn’t help noticing some of the bikes these folks had, they looked really nice. Kind of makes me want to buy a new bike, maybe even an E-bike someday. Speaking of E-bikes, there was one guy there that made his own E-bike tricycle which was impressive enough but he also brought along his two pet bunnies that ride with him. Originally they were in the basket in back but at one point he took one out and placed it in front of him as he was riding. They seemed to like it.
Then when I came back to Earth-2 this afternoon I borrowed my mom’s chainsaw (Yes, my mom owns one!) and finally chopped down this tree that was part of the group of awfulness that I cut down a couple of weeks ago. There’s still one more to go but I think I’ll buy a hack saw for that. Chainsaw seems like overkill plus my cables don’t reach that far anyway.
Scaries Season
It’s scary season, or just about. The cat and I are in charge of ourselves for a few days as LD hangs out with her friend down by the southern coast. We did have a nice get together the day her plane landed. We cooked dinner together, made a really good potato gratin actually, and hung out by the firepit (this was on Thursday). But now they’re away so it’s all about getting lit and eating sh*t! (not really). I’m really digging this new watch – it’s amazing at how powerful it is. Now I can never go back.
Oh, I’m Just Going to Hang Out for a Spell
Woke up to see this creature just hanging out on the back patio this morning!
I’m really digging my new Samsung Smartwatch. It’s really cool how it integrates so seamlessly with the phone. I suppose it’s similar to what the Apple Watch does with the iPhone.
Been playing around with some more AI image generation tools. Here’s a cute thing of Carson I was playing around with.
Going on a Hayride with Baby Goats
Going on a hayride with baby goats? And then walking them after? Hell, yes! Thankful that all the rain we were supposed to have pretty much held out for most of the day up in Georgetown, Massachusetts! Good memories were made this day my friends! You can click on any photo below for a bigger look.
I ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 so the Fitbit is out. It just arrived so I’m off to mess with it now and see how it compares and what other cool things I can do with it.
Two Days of Whacking
Haven’t been able to update over the last day or so because I took it upon myself to get rid of some giant rose shrub like monstrosities that had taken over over the years and needed to go. So I hacked away at it when I could and then most of the time was cutting it all up into smaller pieces and getting them into lawn bags. It probably would have went a whole lot faster if these things didn’t have these nasty little thorns all over them. Well, into day two of the project I finally finished. I think that was quite an accomplishment for myself. Oh, there were like 4 bird nests in there as well. Thankfully they were all empty.
Unfortunely it appears my Fitbit Versa 2 has finally died for good. I know it’s just the battery but they don’t support replacing them plus it doesn’t seem worth the hassle. So no0w I have a conundrum. Do I get another Versa 2 (mine did last almost 4 years) and keep my stats and all from all that time OR do I go and get a Galaxy Watch which would integrate with my Samsung cell and such so much better. I think I’m leaning toward the Galaxy but I hate to lose that 8 million plus step count. For the record I burned 3,600 calories and over 412 active minutes yesterday hacking down the shrubs! Maybe that’s what put the Fitbit finally over the edge!
Tuesday Starts the Tasks for the Week
Headed down to the home improvement store after my morning rounds and picked up some things. Firewood for the pit, safety goggles and gloves for the battery maintenance I’d like to get to this week, and some lawn bags. I wanted top get some flood lightbulbs to replace some of the ones in the parlor but I see they only carry the LED versions now. I wasn’t sure of the comparison so I decided to wait a bit on that until I can do more research on an equivalent replacement. They also seemed to be out of this BBQ grill spray from Weber that I like to use. I may need to go to Amazon to replenish that.
Tomorrow between my rounds I really want to tackle all the outside stuff, get rid of weeds, check on the pumpkins, mow the lawns, clean out the firepit, etc. etc.
Currently Reading: This one finally came through on my Libby after waiting for months, Drinking Games. It’s about alcoholism. Currently Watching: Watched two documentaries on the Hart family tragedy. I’m not sure how I had not heard about this story before. Broken Harts was one we watched on Max which has better production value but first we saw one on Tubi called A Thread of Deceit. Pretty fascinating story but tragic all the same and it brings up some interesting questions now looking back about the child care system.
Feeling Zen on a Late September Saturday
Took a trip to Rexhame Beach yesterday, it was kinda crazy how warm it actually was outside so we wanted to get some sun and fresh sea air. The hurricane was long gone and it pretty much missed us entirely but the waves were still a bit high, though nothing like the day before.
One the way home LD treated us to some Gerard’s turkey sandwich dinners. Yum! Then I watched her at the pool at the gym because she wanted to get some swim time in. They had just finished putting the pool cover over the rooftop in preparation for the colder weather. It basically is like a big tent.
For dinner I grilled up some burgers and a squash that we grew. We learned of a new way to prepare the squash on the grill. Basically just cut it in half lengthwise and grill it flat side down until down. Lot less prep than slicing it into rounds and putting in foil.
In the evening I painted one of my fingernails on each hand. Why? Just to be a little artsy I guess. Keep people thinking. We’ll see if it stays around but in a weird way, I am kind of liking it – it’s so not generally me.
I want to get through a bunch of stuff this week in anticipation of a house guest coming next week for a few days, I definitely want to get more wood for the firepit, do some mowing and some landscaping. I want to try to tackle taking down at least some of this weird rose bushy tree like thing that used to be nice but has overtaken too much and needs to go. I also need to buy some goggles and gloves as I want to tackle refilling the backup battery for the sump pump in the basement. Safety first!
Great Day to Make Some Beautiful Music
Today’s main image is from a bouquet of Poms I got for LD to commemorate her coming home from a two day trip last week as a surprise. I especially like how I set up the shadows to photograph this one, using light and darkness in such a way. The Pom flower is in the same genetic family that includes both chrysanthemums and daisies. We added the dahlia that we grew later to the center of it. There’s a couple more of them outside that I may pick later on and place into another vase just for themselves. Then I’ll dig out the tubers and store them over the winter again. These are the ones that I replant every spring and they just keep going. Pretty cool how that works.
Around lunchtime, I drove over to Beth Israel Needham to dispose of some old medication. Did you know you can just put them in a box in the lobby to get rid of them? Another nice feature is that there’s another box right next to that one where you can dispose of any sharps you have, which I did as well. The last time I was there, I noticed these boxes and made a mental note to return later to get rid of these meds we’ve had lying around for who knows how long. It felt good to finally get rid of them safely.
I also returned some other woman’s meds that we know who wanted to get rid of hers, so I got it all done at once. You used to be able to get rid of them at the police station nearby (but not the sharps), but they got rid of that for some reason.
I am starting to really get sick of all the rain we’ve been having. Can you relate? Speaking of water, have you ever added distilled water to a sump pump battery? I just found out I need to do that to the sump pump battery in the basement as the sensor is going off alerting us to that particular issue.
Oh, in my photo “memories” today this one from a few years ago of me playing piano in front of Bentley College came up, surrounded by some adoring fans. Have to admit that was a pretty good day. Comment if you think you know what song I was actually playing. If you’re right I might send you a little surprise gift.
Burn
Today was the afternoon that I had to go have my dentist filling appointment. I’m happy to say that it was pretty quick and they didn’t even have to numb me up or anything. Just took the drill, carved out some stuff and filled it in with some amalgam of silver. Now I’m back to my regularly scheduled six month checkups, the next which will be in February. What a relief. I knew it wasn’t going to a be a big deal but I’ve always had some anxiety when it comes to going to the dentist. Most be due to my experiences when I was a kid.
On the garden front some things are coming to an end, yet other things are going great guns. For some reason, our marigolds this year really took off. I’ve never seen bushed of them so big. And “Roger”, the pumpkin, is appearing to get a number of younger siblings. We’ll have to wait and see if they all take. We also did pretty good with the squashes this year and have used a couple in our cooking over the summer.