General

For use when I really don’t have time to figure out to what category the post should belong.

Early Summer Cleaning

~ Guy Hall ~ 1 Comment

Castle cleaning has commenced!

By-the-way, I’m live-blogging my cleaning! Not that anyone is reading my blog now-a-days. But, it passes the time while the floor dries. That’s right non-existent readers of mine, I mopped the floor!

Cat litter box
Cat Litter Station

Update: Cat Litter Station cleaned and back in place! Next for cleaning is the kitchen table.

It's an old Barnes & Noble table someone fished out of the dumpster for me!
It’s an old Barnes & Noble table someone fished out of the dumpster for me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And presto! My kitchen table is cleaned.

This is where Cinn hides when I clean. She hates the vacuum cleaner.
This is where Cinn hides when I clean. She hates the vacuum cleaner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a quick shot of Cinnamon hiding because I’m vacuuming. Hell, she doesn’t even wait for me to get it plugged in and she’s already bolting for the office!

 

 

 

 

Okay, That’s it. I’m finished with apartment cleaning for the day. I’ve got the kitchen swept, mopped, and dusted. I also swept and vacuumed the living room area. Enough is enough! Now I’ve just got a cinnamon scented candle burning to make the place smell acceptable.

I Can Cook!

~ Guy Hall

So, I came across this recipe for roasting chicken breasts on Facebook. Damn it was good! I now have two meals waiting to be heated in a microwave.

Damn! It was soooooooooo damn good!

2014 Tour De Rook – Leg #9

~ Guy Hall

To the stats!

  1. Temperature: 70°FTour_Rook
  2. Wind: S 5 mph
  3. Humidity: 60%
  4. Miles: 8.33
  5. Time: 00:34:59
  6. Max Speed: 19.8 mph
  7. Average Speed: 14.2 mph
  8. iPhone: Beethoven; Symphonies #1 and #2 – Almost through Op. 36 – 3. Scherz0
  9. Temperature: 72°F
  10. Wind: SW 7 mph
  11. Humidity: 57%

I cut this leg short. I planned on going all the way to Finlayson, MN but was stung by a bee at the bench on the trail at the north side of Rutledge, MN. I’m not allergic, thankfully. However, it hurt just enough I thought I’d better head home and maybe ice the sting. I’m breathing fine, and am not feeling any constriction in my throat, so I know I’m okay. The sting aches, but very tolerable. So, yeah, I’ll live.

Hitting The Trail

~ Guy Hall

Okay, I’m heading out to do leg #9. You all enjoy the 4th in whatever best suits your mood.

Breakfast This Morning

~ Guy Hall

Well, okay, this afternoon. Damn, everyone’s making a fuss. Anyway, it’s Malt-O-Meal flavored with brown sugar, cinnamon, and real maple syrup. Oh, and I make it slowly so as to avoid any lumps. There is nothing worse than lumpy Malt-O-Meal. And I’m finishing off the last of the biscuits that I made in the shape of muffins. They are slathered in butter and topped with heaps of raspberry jam.

Nom, nom.

Oh, and did you know there are people who actually like lumps in their Malt-O-Meal? Seriously. They exist! They walk amongst us. I know, I know. I can hear you say “Guy, say it ain’t so!” I wish I could. But I can’t. When you shop in the mall, or go to the movies, they are shopping or watching “The Transformers” right along side you! They’re driving on the same streets as you!

Yes, I know. Scary monsters.

Be afraid. Be very afraid………

I Made This!

~ Guy Hall

In case anyone is wondering; this was breakfast! Eat your heart out Tina Rife!!!!!!!!!!

Breakfast!
I made this!

 

For the record: that’s a bacon, cheese and scrambled egg sandwich on a grilled Kaiser bun. And yes, it was delicious! Mwaaahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

Morning!

~ Guy Hall ~ 2 Comments

A bit sore and tired due to last night’s leg of the 2014 Tour De Rook. So, now I’m slowly working up the gumption to hop into the shower. Just not moving all that fast. Meanwhile the cats are all whiny and demanding. I guess they want food. It’s always something with them; food, water, attention. So damn demanding!

Repairs & Reconfigurations To The Castle

~ Guy Hall

So, I’ve installed two window air conditioning units; an 8000 BTU in the kitchen/living room and a 5000 BTU in my bedroom. I actually bought the larger unit yesterday evening after I realized it was close to 95 degrees in the apartment. After getting the thing installed into the window, I tried to use a fan to blow the cold air from the kitchen into my bedroom. Unfortunately, that entitled the cats to come sleep with me.

Cinnamon I don’t mind – she just wants to be petted for a bit, then lays down next to me and sleeps. However, Kang wants to snuggle up close, kneed whatever limb (or face!) is closest, likes to climb up on top of me, then starts demanding I play with him. He kept me up all damn night. So, today I went and got the smaller one.

Anyway, those were the reconfigurations. The repair was my sink drain. The collar/drain that screws onto the through pipe cracked off. So I had to get a new one. I just finished installing that only minutes ago. It’s nice to have an operational sink in the bathroom again.

Next, I’m cutting up the cardboard from the air conditioning packaging to wedge into – and block the light from – the rest of the window in the bedroom.

So, More About The Bad Day

~ Guy Hall

Yesterday was just not a good day. First, I discovered that someone had managed to get my debit card numbers and purchased a few things. I can consider myself lucky, they only managed one purchase that got through. Their attempt at a hotel room somewhere in Kentucky was too over the top and caused my card to get shut down. And the one that managed to get through is actually still on hold at my credit union, which I plan on calling first thing Monday morning.

Then, after returning from Duluth, I decided, it being such a wonderful day (weather wise) that it was time to start the 2014 Tour De Rook. Well, my previous post described that debacle. At least I had a pleasant walk back to my apartment.

However, all things considered, I did have quite a few positive and surprising experiences. My old Nokia (their first attempt at a smart phone), which never really worked all that well, showed signs of dying. As it was 3 years old, I decided to purchase an iPhone a few days ago. An iPhone 5s with 16 GB of memory. I loaded it with music and popped in the ear buds (which are better than I expected). The ear buds have a volume control and play/pause button that if you hold it down when the music is paused brings up Siri. Instead of having to fumble with the touch screen and keypad, I simply spoke “Call Tina, Mobile” and next thing you know, I’m talking to Tina Rife, my girlfriend.

Actually, I was looking at buying some Blue Tooth ear buds and an arm strap for holding the iPhone when I discovered the stolen debit card numbers. However, I listened to them and decided the sound was awful. Apple actually did a good job on the ear buds! The old ones that came with the iPods I bought in the past sucked. Glad to see they finally improved the quality. The only problem with the buds supplied with the iPhone is the cord is too short. It could use at least another 6 or 8 inches.

Anyway, despite some set backs, i.e., my debit card being cancelled and the flat tire, I did have some good things happen. To be honest, the 2.5 mile walk back was really enjoyable. So to was learning more about the capabilities of the iPhone, which I am seriously glad I bought.