Oct 22 - drawing a blank

Yes, I was drawing a blank when I was at the title line. Rather than not have a title though, I told it like it was ... (which doesn't sound quite as profound in the past tense).

Oh rats, I just thought of something ... borrowed from Snoopy's writing -- "It was a dark and stormy night" ...

Anyway, it was another quiet day. Sandy went to Sudbury and visited umpty-ump stores, not getting back until around 5pm. As usual she came back with a car-full. Pillows (don't ask), food from several places, bathroom shelf (for the basement, they only had one but we need two ... go figure), nothing else of note. She's stocking up for our trip south when we must bring cereal and a variety of other things on our list.

In the meantime, I restocked the inside wood pile a couple of times, re-tarped the two woodpiles outside, one of which has a too-small tarp on it and the other which had a leaking Normerica tarp. I've been burning the hemlock that I cut down and Jim helped me split last fall -- burns fast and hot, like kindling. It's not good for overnight when it's cold out, but great for this kind of weather. Speaking of which, it's colder this morning, around 28F.

The wind blew all day and looked like it was going to blow all night, so I pulled the Whaler up on the ramp rather than leaving it bounce around. That only takes seconds to do, up or down, so it's no big deal. Depending on the wind direction this morning, I may or may not go fishing. I won't bother if I cannot get out of the wind.

I also tied the gazebo tarp better and will leave that for now. I brought the muskoka chairs up to the barn. Oh yes, I went into town and picked up the mail and a few dock rings which I put on the breakwater logs.

I exchanged several emails with Judith, who is going to ride one of my Permanents on Monday with a friend, and Vincent who is fresh back from the Pyrenees doing a ride there (I'm jealous). By the sounds of things he at least did the Tourmalet and Hautacam. He made reference to those in his email ... I don't know any more. I'm not sure when he actually works, but then as a Plastic Surgeon perhaps he doesn't have to work many hours :).

I expect that he will sign up for the ride in Italy ... but I still have to find someone who knows Italian ! I did not know that Vincent kept a blog, so I browsed through his blog entries. They are different than what you might find from me or Geoff -- he writes poetry, cooks up little stories around his pictures from a ride (like a "who done it"), ... fascinating. I definitely have to do some more riding with Vinny, as he calls himself, to plumb the depths, as it were. Italy would be good for that, since I cannot actually talk to the Italians, unless I somehow get the "gift of tongues". Don't count on it ! Of course in the biblical story the Apostles had the gift of tongues but there was never any reference to having the "gift of ears" ... everyone who heard them understood them, but did it work the other way around ? I'd hate to have a lot of one-way conversations ! That would almost be like writing a blog ...

Anyway, I've been writing drivel again. While churning out this drivel the sky has gotten lighter so I can see that the wind is coming from left to right, partly cross-wise on the lake. I may be able to find a sheltered spot somewhere.

I've been doing research on installing Stef's natural stone tiles in preparation for next week's work. Internet research, watching a short video ... those have also consumed some of my time. Of course I can only watch an internet video between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. or else I get FAP'd for the next 24 hours (Fair Access Policy) to less than dial-up speed. These will be more complicated to install than most, since they are split face and the edges intersect in "fingers". The tile pieces are small but mounted on a web backing ... floppy tile is not as easy to install on a wall. Another complication is that they are supposed to be sealed before and after grouting. That extends the process somewhat since the sealer is supposed to dry for 24 hours. I'll probably do the grouting on our way to Florida ... don't think that I'll be able to do it this trip but we'll see how it all works out.

Anyway ... enough. Onward. I think that I'll go "test the air" outside and ponder going fishing. I'll go over to Jason's and turn on the heat in the process.