The Ciel Show

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Friday, October 12, 2018

Nebulosity and Big Heavy Objects

You wait all week for a delivery... go out for 15 minutes, and it's on the porch when you get home. It. A cylindrical thing as tall as the width of a full bed and the weight of the entire bed including frame, head- and foot-board, and winter bedding, and with me in it. I wrestled it in through the door and onto the stairs enough to shut the front door. and left it there until Charlie got home and could drag it up to my bedroom. Besides that, I am having one of those vague brain days. A bad one... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Great Shifting

It's still cold in the Springs, but not as cold as yesterday at this time. Today, instead of snow, we have fog, a rarity for this area. The temps are forecast to be creeping upwards over the next week nearly to highs of 60, after more snow on Sunday. We'll see. I am looking into getting new all-season tires for the truck, as there is a dismaying lack of tread on those I've got now, something I noticed even before the snow came. Last week, Charlie and I decided to upgrade the storage unit for the... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Especially For Adnohr... and other Grandmas...

First of this winter's snow, an inch of it on the back porch this morning! It won't last long, but the finches--3-5 at a time--are almost frantically going at the thistle-seed net hanging outside--nearly emptied it in the past few days, from about 2 cups worth to down to about a quarter cup. Happily for them, I have a few cups more in the bag to refill with. Marika and Elsa are bound homewards today. We will meet for breakfast, then they'll be driving north towards Denver International Airport.... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

grey days, bright flowers

It's another misty, drizzly morning, and my daughter wants to do a little hike this morning to see some falls in the local area. She and Elsa like to explore the world, Elsa usually at this point riding on Mommy's back in the soft sling/wrap-around, but sometimes on her own feet. Marika wants me to join them for this, really not quite getting that I can't walk a mile without pain, not even a quarter of a mile. It's also cold today, near freezing here in the Springs, maybe nearer up where the... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 8, 2018

The little birds know...

Overnight temps are dropping to the 40s, even the low 40s this week, and slow, drizzly rains have damped the neighborhood. This morning there were 4 or 5 gold finches avidly feeding on the thistle-seed net that hangs from my deck roof. It had seemed abandoned for weeks, but now they are chowing down, building up fat for winter they suddenly know is coming. A week or so ago, I spotted half a little egg shell on the ground under the big blue spruce out front. Seems that the doves are raising an... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Having company gets the house clean!

Friday evening, my granddaughter Elsa brought her parents to town. Apparently it is a rather different thing to see NaiNai at one's own house, or on the video-chat, and then actually in person in strange new surroundings. There was much shy at first, with tentative smilings, but we got over that pretty quickly. We met up at their hotel, then went for dinner at one of Marika's favorite restaurants--Chili's--which no longer maintains a presence in Washington State. Saturday morning they all came... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Birthday!

Today has been my 66th birthday. Charlie and I had breakfast at a very nice new-to-the-Springs place called First Watch, then took a drive about 7 miles up the Pike's Peak Highway to see the golden aspens. It was probably one of the last fine days for such an excursion: by the weekend, there will be snow gathering on the peaks. Sunday night, I will be bringing in the porch plants. Rumor has it that this will be a long, cold, snowy winter, unlike the previous two. After dinner, we went down to... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Cooking artichokes

I like artichokes. They are tasty with mayonaise, or olive oil and salt, as a friend of mine used to eat them. I have come up with a way to cook them so they can be served to people who are a bit skeptical of "those chokey things." Baked, so they don't soak up water; foil-wrapped so they steam in their own juices and don't get all dried out. Here are the photos of the steps taken: https://flic.kr/p/2bC3xS4 (Go to this one and click to the left. Otherwise, it is how to uncook an artichoke.) Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Plans gone awry...

This weekend was full of plans! For a moment, they included going to the zoo with a friend and her two young lady daughters, but I knew when I woke up that my back was not going to the zoo. Then, as it happened, she was not up for much either: She has been having some 'minor' surgeries to deal with melanomas, and 'minor' it seems can be quite debilitating in a practical sense. So there was no zoo, and no after-zoo party at my house to celebrate all the birthdays they and Charlie and I have in... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Luck

Just a little moment of inattention... then suddenly seeing that the line of cars ahead, coming up fast, was not moving though their light was green and their tail-lights were dark! I floored, absolutely floored the brake pedal, as everything loose in the pickup flew forwards, and the brakes slipped and stuttered... and the truck stopped about 5 feet behind the little car in front. In the mirror, I saw the car behind me brake hard and swerve into the right lane to avoid hitting me. Nothing... Sign in to see full entry.

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