Sunny and Cold

January 16, 2010
Right now it is 0C/32F. I have a chore for today. Most of the wood I put on the patio has been used up. So I have to restock. Lots of wood at the back of the yard. Have to get the wheelbarrow out and get at it. After lunch, when it will be the warmest.
Last week I won $20. on the lottery. That was four times in 5 weeks. Last night I won a free ticket. It would be nice to win this week, a few days before my birthday.
Last week a neighbour from my hometown died. Name was Malinowski. That was Thursday. On Friday evening I was watching Median and the cop says to the woman “Malinowski died”. Weird eh? Every week something like that happens.

Plumbing Problem

January 14, 2010
Yes, plumbing problem. The bathtub drain is frozen. When I first bought my house, it was green. No pipe problems. Then I painted my house white and the problem started. What I did at that time was wrap a heating cord around the pipe and plug it in for the winter. That cured the problem for many years. A couple of years ago, I decided to renovate the bathroom. Put in a new bathtub and thought my problem would go away with the old tub.
Well, it didn’t go away and I forgot to fix the problem last summer. Have to wait for the summer now. It freezes up when the windchill gets high. Thaws out again when it warms up.
Temperature now -2C/20F. Not too bad if it is not windy.

Car On Fire

January 10, 2010
The other evening I was looking out the window and saw my neighbour with the engine hood up. Smoke was pouring out and he was throwing in snow. Had to check that out and it was his catalytic converter on fire. I guess it was good to be parked next to a snowbank. Later on, the tow truck was there and of it went.
Later on I saw my neighbour and his wife had another car, a 2003 Buick. Don’t think he’ll be getting the Taurus repaired. He has already put a new engine in it.
At the time this was going on, I was watching NCIS on t.v. So I went back into the house and the first words I heard on the t.v. was “You do know what starts a fire in a catalytic converter don’t you”. Weird eh? But that happens to me a lot. At least a couple of times a month. On second thought, it might be more like every week.
Won $20.00 on the lottery this week. That’s four times in the last two months. Each time was $20.00.

A New Year

January 8, 2010
Well Christmas is over for another year. At my age , they come a lot faster.
Only had one snowstorm so far. So I got a chance to use my snowblower. It worked good but I think it should throw the snow out farther. That would mean changing a belt which is probably the original. It looks like it is quite stretched. That is not a job for the winter, that’s for sure. So, that goes on the list for summer projects. I don’t think I need to go searching for the same belt. One that is the same width and a little shorter should do. Anyway, worry about that later.
Another project is to raplace two fence posts. Both are broken at ground level. Have to do that job in the early spring when the ground is still wet. Easier to pull out the bottom.
Of course I still have the project of getting a lawn mower working. I am at the point now that I think the pin is broken, putting the timing off. Getting that pin out is a project in itself.
I don’t have electricy in the shed. Keep saying that I will do it, but never have. I should make that a project this summer. The main reason is because it would be nicer to use the electric start on the snow blower.
The temp. outside is 0C/32F which is quite nice. Watching the weather on T.V. and this temp. in parts of the States is quite hard to cope with. I can certainly understand that

Another Lawn Mower

November 3, 2009
Went for my walk a couple of days ago and saw a friend of mine throwing out a lawn mower. He told me it wouldn’t start, so of to my house it went. Yesterday I checked it out. It was a no start. Took off the carb. and cleaned it. Still a no start but this time it backfired. At least I’m getting somewhere. The internet says it is the spark plug or the key is stripped. (Sad that so many are thrown out because of a one dollar key.) Try the spark plug first of course. Went to Canadian Tire but couldn’t get one. That area is now mostly Christmas decorations. Have to go somewhere else. I allready know,with my luck it will be the key or something worse.
The next problem was my wife’s vacuum cleaner. It started smoking and the whole house smelled of burnt rubber. Got that all fixed up with cleaning and a new belt. Have a bunch of belts in the shed.
My wife started sucking up the leaves but after two bags it became my job. A bag of mulched leaves is a lot more than just a bag of leaves. I sucked up eight more bags. Did about three quarters of the yard and decided to leave the rest till today. Bad plan. It poured last night and is still raining. It was supposed to have been possible showers in the afternoon.
Anyway, now you know what the other people do.

Big Wind & Rain

Yes, lots of wind and rain last night. Now most of the leaves are down. Has to dry up a bit before I suck them up. It is quite a bit.
Going for my 2 mile walk lately. I guess not today. Have to use the treadmill, although I am not fond of it.
My wife took my daughter to the doctor for the regular flu shot. Next week for the other one. My daughter is handicapped and prone to everything. I don’t think I am going to get any shots. Got the flu shot the last two years in a row and still got the flu. I have increased my vitamins, especially C & D. Normally I get a lot of cold sores. Two weeks ago, I got a very small one and it was gone in a day. Gave credit to vitamins which increased immunity. Made another increase at that time.
Tore my scrounged lawn mower apart the other day. Saved some parts and the rest goes to the curb tomorrow. Someone will grab it to sell the metal. That is something I definately approve of. Those guys keep a lot out of the landfill.
Went to mass last night. The priest said definately no shaking hands. In fact, no touching anyone. Take communion only in the hand and no more drinking wine. They don’t want anyone to get sick and they don’t want to get sued if someone gets sick.
Yesterday was Halloween. We had 55 kids at the door. My wife was happy about that. She likes giving out candy etc. I remember how happy I was to get goodies. Some people turn out the lights so no one will came to the door. Don’t they remember their childhood? That was the time before they grew up stingy.
Going to rain all day.

Just made a photo of my backyard. Have the front to do too. Look like the wind carried the leaves from across the street to my lawn.

Falling Leaves

Nice day today. Not that warm but sunny.
Had to do some work on my van. The arms on the back door had some rust, so I sanded that down and put some Tremclad on it. Next month is my safety check. Safety checks used to be good for only 1 year, but they changed it to 2 years. So my next one will be good for two years. It will probably be the last one for that van. It has 82,000 miles on it and is in pretty good shape. But it’s a 2000, so that makes it ten years old. One of these days I will trade it in.
My neighbour gave me a lawnmower that didn’t work. Gave it a check over. Had spark, that was good. Carb. dirty. Cleaned that. Gave it a yank. Big puff of smoke. That was good but the recoil almost took my finger off. That means the pin is broken. At least it has a good carburetor, which happens to be the same as on my snow blower. I’ll still take it apart to make sure about that pin.
Waiting for a neighbour to call so I can pick up her husband from the hospital. He went in a week ago. He doesn’t look all that good. I don’t want to get to involved with something in case I have to leave. If I went for my walk, she would call while I was away.
Back from the hospital. Says he doesn’t feel good. Lots of perscriptions to get filled.
Went to mass this evening. Nothing to watch on tv. All repeats.

The Next Day

And so it is the next day. Same weather as yesterday.
This morning was errand time with my wife. That included a trip to The Dollar Store. It always costs me a lot more than a dollar to get out of there. But in the long run, I probably saved money.
This afternoon I sanded the filler I put in the van. Have to get some primer. The one I had didn’t work. Too old I guess. When I was near the tire, I noticed what looked like paint lifting under the lip. When I looked closer, it looked like a lot of paint lifting. So I guess I’m not finished. First I’ll finish what I am doing. At least the piece of paint will help me get a color match when I go to the store.
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. Oh well.

Summer Is Over

It would seem that I haven’t posted for a long time. After my last post, I had visitors for a week. After that its hard to get back to my routine. One project was to add on to my shed. So I finished that and it looks pretty good. Still have to paint the trim and the door. That’s all I have to paint, thanks to siding. Another project was to learn how to repair a gas lawnmower. Done that, so now my snowblower works good.
Today it is kind of chilly but the sun is shining. Been working on my van lately. Rust around the botton made a few holes. I sanded it down and painted it with Tremclad. Have to pick up some body filler.
My son and I were away a few weeks ago. First we went to Portland Maine for a night (my son had to get his motel points validated). Then it was through Quebec into Ontario. Stayed with friends in Trenton for a couple of days and Ottawa for a day. Went to Quebec City for a day and stayed at the Chateau Frontenac. One thing about my son, he always stays at the best hotels. Walked around the old city that evening and the next day drove home.
Well, this is a start.

Medical Month

August is the month that I do all my medical stuff. A couple of weeks ago I had a Cat Scan. and a day later I had the blood work done. That was on a Thur. and Fri. The next Tues. I visited the doctor for the results. To me that is fast work. So Cat Scan was normal, cholesterol was 4.9. and no diabetes. So hopefully, the next time I see him is when I get a flu shot in Nov. Aug. is a great month for all this stuff. People don't like to get sick in the summer. The doctor's office is empty, so no waiting. And actually I was out before my appointment started. In the winter there is a lot of colds, flu's and people falling on the ice and breaking something. This is Sunday afternoon and almost time to start the barbecue. The picture I am going to put up is me at the Golden Gate Bridge in Calfornia. To tell the truth, I didn't know that they had eight bridges.

San Francisco

I enjoyed my trip to San Francisco. Beautiful weather. Not too hot. And I had to do the thing all tourists do. Ride a streetcar. It was great. Found out how those things work. There is a cable that runs under the street at all the times. When they want to pull away, they just push down on the lever, it clamps unto the cable and away we go. All the drivers I saw were black and they were having a great time. I think they were all comedians. Sometimes they were so crowded, you had to hang on for dear life. Reminds me of trains in India. At one point an elderly couple wanted to get on. The driver said that there was two spots to hang on, on the other side. And hang on they did. Must have been experienced streetcar riders. There was a black lady next to me. At one point she said, "Darling, I guess we're not strangers any more."

Of course I had to get a picture of me hanging from a streetcar. I do have to admit that the car was standing still. If my son took my picture of a moving car, I would be gone and my son would still be standing there.

So I guess I can take that off my list of things to do. And while I have my list here, I should check fo others to remove. The one, "Climb Mount Everest" may as well go. Getting too crowded up there now, anyway.

The Wisdom of Larry the cable guy......

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

20. Why do psychics have to ask you your name?

21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'

22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Mexico

My son said that we were so close to Mexico we just had to go. So that was one of our side trips. We parked our car on the U.S. side and walked over because we were told that driving back was difficult. And that sure was true. Coming back, I think we saw six lanes of traffic. And it was backed up as far as the eye could see. Anyway, we just wanted to say we were in Mexico. Now the biggest surprise was the border. It was just a turnstyle. There wasn't a soul there. Well, there may have been souls but there were no people. I imagine there are not too many people trying to sneak into Mexico. Once inside, we were bombarded by hawkers and taxi drivers ( in yellow shirts). So we looked around there for a spell and then came back. This time it was a real border crossing. Though I must say, it was easier to get back into the U.S., than getting back into Canada later on. Coming back home we went thru customs in Toronto. In the lineup next to me was a group of Mexicans. It seems that they come up her to work also. Fancy that. Anyway, when I get up to the desk, its why,when,where,how much etc. Now in the lineup next to me it was "Do you speak english?" Head shake "No". "Do you speak French?" Head shake "No". Very good, off you go.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DRINK BAD WINE

Just a hint that I did drink some wine on our trip. How can you not go to California and not drink wine ? So we went to the Santa Barbara wine country, as in the movie "Sideways". And the reason for that is because the Fess Parker Winery is there. I had to drink Davy Crockett wine. How could I not? Wine tasting cost $10.00 at each place. For that you get to try out six types of wine and you get to keep the glass. Quite a large glass with a coon skin cap imprinted on it. The winery along with eleven others is located in Los Olivos. Another one you might reconize is The Firestone Winery. Went there too. Now a word of advice. One should not start a wine tour at 10 am. Needless to say I was the only customer. No, we did not see Fess Parker, but we did see his daughter.

Big Rain

Since I haven't written for so long, it looks like I went to Alcatraz and never came back. We had a great time and my son drove 2000 miles in those 10 days. Had to see and do as much as possible. Must compliment the California drivers on their courtesy. On any of those super highways, when we wanted to change lanes, there was never a problem. And we didn't even have foreign plates.

We did go to Alcatrez. Not a place you would want to spend a large part of your life. I was disappointed though about the parks dept. letting it fall apart. They don't do any repairs. I don't think they understand that when tourists go there, they want to see how it was, not how it is now. Over time ,"how it was" will be all gone and there will be nothing left but a pile of rock. And it is not like they can't afford it. The ferry carries about 500 people and comes every half hr. Fee is $24.95. In Nova Scotia, we have a number of historical spots which have been kept up. Have to think living history.

I loved the way they did the tour. Your tour guide is a tape player around your neck so you could go at your own pace. Just stop the tape if you wanted to stay longer at any spot. That's a great idea.

On another note, we had big rain yesterday. We received a month's supply of rain in one day. So I can't cut the grass today, too wet. Tomorrow is supposed to be another rainy day.

The Day Before

This is Monday, June 2.

Today is garbage day. There is usually a parade of trucks driving by the evening before. Looking for anything useful. You can be sure that all the metal will be picked up. Whatever is left is really garbage. I look at this as a good thing. Everything gets recycled, one way or another. I've picked up things from my neighbours that I can use. I don't think any of them would. The last thing I picked up was a footstool. The top is a padded lid. It's for magazines etc. The only thing wrong with it was that one of the hinges had become unscrewed. Three screws later, it sits in my living room.

I have a next door neghbour, who is divorced with two daughters. She has two cars in the driveway. One doesn't work and has been sitting there for years. It has become her storage shed. The other car has been sitting there for a month because it has a flat tire. My wife says that I should be a good neighbour and change the tire for her. I said no, I would be a fool if I changed it. She has two daughters, with two boyfriends, who walk past that car every day. They stay over a lot of nights. I think they should change the tire.

On Sat. she hops in her car, drives out of the driveway and parks it in front of the house. Still with a flat tire. I go to church that evening and when I come home, I see that the shedcar is gone. My wife tells me that someone came and towed the car away, And what else? They changed the tire on the other car.

The one thing I can't understand is with all those cars is that they didn't park in front of their house. They parked in front of mine. Hopefully, with one car gone, someone will park in the driveway. But, this is not a sure thing.

I have to get up at 4 AM tomorrow. Becauseeee! I am going to California tomorrow with my son. I say going with, but actually he is taking me. So I am looking forward to that.

Start The Morning With Chi

Its Sat. morning. Nice out now,but I think it is supposed to rain later.

I have one of those Magic Bullett blenders. That is some little machine. I use it almost every day. I have gone over to a liquid breakfast, so to speak. Put everything in the glass provided, screw on the base and voom,voom,voom finished. Here is my recipe. Got it from the newspaper.

Fill the glass half full of milk. Put in one banana, (use large spoon) for one spoon of wheat germ, sunflower seeds (without the shell of course), walnuts, flax seed, chi seeds (you should look up its content and history) and virgin olive oil. Then you need two tablespoons of yogurt and top it off with milk. After that,the three vooms and you are finished. Now you have everything you need in a breakfast. You can buy the flax seeds already ground but I like the crunch. I hope this will give me fortitude this morning because I have to go yard sailing with my wife.

Bought a new hat the other day. I guess it is something like a cowboy hat. Wide brim and all. My friends are poking fun at me but I like my hat. Makes a big difference walking in the sun. The wide brim keeps my face cooler than with my other ones. When I was much younger, I was expecting to be wearing a hat all the time like my father. But John F. Kennedy put the kibosh to that. He didn't wear a hat, so that became the new fashion. Wiped out the hat industry. So when the kids grew up and it was time to switch to a new hat, there wasn't any. They just kept wearing their baseball caps. So now old men still wear them. Come to think of it, it does go with the rest of the clothing. And that's not a compliment.

Back from the yard sales. I think this is the first time I've gone out and not spent any money. Of course I spent money on gas, which today is seling for $1.40 a liter. That would be $5.30 a gal. My wife and son just took off to Wal-Mart. She is running around looking for new glasses. We had tests done last month. My glasses are still good. No change in five years. The doctor said that eyesight doesn't change much after 60 yrs. of age. They just have to watch out for other things.

I was going to add a photo of the Magic Bullett. But I changed my mind and will put up one of my hat. My son just got an e-mail from one of my brothers. He bought an Apple computer at a yardsale for $75.00. Now he is asking my son how to get into it if he doesn't have a password. He is always buying computers at yardsales. I don't know if he ever checks them out first. Money with wings.

The Calm, Quiet Vitamin -- and Why You Need It

Know what's super bad for your body? Inflammation. It’s thought to be at the core of problems like heart disease and heart attacks.

Know what's a great way to quiet inflammation? Get your fill of vitamin K. Good choices: just about anything leafy and green -- from spinach and kale to collards and turnip greens.

Fanning the Flames of Inflammation

Inflammation is your body's response to injury or infection. And when it occurs in your blood vessels, inflammation can be a sign of bad things to come -- like ruptured arterial plaques, clot formation, heart attack, and stroke. Enter leafy greens. They pack a real vitamin K punch, and more and more research is linking high vitamin K intake to a lower bodywide inflammation index.

Going for the Green

Bored with salads? The trick to getting more greens -- and more vitamin K -- into your diet may be learning to use them more creatively. Start with something simple but different, like this Basic Sauteed Kale recipe from EatingWell.

Then, move on to these K-rich greens recipes that will have you feeling like a world traveler:

.Simmer kale with chickpeas and exotic spices for this vegetarian Indian dish: Indian-Spiced Kale and Chickpeas.
.Slip collard greens into your red sauces, like with this unique Italian dish: Pasta with Greens and Tomato Sauce.
.Mix spinach with butternut squash and beans for this Brazilian soup: Amazon Bean Soup with .Winter Squash and Greens. Here's why your hands can't do without K.

COMMON DRUGS HASTEN DECLINE IN ELDERLY

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Elderly people who took commonly prescribed drugs for incontinence, allergy or high blood pressure walked more slowly and were less able to take care of themselves than others not taking the drugs, U.S. Researchers said on Saturday.

They said people who took drugs that block acetylcholine -- a chemical messenger in the nervous system critical for memory -- functioned less well than their peers.

"These results were true even in older adults who have normal memory and thinking abilities," said Dr. Kaycee Sink of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, who led the study of 3,000 people of whom 40 percent were taking more than one anticholinergic drug.

"The effect is essentially that of a three- to four-year increase in age. So someone who is 75 in our study and taking at least one moderately anticholinergic medication is at a similar functional level to a 78 to 79-year-old," Sink said in an e-mail.

Sink's findings, presented at American Geriatrics Society Meeting in Washington, add to a growing body of research that suggests these so-called anticholinergic medications can hasten functional and cognitive declines in elderly people.

Some of the most common such drugs in the study included the blood pressure drug nifedipine (sold as Adalat or Procardia), the stomach antacid ranitidine or Zantac, both with mild or moderate anticholinergic properties, and Pfizer Inc's incontinence drug tolterodine or Detrol, which is highly anticholinergic.

"The tricky part ... Is that many useful drugs from many different classes of medications have anticholinergic properties," Sink said.

She said in many cases newer drugs are available that do not have these effects and said doctors should look out for them for elderly patients.

MEMORY DECLINE

Dr. Jack Tsao, a neurologist with the U.S. Navy, reported last month at a American Academy of Neurology meeting that elderly people who took anticholinergic drugs had a 50 percent greater rate of memory decline than people in a long-term study who did not take the drugs.

Sink studied the effects of taking multiple anticholinergic drugs on walking speed, basic activities such as dressing, eating, taking care of personal hygiene, grooming, and harder activities like shopping, cooking and managing money on her test subjects whose average age was 78.

The researchers found that the more anticholinergic drugs people had in their systems, the worse their physical function, based on reports from people in the study and on independent measures of their performance.

In a separate study this month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Sink found that older nursing home residents who took drugs for dementia and incontinence at the same time had a 50 percent faster decline in function than those treated only for dementia.

"I would encourage patients to bring in a list of everything they take (even over-the-counter medications) to their doctor and have them review it at least yearly," Sink said. "Physicians should try to decrease anticholinergic burden whenever possible."

The Top Diet . . . for Your Ticker

Which does the best job of protecting your heart: a Mediterranean-style diet or a low-fat plan?

Either approach is good for your health. But the Mediterranean type gives your ticker some extra protection. Here's how.

Cholesterol BusterThe

Mediterranean-type diet brought cardiovascular disease risk down 15% in a recent study, versus 9% for the low-fat plan. Why the difference? The olive oil, nuts, fruits, veggies, whole grains, and fish that characterize a Mediterranean diet are chock-full of fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants -- all things your heart loves. (Here's something else your heart craves.)

And More . . .

Some other reasons that might persuade you to eat like the people living in Greece, southern Italy, and other Mediterranean Sea spots:

Your heart could be healthier after only 3 months of it. Here's how.
It could be a boon to your brain as well as your heart. Here's what we mean by that.
Throw in a walk and you'll get healthy even quicker. Here's why.

So go ahead, take the first step toward the heart-healthiest diet there is.

Step 1: Trade in your beef hamburgers for this delicious Mediterranean take on burgers.

Did You Know?

Whole-grain bread with olive oil makes a smart appetizer. Here's how it may help you eat less overall.