It's Really Warming Up!
When temperatures are reaching 80F (26C) and above our activities seem to diminish with every degree the themometer climbs higher. It so happened today. After a lazy morning, broken only by juicing the remaining oranges and neighbor lady stopping by for a chat, we had ourselves our daily bowl with oats, and then it was napping time.
Having a dog means that one has to go for a walk from time to time. We do that every morning before the sun makes our skin throw blisters, but then in the afternoon hours Molly starts coming up to us looking into our face an there is simply no room for misunderstandings. She wants another walk. So one of us is going with her.
Yesterday evening we got invited for a Chilli supper with the neighbors from Saskatchewan. It was still warm enough to enjoy supper outside under the awning. Then we went to a bonfire at the host station. It is just another thing Molly knows about. Once in a while when there is no bonfire, and we stay home, Molly is giving us the looks, walking up and down the floor. The reason for that is easy to understand, as there is alway someone around the fire who is carrying a goodie for Molly in his pocket. And when the treat is gone, she keeps coming back again and again to sniff at the person's pocket for more treats. The ways of a dog...
I met a couple from Alaska today. They had parked their rig along the road.
And what a rig it was. Perched on the flatbed of their FUSO-truck was a true Alaska wooden cabin with a pitched roof, residential-style windows and inside most of the features one would expect in a small RV, except that the only feature which was really out the RV-World was a propane cooking range. Everything else they would have to go to a lumber mart to get replaced or fixed.
I got even more surprised when I saw a row of pictures of other motor homes they have owned. One, a 38ft wooden motor home, they still have at home.
And the owners, John and Linda just returned from Mexico and when I came down, John was re-varnishing the outside of the rig. Don't see that every day!
This posting got published a bit too early and before I had a chance to add the pics. So I repost it again.
July 12
Amazing what a blog can do...
We have never prepared food in a too simple way, so it is not my point to insinuate anything like that. What I am getting at is the fact that my dear wife seems to have found, not only inspiration, but the interest for cooking. And that is thanks to her blog Dinner For Two at www.dinner-fourtwo.blogspot.com The fact that she is using the NIKON on it, and tries to get the most appetizing pictures of the dish has led to the most appetizing arrangements on my plate as well. I would be lying, if I said it doesn't please me.
Today, we had pan-fried Pollock, with cooked potatoes and a delicate cucumber-tomato salad. No top-prized restaurant in the entire gourmet-world would have made that dish any better than Bea.
Besides of havin' a good time at the table, I had a h...of a time outside with my porch-project. Reason for that was the merciless sun combined with high humidity (it rained last night!). The water poured off my head by the gallons, and from time to time I had to take a refill in the kitchen. But finally the last post with beam toppled over and I was standing on a bare deck.
Neighbors walking by on the road were not saving their comments. Nope, they must have been thinking I am a real maniac, which maybe closer to the truth than they know.
Everyone who is reading www.thebayfieldbunch.com knows what trouble (and fun) Al has with his squirrels. We have squirrels too!! And Molly is the one being on the hunt for them. But, of course, squirrels are faster or smarter than Molly. That, however, does not deter her from sitting guard under a tree when a squirrel has taken up position on a high enough branch. Molly does not know that the squirrel can escape her attention by jumping onto the house roof and from there going into its nest by the dormer. But funny enough the squirrel sits in the tree and seems to have fun teasing our dog.
Then in the late afternoon I had to start the convertible, 'cause the island-mechanic was to put in a new choke tomorrow and desired to have the car with a cold engine next morning. But turning the key did not produce the desired rumble from the engine. It remained absolutely quiet in the garage. No power! Flat Battery! How could it be?
In dark anticipation I fumbled after the light switch, and sure enough it was halfway out. Darn, I had forgotten to switch off the parking lights last time I put it into the garage.
The solution was putting it into neutral and pushing it out into the open. Luckily our garage floor is sloping a bit downhill, which makes it a ton easier to move that heavy float.
Outside, I could bring our truck close, to use our heavy-duty jumper cables. When the engine finally sprang to life, I had to keep my foot on the accelerator, as the choke is no good. After a while the engine warmed up and I could slip up my foot.
Together with the new choke we will be getting a full tune-up of the engine. I am looking forward to finally being able to fully enjoy that old boat, even if most trips are limited to tours on the island.
