one-a-day

like a yo-yo

This global warming is driving me nuts! This is yesterday's temperature. It's now 9:30 AM, Saturday and the temp. is already up to 48°. It was hovering just above 0° two mornings ago.

Anyone else experiencing such large excursions in their locations?

so .. where did we eat tonight?

First of all, we reserved early.

And .. surprise! We ate at Harrigan's. Eight of us, which included Lisa's 2 guests, Tim & Betsy.



Luke is bearing up as best he can against grandpa's prying camera. And if you look closely, Haley brought her pet coconut, Steve, along. That's right. His name is Steve. Cool moniker for a coconut, doncha think?

I downed enough beer, before the food arrived, to make me forget that I wasn't all that hungry for some reason. I even licked the platter clean.

Gym Day at Kettering Rec.

And Thing 2 is participating in a relay race. There was a kid ahead of her, so Olivia took a moment to turn and give me a smile.

Her team didn't win any of the races, but they had a great time. Many other fun games, too.

Batch #5

And it is hot.

mystery solved

Found him on the floor .. all dried out, and stiff as a board.

a virtual sandwich for you

And just in time for lunch ... simply answer this post and you will be sent a virtual bacon-chicken patty sandwich. Hootergirl gets 2, to compensate her for pain & suffering.

bacon-chicken patty au sauce

Yes .. that is a blanket of my horsey-mustard sauce under the tomato & bacon. And yes .. the sandwich was delicious. And yes .. bacon is fat. And no .. I don't care.

Not only fantastic as a sandwich spread .. Nancy has even used this mild version of my sauce instead of mayonnaise for her tuna salad sandwich.  

body of water

If you enlarge the photo, you can see Nemo's reflection in the glass on the right. He had scooted past by the time the camera focused and snapped the pic. But .. he's out and about, no more hiding. Sparky, the cleaner shrimp, is busy picking around on the rear glass.

The maintenance task took about an hour and a half, and besides cleaning the filter, I prepped 8 gallons of replacement ocean water. I think my false percula clownfish is actually smiling now.


And this is "Big Moe." He removes the "big" debris as the tank water filters past his sponges, and through activated carbon granules. And you all thought it was some rinky dink "hang on" tank filter I had to clean.

instant ocean

Before anyone gets all excited, and grabs the phone to call Al Gore .. let me explain here. Marine tropical fish is one of my hobbies. And I'm not talking about soldiers. These are fish that live in sea water.

Now it's been down to one fish and a cleaner shrimp for some time, not counting a few snails and more bristle worms than I care to see. But Nemo has been doing a lot of hiding lately .. which likely indicates that his health is on the decline. And it's my fault.

Tank maintenance is long overdue. Time to clean the filter and replace about 50% of the water. Filtered water is placed in a bucket, and the temp raised to around 78° F. Then enough Instant Ocean to raise the specific gravity of the water to about 1.022. More easy than it sounds.

The Instant Ocean adds the salts & trace elements required for a marine environment. Water replacement dilutes the harmful organic compounds that build up over time. The carbon granules adsorb harmful compounds and help keep the water clear.

So .. now you all know how I'll get to spend an hour of my Monday.

patrick takes the plunge

Patrick has made his grand entrance into the social networking world of blogging. Also known as ApplianceGuy44, he has created his brand new blog, Patrick's Piddles. I hope everyone who reads this pays Patrick a welcoming visit.

happy groundhog day

Six more weeks of winter. Whoda thunk it!

ready for the super bowl

I figure these 2 "tickets" should get me a front row seat in front of Jeff's wide screen TV. Especially if I bring the appetizers, too.

winter heatwave

It's Noon on this bright sunny day here in the valley, and the outside temperature is steadily climbing. The remote sensor on my front porch reads 42.9° as of a minute ago.

All my windows have been open for almost half an hour. The furnace is turned off, and I'm airing out the house. I just love love love this warm weather!

the missing visit

A couple of my fellow bloggerites wondered why I hadn't posted my usual Friday night Harrigan's excursion a couple days ago. Well .. Haley, Olivia and I were there. I forgot to bring my camera. Guess I had my mind on fish & chips. And half a pitcher of Budweiser.

The girls had mini-corn dogs. Slugger was our waitress, as usual. The photo is from 2 Fridays ago.