The little Inn by the wayside

[Pater Alf]

Cookie Monster loves cookies...

[eMTe]

I quit cookies half a year ago. But I can have a glance and take trip down memory lane.

[jayenkai]

Mmmm, cookies!!
I recently bought a whole bunch of Coffee Syrups, from nextdaycoffee.co.uk. My tastebuds have been out of whack since my hospital trip, so I was slightly worried that the insane amount of money I spent on all the syrup might've been wasted. Luckily, all syrups are going down nicely, albeit about a hundred times sweeter than they once were! Yum yum!
I'll take some of your cookies! They'll be good for dipping!

Yesterday I took a trip up to Salford for another CT Scan. A lengthy half hour car journey for a quick two minute scan. *rolleyes*
I also couldn't find a nearby wheelchair, so had to walk quite a distance from the hospital entrance to the CT scanner. Me and mum linked arms, and off we trotted. Mum was quite pleased that I managed to walk that distance. And heck, so was I! That's easily the most I've walked in the past nine months, and although it left me quite trembly and shaky, it was good to finally get some decent movement going on.
I think I'm going to have to start moving around more, now, and get all my energy back. Seems I can just about manage it, so.. Time to get up and do it! ... Will need someone with me, though! Not chancing it, out on my own, just yet!

[eMTe]

Well, just have in mind that "energy" hides in the movement of your legs, sure, but when your legs don't move there are still quadrillions (or more!) of tiny thingythingies bouncing quickly back and forth in certain *cough* upper parts of your body, so use this energy wisely and effectively.

[Pager]

I'll take some of your cookies! They'll be good for dipping!

They probably would be no doubt...I got a problem with baking cookies...they end up about an inch thick and moist...so I'm assuming they would probably suck up liquid like a sponge. But seriously, I would mail you some, but I'm sure they'd be little green furballs by the time they got there. Like a little parcel of tribbles.

[Chroelle]

Hi guys.

Christmas party got done friday, with a blast of a party. We had a smurft-theme going, which was quite hilarious. The men invited this time around, so when the girls came to the door we all sucked helium baloons and started greeting them - hilarious and silly all in one.

Saturday (kids was babysat by my dad-in-law) I spent with Tanja on two mattresses on the floor in front of the tv, until dinner time, where we grab some high-end burgers and went and saw The Hobbit, which I was actually expecting less from, so I was pleased. Did anyone else see it yet?

In reply to how we got waterdamage in the roof in the first place - some weldings between the tar-plates and the window frame gave way, so water has been piling up in the roof for some time, and then finally it went through and into the living room (second floor) some time ago... I hope we can get a guy out soon.

I hope everyone is having a great x-mas month so far.

[Scythe]

Yah, the Hobbit was fine (a bit slow), unless you were expecting LotR 0. Which I wasn't. Still question the decision of making 3 movies out of it, but I guess we'll see.

[Zyx]

saw The Hobbit, which I was actually expecting less from, so I was pleased.

I went and saw it as well lat weekend, and I think pretty much everyone went with that mindset. It was a bit long-winded, but there was a lot of adventuring and goblin slashing going on. Also, at the end when they see the Lost Mountain, my only thought was that we'll have to wait two years to get there.

[jayenkai]

...I've still not seen LotR, yet!

[Scythe]

Also, at the end when they see the Lost Mountain, my only thought was that we'll have to wait two years to get there.

Aren't they going to roll them out in half year intervals? My mom told me so anyway.

[eMTe]

...I've still not seen LotR, yet!

I watched first movie, but only because I was having a date. I think people's fascination with franchises like LotR or Star Wars (never watched a second of it) are more a social phenomenon and result of clever marketing rather than proof of artistic quality.

Here comes the portion of my late evening grumbling.

[Scythe]

I watched first movie, but only because I was having a date. I think people's fascination with franchises like LotR or Star Wars (never watched a second of it) are more a social phenomenon and result of clever marketing rather than proof of artistic quality.

...and here I thought I just enjoyed adventure and fantasy... the 50+ times I've watched both of these must have been brainwashing... oh dear...

[Railwaymodeler]

I've watched Star Wars a few times, the older editions, IV, V, and VI, but, while I enjoyed the movies, didn't get into it on a deep fan level. Never seen any of the LotR movies, nor do I have any real desire to do so. But, I have noticed some movies, for some reason, develop an almost cult-like following.

Closer to home here, the original Blues Brothers movie, from 1980, has a deep fan following around here. I like that movie, I watch it every now and then, but really, to me, it is just a movie. Nothing to get too excited about. The music is good, though. I also remember as a young boy, dad playing his Blues Brothers 33 RPM record albums while we would work on our train layout. The "Train room" I had growing up, used to be his home study office in the basement. As a fifth birthday present, he cleared out most of the furniture in there and had a tabletop built. He did keep the old record player in there, and I often listened to a few childrens records too.

Incidentally, a piece of those memories soldiers on, being passed down to Skoda. Dad's old turntable is long gone: He sold it in 2000, or 2001, a few years before I developed an interest in old records. He doesn't think it would have played old 78 RPM records anyway. But, the receiver, a Sony model that cost $800 when new in the early 1980s, was retained, as were the speakers he had. I have those here at home, and play my 78s using a 1960s turntable, but the receiver and speakers that I grew up listening to music through.

The Sony receiver has a radio dial with a light blue glow. Something comforting in that blue glow, that almost takes me back to a time long ago, of a time when dad, and my grandpa, when he was alive, would be in the basement, the three of us listening to some old vinyl records, and running Lionel trains. This I hope to pass on to Skoda too.

Sorry if this was a bit long winded. The pain in my bad joints is bad tonight, can't sleep, and find myself in some fairly deep thoughts.

[Zyx]

Also, at the end when they see the Lost Mountain, my only thought was that we'll have to wait two years to get there.

Aren't they going to roll them out in half year intervals? My mom told me so anyway.

Well, that's a good thing. I should listen to your mom more often.

I think people's fascination with franchises like LotR or Star Wars (never watched a second of it) are more a social phenomenon and result of clever marketing rather than proof of artistic quality.

I'd go as far as to say that Star Wars is a proper modern western epic. I don't mean that it has any literary or artistic quality, but it's a cultural well of sorts that has influenced society in many ways.

I wouldn't say that SW's and LotR's successes are result of marketing, they have been just very good memes. They are the benchmarks for any western space and fantasy adventure. Of course, the success of LotR movies is very much based on the fact that they properly brought to screen something that many people cherished in their childhood.

Me, I wouldn't say I'm fan of either. I read Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy....

[eMTe]

and here I thought I just enjoyed adventure and fantasy

Now you know better!

So, it's around 6 pm, woman looking like an average mother of three approaches me and says, more or less, this:

"Excuse me, can I buy here the book, you know, about, well, you watch TV, when they say something and they have these earphones, and they suddenly start talking about something else. They say something and they suddenly start talking about something else. They have chips in their brains, you know, and you can telephone these chips, you can telephone their minds. Nobody wants to give me the numbers to their minds, do you know the numbers to their minds? Do you have the book here, because I have already read "Hacker of the Minds"*, but do you have the book with numbers? Why are you laughing? Why are you laughing? I need the book with numbers, I need to call their minds, don't you have the book? No? No? Ok, thank you, bye."

Welcome to Cracow.

*an obscure Polish book covering themes of hypnosis, NLP, subconscious and similar stuff - usually lands on eso/bullshit shelf

[Pater Alf]

Your bookstore has a bullshit shelf? That's amazing!

And before you think I am joking: I really like the idea.

[jayenkai]

Aww.. I miss work! Crazy customers might be hard to put up with, sometimes, but ... Yeah, you miss it!

Today, I went for a walk. Previous outings to the hospital have been via transport, with wheelchair use at the other side, but Saturday's lengthy walking session suggested I was probably ready for a trip out.
So we did that, today. Mum linked arms with me, and we walked* down into the main village, where we stopped in the cafe, had a coffee, and then headed back home. Not a big event, unless you count the fact that I've not seen the village since March!! Damn, it's good to get out! Luckily we didn't meet up with anyone that I knew, because I'm not sure my boss has been telling folk about my tumour. Not exactly looking forward to people's reactions as I throw the words "I've not been working because I had a brain tumour!" into their faces. .. Aw, who am I kidding, it'll be fun just need to get some sort of camera footage going!

I haven't heard back from the hospital, since Saturday, so I'm going to assume that nothing horrific has shown up in the CT Scan. ... I hope!!

Mum now wants to do the big Xmas Shop. .. Not sure I'm entirely up to that, yet! It'd be very crowded, and I'm not exactly the best person, dealing with busy situations.

* when I say "Walk", I mean more of a slow paced stumbling affair. My balance is way off, and I tend to shuffle about, rather than take proper strides! I currently walk slower than my Nan!! But it's getting better, and that's the way it oughta be.

[Railwaymodeler]

Walking again sounds like great news! Take it one step at a time; Don't over do it, there's no race in recovery.

Maria and I feel sick now. Driving home from a trip to Chicago this evening, her car's engine decided, for no reason, that it was going to completely die. No hints, wasn't working any different before, but it just died for some reason on the highway.

The weather today has been cold, around freezing, and wet. Part rain, part snow. In other words, crummy weather. On the plus side, Skoda was with her grandma, so she was not with us when the engine died.

We call a tow truck: Of course, Maria's cell had little battery energy left, and the 12V car outlet wasn't putting out power, so her car charger would not work.

Less than a mile away was a great mechanic shop. We get the car there, he takes a look inside the hood: Seems that some wiring had been chewed up, and some hoses were gnawed on. I was shivering pretty bad, so not paying too close attention to the problems, other than probably caused by critters looking for a warm place; There's been some raccoons around the neighborhood lately, too for mostly the same reason.

We decided to take the bus the rest of the way home. She and I still use them sometimes, partly because it really aggrivates the management, that after wiping the floor with them in court, we still use their service. Plus we could never abandon our friends at the company!

Get on, ride a few blocks, then the bus breaks down, with exhaust leaking into the bus itself. We all had to get out, the driver was joking with us about how to make up for the judgements against them, they cut it out of maintenance, that mechanics are given chewing gum and duct tape for all repairs! Plus a little bit of string if it is in the budget!

We decide to duck into a small store, where the clerk let us use the phone, call a friend to pick us up.

We're both feeling crummy tonight. That mechanic did leave a voicemail on the house phone: Should have it ready Thursday at the latest. Not a major repair, mostly replace wiring and a couple hoses. But some are really buried in there.

[jayenkai]

Sounds expensive! Damn critters!!
Still, at least you're alright. God only knows how bad it could've been had they nibbled at the breaks or something.
.. That'd make me super paranoid!!

[Railwaymodeler]

Not terribly expensive. We got a call from the mechanic, her car was ready today. Turned out the wiring was easier to access than they thought at first. But they did point out that it looked like the critters were at least near some of the brake lines, so we were indeed fortunate. They'd pointed out that they see a lot of this as the weather turns cold: Animals looking for a warm place to sleep, and find themselves under the hood of a car.

The place we took it to is pretty well known around here for being fairly inexpensive, but very reasonably priced overall. Some stuff, like parts, is outside their control, as the price of parts is not set by them, though. Unofficially known as the "Mexican garage", as all employees currently are Hispanic (Though, as Waukegan has a large Puerto Rican population, I doubt all are from Mexico), they do a lot of work on hot rod cars, and the low-rider vehicles around here. Every time we pass by them, there's a lot of work they are doing, and many vehicles have Wisconsin plates, so they pull business from southern Wisconsin, it seems.

We noticed the brakes worked a bit better on the car now. They were good, but Maria noticed she did not have to press the brake pedal quite as hard now. First red light we came to, she stopped a few feet short of where she should have.

Not feeling as bad today as we did last night. Just glad we did not get sick again through our adventure last night!