Checking In

Just a quick note to check in. All is well with me, I am feeling great and having no problems except I am really done with this COVID-19 induced isolation! I have been making the odd trip to the grocery store but that is about all, I have not even been down to visit my son.

The weather has been cool with a little bit of snow but nothing to complain about. The highway construction has come to  halt. They are almost done and will start up again later in the year when they will re-surface my driveway and landscape my lawn after burying the services.

I am eating well and watching too much TV. I signed up for Netflix and am working my way through their documentaries, The purchase of the big screen TV in late 2019 was good timing.

Well, everyone stay well and follow the rules, this too will come to an end.

Salmon Dinner!

Well, I tackled Norma's Baked Sockeye creation and must admit it came out very close to hers. I bought a large Sockeye fillet at Crabby Bob's down on the dock and cut it in half. Rather than make the stuffing from scratch like Norma always prided herself in doing, I took a friend's advice and bought the Butterball Frozen stuffing to which I added a finely chopped onion, a chopped celery stalk, some vegetable stock and a quarter pound of butter.

I cooked it in the convection oven in the motorhome but it took about twice as long as I expected, probably because It was wrapped in two layers of aluminum foil and it had been in the fridge. Anyway, aside from having to reheat the vegetables in the microwave, everything was perfect!

My fellow widower friend Brian came over to share the meal and brought a bottle of the Signature wine from Dr. Bonnie Henry's Keromeos BC Winery which tied everything nicely together. A perfect dinner that Norma would have (perhaps begrudgingly) congratulated me on!

I Have A Craving

 I Have A Craving!

For Norma's stuffed Sockeye Salmon. Only one problem. Well, two. The second of which is I have never made one. My job was to go and buy the ingredients and then to eat most of it. Unfortunately I didn't pay close enough attention while she made the stuffing and like virtually everything she made, there is no recipe.

 

So I Googled recipes for vegan stuffing and found a couple of versions that look like they will taste good. I will head down to Crabby Bob's on the docks tomorrow and try to buy either a small whole sockeye or maybe even better, a couple of fillets that have been boned.. I will put stuffing between the fillets, wrap them tight in aluminum foil and bake them. I may even use the "half time convection oven" in the motorhome as the baked salmon we did in New Orleans turned out perfect and I recorded the time and temperature on the blog. Wish me luck!

 

 https://croftsmexico.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas-dinner.html

 

New Washer and Dryer

Well, not entirely accurate as I don't have a new washer and dryer yet but I will have to soon. When we sold our house in Terrace in 1989 we left our 15 year old washer and dryer there and bought new ones here in Campbell River. The laundry room here is short of wall space. One wall is the doors to the furnace room and the third bathroom. Another wall is all window and linen cupboard. The third wall is sink and freezer, leaving the shortest wall for the washer and dryer. Norma decided she wanted a stacked unit to save room so that is what we got, a stacked unit. It was a Kenmore brand from Sears and it lasted 31 years so it owed us nothing.

This morning I decided the washer was full enough of my clothes to do a wash so I put in some soap and started it. Soon I heard a loud "Squealing" and I went to investigate. I opened the door and saw the agitator was not working and then I heard water pouring onto the floor at the back. The washer was done for! The dryer had been making strange noises for a couple of years although it still did it's job but it was not long for this world. And Kelly (in her capacity as part time housekeeper) has been after me for two or three years to replace it. 

My demands are very small, one load every week or two plus bedding whenever I remember to do it. I don't need a heavy duty unit. So down I went to Home Depot to see what they had. They are pushing Samsung which I did not want, too many bad reviews so I looked at the GE's and a Maytag. They are all "on sale" but the Maytag has a manufactures $100 discount as well. All in all it will only cost me a couple of hundred more than the more expensive of the GE's and I think it is a better unit. I will run it past Kelly tomorrow as she uses it more than me and see what she thinks but I imagine they are going to get my $18 or $19 hundred bucks after taxes, delivery, hookup and removal of the old one, 

Early Beale Street, Memphis Tennessee

 

Back in the late 30s and early 40s Memphis' Beale Street was one of the centres for Blues in the United States. If you were a blues Man without a regular gig and were broke you could go to the back door of the Elks Club and talk to Rufus Thomas "Walking The Dog" who was also stage manager at the Elks. If he knew you and you were good he would let you go on, play a few songs and he would pay you $1.

You then went to the Minute Cafe to buy a large bowl of chili for $0.15, a large roll for a nickel and a "bottomless" coffee or lemonade for another nickel and this meal would last you all day. So as BB King said in a documentary I just watched you could get by for 4 or 5 days on that dollar! You had to get the odd regular gig to pay the rent but that dollar from Rufus Thomas saved the careers of many struggling Blues Men including BB King's.

 

Norma and I spent an afternoon and evening on Beale Street a few years ago wondering from venue to venue and listening to a lot of really good blues music. She asked someone on the street where she could get a good hamburger and he referred her to a building down the street which turned out to be the oldest standing house of ill repute in Tennessee. 

 

The main floor was the old bar which still had the old mahogany bar that went the entire length of the building. We were the only ones in there at the time so she ordered a burger which in fact turned out to be one of the best greasy burgers she has ever had. They only sold burgers but he made this non meat eater a grilled cheese sandwich. 

 

The current owner came down the stairs and we all chatted for a while and then he offered to take us upstairs for a tour. The working part of the establishment was a long hall with maybe eight tiny bedrooms. At the end of the hall was another small bar where the gentlemen would sit and wait until a bedroom became available. That building actually appeared in a movie back in the 90s the name of which I can't remember.

 

And that is the rest of the story.

Decisions, Decisions!

 Which one should Santa bring me? The Rolex Daytona at the top sells for $40,000 USA (and up) while the Pagani "Daytona Homage" below sells for $65 USA on Aliexpress' Black Friday Sale. It is made in China with a Japanese Seiko Quartz movement, Santa has decided but he is keeping us in suspense!

 

My New Highway

 Things are progressing out front of my house. They paved the highway a week ago and have almost finished the sidewalk on my side.

The new seawall is complete and back-filled with rock and they will soon pour the sidewalk on that side of the street.

They have installed rock stairs down to the beach just a hundred feet or so to the south so we keep our beach access.

Still to be done is the burying of the power, telephone and cable and the removal of the poles. That will not be completed until later next year. Things are getting quieter around here. They will re-pave my driveway after the utilities are buried. That will be at no cost to me as they had to tear it up to bury the storm drain and utilities.

Biden Wins!

 

My Continuing Eye Drama

And on it goes. I went to see my new glaucoma specialist who is now my primary doctor after the last one finally told me what my main problem is. My appointment was on Tuesday morning so I corralled my driver and  we headed to Comox. The doctor was not there but a locum was taking her patients. She examined both eyes and gave me a brief description of what she saw but was short on details.

I told her that I had a technical, scientific background and was not uncomfortable with technical language, At that point she sat back and said, "Then lets talk"! What a breath of fresh air! She explained what my specific problem is and what the prognosis is. It is a physical problem with the opening in the eye that leads to the optic nerve. It is not "curable" in that any damage already done will remain, their hope is that they can discover the treatment necessary to stop any further damage. These treatments may include more or different drugs or further surgery. That determination has not been made yet. She told me the right eye did not require cataract surgery for the foreseeable future.

She said my problem with "high contrast" vision and bight colours in my left eye was due to the fact that the cataract had cut down on the amount of light or "data" reaching the optic nerve. When the cataract was removed it was like raising the shade and my optic nerve was overwhelmed with data which it could not handle. My brain has to re-learn how to handle this influx of data and will begin to return to normal. 

She tested my eyes with the eye chart and we talked about my glasses. I have not had new ones for several years and she said I needed new ones as the prescription for the left eye was way off because of the cataract surgery. That is why I can read better if I close my left eye.

I told her on the concern I have about renewing my driver's license and she assured me that was not a problem. She said,"I know you think your vision is really bad but from my perspective, it is nowhere near bad enough to prevent your driving". Well, I have to say that is a big relief! She made me an appointment in March so I am good till then.

My next stop was to get new glasses, My prescription was way off due to the surgery and the years that had passed since I got the glasses. She did all her procedures and then showed me the difference between my old glasses and what it will be with my new glasses. Wow! What a difference, like night and day! I knew I had waited too long but did not want to spend money on glasses when I was awaiting cataract surgery, a process that too a long time.

Anyway, that is my story. I feel a lot more confident about my eyesight now than I have for many months. My new glasses will be ready in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

A Step Too Far!

This is going way too far!

My RVing friends, an American couple living in a very "Red" State had someone fire a shotgun twice at their anti-Trump lawn sign! It happened late at night on their quiet country road, no one was injured and the house does not appear to have been hit.

Here is the local TV News story on the incident:

https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20201031-nebraska-life-as-a-democrat-in-the-reddest-corner-of-america