Ambivalence or Apathy

     I should be excited for Xmas; but thanks to the pandemic, I'm feeling immensely meh. Not sure if this is a sign of ambivalence or plain old apathy. Does one term follow another? Anyway, my tender feelings to the few that follow this blog. I wish you nowt but the best for the end of this whole miserable year and nowt but the greatest hope for 2021. 💕

     I've been playing some Skyrim of late and watching a Youtuber/Twitcher named Rufert play Morrowind. The scenery in Morrowind looks gorgeous but Rufert played an unarmoured, hand-to-hand Argonian. My play style in Skyrim has been that of a sneaky archer. I'm nearly topped out on sneak in that game. A sneaky orc chick; not summat one sees very often, eh? 

     It's crazy cold today and I've been grumpy and in dire need of a hug. It's been months since my last hug. Okay, enough griping. The pandemic will end eventually, and then I can go back to hugging my family until they run from me. Now, should I post a few pictures that have nothing to do with the season? Yeah, why not.

Whoa, where did this last pic come from?

BYE.

Uncertain, as usual

       Even with the approaching vaccine, uncertainty is a constant of my miserable little life. At least the library is open again. I would like the holds I placed to be ready and waiting for me. As far as I know, the three holds are all checked in. Even a sign of TRACE would be welcome at this point. Then I could look for another book to hold. Anyway, I just finished reading Asimov's 'End of Eternity' and I really did not care for it. I suspect I might have liked it when I last read it. That would have been when I was in my teens a couple millennia ago. 

      Now that I'm a bitter old hag, I kinda shake my head at it. Maybe it's just that the book is so superficial. Asimov just mooshes the woman with the main character and expects the reader to fill in the gaps. There was no discernible reason for the main character to fall for her other than the fact that she was a woman. The time-travel concepts were pretty good and I kept thinking about H.G. Wells when the main character went to the year 100,000. The main character in 'The time machine' did the same in the movie. Here's a clip from that fantastic movie, anyway. While my first glimpse of Yvette Mimieux was in 'The black hole', here she's pretty good here as well.

 

       Thanks to Classic Movie Guy for posting this clip. There are other 'The time machine' clips on this channel as well as clips from other movies. Go take a peek, if you would.

       Where was I? Oh yeah. Not Asimov's best showing. Maybe it's just the decade or just his age. Not going to post any Sims stuff today. Just not feeling it, folks. Hope the two or three of you incredible people are having a good day. When it comes, get the vaccine, keep masked, keep yer distance, and stay safe. Just because the vaccine is the thing does not mean the pandemic was stop being a thing.

BYE.

Learning to be Ambidextrous

     I may have carpal tunnel or tendonitis. Until the pandemic starts to settle, I will not be making any appointments to see my doctor. Very stupid, I'm sure. However, this issue with my right hand has gotten me thinking about trying something different. I won't be trying this at work, obviously, but I can give it an honest enough shot in my diary. I learned to print and then write with my right hand when I was a child and I never tried with my left even once. I've made little attempts in the past and the effect has been unearthly. When I alternate hands every couple of sentences, it looks like a completely different person's been messing with my pages.

    The other day, I decided to start writing whole entries with just my left hand. The effect, especially where the first entry was concerned, made me think of someone who's recovering from a stroke and has to relearn the art of printing. The second entry is a bit cleaner and less muddled. I will keep at it for a while and see if I will eventually reach a point where my printing is almost as good as what I write with my right hand. That or I'll get tired of writing like this and switch back to my more skilled hand. One day in the future, while I'm typing this diary out for my vision's sake, I'll catch a glance at my sinister work and wonder what happened to me in my 40th year.

    The school division is going to Code Red in the New Year but only for two weeks, if I understand the situation correctly. That's for the 7-12 crew, at least. The 6s are still undecided. Nothing like a ton of uncertainty for the teachers. The 7s and 8s will have a remote chance of learning something but the 6s might be coming to school during that time. Until the vaccine makes an appearance, the uncertainty is real. 😷

    Now for some generic awesomeness.

 

 

BYE.

What to do when TSR fails you?

     I enjoy the Youtube channel Meditative Mind and consider Dilpreet Bhatia's voice to be one of the most soothing out there. He's also pretty cute. With this thought in mind, I want to make a sim of him, but I'm not super fond of the only turban TS3 seems to provide. My next stop, at TSR, came up empty. With this saddening news, I'm reaching out to the two or three who think me worth their time. I guess I could post this request on the Official Forum, but I'm too lazy to do it. Also, the request would probably get swallowed up in short order.

     Anyway, to those two or three awesome types, if there's a turban floating around for TS3 that isn't hidden behind a paywall and can be downloaded via mediafire or the like (no launcher, plz!) that you can suggest, I would be in yer debt. Many, many thanks! 😊 Meanwhile, it's a weekend. I did two loads of laundry and made some soup for lunch and supper. I am probably going to get some essential stuff tomorrow. Here in Manitoba, non-essential shopping is verboten. So far, unless someone changes their mind, gift cards are considered essential. They were considered non-essential at first but someone changed their mind.

     I'm listening to the combined greatness of the hang drum and the mridangam tonight; courtesy of Meditative Mind. Do give their stuff a listen to, and make sure you check out Dilpreet Bhatia's excellent chanting on both his channel and on Meditative Mind's channel. I finished reading 'Contagious' and did not rate it as highly as I did 'Pandemic'. I'm reading a series in reverse, it appears. Not that I'll be able to read the first book for a while yet. Only once the library's opened up again... set to happen on the 18th of Vaccine in the year of our Plumbob 20XX. At least the schools are still open. 😷

     Now, this wouldn't be one of my silly posts without the following to round it out.

BYE

Developments

     I'm sharing my usually silent space with noisy 6s until Xmas Break. It was either this or a complete and total lockdown for our school division (I'm guessing; and that could happen anyway). So one of my favourite co-workers has moved in and turned the library into a makeshift classroom. Today was the first day with these 6s. I was expecting chaotica but it's too early for that. Once the kids settle down a bit; then the chaotica and shouting will follow. The pandemic continues to work its deadly skill upon the hospitals and the ICUs of the world. 

      Even Nunavut is no longer immune. I was in awe of Nunavut earlier this year but it has joined the rest of Canada. At least they're smart enough to institute stringent lockdown rules. The rest of Canada would do good to follow suit. Perhaps it's too late for that. It might be too late for our divided neighbours to the immediate south. At least they voted for a new Prez that won't cause America's rep to continue its freefall. Not that he could do any worse than the Orange Nuisance, at this point. He certainly cannot do any worse. At least, I hope he will not do any worse.

      I plugged my car for the first time this winter tonight. Exciting, this wintertime! Now for some generic pics.

 

 

 

 

BYE.

Just hanging out

     I'm alive, if you wanted to know. Remembrance Day is going to be virtual this year, for reasons that should be obvious. Please remember to take a pittance of time, as Terry Kelly says. Also, salutations to the few Americans who come and visit. Eat that turkey in small groups - not small amounts of turkey, however. Eat that bird to the bones!

     I finished reading a dull as death book by Alice Munro. Wayne Johnston might a decent author, but his praise of 'Who do you think you are?' is horribly misplaced.

BYE.

New plumbot and new hair

      It has been some time since I last treated one of my sim families to a bot. So now my wolfie couple the Hinges (Tony and Addy) got themselves a bot building machine. I'll treat you lovely few to a few pics in due time. I also paid a few visits to TSR and got myself some Newsea and Leah Lilith (sic?) hairs for ladies and dudes. Two hairs for dudes, actually, as I like creating dudes and needed more hairs. Leah Lilith and Newsea have long been creators and their stuff rocks. No retextures here, but yer welcome to do what you will.

     The sky has been indecisive all day but no sign of snow yet. Perhaps it will come this weekend. I hope not. I've been on a roll where finding good books is concerned lately. My latest discovery was 'The next pandemic'. Chillingly familiar, as far as the pandemic is concerned. We are nowhere near the great flu of 1918-1919, but there are a number of factors at work there. I now have another book on my desk and it's looking pretty good so far. Here comes the weekend, folks! Stay safe!

BYE.

Don't get burned out

     Back in 2013, when I first discovered the likes of 'The day after', 'Protect & survive', and the grandmaster of all things bleak and horrible; 'Threads', I danced on the edge of being burned out by all the books on and about nuclear war I was consuming. I've risked burn-out before, and have usually taken steps to pace myself. Since that depressing time, I rarely read anything relating to that topic. Oh, I still get as far as I can with 'The day after' and watch 'Countdown to Looking Glass' (O Canada!) on near-heavy rotation. Thanks to those diseased twats at the Beeb, I cannot endure 'Threads' on Youtube (or on Vimeo, I suspect) because those wets keep pulling it down.

    This has nothing to do with nuclear war, however. Thanks to the pandemic, I've been drawn to books dealing with fictional and historical pandemics of late. The most recent foray is into a stunning conclusion book called 'Pandemic' by Scott Sigler. Now I have the second book in the trilogy ('Pandemic' being the third one) on hold and waiting for me at the library. The story had a glacial pace at first but after a while, elements from the likes of 'The Andromeda strain', 'Outbreak', 'The Stand', and numerous other luminaries come into play. This book quickly became hard to put down. Oh, and those of you who like stuff like 'By dawn's early light' will love the nuclear part of the story. China nukes part of Russia at one point. To quote my main man David Hunt; I bet you'll never guess what happens next!

    I have another book about pandemics waiting for me here at home but I decided to try to avoid burning out. The pandemic we're dealing with right now is enough. Dr. Roussin tightened a few screws yesterday; but I'm not likely to notice considering I'm so anti-social anyway. We might be getting some snow but it's not very likely. That is all for me right now. I hope the two or three of you who follow this nonsense of mine are doing well and staying safe.

BYE.

I am thankful, y'know

       Today I had a day off because it was Thanksgiving in Canada. Why wouldn't I be thankful? I went to Mom's for dinner on Saturday and am slowly eating through the care package of leftovers she gave me. Besides the leftovers and the day off, I'm thankful that my grandmother is still around. She's 93 and any possible twinge and twist in her day could signal a hard time ahead. No hard times on the immediate horizon, thankfully. Mom made her a care package as well. It was only the four of us at the dinner table - Mom, my sister, my brother-in-law, and me - so we were following the rules to ensure we were all COVID-19 compliant.

       Beside all this, I am thankful that the public library has not shut down again because of pandemic restrictions. I finished reading a touching book called 'The time it never rained'. Calamity in West Texas. No happy endings here but life continues to roll and flow. I spent the long weekend noshing on rice cakes. Crunchy and mildly flavoured. I assume this lacking snack is better for me in the long run. My diseased worries went on a rampage this weekend but they are quiet once again. I shouldn't speak too soon, as I know the GADabout can rise again at any moment.

      No brain farts in my game so I'm following the life and times of Egge and her main man Hinge. Addy and Tony are a newlywed werewolves looking forward to having their first cub. Here are some pics of Addy's family.

     

They are not in any real order, btw.

BYE.

October

      Just closed the cover on 'The occupied' by Craig Parshall. To be honest, I was not partial to it. It's on dark topics as it is; does the main character have to be completely unsympathetic? I was kinda hoping the dark forces Trevor unleashed would take him away before the books reached 150 pages. Blech. Anyway, Thanksgiving approaches. Just the four of us at the dinner table, like usual. I don't thing we'll be violating any coronavirus protocols. TS3 had an amazing brain-fart just now and I had to fight to close it. I don't think it's done that for a long time. I wonder what it means? Does it mean I will have to start a new game as my current file has up and corrupted?

     I saved not long before the brain-fart so my game should be all right. Anyway, I have a western by Elmer Kelton to look forward to next on the literary front. I hope the main character is sympathetic. I don't like characters that seem so flat, unemotional, or just annoying. Trevor, for all of his presence, was flat and dull. I hope Charlie Flagg of 'The time it never rained' is more interesting. The title was a grabber, at least. Anyway, I feel pretty good with the mask mandate and so far (touch wood) there have been no cases at my school or in my school division

     To the two or three of you still wasting yer time on this blog, I hope you are doing well and staying indoors yet connected to yer loved ones. Wear yer masks with pride and wash yer hands. Winter is coming and the virus will get worse before it gets better. That is all for now.

 

BYE.

Still alive in these days

     Yeesh. Work gets in the way of so much, doesn't it? However, I'm working and earning a paycheck so I have no reason to complain. I've also been reading a lot and stuffs. Currently reading 'The Caine mutiny'. I've never read it and I keep chastising myself for not reading it. Come on, Herman Wouk! Enrich me with this awesomeness! 

      Nothing much going on with me. Are we in the 2nd wave of the pandemic? We're all supposed to don masks while inside now. This mandate should have been implemented weeks ago, if not months ago. There are several jerks leading Manitoba and Winnipeg, if I'm going to be honest. But that is all for now. Stay safe, ye handful of people actually reading this drivel. Masks on and be well!

BYE.

I'm on the Teams!

        So there's an app called Teams. Part of the Microsoft Office 360 suite. I actually recorded a short video using Teams today. It's like Zoom, I presume. Anyway, I wanted to edit the video but I could not figure out how to edit in the middle. Teams only lets one edit the edges, you might say.

        Today was the first day of school for the 6s. I hope they had a good first day. I think some of the teachers were a little frazzled but we are talking education during COVID-19. Then I came home and made soup. This is my life and it's pretty okay. Playing Sims and Skyrim (yes, I am up to date) and reading as much as I can. My current foray is into a haul of Asimov short stories. 'Buy Jupiter', if you wanted to.

       I also have pics for you.

BYE.

Cloudy Wednesday

     It's times like these that I wish the sky would make up its mind about what it wants to do. Personally, I would love some rain; provided it's a long, nourishing rain. Anyway, tomorrow I'm finally done with this long, lean summer. The lacuna has been crossed and I am going back to work. No kids until mid-September but that means I have plenty of time to get my head into the game and as many books added to the system and processed as possible. The pandemic cut me back a fair bit but now (provided our numbers go back down and people follow the guidelines) I am back on the chain gang and gladly awaiting my shackles. Being fettered keeps me in fine fettle.

    I finished reading 'The battle for Spain' by Antony Beevor. The Spanish Civil War inspired Picasso to create his terrible (in that it instills dismay - not because it was poorly done) 'Guernica'. I finished reading Graham Greene's 'Monsignor Quixote' before that, and many places mentioned in the former book came up in the latter. **** out of ***** for the latter, by the way. The nationalists (backed by il Duce and the Nazis) vs. the republicans (backed by the Supreme Soviet) fighting for control. Either way, the Spaniards lost. It was not that the nationalists won (spoiler!) but that the republicans lost. Generalissimo Franco reigned for years after that war.

     SMH but the republicans kept screwing up! Anyway, 'The battle for Spain' explodes with detail and is well-written. Pros and cons to each side but the nationalists had fewer cons than pros. If the battle had gone on any longer, perhaps the republicans would have won because the war ended just before WWII began. The Axis, which was backing Franco and his amigos, would have lost in the end to the Allies. Of course, once WWII started, Hitler came calling for Spanish forces and Franco helped him as much as he could. History is written by the winners, it is said. However, Beevor noted that most of his research came from the losing side. The adage does not always prove true.

    Okay, Sims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BYE.

Countdown until Stuff!

       I return to a precarious existence on August 27. Back to work. I've bought a bunch of masks and I already have a plastic shield installed at work to protect me from the kids and the kids from me. The pandemic is very much real but as long as the kids are able to come to the library I will be there to receive them. Of course, if/when things change I might get laid off again. I hope not, of course, but we shall see.

      I attended an impromptu bluegrass concert a couple of evenings ago. It's not my cup of Earl Grey but I enjoyed the performance all the same. A couple of my neighbours are in a bluegrass band and the rest of the band was over on their patio to play. Enjoyable evening. Besides that, I am sending my semi-immortal orc Mez into battle against the Imperials in Skyrim (she's semi-immortal because I like God Mode), and I'm always having fun with the Reardon clan in TS3. 

      I'm using the Story Progression mod and it's kind of annoying when sims I'm not playing get married. The whole neighbourhood's exploded into hyphens. There's probably a way to change that. Once I really get annoyed I guess I'll get off my prodigious rear and look into it. Anyway, that's what's going on with me. I am also reading a book about the Spanish Civil War. Nothing much else for me.

BYE.

Party Time!

      Let's break out the booze and have a ball! Thank you, Peggy Lee! I'd long wondered who sang that incredibly depressing song. Anyway, there's supposed to be a little party for some of the local crew in my condo. Just move a couple of cars and Robert est ton oncle! There's supposed to be wine (Hey, Peggy Lee!) and some ginger ale (Yay me!). Just chatting and social distancing, folks! I just need to move my car. In future, I am never going to buy a used car ever again. This might be a sensor issue or it might be a squirrel issue. Damn rodents!

      Anyway, I am currently spending time with the Silmarils and 'The Silmarillion'. Hail to the master, baby! Also, I'm getting some writing done. One of these days, I am going to post one of my projects on my hidden, untitled blog. That was the plan for it back when I created it. One day. Today is the 12th and I start back to work on the 31st. Man, but I cannot wait. That's all for me.

BYE.

Ian McEwan - two books

        Recently I read a couple of titles by Ian McEwan and I've had a few thoughts. McEwan was one of the writers to praise 'The moral landscape'. I'll admit I did not enjoy that book but I decided to find some of McEwan's works. I cannot yet get hold of 'Atonement', which has won him a bucket of awards so I tried a couple of other titles. First I took in 'The child in time', which looks at an English writer's life after he and his estranged wife lose their three year old daughter in a department story. McEwan weaves a great atmosphere but the story falls out in a disjointed boring mess. The B-plot held almost as much weight as the A-plot but it was just as disjointed.

        The only thing this book had going for it was the fact that it was less than 300 pages long. On the other hand, had it been longer, McEwan might have used the room to develop the characters better. I finished up by rating 'The child in time' 2 out of 5 stars. Meh on so many levels and not recommended unless you have several hours to kill. The next McEwan book I took up was 'On Chesil Beach'. It's even shorter than 'The child in time' and with fewer characters. Newlyweds in 1962 England looking to consummate their relationship. In my diary, I wrote that 'Consummation might be for him a source of celebration but it's a source of consternation and trepidation for her.' Yes, I write meaningless doggerel in my journal; what of it?

       The ending of the book cracked my cynical heart. You never know what you had until it's gone. 4.5 out of 5 stars. I thought that it should have been longer but the characters and development flow much better here. Anyway, that's what I've been reading of later. I also read a series of interviews with Noam Chomsky that flat out depressed me. Makes one want to embrace nihilism wholeheartedly. 'Optimism over despair' indeed! So July is coming to an end. I'm ready for September to start.

BYE.

Damn you, Kissinger

       And here I was thinking that the White House held the freaks and monsters these days! Believe it or not, Henry Kissinger is still alive. 97 years old according to Wikipedia. He's been the subject of hundreds - if not thousands - of historical accounts. Well, here comes Greg Grandin (history professor, writer, and looks decent in a cap) with 'Kissinger's shadow: the long reach of America's most controversial statesman' with skeletons to free and indignation to awaken. Before I took up this book, all I knew about Kissinger came from the lads of the Flying Circus (Nicer legs than Hitler and more endowed than Cher). Of course I was overdue to read summat about this guy.

        Kissinger was one of Nixon's main dudes and one of the few to escape the ravages of Watergate. I thought the current prez was desperate to make up his own reality. He's got nada on Kissinger and Nixon - not nearly as clever or as audacious as Kissinger, either. Then again, I have to wonder how Nixon and his crew of liars and con-men would have handled a pandemic. Hopefully, they would have stopped waging imaginary wars on Cambodia and Laos for a moment to do something good for a change. Imaginary war but with plenty of very real napalm - Kissinger has been called to account for this ever since he left the White House. He's never really, according to this book, acknowledged his mistake.

       Reading this book angered me. And this was the time before the Republican party worsened. Thanks to the madness that's going on down south, I've familiarized myself with 'American exceptionalism' and other such euphemisms. Oh, and Joe Biden gets a mention in this book too - well before Obama said 'You're with me' - back when he was a senator. Anyway, I'm enjoying this book despite the fact that it makes me angry. This book was published in 2015, by the way. I wonder what Kissinger thinks of the current situation - assuming politics is still important to a 97 year old devil like him.

       No sims pics today. Just a quick blurb about what I'm reading. It's wet outside and I can hear thunder in the distance. Mom is at the lake with the xtended relatives this weekend. I hope the weather's been all right out there.

BYE.

Bouchard!

     When I was growing up, Québec was a massive province in the atlas. I knew what it looked like and I knew it was the original Canadian home of the Français language but that was about it. Then 1995 - the year of the infamous Second Referendum - came around and I was introduced by Air Farce to the likes of Jacques Parizeau, the PQ, the BQ, and to Lucien Bouchard. Being 15 at the time, my first introduction was through Air Farce skits - the Lucien Bouchard Board Game, the Luba Goy parody of a well-known McDonald's advert, and the Story of Lucien Bouchard's search for Princess Sovereignty. It wasn't until later that I realized how close we, as a nation, had come to losing QC in 1995. Since then, as far as I know, the demand for sovereignty in La Belle Province has died down considerably.

     In high school, I learned about the FLQ and about the Quiet Revolution, but about the players of this Great Game I knew little to nothing. My most recent trip to the WPL (yes, it's open for business once again! 😄) netted me a biography by Lawrence Martin called 'The Antagonist'. A life of Lucien Bouchard, in other words. Around the time of the Second Referendum, it was discovered that Bouchard had gotten a visit from the even more infamous flesh-eating disease. This took away his leg - to Air Farce's dark merriment - and gave him another layer of mystery in my head. Before I happened upon this book, I considered Bouchard to be something of a boogeyman in Canada's collective consciousness. On the other hand, I am gladdened to know that he (as of this post) is still very much alive.

      I was thrilled by the synopsis and deeply hoped that Martin was not going to let me down. So far, he has not. Currently in the book, Mulroney (jerk! twat! bastard Tory!) has made Bouchard Canada's ambassador to France. Good move or bad? I'll keep reading and hopefully, I remember to let you know. If you're feeling impatient and can check it out for yourself, I definitely recommend it. Meanwhile, not to count one's active cases before they grow in number, but we in Manitoba were down to 4 as of yesterday and there have been no new cases here for over a week. Yeah, I've probably just jinxed myself. Please keep the border closed, Trudeau et. al!

     And now for something completely ordinary.

BYE.

Smouldering out there

           Happy Canada Day! Life in a pandemic and there's more fun promised to come. Is this for real? Doubtful kudos to the dude who first proclaimed, "May you live in interesting times." I doubt he would have taken his curse back even if he'd had the chance, however. Good riddance to the future, amirite? However, while my worries by day are exceedingly great, my dreams have been weirdly interesting. I guess my subconscious mind is calmer and more at ease than its conscious cousin.

           So today is Canada Day. Best advice? STAY HOME!! Our numbers are lower than those of our southern neighbours but a few massive gatherings today could cause devastating spikes for us. I shiver at the thought of July 4th in the States. Too many people are going to cling to the letter of the event and this could lead to the dreaded super-spreader. Woe betide both countries and the spikes to come. Okay, enough fear and dread. I attended my staff lunch yesterday in the sauna that is the gym. At least it was a bit cooler than outside. The A/C is busted at the school, apparently, and the second floor was hellishly hot. Perhaps even hotter than it was outside. At least the food was good and the speeches were even better.

         Not a dry eye in the house when we said au revoir to our principal and vice principal. They had to build École Ness from the ground up and now look at us. I'm a late-comer to the party but I've worked for Jordana and Cheri in the Golden Gate days and they are magnificent leaders and people. The board office and Heritage are getting great assets and our school division has to be the better for it. One of our resource heads is moving on to high school and our choir teacher accepted full-time at another school. Tears but a lot of laughter as well. Vous me manquerez.

        Now, my PlantSim family moved to Starlight Shores recently. Farewell, Twinbrook! However, I still have pictures from the Twinbrook days and, by gum, I'm gonna post'em!

BYE.

In the Balance

       I thought at first that my dishwasher was going to join my washing machine. There's a spatula in the way, so no big deal. How much do dishwashers cost anyway? In the 600-700 dollar range, eh? Oogh. Not like I can afford that right now. However, my dishwasher lives still and all is well. I may need to get a credit line one of these days. Look at me being all adult! Anyway, there is hope on the school front. Who told the education minister to only let the kids come back after Labour Day? I guess Pallister did not get his way. No word from the superintendent as to when the EAs and I can go back in the fall. I guess it won't be until late August like always.

      I hope what little I have pulls me through. Anyway, mustn't let my GAD take over and turn me into a quivering mass. I finished reading 'On writing' by Jorge Luis Borges yesterday. Apparently, I read it back in 2014 but have no memory of doing that. I guess I should check my diary from 2014 for more information. Oh, and the WPL's doors are open for book exchanges again! Ooooooh, so tingly! 😍  I went yesterday and picked up the only book that was waiting for me. Poor little thing's been waiting for months for me. I brought a few books back and will bring the rest when I have another book waiting for me. That's just how I roll.

       My plantsims moved from Twinbrook to Starlight Shores recently. I downloaded and installed the Tempest mod from NRAAS and man, do I love not having all those blasted leaves and leaf piles everywhere in the spring. I also like not having so much mist in the area now. Twinbrook is beautiful but lousy with gloom. Anyway, I will post pics of the new Reardon digs once I've taken enough of them.

      Now for some generic shots of my sims. Tell me you weren't expecting this!

BYE.

Matters

     Matters are coming to a head. To wit, stuff is falling apart but I cannot afford to get it fixed or replaced right now. Many thanks, coronavirus. Anyway, I need to buy a new couch as my futon is falling to bits. The glue in the frame is shot on the right leg and stuff is all crooked. I moved the mattress this evening. My cat was suitably bewildered. Oh well. As long as I don't look at my frame funny it should not continue to fall apart. This is just one of several things that I let go and now, when I have time to care about them, I don't have a steady income to do anything about them.

     In September, when I'm back to work, I will have NO EXCUSE. Anyway, my cat is bewildered and I need to clean out her litter box. Also, my back hurts because my chair is no longer suitable. Yeah, just another thing that I should have addressed some time ago. Besides that, my life is all right.

BYE.

Haz insurance?

       When I moved into my own apartment, it was insisted upon that I get apartment insurance. When I moved into the condo, the insurance 'went condo' as well. My insurance company gave me a discount because I'd gone ten years without a claim. Well, I am going to crush that perfect record. I developed a leaky faucet (which I got replaced today) but now my neighbour below has a lovely water stain on her ceiling. It was at the back of my mind that this might happen but my insurance should cover this... right? Well, I have to get in touch with the condo corp. before I do anything else. I took pics that I'll be sending along with the email.

        The timing is great, eh? I'm on EI right now and will be until the schools open up. Money is a question. The current active cases in Manitoba stands at 8 and restaurants have begun to open up to dining in (maintaining social distancing, of course). The school year will hopefully start up early and I'll be able to start early too. Anyway, that's what's going on with me. On the sims front I have a few Plantsims (first time ever!) in one of my games. I love not needing to make my sims cook. I also love when my Plantsims insult their plants. Flirting is also pretty cute.

       Davy, my first Plantsim, was brought into being by this extraordinary mind. Dr. Quinn Reardon at your service.

Though it's doubtful anyone would want his services.

    That's all for me. BYE.

Insignificance

       I've been thinking a lot about insignificance and how it can be a good thing. Look at Manitoba's insignificance where the pandemic is concerned. Not to jinx it, but we currently hover at 9 active cases. Our selfless truckers are the ones who have been the ones diagnosed of late with coronavirus but they will recover and venture back into the monster's lair known as the U.S. again and again to keep the supply chain active and vibrant.

      I try not to get political in this blog, as so many other people are saying things much better than I ever could but today I have to doff my cap and raise my glass to the mayor of D.C. Muriel E. Bowser (love her last name!) ordered a gorgeous paint job just outside the White House recently. Yellow like the sun and awesome like a mushroom cloud; an anthem numerous nasty-minded people consider anathema. George Floyd probably never planned to be the 21st century's version of Steve Biko or MLK Jr. and yet here we are. As far as I know, he just planned to spread around a little counterfeit cash that day. You know what happened next.

     Peter Gabriel said, "You can blow out a candle but you can't blow out a fire" in his seminal 'Biko'. Thanks to the heartless actions of one fiend in Minnesota, Tsar Bomba touched down and the firestorm is growing to encompass a fair bit of the world. All I can do is watch and pray for the protesters; that they do not end up at the hands of other heartless fiends. Meanwhile, the man with the power to do the most good in America is doing anything but. The generals, the seniors, and even his own party begin to turn against him. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before something good finally happens in America.

    What does this have to do with insignificance? Well, I take comfort in my insignificance enough to know that nobody's going to consider me worth the effort to read. Oh, and here are some Sims to make this entry at least worth the while.

BYE.

Testing... tap... tap...

     I am going to give the new format a shot, as it's going to become the main format by the end of June. Just a bit of drivel about my thoughts and what I've been doing.

     I have a shiny new lappy with a touchpad and this raised-by-mouse old crone is feeling crazy disoriented with the new setup. I have a wireless mouse I could transfer back and forth from compy to lappy but I guess I should at least TRY and get used to the touchpad. Apparently I am not the only one who has dealt with this ageless struggle. Don't you love 'first world problems'? Anyway, I have also been reading more because of the pandemic. My current exploration is 'The works of Matthew Arnold'.

    I have loved Matthew Arnold since I first heard 'Dover Beach' being read aloud. Of late, I've been studying his poetry and loving every moment of it. He's melancholic without being too bitter (Hello, Souster!) and the imagery is stunning. This guy was very fond of the ancient Greeks as well. Now I want to read Sophocles and his compatriots. I have to wonder if Arnold was a looker in the 1800s. Side-whiskers were considered attractive, iirc. This school inspector travelled England looking at the various schools. And he wrote poems.

 

     Nothing new on the cooking horizon though I did buy some instant rice vermicelli. Rice noodle ramen? I have plans. It's pretty grim-looking outside and Arnold's poetry just makes sense. But enough of that. The month is coming to an end.

BYE.

Praise the bell pepper!

      Thanks to the pandemic I have done a lot more home cooking. I consider myself incredibly lazy and preferred to just pick something up over dragging my bones to the store, actually doing prep work, and then slaving o'er the hot stove for an hour. However, the pandemic has taken all the fun out of stopping off at Subway, A&W, or McDonald's, and with the layoff, I need to batten down the hatches anyway. I started shopping for ingredients and the like and actually got some pretty good meals out of all the work. Who knew that cooking for oneself could be good?

     Yes, when I first moved out into my apartment, I tried my hand at cooking and it turned out okay. But I really was not that adventurous and lost interest in cooking at home. Convenience won out over elbow grease. If it couldn't be microwaved, what's the use? However, times change and I have begun the practice of putting meals together that usually guarantee leftovers and actually don't taste too bad.

      In the beginning, I worked with that economic favourite: ramen. However, I skipped the packet for actual broth as broth is not as expensive as... say... Chunky Soup.

Root veggie ramen - my first attempt.

   



















 I followed that up with what has become my new favourite vegetable: the bell pepper.

  





















      It turns out that the bell pepper is quite versatile. Ramen without broth, the way it's supposed to be, I imagine, is just great with bell pepper as well.

   













 Oh, and I tried my hand combining it with new yellow potatoes as a side for my smokies.

     Finally, see how well it plays with chicken patties. Yes, the patties are fully cooked and just need to be warmed up from their frozen state. I also recently discovered that fried onions are pretty good.

   So, this is my life thus far. Mom's ecstatic. She knows I'm not into cooking and this new mania is the best news she's ever gotten.

   Will I continue to cook stuff like this (or even better) once the pandemic has passed? Considering there's talk of a second wave, I guess cooking at home is going to be a thing for a while. Well, it was about time, eh?





BYE.

My GAD's getting desperate

     With my layoff a reality and not just a dreadful possibility (and plumbob willing, we'll all be back in September) and rationalization in play for the past month, my anxieties are desperate for recognition. The accursed GAD-about is darting here and there in my head looking for some small thing to chew on. I've rationalized that I will be okay on a financial level as long as the schools open on some level in September. It should be very interesting to see what the library will look like. Meanwhile, as long as I don't go on any spending sprees, I should be fine. Not that I'm celebrating here. I'm sure that I will have something burning a hole in my brain again soon.

     Meanwhile, I paid a visit to NRAAS Industries (aka: a fantastic site for mods) and downloaded something new. I have a few diseases to play with in my game thanks to Vector but yesterday I downloaded and installed Sims Drinks. Hey, it's been only a couple of years since I dared to mess with mods and CC (Thank you Fresh Prince!); it's time the nectar/juice actually did something to my sims that was a little more M than T. Should be interesting to see what the townies will do when they've had a couple of drinks from the various juice bars around town. So far, I've had a sim burst into tears when she got home after a couple of drinks.

     On the pandemic level, Manitoba jumped to 26 active cases the other day and we're holding steady thus far. There's going to be an update on the government website this afternoon so maybe that number will have gone down dramatically. I can hope for a mass recovery, can't I? Us going down to single digits would be simply beautiful. Meanwhile, Paralives might be going down the TS4 route with its 'paras'. Not an encouraging sign. The customization looks incredible but if the gameplay does not rival that of TS2 I know many people will be unimpressed. Alex Massé (that how he spells it?), you have a few big decisions to make. Choose well and wisely. The world does NOT need another blasphemy like TS4.

      Anyway, that is all for now. I expect to be posting more often but whether I do is anyone's guess.

BYE.

Fluctuations and other stuff

      Manitoba's current number of active cases stands again at 35. We were, last week, at 30 but stuff happened and now we're back at 35. Where are all those lovely recoveries we should be having? Manitoba needs to rival Newfoundland. In the grand scheme of things, especially compared to what's going on with our southern neighbours, we're doing remarkably well. Still, it would be nice to rival the Newfies. Anyway, I took a break from isolating by going to my Mom's to celebrate Mother's Day. My brother-in-law went to see his family for Mother's Day and I spent it with Mom and my sister. Not going to turn down BBQ peppercorn steak for any reason.

     May I say that my brother-in-law is a really great guy, by the way? Anyway, I have not been simming as much as I could be. Not with Path of Exile and my ranger needing attention. Hard to get used to the touchpad. I'm more comfortable with a mouse but I should get used to the touchpad. That's what Goat Simulator is for, I guess. And for ramming people into pools and off buildings, of course. I'd forgotten how messed up and fun that game is. It makes my compy scream, on the other hand. My lappy can handle it better.

     Kids can play on playgrounds here in Manitoba again. Just have to remember that social distancing comes into play still. I cannot imagine how things are going to work when school opens up again. And how library periods are going to change to make it all work out. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. And that is all for this miserable wretch. Hope the two or three people following my blog have a good day and that you are staying safe wherever you are. I will continue to isolate and hope for the best.

   And command my sims, of course.

BYE.

*Thanks to the websites of the Governments of Manitoba, North Dakota, and Newfoundland for the pandemic information. Information is current for today and may change without notice.