Monday Morning Miscellany

Thanks so much for the various comments that commiserate and/or offer suggestions wrt my back predicament. However, I am crossing my fingers that the worst is behind me. Now that I have convinced myself to stop trying to do things that I shouldn't, the spasms seem to be lessening. For example: I can now take a deep breath without feeling it too very much in my lower back. That's progress. Maybe I will get out on the bike again in another week or so. Sure hope so because the long, unforgiving winter is approaching quicker than we might like. We are several hundred kilometres north of Sarnia and further away from the moderating influences of the Great Lakes, so winter should come somewhat earlier, be a little more severe, and stay a little longer than what we are used to.

---

We were able to enjoy some of the US Open (tennis) on the weekend. I used to play (or play at) tennis in yesteryear, so I like to follow it on occasion. About all that I get to watch every year is some of Wimbledon, some of the Canadian Open, and some of the US Open. Early rounds are generally not absorbing because I often don't know the players and/or matches frequently tend to be one-sided. Later rounds, however, can be quite enthralling. The Blake-Aggasi match was a wonderful example. It went to five sets with a tie-break (a very close tie-break) in the fifth. Good stuff that.

---

I am taking an introductory, online digital photography course at LVS. Primarily, I am taking it because I think that part 2, offered next semester, will be instructive. Part 1 (or 101) should warm me up and not be too heavy. I didn't want to over-commit what with the move and all.

Anyway, yesterday, I decided to put together an index page for the course. It has been quite a while since I have done any web work, and I found that I had all but forgotten how. It started to come back to me after a while, but it amazes me how quickly I lose it at this age.

If you are so inclined, you can view the page here. Note: don't bother clicking the links; they don't lead anywhere yet.

---

The cat has come back! The well-travelled Rocky, who has been staying with Butterfly and The Boy for the past year, has moved in. At the moment, he is making himself quite at home on the bed. Cuppa is on her computer (so to speak) in her station in the corner of the bedroom, beside the bed, and The Rocks is staying very proximate to her as he is wont to do. He's very much a people cat. I may blog about him in more detail some day soon. In the photo he is at his favourite spot at Butterfly's place — on the back of the couch.

---

We are now set up with broadband, the cable version as opposed to the telephone version. I can't remember what is DSL and what the various other DSLs refer to, so I can't do better than tell you it's cable.

I was quite put off by it yesterday because it was sooo slow. Then, I had a brainwave! How about resetting the modem. Sure enough, the speed picked up dramatically, and I am now quite pleased with the performance.

---

I have told Cuppa that it is time for her to stop unpacking boxes for a spell and to take some time to blog. She is in the throws of it now. Well, actually, she's catching up on email, but she'll be getting there: maybe not today but soon.

---

What with the move, I have let my eating habits return to their old , bad normal over the summer. I put weight on quickly and easily, and the results are poking right out there for all to see. However, as of this morning, we returned to good eating. We more or less follow the Dr Phil plan, and we find it quite livable. We feel better when we're on it, but we had no energy to pay attention to it over the summer. Now, we are back on the rather stringent fourteen day startup. It's not a riot, but it isn't exactly tortuous either.

---

Finally, I would like to direct you to Untangled Knot's most recent post about milk and how we Canadians obtain it. She has pictures of the bags that it comes in and of the pitcher that we pour it from. I found the comments quite humorous, and you might too. It seems that we Canadians may be the only people who do it this way. One Brit commented that her milk is still delivered in bottles. We haven't had bottles and delivery for decades now. Americans are totally flummoxed by such scandalous goings-on and can't imagine milk not arriving in plastic jugs. Actually, the jug option is still available to us at some convenience stores, but it is no longer a terribly ubiquitous alternative. I have heard or read that, once upon a time, this was piloted to both [some] Americans and Canadians. Apparently, it didn't fly down there, but we quite took to it here.