Just got back from spending a few days in Ottawa, and I wanted to say what a nice city! Good food, good drinks, good shopping, good people and a good time had by all!

*God damn it, I just discovered the book I bought that accompanies the special exhibit we saw at the Canadian Museum of History, is written in French!! *palm slaps forehead* I know there were English ones, but obviously I picked up the wrong language version! I was in a hurry but that’s no excuse for not carefully looking at what I was buying. Oh, well, I can order an English version on line. It wasn’t expensive, but what a pain in the ass.

 

I put too much hazelnut in my coffee and now it tastes bitter .

 

@Lindigo I never updated you on my Mini Cooper.

It's back!!! Turns out it wasn't the transmission like I had suspected. It was the clutch flywheel that got all worn down and burnt out. Sure, it still cost me $2700 but that's better than the $4800 that I thought I was going to pay.

If I can just get this guy to hang on for another 2 more years, without more $$$ then I'll let "Mr. Mini Hot Wheels" (That's what I call it, lol) stick around as a spare car or for one of my kiddos to use. I'll probably get a truck.

 

Oh! That's great news! Still a lot of money. Mini isn't a cheap habit. I think it would be a dream car for a first car, if it stays healthy.

 

A flywheel is just a metal disk like a brake rotor, right? How did THAT wear out? Was your clutch slipping all the time? Oh, and I hope they replaced the clutch pads while they were in there!

 

I don't know how it wore out!
What am I, a mechanic? Or the person who made the part?

I don't know if it was slipping all the time!
Do I look like I'm Ant-Man?

Of Course they replaced the pads. What is wrong with you?!?!?

(I'm just being pretend cranky because I'm bored. hahaha)

 

How should I know what's wrong with me, what am I, a psychiatrist?

 

We are having an oil refinery emergency. "Emergency" might be too strong, because the accident control is going well. Two freeways are shut down. I think three storage tanks so far caught fire. Helicopters have been controlling the resulting vegetation fires successfully.

Some of the footage at this link was taken from the freeway by people driving home. The footage shows why the FTWD storyline of "Where is the refinery," would make no sense to anyone who lives near them. You can't miss the storage tanks. (several videos at the link)

Buses were authorized to go in and pick up the school kids to get them out of the bad air. I'm downwind of the refineries, but the wind current seems to be taking it away from me, which is a weather oddity. Maybe it has created it's own weather system. So far the shelter-in-place order is just for the closest towns. I'm inside anyway.

One person got footage of one of the storage tanks actually exploding and the lid flying up into the air. Wowzers. Everyone seems to be safe.

https://abc7news.com/watch-live-fire-breaks-out-at-nustar-facility-in-crockett/5621132/

 

That sounds awful. When I was growing up there was an explosion at a Mobil refinery that was miles away, it broke out windows in the houses near the refinery, etc. I'm glad to hear there haven't been any injuries, and stay safe!


Oh, and speaking of California, I was in L.A. over the weekend and gas was $4.06 a gallon for the cheap stuff! (it's $2.53 here). That's already a pretty big difference, but since Calif has their own special gasoline, if a big refinery goes down, one could expect the prices there to go up even more.

 

Hey, @tink, check it out!
https://www.ohmeohmyblog.com/11-ide...&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

Beautiful!

 

@tink, Minnesota?!? why does HGTV think it would be a dream to give someone a house in Minnesota? As I understand it, there is mosquito season and road repair season. Says the woman who lives with fire season and is watching Sonoma burn this week. Anyway, since you are already there, have you been entering to win this prize? I want you to win! Sure, no one can afford to pay the income tax on it, but you sell it and get rich. (They used to post video of the winner being chosen. It's definitely random.)

https://www.hgtv.com/design/hgtv-urban-oasis

 

Drove up to Kitchener, Ontario with the family to see Red Green on tour last night! Just like old times at the Possum Lodge, lol!
His beard is Snow White now but he didn’t miss a beat. Funny show! Of course we got in line afterwards to get a pic with him and for him to autograph some merchandise we bought during the intermission. He’s very good looking and I was standing right next to him..squeeeeee. We ended up going through customs at Niagara Falls on the way home, and the falls were all lit up with colored lights which were so purty. Long drive though and my butt’s paying for it today.

 

You've left out "cold as Hell but at least the husband's out ice fishing" season.

 

So someone brought in cinnamon rolls today for the staff to eat and they were so obscenely large I actually measured them. They are 6" x 5" x just under 4" tall and covered with about 4mm of icing.

Seriously, is it any wonder we have an obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country? Sure, everyone likes a big cinnabon but at some point oversizing something just looks gross.

 

Good Lord those rolls sound sinful! How many people cut them and only had a piece of one instead of a whole roll?

 

I am having fun this fall! Friend of mine and I went on one of our local ghost walks tonight! The ghost stories were interesting and we got to play with these divining sticks at the site of an old cemetery that had been paved over after the graves were all supposedly moved. It was raining lightly, and a bit chilly so afterwards we hit a local tavern where we ordered hot ciders with a little whiskey to warm up.

This after spending the afternoon at the big “garage sale” that’s held annually ( indoors, lol) to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. It was the last day so everything was 50% off. God, the junk we bought but hey, it was for charity! It was mobbed. We stood in line 45 minutes to get through checkout and they had 10 registers going! The lady behind us in line was the one who was pimping the ghost walk!

Ya gotta spend a day here and there with your friends, time enough for family tomorrow..

 

I didn't see anyone admit to grabbing a whole one, but several of us had more than one small piece . And, of course, they all disappeared! Hopefully someone just decided to stash them "for later" and didn't gobble a whole one in secret as eating a whole one of those would be a serious shock to your system.

 

Happy Halloween Everyone stay safe from the ghosts, goblins and white walkers

 

Happy freezing from Texas.