Archive for December, 2007
A cup of kindness for Guy Lombardo
Monday, December 31st, 2007And then the true meaning of Christmas came through.
Tuesday, December 25th, 2007Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
I’ve been a bit of a Grinch this year, we’ll see if my heart grows three sizes this day.
I wonder if I’ll need blood thinners or something.
Santa rides my Bus
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007I don’t think this is a coincidence.
The day after Ottawa gets the first real snow storm I’ve seen since I’ve moved here – Santa, is out waiting for my bus.
This was the real deal Santa.
Cherry Nose: Check.
Eyes Twinkling: Check.
Rosy Cheeks: Check.
White Beard: Check.
Bowl full of Jelly: Check.
Hell, he even had the Cap!
This seems like some weird movie plot to restore my fallen Christmas Spirit this year…
“There will be no nuclear accident.”
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007I swear to God, he’s calling down the thunder with this one.
Anita told me about this when she was reading the news. Politicians are overriding the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s opinion that the Chalk River nuclear reactor should stay closed until it’s safe.
Yes, it’s terrible that the isotopes aren’t there for the medical scans, but this is the sort of thing that’s just not suppose to happen.
Seriously, it’s the sort of the thing your read about happening in the USSR during the Cold War.
How about we do something different? How about we not throw caution to the wind. How about we not put all our eggs in one basket. How about we not run a nuclear power plant which isn’t safe and have a backup for times like these.
Yes, I imagine that it wouldn’t be cheap, but it would be responsible.
I can’t wait to vote these idiots out.
Cat pee will destroy my furnace.
Monday, December 10th, 2007So, I was right. It was the HRV motor which was starting to melt down. The guy from J.D. Swallow did a bunch of tests on our furnace and everything seems in tip-top shape with it.
We’re just waiting to hear what will cost more, a replacement part (the innards of the HRV is pretty much just the motor as one whole unit) or just getting the whole thing replaced.
What I didn’t know was that it’s not a good idea to have a uncovered litter box in the furnace room. The ammonia can cause the metal in the furnace to corrode. Apparently Meow Meow isn’t that bad for the size of our basement and the fact that the furnace has it’s own fresh air intake.
Chilly Night
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007The smell is back.
With a vengeance. We noticed after returning home yesterday and then again this morning when we woke up. And we still couldn’t find anything that could be causing it.
So Anita called JD Swallow for an appointment. They were scheduling for next week but after Anita mentioned the odd smell (which does not smell like sulphur, thank God..) they’re going to try and fit us in tomorrow morning.
Just in case something is really wrong we’re going without the furnace tonight. It hasn’t been on since just after we got home. (Which was exceptionally late, thank you #29)
Just a little while ago we could still notice that smell. Even with the furnace off! So this lead to another search around the basement again. The only thing that was still on was the heat exchanger. I opened it up and the smell only got slightly stronger. But the motor was too hot to touch.
Seems like a likely suspect.
We’ve turned it off as well and we’ll see what Mr. Swallow has to say about it tomorrow. I’m at the point now where I could just get everything replaced, furnace, heat exchanger, air conditioner – the works. As long as I won’t have to worry about it blowing up on me.
But tomorrow morning is going to be cold!
Blue Bird of Loneliness
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007I got The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill out of the library and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. That’s what I love about searching through the movie section at the library – you never know what you’ll come across.
Hands down, my favorite parrot was Connor. Mostly ’cause he got such a raw deal. But the part that seals it was that he’d stick up for other birds that were being picked on. Connor isn’t the same species as the other parrots and as a result he’s always on the outside and always a little lonely. And it just seems so bloody unfair. Hell, I almost cried.
I guess when you get so wrapped up in the life of a bird, that’s a sign of a good movie.
Just don’t watch the “music video” on the DVD…. boy is that bad….
DocuRama has a catalog of other documentries on the disc and there’s a bunch more I want to see now.
