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Sunday 30 January 2022

Fragments from my widespread world

(Above) Don't work harder, work smarter.
Better still get someone else to work
(Below) Back to three fingers' width
UP YOURS TONY. On TV, Tony Soprano, head of organised crime in New Jersey, has to walk down his drive-way (in dressing gown and slippers) to pick up the morning newspaper. My drive-way is marginally shorter but no matter, The Guardian is delivered through my front-door letterbox.

URINATION. Old age (for men) brings reduced pressure and greater inaccuracy. The answer? Do what women have been doing since the Middle Ages – sit on the pot.

OP ONE – ON MY MOUTH. Back in August 2021. Reduced my mouth opening by two-thirds, interfering with high notes when I sung. Now I’m back to three-fingers’ worth of space (see pic) as before.

GARDENING PROBLEMS? HIRE SOMEONE YOUNGER  AND FITTER. See how the green bags accumulate.

ARE THE BEACH BOYS HISTORY? Am conducting research via my two daughters. Initial findings seem to suggest the BBs are still relevant.

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. OK, you don’t like Wagner but you may give him a try some day. If so, don’t make it this one. Flying Dutchman (at 2 hr 20 min) is nearly half  TuI’s length. And there are other reasons.

FACE SMEARING. To keep my cheeks moist. The guck I’ve been using is now discontinued. The recommended replacement is called ZeroDerm. Can’t say I’m encouraged.

TOASTING. My toaster does only half the area of two sides per timed session. Does yours do the full sides? Let me know the make.

PERAMBULATION. What is the absolute minimum time for “a walk”?

7 comments:

  1. Minimum time for a walk: to the fridge and back to the chair according to my hubby!

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    Replies
    1. Sandi: Heavier coming back than going I would suppose.

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  2. When I was in nursing care for several weeks after hospital last month, I was told a short walk (with a walker, no less) was 100 feet. Took me almost a month before I could get an "Atta girl!" from my PT-drillmaster. Doing much better now.

    Very glad to read you are marching along so well, too.

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    Replies
    1. Crow: Great to hear from you, and that you're getting better. When I got back home from the hospital (five days after the second op; on Boxing Day to be precise) the family - normally consisting of one, just VR - had been augmented by both daughters. Good for me in that it would have been impossible to have strained an eyelash, never mind a muscle; bad in that I was in grave danger of getting used to such luxury. In those days rolling over from left to right side in bed took most of my energy.

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  3. Let's face it, toasters have let us all down. I don't remember this being a problem when I was a kid - they browned both sides fairly evenly. But for the last 30 years or so they have become less effective at toasting like they are supposed to.

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    Replies
    1. Colette: The immediate answer is to lift out the half-toasted slices and stick them back in the toaster, untoasted-end first. But only for a short time otherwise you'll "double-burn" the areas already toasted and be reduced to scraping burnt bread into the sink with a blunt knife. Strangely, the freed black crumbs will have become super-adhesive and stick to everything in sight.

      Needless to say I've tried several makes and configurations of toaster and all suffer from this "half-done" tendency. There remains the Dualit toaster which costs nearly three times as much as the average toaster. I can't say I'm tempted. The "half-done" fault must surely related to a toaster's general dimensions and the Dualit appears to be the same size as all the rest.

      Back in the forties, when toasters and central heating were both mere theory in the UK, we used to toast bread on a long spindly fork against the open-fire, the house's only source of heating. It worked OK but it demanded constant attention in order to avoid setting the slice on fire. Or, even more frustrating, seeing the nicely toasted slice loosen on the fork tines and drop into the fire.

      And still there are those who hark back to what they refer to as the Golden Era.

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  4. Ah ... a toaster! When I moved into my small flat, I yearned for one, but there is no counter space to spare in the kitchen. I toast my slices on the frying pan. Works like a dream.

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