Born on a mixed subsistence farm in rural Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Moved to Ontario in 1967 to attend University at what was then Waterloo Lutheran University and moved to Oakville, Ontario in 1971. Without intending to live up to the name became a letter carrier the following January and have worked for Canada Post ever since. I retired in August of 2008.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Hibernating in Austin

I just made a discovery, it really is ‘Duck Tape’; the label on the package says so. And it really can mend a tear in a garden hose. This morning I ran out of onboard water and had to refill my internal tank. I’d realized I was running low but at 29º F I really didn’t feel like hooking up hoses so I let it go. Packing 30 feet of hose in a cramped space led to the break I just mended. Writing this just reminded me to got out and refill my water jugs. I don’t actually use the water that sits in my holding tanks for drinking.

No one would describe today’s weather as balmy but 43 is a definite improvement over freezing. If I’m going to be sitting around the house I might as well improve my time. Therefore yesterday I made a pot of chili con carne and today I’m making soup. Soup is one of the few things I don’t cook from an exact recipe. It generally contains whatever is available or needs to be used up. It starts with a bean mix I pick up at the bulk foods store which takes approximately 3 hours to soften. To this is added a dried vegetable mix which requires an hour. Refinements come in the last half hour including dried spices and fresh vegetables—chickenless soup base to thicken, sliced carrots, chopped onion, celery if I have it, tomato, fresh peas, and whatever else is at hand. A dash of soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper get added at the end to boost the flavour.

Finally got myself into a comfortable position to read yesterday and finished a short story I started in September and a couple chapters of John Jakes Homeland. My library has been sorely neglected of late. I also sorted through my DVD collection and settled on what I want to watch next. I still need to sort through my collected tourist bumph and decide what I keep, what I put away, and where to store the booklets I’m using. I also have a growing collection of DVD’s I’ve already watched as well as used CD’s.

Since I arrived in Austin two weeks ago the wind and rain have stripped the pinnately compound leaves from the pecans in this park. With them littering the ground the trees look skeletally bare. Combined with three days of overcast skies the world has a somber look about it. Were I at home there would be snow to brighten the landscape but as much as that might be true I’m not looking to have it here.

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