31 thoughts on “January 4, 2021: Already in the swing of things”

  3. Off to get a rona test. Again. because workplace exposure. Abundance of caution. blah, blah, blah.

    1. We're struggling to get ours back in shape from the pre-Christmas storm. There was so much water under the snow that we had some minor mountains to knock down. Hoping that the sun hits it and helps smooth it out even further--it doesn't help that both outdoor faucets are frozen shut and we need to run a hose from our utility room on the opposite side of the house, something I'm trying to avoid.

      1. If you got tips, I'll gladly take 'em.

        I got mine constructed just before the storm. Storm hit, and bent it out of shape, shifted it slightly on the yard. Got it back into shape, shifted back as best I could. Started filling. Had a less even location on the yard than I anticipated, so it all ran to one corner. That corner sprung a leak. Froze it, stopped the leak. Didn't wait long enough to add more water, realized it wasn't completely frozen, new water melted enough ice so that the leak occurred again. Let it freeze longer. Finally frozen, filling more, leak in a new spot. Let it freeze... now warm weather.

        I really hope that I'll be able to freeze my way past the leaks as soon as it gets cold enough. I've packed snow around the leaks, such that it froze too, but now with 3 consecutive days above freezing (and nights that haven't been all that cold), I'm not sure where I'll actually be at.

        1. This is our first year and so far my feedback is "why did we do this?" if that tells you how helpful I might be. I think we over-filled initially, which is why I'm hesitant to add even more water...but fortunately we haven't had any shifting like you're experiencing.

    2. You might struggle with that all winter. La Niña in the Pacific is likely to drive above average temps the rest of the season.

      1. A weird and awful side effect of this pandemic. People die alone in the hospital, not surrounded by family. 🙁

  6. Kicking off the new year (back to the grind edition) with a venison sausage pasta and frozen green beans from 2020's garden.

  7. In defense of just one more drink. I made myself a Manhattan to cap off a stressful day. Delightful.

    1. Never had a Manhattan, but I think I’d be game for one. I made a passable old fashioned or two over the holidays. I also decided somewhere along the way that I’d like to drink Boulevardiers, but I can’t be sure because I suspect my Canadian whiskey isn’t exactly bourbon, and I’m fairly confident that dry vermouth is a poor replacement for sweet.
      Trying to decide if I’d sound like a pretentious schmuck ordering one. Last adult outdoor dining experience I had, while still warm out, I tried to sound competent ordering a Paloma, but the waitress had to triple-check for comprehension. Someday I’ll feel like a grown-up.

      1. I loooove Boulvardiers. But using dry vermouth instead of sweet would drastically change the drink, far more than the type of whiskey used.

        1. I appreciate the endorsement. Looks like I need to add another bottle to my collection.

          1. Fortunately, vermouth is cheap. I found over the summer that I have almost no need for dry other than the occasional martini, but use sweet almost constantly. I also make Manhattan's with bourbon because I don't feel like keeping rye around, so don't feel bad about using different whiskeys, says I.

        2. I agree with cheaps about the vermouth. The whisky version of the negroni. For me that is the change of seasons described - negroni = hot weather boulevardiers = cold weather.

          2. Never been much of a gin guy. Couple of Bombay Sapphire episodes in college probably turned me off. Maybe my palate has refined since then. I have gin; I just have no particular interest in opening it.

            1. I accidentally bought a bottle of gin like 2 years ago because of a brain fart (looks a lot like the vodka I meant to get).

              Still in the cabinet, I just can't drink it.

              My wife has concocted a cranberry juice+lime+gin thing that she says is OKish, enough to get the gin drank anyway.

            2. if you like bitter flavors the Negroni is hard to beat - the campari is doing most the heavy flavor lifting, but the gin is adding floral undertones.

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