Winter’s log, earthdate 201605.26

04.29 pm

Well, here I am again – reasonably early, for a change! I dare say that you’re all going to be very surprised when I tell you that not really a lot has been happening, chez nous, but there it is – a cold wet, rainy day, with not much happening, apart from Julian having to go to the Dentist, where he had five old, grey, dilapidated amalgam fillings changed over for bright, white, shiny new resin composite ones – a bit like the “New lamps for old!” catch-cry from the story of Aladdin! (the original story from the “Arabian Nights“, that is!) hmm… unfortunately, the cry “New fillings for old!” just doesn’t have quite the same ring to it though, does it… Never mind, he’s had his fillings changed, and doesn’t have to see the Dentist again for another six months, which is probably quite a relief to him! So, with nothing better to do with my time (well, there were probably lots of better things that I could have been doing with my time, but I didn’t, because I’m lazy!) I did get a lot of WoW-ing done. I concentrated on young Phoenìx, who is now level 19! This time, I’m determined to take her right through, and with the Heirloom gear, I’ve really been racing through the levels! However, once again I’m stuck with my usual dilemma – what sort of Pet to get myself! I have a cat for a Pet at the moment – the one I started off with in the “baby” area – and while I absolutely love and adore cats, in real time and in game time, they’re not really the most robust of Pets for becoming a Tank. Tanks need to be able to take, as well as dish out, a lot of punishment in a fight situation – and, let’s face it – cats are really too soft and cuddly to be able to take much harsh pummeling and whacks over the head. Cats are first and foremost Ferocity Pets – although you can train any Pet in any of the three disciplines – Cunning, Ferocity, and Tenacity – but if you really want – or perhaps I should say “if you really need” a reliable Tank, you should probably pick a turtle, a boar, or a bear – not a cat, or a spider, or a crab! So there I am, in Darkshore, and level 19, still with my original cat Pet. I can’t go after my usual Ghost Saber Toothed cat, because you can’t Tame a Pet that’s a higher level than you are – and Ghost Saber Toothed cats are level 21. It was really galling, too, because I’ve just been doing a heap of quests in and around the Ruins of Mathystra, where these Ghost Saber Tooths (Teeth?) are, and I was seeing those wretched Cat Figurines that spawn them all over the place… and I couldn’t do a damn thing about them! Arrggghhh! Oh well, I’m out of there now – out of sight, out of mind, as they say – but I still don’t know what to get for Pet! I could go to Dun Morogh via Ironforge, and get Mangeclaw (a bear) – a very easy and safe trip, or I could go to Mulgore and get myself an  Armored Battleboar – they’re only level 2 to 3, and they do look a bit “different” to your normal or garden variety boar – but the journey to Mulgore would probably entail a lot of dying on my part – which I’m not entirely convinced I really want to do, at this stage. My only other option (as I see it at this stage) is to go after an Oasis Snapjaw Turtle – they’re level 14 to 15, so at level 19 I could easily Tame one – but the journey to the Northern Barrens, or to Azshara, where those lower-level blue turtles live, would probably be a tad worse than the trip to Mulgore! Ho-hum! I dunno… I think I’ll toss a coin… and keep on tossing it until it comes up with something that I think won’t be too hard or too dangerous (hey! Don’t knock it! Being a coward is good for you! It keeps you alive – well, mostly, anyway!)

My Warfarin blood test results finally came in around 9 o’clock this morning. My INR has gone down a bit (a bit too much, in my opinion!) to 2.1 (it should be around 2.5) my next blood test is on the 8th of June, and they’ve gone and changed my rat poison dose again! They now want me to take 4.5mg per day – oh well, at least it’s the same every day instead of different doses on alternate days, and so forth!

Auric and Dapple had some of their new flaked-food last night for dinner, and again for breakfast this morning, with no “floaty” after effects, thank goodness! They seem to be quite happy and contented, cruising up and down and around and about their tank since yesterday when Julian changed a third of the water and put in the second filter – let’s just hope they stay that way! We’ll be watching them very closely, and I think Julian intends picking up a water-testing kit on the weekend, so we can keep an eye on the ph balance of their tank water – but the proof of the pudding, etcetera, etcetera, and all we can do is our best! 🙂

I looked up when to plant fig trees, too! Mid-winter apparently is best, and you can plant them from a 30 to 40 cm cutting! …I wonder if Mr. Backdoor would notice if we cut a 30 to 40 cm piece off one of the branches that hangs over our fence? We could plant that – some sources say that you can often get figs from cuttings planted like that in their first year! That’d be fantastic! 🙂 On the other hand – maybe it would be better to do a tour of all the local Nurseries, and choose the biggest and most mature young fig tree available (as long as it has the right sort of figs and doesn’t need to be fertilised!) because some other sources that I read say that you can only expect to get figs forming after about two to three years, and I do not want to wait that long! *pout*

And now on to the good bits! 🙂

Food stuffz: Last night for dinner we had Frenched lamb cutlets, very nicely pan-fried in lemon infused oil and pepper, along with plain boiled potatoes, steamed green beans, and half a Kumato. For dessert I had a small bowl of Coles-brand, very low-calorie, and exceptionally delicious Rice Pudding, with a few peach slices from the handy-dandy plastic “jar” we keep in the fridge, for just such occasions 🙂 As Julian had just come back from the Dentist with quite a sore mouth, we had wraps for lunch today, with our usual butter substitute of basil-pesto hummus, plus ham, tomato, and Halloumi cheese – and for dinner tonight, because his mouth is still a bit sore, we’re having pasta, with tomato sauce and a small sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. For dessert we’ll probably have a small tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt, and I’ll have the last *sob* of my very special and delicious Mother’s Day cookies.

Weigh-in this morning. More gloom and doom – which by the way goes perfectly with the weather – I went from 64.2kg to 64.4kg – Not. Happy. Jan! 😦 I wonder what I’ll go up to tomorrow! I guess I’ll find out in the morning, and you’ll all find out tomorrow night! Cross your fingers for me! 🙂

And that pretty much brings me to tomorrow – once again – I don’t think there’s much exciting happening – I’ll probably work a bit more on Phoenìx – maybe I’ll go to Mulgore! (no wonder I’m getting cold! Julian just walked past the door saying that it was 9°C outside! Brrr!) as I really don’t want to go to the Northern Barrens, and I don’t really want a bear… I do have the Podiatrist coming late tomorrow afternoon, which I’m rather glad of – my feet always feel, and look a lot better afterwards. I’m short sighted, you see, and my feet are just at that point where they’re a bit too close for me to see them properly with my glasses on, and just that teeny bit too far away for me to see them with my glasses off – so no matter what I do, they just look like a vague blur on the end of my feet And that’s really about it again from me for this evening! Don’t forget to drop in again tomorrow night to see if Auric and Dapple got the “floats” again after their dinner (I’ve just fed them!) whether my weight continued to go up, what level Phoenìx is, and whether she’s Tamed herself a suitable Tanking Pet. Until then though, please try to bee good, don’t forget that happiness is nothing more than good health and a poor memory, and remember to look after yourselves, to keep warm and dry, especially on days like today, and to always drive carefully – but most of all, and whatever you do, please remember to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂