Jet Lag Blues

 I am normally very good at managing jet lag. I calculate the time differences and adjust my sleep on the long transoceanic flight to best adjust in route. However, my normal abilities failed me this trip. A combination of a terribly long layover in New York with no place to lie down and nap plus a flight leaving at midnight Eastern time, created a perfect storm where I arrived not adjusted at all.

The result - four nights now of not being able to fall asleep until about 2 in the morning 😨.

Not happy about this but will just have to hope I finally get on the right clock here soon.

Exit Mania

 As I alluded to yesterday, whenever I or we head out for travel various things seem to come up. I am off on Wednesday to Ghana where things are really heating up with the Theodora Project. But a trip to Ghana is never without its share of travel requirement angst in this age of Covid. 

For those who may have forgotten, going to Ghana has four requirements before you can board a plane and then one other when you arrive. They are:

1. You must have a PCR Covid test no more than 72 hours before you board your flight
2. You must upload these results to the African CDC and get a QPR code that you will show when you check in
3. You must pre-pay for a Rapid Antigen test administered when you arrive in Ghana
4. And you must fill in an online Health Questionnaire which can only be done if you have fulfilled # 3 and get a special code.

Let's see how it went.

1. It was impossible to get free Covid test. All available venues were booked out for over a week. I ended up paying for a test at the airport. Who knew if they were going to be swamped. They weren't. We are in New Mexico. People are cheap here. No one is going to actually pay for a test.
2.  This actually went very smoothly. Amazing.
3. I've done this multiple times without a problem. This time the site rejected my credit card. And my second one. And my third. I call the credit card companies and they say they are not blocking the transaction. I communicate with the Ghana health organization and they send a reply about something called 3D security and how possibly if you are from a North American bank you won't be able to use your credit card. None of the customer service reps of the banks we are with have a clue what 3D security is. Fortunately I try a fourth card and have success. 
4. I can now fill out this form. When I submit it, there is an error message saying "you must input a number." Unfortunately it doesn't highlight which field they are talking about. After much trial and error, I find I have put a space in the phone numbers. Eliminating the space and the form is accepted. 

There you have it folks. Another fun day in the world of Covid era travel.

 
 

Ka BOOM!

 Wife and I were sitting in our respective rooms, minding our own business, relaxing in the evening after dinner when suddenly we both literally jump out of our chairs. There is a sound like some kind of major impact on the house followed by the sound of glass breaking...a lot of glass.

Was there some kind of explosion? Had a car somehow rammed into our house? A quick look found the issue in our lounge room. A wall mounted glass holder that had all of our crystal stemware wine glasses had somehow dismounted, crashing to the floor with every glass on it being shattered. We had a lot of wine glasses. We had a lot of shattered glass all over. 

It took a good 30-45 minutes of sweeping and vacuuming to get it all up. And if you know anything about broken glass, we will need to be redoing the vacuuming a number of days to try and get every last shard.

Fortunately most of the crystal was inexpensive titanium glass so it was not a big financial loss. 

We were surprised by the timing. I am leaving for a trip on Wednesday. These types of mishaps usually happen just as you are walking out the door. (We had a florescent light fixture in our garage come down once just as we were ready to drive to the airport). 

We were so quick to respond and clean up that I didn't take a picture of the huge pile of broken glass. Only afterwards did it come to mind that I had missed a great opportunity for the blog. 😒

End Of An Era

 When Wife and I married back when the world was young and tectonic plates were moving around and evolution was moving up from multi-cellular organisms, we purchased tableware. Lenox Temperware. We bought a specific pattern called Staccato. You can see images of it here. 

This stuff was near indestructible. So as we went year after year, decade after decade, our Staccato Temperware stayed with us. A number of years ago based on the advice of an estate planning specialist, we asked our children to go through our things and figure out what they wanted should we pass away (this prevents the conflicts that arrive when death actually occurs). #1 really wanted the tableware. 

Fast forward to a few years ago. Wife decides she's bored of the Staccato Temperware. She wants something new. She shops and shops and shops but can't find something the two of us will agree on. Finally she finds it. Knowing #1 is coming, she quickly orders it. It arrives just before the #1's. Then we give the task to #1 and 1A to figure out how to move out the old stuff. They are on it.

 

And here are the new ones

The Word For 2022 - Relentlessly

We've had the #1 clan with us since Christmas day. They return home today, New Year's day. It has been great. During these pandemic effected times getting together when you are geographically apart is not easy. This stay was no different. Both Granddaughter 1.1. and I had exposure to Covid about 10 days before the arrival date. So we were nervously awaiting test results which all came in negative.

 We mostly hung out a lot. Eating and drinking were major activities though none of us were in a 'high culinary adventure' mood. The parents were allowing 1.1 and 1.2 a break too. The two teenagers were in full 'stay up late, don't wake until Noon or so' mode (because they were forced to). This seemed to effect 1.2 a bit more and his mood was getting cranky as numerous days on maybe 4 hours sleep were getting to him. 

On the last of these, before the parents decided to cut off access to internet and television after a certain time, #1 stated that "No Matter How Grumpy and Ornery He Is Going To Be Today, I Am Going To Be Relentlessly Positive With Him."

This got 1A and I going. First we questioned, what does Relentlessly Positive mean? Evidently it means being upbeat and pleasant in response no matter how much of bear the 12-year old is acting. So we said, "Maybe in 2022 we will be Relentlessly Apathetic as relates to all things political." What if 1.2 responds with being Relentlessly Grumpy. How does that all pan out. As an older person, I could see myself committing to being Relentlessly Forgetful and Relentlessly Cynical.

I think this kind Relentless Attitude toward behavior can only make 2022 a much improved year.

Christmas 2021 - Wife Keeps Upping Her Game

 After much Covid exposure and waiting for test results, after hoping the airline does not cancel their flight, we are expecting the #1 clan to be arriving in just a few hours and truly be having family for the holidays. But for Christmas morning it was just Wife and I...spending a lot more time getting the house ready for guests (creating sleeping areas primarily) than celebrating. But since it is usually just the two of us, the holiday tends to be on the quiet side anyway. 

I was anxious, however, to see what Wife was going to get me for gifts. After really upping her game for my birthday with the now infamous self-heating mug, who knew what she would be doing for an encore. 

Well damn if she wasn't at it with more technology!

Behold the Meater!

 

 The Meater is a wireless meat thermometer That You Can Control From Your Phone With An APP! 

Damn!

You all know how much de-I loves app controlled devices. I spent about 45 minutes getting this device paired with my phone (oops first you have to upload the current software update) (Oh oops before you can actually pair it you have to agree to a bunch of registration things such as giving all your meat cooking data to an international Woke Vegan organization). I am pretty sure I've got the thing connected. Can't wait for the fun to see if I can actually make it work.

 But then there were the decidedly, non-tech Meater Mitts.

These are supposed to allow you go right into the oven, grill or smoker and manhandle (or womanhandle...or some other non-gender specific handle) your large piece of meat

You can see all the specs for these below

However!

It is the instructions below that took this gift to another level.

One should always appreciate sound advice like this.

Omens On Christmas Eve

 I was trying to get a hike in this morning time pressured by a very busy schedule and impending inclement weather. I was rewarded.

May holiday joy carry over and be the foundation of your year going forward