Vroom Vroom

 

It's been the usual slog through January and February.

Not my favorite time of the year.

It's cold and I'm stressed out and it's hard to drive places when it snows.

So, the last few weeks have been a bit tough to get through; when all

I want to do is hibernate and wake up when I feel more motivated.

But I have this monster puzzle to work on.

So no hibernation for me, I guess.

It's the Sun.

Well, it's supposed to be, when it's finished.

Gonna take ages.

Despite my malaise, I have managed to get through some of the to-do list.

Got the water tubing from the condensate pump sorted out in the basement.

One of the light fixtures stopped working, so I have to use

this headlamp every time I go down to check on things.

A much easier puzzle.

Bowie in Berlin. Lots of little easter eggs in these

Bowie in Palm Springs, I think.

Some clarinet study.

Gotta stay on top of my craft.

Found a chair for the bedroom.

Comfy. With soft, plushy cushions. It's a sort of glorified camping chair.

But it does the job.

Somewhere to relax and read or watch videos on my aging tablet.

The IKEA shark is testing it out, as you can see.

By the way, I need a new tablet.

I was not looking for this record.

I didn't even know it existed. I found it in a local record shop.

I love Bowie's Baal performance and so was delighted to find this record.

The original German pressing. It was reasonably priced, so I bought it.

Sounds really good!

I wanted a new software to edit videos, so I switched to OpenShot.

Learning how to use it with some footage from Johannesburg.

You can see said video on my YouTube channel.

I haven't figured out the soundtrack options yet, so feel free to turn the sound way down.

While playing the Baal record, I went through my record collection.

Forgot I had this polka album.

Super fun, so I had to give it a play!

In other life events, Car Duck got a new mobile residence.

I reluctantly gave up my beloved Hyundai Elantra (Kenneth the Car, to those in the know)

and traded her in for a 2012 Kia Soul.

The new hooptie.

It was a lateral move, as this car is a weird mix of old and new car tech.

No key fob! So it's back to opening the door with a key.

The White Whale will hopefully serve me for another 8 years before I

have to once again go through the dreaded car-buying experience.

So long, my old friend.

I'll miss your dashboard and your quirks.

Like how the CD player never worked and the passenger side

visor always flopped down.

And how the ABS light came on two years ago, and I was told it's related to 

a sensor that would require $100 to just hook up to the diagnostic

computer to find the sensor, but the brakes themselves still worked as they should, 

so I never did anything about the ABS light.

Good times.

About an hour after picking up the new old Soul, I was

rear ended by a young guy. No one was hurt, and it was a slow-speed

collision, but my bumper was mangled and it took off my license plate.

But I need the license plate on the car, and it's a hatchback, so I can't

just display it in the rear dash, so I ended up using zip ties to

attach it to the crushed remains of the plastic bumper.

It works. Looks silly, but it works.

Got myself a King Cake from a bakery in New Orleans.

Some of them deliver. Even to little ol' Iowa.

It's Mardi Gras season!

A Roug A Gooey King Cake.

It's currently in the freezer, almost time to break it out and

gobble it up (I'll share some with people, of course)

Worked for a local Middle School to help prepare their clarinet students

for solo and ensemble performances.

It's like a coaching session. Or lots of tiny lessons scheduled back-to-back

for four hours. It was fun! A good group of kids.

Tried out yet another new sushi place.

Pretty tasty, and not over-priced, so I hope they do well.

This dandelion has been chillin here since last summer, apparently.

How did it survive all the snow?!

Some meal prep and I made some pancake muffins.

Found some pancake mix in the freezer so decided to

put it to use. I made a few pancakes, then turned the rest of 

the mix into muffins.

The new used car came with a trial subscription to SiriusXM.

Found the DMB station! RAWK!

It'll be spring soon.

In the meantime, try to get outside for some nature time,

clean out your cupboards, and don't forget to feed the turtle.

My turtle is eating again. She has broken her winter fast.

So in addition to the bird chow, I need to get some turtle chow.

So that's where all my money goes!

🌞🌞🌞