So the place we’re renting has a functional fireplace. So I looked up places and found Firewood Atlanta. Gotta say I’m impressed already.

A 1/4 cord or a 4 foot high by 4 foot wide by 17-20 inches stack of wood should get us through the worst. And it’s all pre-split and dried for at least a year.

The gentleman Lee from Firewood Atlanta called about 2 hours after I’d put the order in. I gave him detailed information about the delivery and how google maps leaves you in the dirt so to speak getting here. Even made him chuckle – I have a certain gift for seeing the comedic side of life.

Granted it’s $205 for the wood but to have a nice fire glowing oh I cannot wait. I’ve even got kindling in the form of junk mail. At least it’ll be put to a good use. Hell, even paper towels wadded up work as I’ve amply demonstrated with the electric stove and it lighting them up sometimes if I get too close to the burner with it. Or even steel wool in the form of an SOS pad. Put a 9V battery to that and it lights up. Or I could strip the ends from a lamp cord, wrap the two ends around a nail and get a pickle to start the fire. So many ways to start a fire going.

And it will most definitely heat the place up. I keep it at 73F hot or cold. Electricity is approximately half the price down here as it is in the northeast. So why the hell not save a few kW by burning wood?

A string of LED Xmas lights – where you can change the colors of them with a remote control. And I note Amazon also has an outdoor solar powered string too. I might get that next. Because even though electricity here is super cheap compared to the northeast, I don’t want to pay extra for holiday lights outside.

I’ve already got two solar patheway lights out there. So why not go whole hog with solar?

So I think the dog we’ve been feeding and watering is getting curious about myself and spouse. When I went to the mailbox he was there – he poked his nose in the car. It was so cute.

This will be the first time in my life in near 40 years that I’ve had a dog. I do love animals. Plus there is a cat who’s been coming around. I can just see it, we’re going to have a menagerie. We’ll get to see who hogs the bed. It’ll be funny.

Now as I am wont to say the difference between dogs and cats is as follows: A cat left alone a couple days might claw the sofa. A dog with enough neuroses will eat the couch.

It’s funny – the dog he’s pure black in color. He’s clearly got pit bull and hound ancestry. And he appears to be about 2 to 3 years old. He’s still very energetic. But one thing, before we allow him in the house he has to see a veterinarian. No if’s/and’s an buts about it.

So as I might have mentioned we moved from the northeast to the Atlanta Metro region.

Now up in the Northeast there are two things we miss. One was a grocery chain called Market Basket and the other a food item called chicken salad.

We tried at the local Kroger – nope. No such thing. Then I said hey, maybe Wally World might have it. They did in fact have it but not what you’d think. Oh it’s chicken salad but with the added cranberry and pecans in addition to the celery.

We’ll see how it tastes because we might have to make our own. If we ever get back to our place that is. We’re staying in a hotel and they’ve already extended our stay once. And I suspect they’ll do it again because I went by our place and the meters haven’t been installed yet. And today is Veterans Day. So what are the chances Georgia Power will be out to do it today, I’d say slim to none.

So I had a physical today. The most absolutely weird physical exam. Didn’t even have to undress. Oh my heart, lungs, gut were listened and five tubes of blood were drawn out of me.

I was also screened for depression. I’m not depressed not by a long shot. My next eval is in 2020.

But the blood draw – too three tries. And of course my mouth starts with the poor nurse. I say stuff like “How often do you perform this?”

I’ll be able to get the results of blood test online. Oh joy.

So Sunday breakfast. I did bacon, toasted bread and poached egg with freshly made Hollandaise on top. Delicious.

Had to make someone a 3 egg omelette with aforementioned Hollandais, bacon and sausage.

So last night I watched “Dances with Wolves”. I can understand why it won a bunch of academy awards. Life in the United States in the mid 19th century wasn’t pretty. And the movie did a fairly accurate portrayal if only brief of the utter hell that is war.

I’ve seen it before but it was a long time ago so I watched it again. It’s a LONG movie but it definitely sets up the story. In it Kevin Costner plays Lieutenant John J. Dunbar. Through the element of curiosity he meets the local Sioux tribe. And then is dubbed his Sioux name Dances with Wolves. Now I know I have a few percent Native American floating in my DNA and I sort of know how it got there. In a brief way it’s because one of my ancestors some ways back went Native. Likely between the 17th and 18th centuries. Which by some little prestidigitation means I have roots in the part of North America that is now the United States going back some five centuries.

And October – while it’s the 10th month on our calendar the OCTO prefix means it’s eight. In fact if you look at the months you can kind of see where ego cases from long ago inserted themselves. But it starts in September or the 7th month, then October the 8th, November the 9th and December the 10th. So where did July and August come from – yup old Roman emperors.