I believe that the point in time has arrived wherein I shall no longer put myself out and try to spend each evening watching some T.V. with my younger brother ─ I operate our Android TV Box to locate sources for the episodes to the numerous T.V. series we follow in common.
The drunken lush foiled me last evening yet again by starting to pass out and then snoring during the very same damned episode of a show that I had already cut short a night or two before for the same reason.
I can but blame myself for taking the risk and re-watching the episode so soon after the first failed attempt; but now I will have to re-watch it yet again, this time for better than the episode's first half.
And my brother supposedly loves the series!
I am suffering this no longer. I will not watch any evening T.V. with him except on those evenings when it is starkly apparent that he has not swilled to senseless excess.
He drinks daily, always leaving home in the afternoon to venture off to wherever it is that he will be engaging this daily occupation. His ageing brain no longer has the foundational resources to sustain him with any dignity once he has properly soaked it in drink. When he is not surly and rude, he displays himself as a simple fool.
Or he presents a blend of the two states.
From this time on, I will not bother hustling myself off to bed at his advent if he is not home by 8:30 p.m. Instead, I will simply remain removed from him once he arrives home ─ no matter the hour; and retire as I feel suited to do.
If by chance I realize somehow that he has controlled himself, then perhaps we will watch some T.V. through the agency of our Android TV Box. But other than that, our shared television viewing will await only those weekday mornings when I routinely join him around 10:00 a.m. for his sober society before the T.V. in the living room.
We usually watch our shows until around 1:00 p.m. ─ it is around then that he seeks some bed rest to restore himself for his afternoon departure to resume his beer-guzzling with others of like minds.
On the weekends, I do not join him in the mornings, for I subscribe to both the Saturday morning edition of the Vancouver Sun and the Sunday edition of The Province. He can amuse himself with those newspapers as he enjoys his morning coffees.
Those are the two mornings that I reserve for myself ─ quite often undertaking an early morning hike of some nature on one or both of those days.
I had just such an outing this morning, leaving home no later than 8:27 a.m. for the five-mile round trip hike to the Liquor Discounter outlet (Google map) here in Surrey.
The venture to that specific location was not for my own service. Rather, I made the journey because I do not drive, and I needed to purchase some booze for my brother's upcoming 68th birthday a mere five days hence.
We typically gift one another with booze on our birthdays and at Christmas. It is definitely not some perverse desire I have to inebriate him even more than he is fully capable of doing for himself.
I ended up buying him a 1.14-ml bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label and a 750-ml bottle of Bell's Original ─ both are Scotch whisky, his preferred type of liquor.
Had I the income and could afford something far better, then I would have settled on a product of esteem rather than a purchase of mere quantity as I did, but I am of limited means. I also bought a gift bag for the booze. And in all, my bill came to $73.81.
Obviously I could have bought a relatively decent 750-ml bottle of Scotch for that amount, but not decent enough to make a difference where his palate is concerned. And so I sought to impress with quantity over quality ─ that will be his concern.
Besides, he will only ever have any of the Scotch after he is already inebriated and home from drinking out ─ he will not be indulging himself on any of this Scotch when perfectly sober. Thus, there is scant sense in me overreaching my financial wherewithal in order to dazzle him with a small quality purchase in lieu of gifting him with quantity as I have done.
I still need to get him a birthday card, so the plan is to include that in the morrow's early morning shopping if I manage to get out.
I actually hate leaving home as late as I did this morning ─ 8:27 a.m. is when I would hope to be arriving back home from a far earlier outing. However, the liquor store does not open until 9:00 a.m.
Apart from hating being out during the busy day, I court the additional hazard of finding myself too weary by that hour to be going anywhere.
I had risen overnight by around 1:30 a.m. to work on the post I am compiling at one of my six hosted websites, but by nearly 5:00 a.m. I had returned to bed because I was declining excessively ─ the venture out was in jeopardy.
I had a very difficult time relaxing into any additional sleep. And when I finally did, it was 7:41 a.m. when I checked the time upon rousing from it. I had to do my utmost to ensure I got away as early as possible ─ I truly do dread being out in the public.
As yet, I had not even had any coffee, so that was indispensable ─ I had to boil up some water for a stiff cup of black instant coffee. Then I drank that as I began readying myself.
I have not walked anywhere since last Saturday, so I was unsure of myself ─ I have lost my youthful endurance for walking. But once I was on my way, I discovered that my facility with the activity was easy and not awkward or laboured.
The morning was quite dry, and the sky had breaks of blue in the cloud cover. I even experienced considerable sunny breaks on the leg home.
Of course my brother was up by the time I was back, but I never let on just what it was that I had been out to purchase.
I remained up until into the latter noon hour before seeking more sleep, and by then had eaten a breakfast. My brother had already returned to his own bedroom to rest up when I sought my bedroom; and he was gone when I emerged from mine a little over an hour after going to bed.
I did not attain as much of a nap as I would have liked ─ finding actual sleep is always difficult for me. As well, I lay in my bed for some time after waking ─ my body was tingling from the earlier exertion of my stroll. As I said, I am not habituated to long walks anymore.
I have a backyard toolshed exercising session scheduled for today, but I am going to require considerable limbering up before I will be able to dare it. Each time I rise from sitting for any length of time, my lower back objects vigourously, and I am unable to initially stand fully erect. As a consequence, I avoid doing so if anyone here at home is going to witness this instance of decrepitude. I will slink in my bent posture into the bathroom or my bedroom until I can ease myself into proper posture.
And so I will take at break from blogging ─ it is presently 4:01 p.m.
oooooooooooooo
My evening is upon me. I did manage that session of exercise, but it was tough.
The afternoon became sunny enough that I could have sat outside in the backyard to benefit from it, but my eyes were too ailing. I even had to lie down with them covered over for perhaps as long as an hour in order to restore them enough to finish this post.
I need a lengthy, good sleep!
I had other topics ─ worthy ones ─ that I would have liked to have broached, but my eyes cannot bear the strain that would be required for any of it.
Anyway, if I am able, I will get out in the early a.m. to do some shopping ─ the store I have in mind opens at 7:00 a.m. The birthday card for my brother is on that shopping list, as was a copper scouring pad. However, where that latter is concerned, research online at the three potential shopping sources I would visit reveals that none of them seem to carry any.
I wanted to acquire one for use as a snail and slug barrier for two flowering plants of my wife ─ these creatures have devoured all of the red dahlia-like petals, and are doing similar to the plants' leaves.
I had seen in a video that if such a copper scouring pad is unravelled and stretched out into a mesh tube, then ring sections can be cut off ─ outside, to avoid having copper bits and particles all over the kitchen.
Such a ring can then be sliced to create an open strip that can then be wrapped about the lower stalk of the plant, thereby creating a hurdle too great for snails and slugs to bypass.
I currently have numerous pennies spread all about the plants ─ an interim measure as I await an order from Amazon Canada of copper foil tape that is predicted to be delivered by July 8.
Once I have the tape, I will centre each of the two plants within a square or rectangle bounded by four sturdy sticks or maybe something like stiff wire (as in clothes hangers); then I will create a wall with the tape by encircling all four of those supports, effectively containing each of the plants within its own copper security zone.
Snails and slugs find copper to be extremely uncomfortable to crawl upon, but the barrier has to be wide enough that they will give up ─ some are very determined and will brave copper for several inches. However, I doubt that any would endure a climb up a wall of copper tape for a distance of maybe as much as a half foot.
The tape I have ordered is two inches wide. Since I am only protecting two plants that are only about a foot tall, I will have more than enough tape for my needs ─ the roll is supposed to have 33 inches in length of tape.
I think that I have blogged for long enough today.
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