I almost completed the wall demolition today, but there is a little bit left to do once all the debris was cleared away, but by that stage, it was time to hit the grill. There hasn't been too much of interest to find in this wall, unlike the ceiling upstairs where there were plenty of old, Soviet magazines. The only things I found was a verse book printed in 1941, a couple of stamps, one Finnish from 1959 and one Czechoslovakian from 1972, and an empty packet of cigarettes. crammed into the insulation.
Because of where it was, it has to be from when the house was built in the early 60s, but I was surprised to find that they are still in production today, though I have never seen a packet like this. They are a Finnish brand introduced in 1931, but are now produced by British American Tobacco.
I used to be a smoker and smoked a pack or so a day for over a decade. I actually started for health reasons, which sounds strange, but I have a stomach disorder that at the time, nothing could treat, so I would check online for potential help. I came across a study in the early days that was trialing nicotine and seeing good results and I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a go.
The problem was, I was against smoking, always had been. I was the party-pooper kid that told his friends they were idiots for smoking. So instead, I tried nicotine patches.
I went to the pharmacy and was served by a nice looking pharmacist and I asked for patches. She asked, what strength I would require and because I didn't know, she asked how much I smoke and what strength. I said,
I don't smoke.
Saw the puzzled look and quickly added,
But I'm thinking about starting.
Awkwardness deftly averted!
Anyway - the nicotine patches ended up not helping, or if they did, I didn't know, as I couldn't sleep, I was having unfun nightmares (I generally like nightmares) and felt like I was constantly going to rip something apart - if only I had the energy.
So, I tried smoking instead and bought a pack of Marlboro Lights, smoking two that day.
Honestly, it was like a miracle - for the first time in about 5 years, I slept 6 hours straight and my stomach was feeling about 50% better than it was. I felt both dirty and relieved, which is a phrase you would more likely hear on a 
To cut a long story short - the problem with the stop-gap remedy was that while it continued working, it became less effective, but because nicotine is addictive, I ended up smoking a lot, with far less result. Kind of like the results of spamming posts for reward.
But, one positive was I ended up enjoying smoking for a while and had lots of good nights out with friends, drinking and smoking and socializing - until I met my wife.
Wives ruin everything. Though, she faked it at first (now she doesn't bother).
When we met she actually smoked with me occasionally, as she didn't like the smell of smoke, but smoking herself is like when we both eat garlic - they negate each other. However, the problem was that she wasn't really a smoker, but one day she ended up buying her own pack of cigarettes and when she called me she said - either you stop, or I start.
I didn't want to date a dirty smoker, so I quit.
Except when it comes to the barbecue, as we have a charcoal-fired grill, so it smokes a bit when first lit, though I think 
First barby for the season - it was about +5 degrees and windy as, but the food tasted great. As you can see, my family is vegetarian. And yeah, square burger patties. Tecknically they aren't patties at all, but the mince (ground beef US?) comes vacuum packed here and it is really easy to just throw a bit of salt and pepper on and cut it into quarters.
I think Smallsteps ate more than me. She is a barbecued food fiend.
And then polished off a slice of apple pie that she and my wife made together in the afternoon too.
And speaking of a load of rubbish... (referencing the title)
Look at this!
I am always impressed by Smallsteps development but when she told me she had made a surprise for me while I was being the demolition man, I wasn't expecting it to be this awesome. While always pretty advanced, her drawing skill has developed a lot in the last couple months and I think that for a 4.5 year old, she is doing some pretty decent work in regards to detail, and pencil control.
I had a look at some examples of other kids work and came across an article that had tested 4 year olds by grading drawings of theirs and tested their IQs at 14 and there was a correlation to intelligence. I think that part of it comes down to how observant a kid is, not the actual drawing ability itself.
She is going to be a talented little girl one day and I have a feeling that almost whatever she puts her mind to, she will excel at - as long as she doesn't have to be tall for it.
Right, now it is time to get into the trading game for the day - not actually trading, but looing at mu Cobs and now (thanks to 
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]