Author: Allegra

Born when atmospheric carbon was 316 PPM. Settled on MST country since 1997. Parent, grandparent.

But mine were always there for me

My parents were not perfect. They never represented themselves as such. They were not mind readers. They never represented themselves as such. They loved each other, and they loved my brother and me, and I felt safe and cared for while I lived at home.

And now, across the Salish Sea, they still care for me. They help me pay my bills and enjoy the life I live so that it can be equitable with my roommate/brO. They continue to think about me and consider my feelings and ask for my opinion and snicker at my jokes and frown helplessly at my continuing weird takes on our family history.

But what motivates my writing sometimes is knowing that I was Loved, and so many are not. So many people have black holes of mental illness and assault convictions and alcoholism swirling around their parents. They have poverty and intergenerational abuse and racism and food insecurity as constant companions. When I write about these things, it’s because my parents gave me a life in which I could mentally afford to think about others, and to see my privilege as a member of a contented family as exactly that, not a sign that god loves me better.

I’ll be spending a day over at Junction with Paul

It will be hard, going through what now seems like so much junk that was once a family heirloom, or whatever. Katie’s taking some time off too to pack, Dax has gone into the interior with his uncle.

2500 words off to my readers this morning. 1100 words so far today on TB, I doubt there will be more given how exhausted I’ll be when I get home, and I left it at a very nice break point.

I just called Jordan Peterson a custard hearted bigot on twitter. Betcha I get banned. I LOVE IT.

 

it arrived

BUSTER has already jumped all over it, while I watched. Suzanne did all the haulage getting it here; Keith apparently bailed in a haze of ditziness after an offer to assist. It’s fucking enormous and awkward af. I helped her get it up the stairs. It’s now blocking an interior doorway because tipping it over is only just barely a one person job.

Going to see Jarmo and Susanna and Mike on Friday at a sushi joint close by.

Already 525 words into TB today and the section is FINALLY OVER and the journey can begin IN A DIFFERENT CAR. they’re currently driving into the sunrise in my mind, I now have to establish when in April they’re driving so I can establish the time of sunrise…. and the weather at the time. For all I fucking know it could have been snowing.

All of BC is on fire or at risk. The interior is closed to traffic except firefighters and support staff going in and climate refugees coming out. Twitter had half a dozen ‘before and after shots’ of people’s homes lost to the Shuswap fire (Adams Complex Fires) and of course the BC fire service is now having to explain how a controlled burn saved hundreds of homes but destroyed the hamlet of Sqwilix. Locals say the communication and coordination was sorely lacking and they got chased out of their homes without the order – they were already on alert. The West Kelowna Fire (McDougall Creek) shows 50 houses lost, and 5 more in Kelowna proper as of 12 hours ago.

Uncle Steve (whose titled land I was on last year) and Dax are supposed to be driving up there, I have no idea how they’ll accomplish the drive with the road closures. Apparently the RCMP are being right dicks about turning people back for some reason.

This is the road advisory for this instant… these links will almost immediately die so ignore them unless you’re looking today.

Current Road Advisories and Information

This page provides additional information during significant events impacting travel on BC highways. As always, DriveBC remains your best option for current road information.

  • A Provincial State of Emergency was declared on August 19, 2023 due to wildfire activity across the province.
  • The province has issued an order restricting travel to wildfire-affected communities in the southern interior of the province.
  • The order is designed to discourage and stop recreational and leisure travel for tourist accommodation. The order does not restrict essential travel through or to these communities – including for work, for school and to help care for a sick loved one.
  • For more information visit EmergencyInfoBC

Okanagan – Shuswap

August 20, 2023

  • Highway 1 remains CLOSED between Chase and Blind Bay intersection (east of Sorrento) due to active wildfire. Assessments are underway and crews are on site responding.
  • Holding Bridge on Holding Road is CLOSED
  • Squilax-Anglemont Road is CLOSED from its intersection with Highway 1
  • Highway 5A is open with a travel advisory in effect
  • Highway 97 remains open in West Kelowna and Kelowna
  • Westside Rd is CLOSED from Highway 97 to Fintry

Your primary sources of current highway and emergency information are:

Fraser Canyon

August 21, 2023

  • Highway 1 between Boston Bar and Lytton is CLOSED due to active wildfire (Kookipi)
  • A checkpoint is in place at Ross Road in Haig (just west of Hope)
  • Full closures are in place at Canyon Alpine (6 km north of Boston Bar) and at the Highway 1/12 Junction in Lytton
  • BC Hydro repair work is underway
  • Danger tree and rockfall assessment in progress

Your primary sources of current highway and emergency information are:

Highway 4 – Cameron Bluffs

August 18, 2023

In addition to the regular daily closures, there will be a full day-time closure to allow crews to remove approximately a dozen refrigerator-sized boulders as part of the rock-scaling work being done at Angel Rock, which has proved to be the most challenging segment of the bluff.

Weather permitting, this closure will take place:

    • Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023 8:30 a.m. until 9 p.m

The Cameron Bluffs Fire event  area remains single lane alternating with non-scheduled pilot cars.

For further information See the Cameron Bluffs Recovery page, including about the detour route

Your primary sources of current highway and emergency information are:

  • Highway condition and event information:  DriveBC.
  • Emergency alerts and evacuation information: EmergencyInfoBC

 

 

cat tree

Buster’s current cat tree is very old and ratty; he’ll get a new one tonight (Suzanne is helping) and we’ll put the old one on the deck. Or maybe it will go straight into the trash, it needs to be completely reupholstered.

Upholstery comes from the Middle English upholder, a person who furnished cloth and mattresses for beds and other furniture. What a weird damned word. Now it’s only used with ‘of the law’ after it.

677 words yesterday on TB, way more than I expected given that I felt crushed when I awoke (air quality was like 250 !!! into the purple zone !! overnight). The air is much better today but still not in the green zone.

Repotted the five little peyotes. It was a lot harder getting five of them apart than two, believe me, but the biggun was pushing roots right out of the pot so it was time. I should water them again later today.

Coffee brings me life this morning. Time for another one lol.

Drew Barrymore is a scab. She crossed the picket line to film an advertisement in Vancouver. HEAVY SIGH.

which one of you incredibly quiet people wants a bsky invite code?

 

Quiet day

Talked to Katie. She wants me to come get the cat tree so I should talk to Jeff about that.

369 words on TB

aqi is between 100 and 200 throughout the lower mainland. ABSOLUTELY no walking outside today.

Jeff wants to go schlepping this am but I find Sunday morning there’s nothing at Saveon and the veggies are really picked over but yes I will if he’s driving.

 

From a court case in the US:

“Before proceeding further, the Court notes that this case involves two extremely likable lawyers, who have together delivered some of the most amateurish pleadings ever to cross the hallowed causeway into Galveston, an effort which leads the Court to surmise but one plausible explanation. Both attorneys have obviously entered into a secret pact complete with hats, handshakes and cryptic words to draft their pleadings entirely in crayon on the back sides of gravy-stained paper place mats, in the hope that the Court would be so charmed by their child-like efforts that their utter dearth of legal authorities in their briefing would go unnoticed. Whatever actually occurred, the Court is now faced with the daunting task of deciphering their submissions. With Big Chief tablet readied, thick black pencil in hand, and a devil-may-care, laugh-in-the-face-of-death, life-on-the-razor’s-edge sense of exhilaration, the Court begins.”

— Bradshaw v. Unity Marine Corp., Inc., 147 F. Supp. 2d 668 (S.D. Tex. 2001)

wendell pierce said this on twitter

Warning Maui Fire Victims: As a victim of Katrina, we saw the criminality begin at this point of the disaster. 1) Insurance companies will abandon you after years of paying premiums. 2) If insurance companies do pay out they will collude with banks and pay off your loan, not you. 
3) Commissions & Coalitions will be put together with government & corporations without your best interest at heart. Demand you are included in the process of rebuilding.
4) Beware of those attempting to steal and expropriate your property. 5) Beware of no bid contractors 
(6) The land grab will be disguised with the declaration you cannot return to the area and should be returned to “green” space, later to be given to speculators. (7) Beware of “land swaps” that give you temporary housing but your original property never returned. 
Survivors of Katrina have seen all of these tactics over the 2 decades since our disaster that we are still dealing with. You as Hawaiians know to well how precious your land is and the history of criminality to steal it. Nothing has changed. Beware of those who want your land! 
Demand that ALL public land transactions in the affected area be frozen until the end of the year. Private sales allowed. Federal funding will be following end to the area, don’t allow your government to give out no bid contracts to political friends. 
Demand that all contractors do“First Source Hiring” meaning hire all temporary employees from the community first.Demand ALL Americorp chapters from around the country be utilized for voluntary workforce for cleanup & distribution of donated resources. Your taxes pay for Amercorp 
Utilize Americorp, and the National Guard. Contact the community leaders in Puerto Rico who went through Maria, New Orleans organizations who suffered through Katrina, and NY after 9/11. Unfortunately you have joined us in the fight for survival and restoration of our communities 

festive meal

Paul, Ruth, John, Keith and I dined yesterday. It was a very pleasant and convivial meal and just as I was faltering in my eating I realized I was about to basically put my head down and start snoozing so I slithered off home in a taxi. Which reminds me, I have a sammy to reheat.

The Echo is serving them well, they say, and their Yukon vacation was stellar.

1581 words on TB yesterday, so that’s respectable. Coming up on the Ottawa trip in the story.

I’m really concerned about storm Hilary, but oh well. We’ll get our day in the climate sun again here in MST country soon enough I imagine.

89 hits 11 kudos 3 bookmarks

Mammogram results clear. Under a week to get results, awesome.

Quite pleased with the reader reaction to ‘Guy d’Angelique’ on AO3 and even more pleased that I’m adult enough to stop obsessively checking. ABSOLUTELY NO COMMENTS tho sigh.

Tonight we dine at Qwhite Spot with the fam. John and Ruth; Paul, Alex, Katie, possibly Dax, me and Jeff and the instigator is Keith (WHO VOLUNTEERED TO DRIVE JOHN AND RUTH TO THE AIRPORT and then bring the Echo back how do I deserve such a kindly child). He’s in an incredibly good mood these days, surrounded by Ben’s HORDE of friends who are all…. Keith’s age and a lot of them are neurodivergent bronies so…. He’s also thinking of making a run for the grandparents and sadly I have something happening on the 25th so I probably won’t be joining him.

Jeff and I have DELIBERATELY not posted anything about how godawful the ferry part of the trip to Bowen Island was so believe me when I say that the signage and guidance SUCKS GREYHOUND BUS STATION MEN’S ROOM MOPS.

West Kelowna fire may destroy the recently built 75 million dollar water treatment plant, the single biggest ticket item ever in Kelowna. The city’s been fighting with BC Hydro over how teetery the power infrastructure is, coming into town, for years now and the upshot is that if the fire comes through it may literally be months before the power’s restored and that means that chunks of Kelowna may end up like Lytton. Abandoned. No water, no power, no businesses, no jobs, no homes.

Michael Sheen talking about what a joy David Tennant is to work with is giving me life today. Their families had babies at the same time and their youngests are besties see my heart eyes, I’ve got heart eyes. Now to channel heart eyes into TB.

Yay, there will be more Miss Scarlet and the Duke!

LOL I lied, 91 hits 12 kudos.

graphomania has stopped

I went for a walk with Jeff, finished “Guy d’Angelique” and posted it – it already has two hits, lol, I do have subscribers so they would have gotten a push email when I posted. It topped 12000 words and it’s DONE like the relief is unspeakable. MAYBE EVEN INEFFABLE. Anyway you can’t see it if you don’t have an account because I don’t want my shit scraped for AIs.

I’m going to drink tea and cry about something else now (I cried so much writing that but mostly because I’m still processing the end of GOmens2 and writing a story IN ANOTHER FANDOM was my styptic against all those fucking cuts). No I will not really cry, I think I’ll eat salad instead.

Recently learned that Al and Jen BINGEWATCHED Twisted Metal after we recommended it and so Jeff and I are smirking at each other every time we think of that.

My Singing Monsters

This ten year old Canadian game (no violence – The game is rated for players aged 4 and up and does not contain any inappropriate content or themes.) is Alex’s current favourite game. Check it out if you want to see something adorable. So for anyone freaking out about CARRION when I mentioned it please note that Alex has a very catholic taste in games and that the cartoon horror genre is just one of the kinds he likes.

Ryker was ACTIVE for the hour I had him. I ended up putting him in the room with Bluey and air conditioning and his brother, who continues to be the best big brother in the history of humanity, because it was hot af in the apartment.  (Alex has a cool detection unit and migrates to the coolest place in the house.) I ended up grabbing Ryker’s pants so he’d sit and watch Bluey and he just leaned up against me and was contented for TWO WHOLE MINUTES and then started doing his ‘everything in the mouth’ thing again. In a single ten second period he had a dinky toy, the ENTIRE FILK ONTARIO SHAKER EGG (except for one centimetre-across circle of blue to indicate that he had not INDEED BEEN ABLE TO SWALLOW IT or choke on it thank goodness) and then, for the pizza of resistance, his exceedingly dirty right great toe inserted into his face … and honestly it’s exhausting to even think about keeping up. The ‘snack’ he ate at 2:30 was the size of most of pOp’s meals and he ploughed through it like a goddamned combine. Pickles; cheese; freeze dried strawberries, a couple of baby carrots, a yogurt drink and whacks of vegetable crackers. We as an entire family are discussing in hushed tones how the hell we’re going to prevent him from starving to death as a teenager.

And because we were in a noisy room with the door closed Daddy Mike had to come into the house (normally he calls and then comes in but ‘nobody was answering’) and Ryker exploded with joy and left babbling daddy and bye GG! Daddy Mike said, “He is my heart,” with neither embarrassment nor exaggeration and gosh no wonder.

wrote 4660 words yesterday. Didn’t sleep as well tonight. I should probably just go do something else besides write today to protect my brain, but I’m also worried about not finishing it. And I probably will today. Just so I can get the hell back to what I really should be doing.

So Paul’s girlfriend showed up at Katie’s house (she was staying with Paul at Thornebridge) and was just WANDERING AROUND doin’ God nose what and Dax came in (he’s there about half time until the move) and asked her what (tf) she was doing there (likely wandering off with small items like fuckin’ Lobelia Baggins in the Hobbit) and he phones Katie and she’s like HELLLL NAW and Dax ejected her. (Thornebridge is walking distance even if she didn’t have a car). Dax mentioned that while he’s never liked her much the disrespectful way she talks to Paul really grinds him. Alex even said he didn’t like her but that’s what you get for making it really obvious that you find children inconvenient or actively loathsome.

I’m really enjoying THIS part of family reconciliation. Especially since I got a lift home with him and Alex. We all care about what we care about, right?

I send special fond greetings to Peggy the Piewoman (jeff there’s still pie in the Caspell Junction fridge shall I THIEVE IT LOL), Dax the Defender, Ryker the Toebiter, Alex the DJ, Dave the Poet, Sue the Actor, mOm and pOp the Archetypal-Cute-Couple in a house full of light and plants and books (sorry, Good Omens has eaten my brain), Jeff the Resuscitator, Blind Lemming Chiffon the Filker Extraordinaire who celebrates another spin around the sun today, Keith the Chef, Katie the mOmmaBear, Ruth and John the Vastly Helpful, Leo and Linda the Coming Attractions (they are visiting soon) and Cousin Gerald the Moose Handler (because he’s the one who handles sending me more pictures of Moose.) And Paul the Forgetful, must remember him too.

 

Inshanity

Wrote 5500 words on a new fic yesterday. Slept until SEVEN AM in consequence. And the little rat is nowhere close to finished. It is so freaking angsty and cry baby and poor communication that writing it is like ripping dime sized chunks off myself, but it all came out so fast.

Because I got enough sleep – at least four more hours than I usually do – I’m actually not doing too badly this morning. Tiny little migraine signs.

Looking after Ryker today.

533 words yesterday

Very hot yesterday, but it’s supposed to not go over 30 for the rest of the week.

Very apprehensive about Ryker care. I do be like that tho. It will be fine, same as last time.

I’m reading about 50 year olds becoming unhoused and asking where they sign up for free housing. As far as I can tell an entire cohort of Canadians paid no more attention to politics than was required to sort of take in the promises and denunciations at election time. When it comes to the instantiations of politics, they’re living in a spun sugar world which is abrumptly getting the ol’ firehose of climate driven events. But I thought welfare bums get errything for free they will cry. What chumps oh well.

However, I’m going to stay cheerful as long as we’re all together on this side and the ac works.

Oh Jaysus I just thought of the title of the next one in the series thank you Dave. Also you said it could all be converted quite nicely to a screenplay and you’re right. That means I have to go back into the completed project and chop it into 13 minute segments with stingers teasers and very high stakes. So to write that new title down I slipped away from writing this, wrote 244 words on the Guy d’Angelique fanfic and forgot to write the new title down. Leaving briefly to fix that, okay I wrote it down but I’m now up to a thousand words on the fanfic. Honestly I’m just going to drag the characters to a hotel room and get them sweaty, I haven’t got all day for conversation!! I have to get back to TB and get the next instalment out to my emotional support editors.

Heavy sigh. It’s a good thing I’ve got Scrivener to keep all this shit straight. Scrivener is what took me from being a writer to being someone who can complete long form multiarc fiction. It is THE BOMB. It is simple to use on the daily with a depth of features that’s abyssal.

Ha ha I EYEBALLED IT Jensen Ackles IS the same size, almost exactly, as Errol Flynn. Same height, weight and shoe size. This is important to the fanfic. This is the level of research I do. I don’t want you to be impressed, I just think it’s hilarious that I PULLED AN ARCHETYPAL HERO ACTOR out of the pile and went yup he’s the same size and shape as Jensen Ackles and THEN I DID THE RESEARCH. Because I wouldn’t want to put it in the fucking fanfic if it wasn’t true. Because facts make light and light makes atmosphere, & suppositions make assholes like me make easily avoided mistakes.

Damn the coffee was good this morning. Must …. have …. more. So I did and now I just deleted the toilet joke I was about to make, so I’ll tell Jeff instead.

Do I sound giddy? I’m in writing mode.

I just found a cartoon that completely describes Brad and Omar and I was going to send it to mOm but here it is. From Foxes in Love on Tumblr

Foxes in Love

scattered

Feeling very disconnected and scattered, not that it’s stopping me from writing. 285 words so far today, 386 yesterday.

Apple pie and coffee is what I had for breakfast. Forty years ago the father of a friend of Peggy’s said PLANT JONATHAN APPLES and he did, and this year the crop was three hunnert pounds and I ATE APPLE PIE because Peggy. Plant a tree, it’s a beautiful thing, plant a fruit tree, feed my greedy face!!

The family meal was beef stew and garlic bread and apple pie à la mode. Keith donned his new apron and flew around the kitchen on wings. I left the Echo there along with the key for Ruth and John and came home in a cab, everyone was conversating and I didn’t want to break things up.

I believe I have worked out the ending to TB after talking to my mother about it.

I am looking after Ryker on Wednesday afternoon so Suzanne can have an appointment.

 

at Al and Jen’s

Absolutely beautiful here. We have had a lovely day of rock and roll, yummy food (I brought the fruit salad, there were hors d’oeuvres and then ribs and corn for dins, SO GOOD) and Bear the dog nipped me when I dropped something and went to pick it up. It was no big deal but I’d forgotten he’s a reactive little dog.

Heard Ravens croaking.

Like I said, lovely.