Author: Allegra

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

Doug and Elly

Yesterday was quite the day for meals (which I did not have to cook). For Brunch, Jeff and ScaryClown and I sucked back an Islands inflected breakfast at the Reef on Main street and then took a tour of the shops; for dinner Doug cooked a magnificent roast lamb with greek salad, greek style potatoes (oh…my… god they were good) and hummus, pita and tzatziki.  I even drank red wine and didn’t get a migraine.  Keith and Jeff accompanied me on that trek to the golden kitchen of Doug.  As always, the soundtrack at their place is amazing.  I never go over there but that I think I want to live there!

When asked, why return to Toronto, Elly had a few comments.  It is home.  Her mother’s dying of emphysema (not that Elly means to get close to her or effect a reconciliation after all the crap…).  It’s closer to grandchildren; it’s closer to children; it’s closer to New York, where she is establishing a new chapter in her mental health career (her show went over really well).  Vancouver and her time in BC got her healthy, healthy enough that she tossed her journals.  (Why do I need them?  It’s just endless boohooing.  There’s no value in it.  Gave me a twinge about the blog, believe you me.) Doug’s career is portable, as is hers. And the maraschino on top is getting out before the Olympics.  Grr.

Doug showed off his new insulin monitoring device; he says if he can reduce the number of injections from four to five a day to one every three days he’ll gladly participate in the research.

When Jeff and I moved in here I whined about how I didn’t have any cast iron frying pans.  Well, I do now; Doug and Elly are dejunking and I acquired two.  Shout out for Jeff who enquired if they were dejunking.  Keith may get the computer desk but he has to run it by Paul first.

I don’t have a picture of Doug’s new beard styling, but it rocks.  I do have pics of his pumpkin, and will post later …

Corrections to blogroll

I ran a report on broken links on my blogroll after Chipper noted that ScaryClown’s site is missing (I’ve since emailed him and asked him to send me the new link).  On the ScaryClown front, he’s off for two weeks and I’m hoping to a) creates some more of his incredible and crazy-ass sculpture and b) gets together with Jeff.

As always, if there’s something broken in any of the most recent stuff, say for the last month, let me know.  Links are rather ephemeral but the most recently posted ones should – should – work.

black cats fighting

Eddie and Bear, the downstairs neighbours’ cat, have been fighting.  Eddie got the best of the last encounter, but there’s a lot of black fur swirling around the bottom of the stairs.

We had HORDES of kids.  If we’re here next year (which I’m not planning on, but who knows) we will get WAY more stuff.  The neighbour kids (east side, not west side) showed up with no costumes, so I made them sing.

more pix later, but here’s me at work yesterday.  Note the ‘take the shot from above so you can’t count my chins’ look, but ya know I kinda like this pic!

Halloween prep….

Tonight I bought some more Christmas card fixings (I plan on making my own this year), met with Dax and Paul; took pictures of a white 1963 Signet Valiant RAGTOP with skull detailing and push button tranny;  and went to Dax’ place to pick up more or less the last of Katie’s stuff; collected some more Halloween decorations and stuff to hand out (Jeff already got’um pumpkin) as well as clothing items cribbed from Katie’s collection of wigger/goth stuff (handcuff and dice earrings in black and silver); and left my phone in Paul’s car.  He and Keith brought it back to me.  I also scored a pair of purple nitrile cleaning gloves – sexxay.

I also picked up pictures that Will took of me when I was nineteen.  I will scan the best of them and post them…. amazing.

Despite all this excitement I feel so blah words can’t describe it, so I’m leaving the mess as is for the morning and going to bed.  Tomorrow, excitement of many kinds will be ours, as Halloween BOOOOOyah takes the neighbourhood by storm.

Sneaky sneaky

I continue to be extremely sneaky – my most recent foray into sneakiness was telling my mandolin teacher “Lady Miss Banjola is a GEEENIUS!  Heer, I be showink you…” and then I played Tune Away…..

Anne immediately said, “Forward me the link, there’s somebody I gotta play that for.”  Ha ha!  Then I played her the Tapioca song via Youtube.  My extremely low key plans for world domination through music continue unabated.  And I met her husband – I only found out last week that he sits in the car and waits for her during her teaching gigs, and I was torn between being appalled and thinking, “aw, sweet!” so I went out and said hi.  Then I had a brief lesson and Anne and I shot the breeze for a while (it’s okay, hubby has a book and he’s used to much longer waits, apparently).

I met Kevin, a friend of Jeff’s, last night, and watched the two of them play 2009 EA Hockey (which is amazing, by the way) and found out that housing prices in Kelowna are just as stupid as they are in Vancouver, at least for the time being. Beer and Switzerland Chicken was consumed.  Robot Chicken was watched. Jon Lajoie was watched.  The hi-res version of Presto! was watched (and, to my unsurprise, I saw things I hadn’t noticed before, including that the rabbit’s name is Alec Kazam). Kevin belongs to a band called Grooveyard but since he’s likely moving back to the island with his wife and progeny, I doubt that band will live much longer.

And I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but Robof9 led me to believe that he was going to try to find me a nice middle aged man.  It used to be Single, Straight and Solvent, but these days I’m goin’ for best two in three.  What can I say, Robof9 is a man who laughs in the face of the difficult, and by sheer force of brains contrives to elude the grip of the impossible.

Next up:

Coffee

Wringing hands

One of the things I really don’t like about being far away from my friends, especially when they are in trouble, or troubled, or just plain flat out overwhelmed by events, is that I cannot hug them, make them tea, or tell them to their faces how wonderful they are….

For Tammy, I light a candle and hope that an intelligent, articulate man notices your strength, intelligence and love of life.  Sooner would be better.  And for once, please, Goddess bright, a guy who doesn’t shrivel into a little worm when you apply your brains and emotions to challenges!  Extra crispy wishes for knees to stay good through the France trip, although I’ll push you through the Louvre in a wheelchair if I have to.

For Carrie, I light a candle and hope that this parting turns into a new opportunity.  Damn, I had had such hopes for him….

For Deb, I light a candle and hope that my ‘advice’ is received as intended, and I sincerely hope that you get some surcease for the unrelenting amount of strain you’ve been under.  Hug Jim for me, hug Jenn for me, and pat Spence on the back; the menfolks have been awesome on this one.