Author: Allegra

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

Political punditry and conspicuous consumption

This dude takes on ‘bittergate’ – supposedly Obama’s bitter misreading of middle America.  As is frequently the case, the post is excellent and some of the comments are even better.

What kind of strange middle class fffreak am I turning into?  Going shopping at IKEA?  Yes, we bought a kitchen table and some kitchen shelves.  I rented the Montana (finally learned how to put the back seats down and up again, with some struggle) and we went to the Richmond IKEA and I have to say Monday evening around supper time is a way better time to shop there than the weekend.  The last time I was there on the weekend I thought I’d died and gone to a special corner of hell.  I’m glad Patricia suggested eating in the cafeteria at IKEA.  The food was excellent (they have a license! but of course I had a CAN car so I stayed off the sauce) and with milk and cookies and meatballs included it was 16 bucks for the two of us.
The car smelled funny.  I am almost inclined to get it detailed to try and offload the curious “what the hell is that?” aroma that is in the car.  The Prius was like that too, especially on a warm day.

After much delay, I’m off to see Katie K tonight.  What with her staging her condo and me moving, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other and we are long overdue for an earflapping.

There was snow at the same time the sun was out yesterday; then snow pellets; then this morning a skin of ice on everything.  Winter is clinging like a cast off lover with a personality disorder.  Except, of course, you can’t call the cops on the weather.  Even if you could, I can’t hear Mother Nature saying, “Don’t tase me, bro!”

Eddie has been to the vet, and now he has medicine.  The vet at Petcetera is pretty good and his staff are too, so says Jeff.

When I come home tonight, the furniture will be assembled.  I asked if I could help, and Jeff just looked at me like I’m nuts; being my brother he gets to do that a lot, since I provide loads of evidence that it’s true. Let us hope all the hardware is in the fracking box.

Man, is BSGs4 going to a dark place or what???

Watched Breach last night.  That was a damned good movie.  I may want to see it again sometime.   If you want to see a movie that has very little swearing, no graphic violence whatsoever and only one little bit of violence, no explosions and no car chases, but a gripping plot, good acting and a great script, check it out.
Shoot.  It’s 7am.  Time to don the gay apparel and grab the next shuttle to the mothership.

Food and family

Keith and Paul were here. We ate leftovers, but there were loads in the fridge, and then I made lovely rice pudding for dessert. I bet it’s all gone by the time we get home tonight.

Then we watched The Big Lebowski which is one Powerfully Strange movie, but very funny, and I thank Joe the fanboy for loaning it to us.
I wrote a tune on the mando yesterday. No lyrics, it’s all picking. It’s called Willie’s Lament. I did laundry and admired the activities of the 59000 Sun Runners on the psychic plane. Between 420 and the Sun Run there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going downtown yesterday.
Tonight, off to Ikea for a kitchen table.

The thrice-blessèd Jeff silenced the toilet (the noise alternated between hissing and a tick tick tick noise that made one think of a limpet mine), installed smoke alarms (the one that came with the house was wired into the AC and kept going off hoarsely at odd intervals) and put up cup holders so now we have Places to Hang Things in the kitchen.  He also got the internet running on the big screen in the living room which means we can now play Youtube Bingo where everybody can see it.  Honestly, watching Youtube videos with friends is a truly fine experience and with the wireless keyboard, you just hand it to the next person and see what insanity comes up.  Of course THIS is what he played first (lyrics not safe for work, and yes I previously posted it).  I heard the first few bars, started giggling and ran out into the living room.

I had a great three days off.  But I’m happy to be going back to work.  Sick, hunh?

And today is

420

So there will be the usual gang of celebrants on the Art Gallery steps downtown.  I won’t be there.  Today’s the Sun Run; Peggy is participating, but I won’t be there either. I will be doing laundry and shuffling boxes around, and if I get myself together I will try to work on my June 1st atheism homily a bit more.  Also, I will take out my bike and do a small bicycle shop; I really should get panniers but I’ll borrow a backpack instead.  Keith is supposed to show up later, and I am looking forward to seeing him.

Shay, a family friend of Suzanne’s and thus of daughter Katie’s, has made the finals for the stand up comedy contest, and I will be going to see the show on the 24th, if the fates are propitious.  Gotta support those lady comics, you know.

Yesterday I watched Ana’s hummingbirds and Rufous hummingbirds dodge wet snow to slurp back syrup at my folks’ place.  The breeding plumage is so glorious.

Yesterday, the folks, Paul and I went to have lunch with Granny.  I am so very lucky to still have a Granny to go visit; Paul adores her and couldn’t go to Victoria without dropping in on her.

The biscotti are practically gone.  They don’t keep, you know.

Dinner last night was grilled chicken breasts, salad and steamed cauliflower.  Still no cheese, must fix this soon…

It’s supposed to snow today, which is odd, because it’s GLORIOUS weather out there.

various

  1. The Willie P Bennet Memorial event went off hitchless, magnificent, and a credit to the participants.  Goddess bless the James Bay Coffee House and all who frequent it! Paul and I got through the set without embarrassing ourselves and Paul received praise for his fingerpicking.
  2. Peggy showed up the second we cleared the door of the coffee house.  I hugged her twice, I was so happy to see her.  And she crashed her at my folks’ and then I got her to the ferry for the 7 am (which was the reason she crashed here, because if she’d stayed at Pondside that would have been somewhat harder logistically).
  3. Yesterday after we made town I saw the Pondside crew and met a small horde of Devon Rex cats.  I didn’t understand their charm until I met them.  I nearly kidnapped Spice; what a cat!  Suki recognized me and sucked up to me something fierce.
  4. I gave Juliana a copy of the Interfilk auction video I took in January.  w))t!  No, you may not see it.  Private. Also screechingly hilarious.  Ha.
  5. John introduced us to the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian Buffet restaurant on Head Street in Esquimalt.  Man, the food was AWESOME and I am so glad to have had njera again. That is some seriously great bread.
  6. My folks are doing famously and we and Paul are going to head to Granny’s place and have lunch with her today, and then leave for the ferry from there.
  7. All in all so far this weekend has been a spectacular success and I wish I could put the feeling I got when I saw Peggy in a bottle and uncork it whenever I feel sad.  I thought my heart would burst with joy when I turned and saw her with her best mischievous expression. 
  8. Peggy brought Tom’s blackberry jelly, two jars.  Loki pronounces himself well satisfied with a house guest who only appears to deposit blackberry jelly on his kitchen table (he didn’t see her as we were in late and out so early).
  9. Did I mention the Willie P memorial was a rousing success?  That was, after all, the point of the exercise.  But it seems that we may weave extra happiness into our days by availing ourselves of the fleeting opportunities as they pass, and by feeling grateful.  I know that I’m very, very grateful right now.  For my health, my family, my job, my friends…. and frankly, screw the weather.  You can’t have everything.

butterflies

I’m going to go perform in public so of course I have butterflies…  Peggy has decided to come as well (separate conveyances) and so I asked my folks if she could crash there rather than at Pondside and my folks said yes.  (Lots of room at Pondside, but I volunteered to crawl out of bed early to get her to the bus.)  Pondside, in case you need to know, is where Dr Filk and his madly filking&recording landpeers live.

Last night I went to Superstore and did a small shop.  Forgot bread and cheese.  Duh.  Jeff picked me up and then I cooked salmon steaks, corn and bok choi, with strawberries, bananas and cream for dessert.  Yeah, I got my cooking mojo back after a slack couple of days.  Jeff has acquired a barbeque (Paul has kindly agreed to help him fetch it as the MR2 is a tad parsimonious of cartage room) and we are now looking forward to seared meat on the back deck in the hottest days of the year when you don’t want to be cooking indoors anyway – and believe me Vancouver gets smoking hot in the summertime.

I have just finished the first bake and slice of the biscotti I have been requested to bring to Victoria.  The ones on the top rack are almost but not burnt – the bottom rack biscuits are pretty close to perfect. I guess I am still not one hundred percent with this stove.

Neglected to mention that Jeff and Mike were much amused, last Friday, that they both liked the MR2 and were making tentative plans for a car swap and drive up to Pemberton or some such place…. hope I can come for the ride!  It’s such beautiful country up there.

I was supposed to go with Katie and Suzanne to a comedy show last night in New West, but I was bagged from an emotionally draining day at work (good emotions are draining, too) and knew I had to do a shop and some cooking.  Alas that I canna be in three places at once – I wouldn’t have minded seeing Glenn, either.

Watched a good chunk of Movies 101 last night which is essentially a very long and extremely sympathetic interview with Martin Scorcese.  Jeff and I kept looking at each other and saying, “Scorcese directed that??” or mentioning the Scorcese movies we’d seen that the other hadn’t.  I LOVED the Last Temptation of Christ and Raging Bull.  Jeff hasn’t seen either of them, but he has seen New York New York and Gangs of New York.  I haven’t seen Taxi Driver.  Okay, I guess I have a lot of those movies in my future.  Boxcar Bertha is inbound from zip…..   Barbara Hershey and David Carradine???  mmmm’kay.

Then some Deadwood.  We got up to the part where Woolcott does his nasty deed and Cy bails him out.

Time to get biscotti out of the oven…

the house smells heavenly.

Time to pack…. and feed some butterflies.

Ten things I love about Vancouver

  1. Pacific Cinematheque
  2. The view from Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area at sunset.  The view from practically anywhere.
  3. O My God the food.  Amazing restaurants, not too expensive.
  4. Really helpful passersby for every vehicular crisis I’ve ever had
  5. I have always received excellent care in any GVRD hospital emergency department
  6. Watching men in turbans eat with chopsticks.  wOOt.
  7. Sitting in the front seat of the new Skytrains.
  8. Watching the mighty Fraser.
  9. The Commodore!!!
  10. Pride Day!!!

Ten things I hate about Vancouver

  1. Driving in Richmond, except close to the airport
  2. The combination of rain, wind, darkness and pedestrian invisibility which constitutes winter around here
  3. Crow conventions outside my window just before dawn on the one day I can sleep late.
  4. Drivers who seem to have mistaken their sex lives for their driving – you know, fast, loud, unsafe, clueless and like they’re the only one there.
  5. The escalators at Granville station.  Vertigo, vertigo.
  6. ESL students.  I don’t mind that they can’t speak English, but they walk really slowly and throw garbage around like they’re getting paid to.
  7. Ferry lineups. 
  8. Guns n tasers on the fracking Skytrain.
  9. Transit sucks for the airport.  We are so mickey mouse it’s unbelievable.
  10. Homelessness.

Fur

Yes, there’s a lot of it.  Eddie is shedding, and I occasionally try to help the process along my taking a big brush and loosening it up….

Eddie is a very bizarre critter.  He LIKES having his fur vigorously rubbed the wrong way, including on his stomach.  For virtually every other cat I’ve ever met, such activities would result in a quick trip to the bathroom while dripping blood and cursing, but Eddie explodes into a 30 decibel purr and swims sideways across the carpet.

Gizmo came into my room last night.  I hoped he’d jump up on the bed, but instead he crawled under my desk and batted some loose cabling around until I sternly said, “Gizmo… beat it.”

Duh

Some female is posting her marital grievances on Youtube.

I keep tripping over it on the inertnest (click here and see this), and I’m just not going to go there.  I won’t watch it, I won’t comment on it.  I just really don’t know how many more apocalyptic signs we’re supposed to absorb before whatever happens happens, y’know?
I am Legend is playing, and you know, I just can’t deal with these critters always jumping out at Will so I’m playing on my computer instead.  It’s not a bad movie, I just am jumpy right now.