Lovely indoor walk with Paul yesterday at Lougheed. He seems very beaten down and oppressed by his illness but cheered up for the walk. It always cheers folks up to eat, so we got some lo mai gai, which was particularly fine in comparison with previous outings, and there was a lone har gaw in there because they were out of enough lo mai gai to fulfil my order, and the hot and sour soup was as good as I ever remember it being there. We went to Cobb’s but I didn’t buy treats, just spongy crusty white bread which is my kryptonite for stuff I’m s’posed to lay off for my liver.
Category: Masks
COVID resources from Jessica Wildfire
Number 1: Thirty-odd COVID studies and links.
Number 2: Twenty-odd studies regarding COVID and the immune system.
Number 3: Immunity ‘debt’ is NOT a thing. 20+ links.
Number 4: more than twenty studies about HOOBOY masks.
Number 5: Mask purchase links.
Number 6: Air quality 20+ links.
Number 7: ze whole shebang.
I said it on twitter
As my dear old Onty Mary says, “I’ll quit wearing a mask and self-isolating when they quit trying to kill me.” Closest I’ve been to her in three years was 3 m and we were both masked.
This in response to a friend IRL commenting on the events she is not participating in because of the cavalier attitude of the organizers towards masks.
Now I know Mary never said those exact words, but the sense is correct.
Eggs over easy on sourdough muffins for brekky. NOM
imagine that
The Public Health Czar for Ontario told the hospitals to drop the mask mandate.
Every
Single
One
Said
Fuck
Off
Keir.
An amazing snub, well done folks.
Tea and toast
Woke up just after three after a restful sleep. Three kudos on my dashboard this morning. Always fun to see what people are reading. Another person has subscribed to my mailchimp account for UPSUN as well. In addition I logged into dreamwidth (the ‘replacement’ for live journal for people who don’t want all their data stolen by the Russians) because I really wanted to read something one of my filk buddies has posted and …. I hadn’t posted since 2018. uff dah. I posted. It was sad having to mention that Tom had died.
Worked on the fanfic a bit, not much. In the portion I just wrote one of the brothers is teasing the other about his new relationship and I very much enjoyed writing that because one of the great wellsprings of Supernatural fanfic is the abiding love (and shittalk) between the bros… it’s very easy to write the shittalk because they are constantly teasing each other (and would die for each other).
Still not experiencing hunger and thirst properly. It’s very strange to be forcing myself to eat, unless it’s something sweet.
The wind is gusting hard and it makes the plastic siding creak in an alarming way.
Ryker’s got a mucousy cold, poor wee tyke. Alex is a snot factory whether he has a cold or not. Just sayin’.
Had to shovel again; the lack of walkway salt was mitigated by the fact that it started raining and melting, so we didn’t get freezing rain. Lawks that was one big raccoon we got through the property night before last though, HUGE pawprints.
It’s very pleasant to no longer be required to run a heater all night in my room. It’s quite pleasant in the house now.
Well, I boiled water but I haven’t made tea, and the toast is still waiting for my work, so time for some foodicles and to start my day. FIRST TASK. Wrestling my weighted blanket back into its cover. This will literally take me half an hour as it’s like a USB cable. First you attach the WRONG zipper, and then you attach the RIGHT ONE, IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, and then omg maybe THIS will work. Heavy sigh. Still haven’t put all my clothes away.
This morning my twitter feed is full of: Trans people commenting (still) on Matrix Resurrections, including the best tweet sized appreciation of it I’ve seen so far; disabled people saying CAN YOU PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL US BY NOT WEARING MASKS AND SHITTY POLICY; Glenn Greenwald, may the great Parent of the Universe buy him a fucking clue, saying how twitter doesn’t have the right to eject people from its platform cause free speech, when it’s already been established that it really isn’t. He’s defending Marjorie, by the way. Candidly, clownbag is too kind for that man.
The Cincinnati Beagles won the division (over KC). We did not see that coming. It was a weird game with some patently ugly and bad calls. I mean, how many times is it possible to repeat 4th down?
@ElSangito:
i understand finding matrix 4’s lack of subtlety grating but i would never wanna use metaphors again either if the metaphorical allegory i wrote before got co-opted by far right patriarchal fascists whose whole thing is to eradicate my entire people
happy Christmas everyone
Yup, a day whose importance has deflated like a cluster of birthday balloons blown into a ditch has arrived again. I haven’t wrapped a present or done any running around. I haven’t prepped a turkey or assembled the mass of vegetables to peel that oppresses the groaning board. The dining room table remains covered in filk memorabilia, craft cruft and a thousand piece puzzle (Jeff finished the edge). I don’t have to work, be responsible, be hospitable, put on a spread, worry about snax, worry about entertainment, worry about a gathering during a pandemic.
Rob W showed up briefly yesterday with firefly and snowpiercer comics! We mourned for his coworker, killed while moving poles for an electric bus (by another worker in their bus). translink is OF COURSE being remarkably silent about it and Rob, who drove bus in this part of solh temexw (remember? pronounced Sole te mawk) said he always hated doing it because you’re outside the bus and even more vulnerable than usual. I gave him a piece of Sugru (rubber moldable glue, incredible stuff I’m sure he’ll find a use for it) and two KN95 masks, one of which he promptly broke, so I’m glad I gave him two. I provided him with the address at Caspell Junction. Then he mentioned he’s got heart surgery on the docket but not scheduled yet (ablation, ouch). I warned him that COVID is severely fucking with surgery waits. Then we mourned for Tom for a while, exchanged a couple of flying anecdotes (mine about writing a fanfic with soaring in it, and him about ‘landing out’ as in right out of Germany (he was paragliding) and walking home from France, somehow without attracting the attention of the gendarmes) and parted on friendly terms. We were both masked the whole time he was here and Jeff closed his door. Yes, I know showing up unannounced during the plague is not optimal, but what is in these parlous times and I did immediate upgrade his mask.
We both spent a minute just flapping our gums over the last communique about the plague from the government and Doc Henry. Like who the fuck cares, the hospitals are full, N95 masks are unavailable except at ‘this is what is charged during wartime’ prices, people are lining up to be tested using inadequate masks, test kits are unavailable, disabled people are left at the side of society to die unimpeded and thousands of people are at risk of freezing to death on the streets of Vancouver this week. Yup, Merry Christmas we get wished from a bubble of vacuity. Nothing she says means a fucking thing as long as universities and schools are forced to stay open. Maybe she hopes this omicron wave will burn out in six weeks like it did in Gauteng province. I’ve long since given up trying to understand the rationale for the bs.
I picked up a few treats yesterday while I was out getting my BP meds at Guardian (jammed past pandemic standards with anxious people seeking booster shots…) which included FLORENTINES four of them, strangely available at the butcher shop on 6th, Jeff asked for something caramelly and that was as close as I could get, a beefsteak for a steak and eggs brekky this am, six Timmy Hos donuts, and two handpies (strawberry rhubarb) for Jeff. So that obviously means that I walked two k in the slush and muck yesterday but the traction wasn’t bad and I was having a good balance day so walking home a bunch of groceries while I got a little out of breath was certainly manageable. I leave the walking stick by the door in case I’m having a wobbly day, but I’m getting a lot fewer of those…
Okay, time to get the steak out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. I think I’m just going to bake it, the idea of standing to cook it for any length of time simply appalls. I’m about to blow through two days worth of salt consumption in one go, better make it worthwhile….
¯\_(?)_/¯
Happy Sunday
Above noted needlework rondel of two skeletons looking at each other and shaped like a heart from @AnythingSews on twitter.
Mini turkey patties on breakfast muffins this morning. The sweet Walla Walla onions are in season now so that plus a slice of havarti cheese and it’s food! Hardly any effort, and the turkey mince got to mingle its flavours for a day longer while I got ‘round to cooking it.
The 2021 Heat Dome Round II is now over. Hopefully 500 senior citizens extra didn’t die this go round.
I’m working on writing and interspersing that with watching the Keith and Kate show, transferred 8mm video from the 80s….
Sign says MASKS REQUIRED . If you are standing either inside or on the patio, please wear a mask. Once seated (drinking or eating) we do not require you to wear a mask
If you cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition, ask yourself if you should be going to a bar\restaurant during a pandemic. If you are making up a medical condition to avoid wearing a mask, please don’t, none of us have the patience to deal with your crap.
another beautiful day at the Foreshore
I SAW A NEW MAMMAL YESTERDAY
Yes, it’s worth yelling about.
And now I want to rant for such a long time, but I won’t. It has a white guy’s name.
I saw a townsend’s vole. And you know what else!? I saw it for perhaps 1.5 seconds as it ran from the water’s edge to the cover of the rushes and IDENTIFIED IT AS A VOLE RIGHT AWAY. No hesitation. Just THAT’S A VOLE at the top of my lungs. Despite the fact it was about twice as big as any I’ve ever seen in life…
Do you know how often I get to see a new mammal? Last time was the bobcat and that was the November before the November before the pandemic.
The critter was EXACTLY as I remembered it when I looked it up less than two hours later. Only difference was it had been tooling around in grey green mud so he was a little closer to the grey green end of the spectrum, not a wholesome plump brown like the illos.
No masks. Paul still wanders WAY TOO CLOSE to people, that man’s going to get himself a faceful of virus one of these days. I try to keep 6 feet, outdoors or no.
Also yesterday I made Paul sit through all the work I’ve done to get a bird list with calls together for us for when we go through Deer Lake Park. We ate Mike M’s chowder, which he dropped off Sunday night and how good it was to see him.
Continued writing, about 500 words yesterday and the same this morning so far.
Buried in ants in the kitchen. Something must be done.
the man at the food truck
This is a picture regarding the mask policy at a food truck. It reads
MASKS GO OVER MOUTH & NOSE
it’s been a year, I could potty train a dog faster than this.
I forgot it You won’t hear me I can’t breathe
GO GET IT be LOUDER Grow up
where no good deed is punished HEY mOm
Jan says through Instagram OMG allegra.sloman This is the best package of fabric off cuts EVER! Holy crap, my brain is spinning with all the things I can do with these… thank you, my darling, for a much needed surprise and the excellent mood elation! So gorgeous and rich. I will do your mum proud.
And now I must ponder how to best utilize the space babes…
here’s the pic, photo credit J Maxwell, from instagram
Hey mOm isn’t that a little shot in the arm!? I decided I wasn’t going to do anything with and actually gave it to someone who could and the world is now officially a better place.
aw shucks there’s more
she says she’s rich with opulent schmatta, these fell behind a chair LOLOL how can you tell she’s my fRiend
recording with Anthony
14 songs? We BLASTED through. I got cold again though, so I stopped since it was literally slowing me down mentally to the point I couldn’t sing and play.
He really liked the breakfast cookies.
wore masks
words and music and pictures
(c)Onflikt is this weekend. All the filking will be done on Zoom. I hope to see the Talis Kimberly concert at least, although I’ll likely need a nap for the hour it’s at.
11179 on Best Roommate. Hug scene today if I can deal with it (this is only going to mean anything to my faithful readermOm.)
Made flower rolls yesterday (and pork patties) and the flower rolls are ALL GONE.
Letters will go off to Mary and Jan M and someone else, can’t now remember, so I’ll probably do a small shopping expotition while I’m out getting sufficient postage on Jan’s package, since I’m almost out of milk.
Effective immediately, no more cloth masks, only N95 or K95 while I’m out. The new variant is incredibly contagious and even if I got COVID in March I can still likely catch and carry it.
I see that some of my pre-posted stuff popped up already, and I don’t really understand how that happened, but I’m going to tuck them back in where they belong if I can.
I’LL BE ABLE TO CONVERT MY MIDI FILES. That is an IMMENSE relief because without that I’d have a hard time filling the entire year of tunes.
I need to review my list of songs again. It’s like an amorphous blob of pulsating weirdness how I don’t actually have a grip on the number.
Mira Furlan has passed at 65 of complications of West Nile Virus. Her role as Delenn was iconic and amazing and she was a hero to both kids, when the grandparents exposed them to B5. Rest in power, Ambassador.
Hullo all
Allegra’s very good week continues! I got my eyes checked (onset of diabetes, BP etc) and they are VERY GOOD for 62 year old peepers. Little bit cataract in one eye, no biggie, the horrific slide in visual acuity has been completely halted, and I do not have vertical heterophoria, something that often accompanies ADD.
Walked to Planet Bachelor – a very pleasant walk, only a tiny spit of rain on the way home – and Keith cooked a vegan lunch, and they talked and I listened about the move, and they are all so excited and happy it’s just blowing my mind. I thought Paul might need some help but Katie, our matriarch-in-training, is acing it. They’re going to double pay for accommodations so they can take their time. I made some notes.
Suzanne’s ex-husband Bill died in the last few days. The story is not mine to tell. I called Suzanne and while I wasn’t so foolish as to think I could cheer her up after her loss, I did manage to take her mind off her troubles for twenty minutes and that’s not nothing. Two of her four kids are in crisis right now and this family news will not help. Please hit me hard if I complain about my children. Not everything is planning, there’s a lot of fate in there.
The family court date did not provide a resolution, and it’s now going to trial.
Mexican Gothic (by a local sci fi / fantasy / horror writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia) is FINALLY at New West library, I go to pick it up today. Jeff has biz in town so I’m hoping to do a brief tour of the retailers of New West to pick up a couple of essentials as well as the book
People are LOVING my Christmas arts! It’s pleasant to have had some fun with it.
Jan M MADE ME AND JEFF MASKS FOR CHRISTMAS!!! along with a card of a giraffe – her consulting animal – covered in scarves – lol – and the interior MERRY FUCKING XMAS which is absolutely lovely.
Tom
Tom had his surgery Friday and is recovering. His admirers are thinking good thoughts while we await his return to his usual brisk grumpiness.
This is the sign in the Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas.
Bed back together
I now have a fresh mattress on my bed. As I was putting the weighted blanket back in its cover, I became glad I have two covers thanks to the kids (they gave me an extra cover, I guess they know me or something) because the zipper broke on the winter-weight one. BUT I HAD A SPARE and carried on regardless. I’ll get the other one repaired.
I should call Burnaby pickup.
My west coast Indigenous style masks came. They look like this. and this. I was going to give the hummingbird one to mOm but I think I’m going to keep it, it’s fantastic, and I do love the other ones. And I is greedy. Anyway mOm if you do love the hummingbird one so much you have to have it, just make sure you wash it when I bring it o.O he he
I see from social media that cousin Alex is making a skirt for herself today, and as she wryly commented it was a better activity choice than doomscrolling through the news.
9859 10059 words on the fic
Weather continues unbelievably fine
scanged from twitter
Some son of a seacook stole my bank card details so TD fraud prevention called me and cancelled it and I went in to the New West branch to get another one. Much standing in line, but they come out and bring the elderly into chairs, so that was okay. Picked up batteries for the D’Addario tuner Mike bought me at London Drugs. Also some thumb drives, the 64 gig ones were cheap like borscht.
Poked my head into the New Westminster Library; there’s this writer called Silvia Moreno-Garcia I follow on twitter (I almost met her in real life but she’s TOO GOOD for spits (dunnett events) so No) and she’s forever going on and on and fucking on about a book she wrote called Mexican Gothic, so I put it on hold at the library. I poked my head into Freshii and got a strawberry banana smoothie – delightful, rather small, and not too sweet – and picked up some plant trays for the seedlings I’m growing indoors and finally moved them to their permanent spot in the only remaining south facing window, the one under the cat tree.
Walked about 1.5 k in total, and now I am home. Stayed masked the whole time, took the bus into New West and wandered around. You are obliged to wear a mask on transit now.