Category: Family

Saturday housefilk Lazy Sunday

Sunday wasn’t actually 100% lazy, we put the awning back up in the back deck. They did SUCH A SH*TTY JOB of power washing. Water POURED into the house and soaked some rugs and wrecked some laundry soap. Jeff exposed me to ER, which I never got to watch because Paul and I didn’t have cable for most of the time we lived together.

Saturday, the housefilk was totally amazing; Jeri Lynn and Jeff came up from Seattle and so there was CELLO and BASS and DULCIMER AND 12 STRING and BANJOLA and OCTAVE MANDOLIN and 6 STRING and OCARINA and BODHRAN and we sang played ate drank mint tea, rinse repeat, until almost 11 pm. THANK YOU TOM AND PEGGY FOR HOSTING, my place next Saturday. Cousin Lexi was there and she choked with laughter when we played a Habitrail named Klein.

Today I’m going to have lunch with Dustiny (I am joking with his name) and I’m looking forward to it as I am already planning to order Butter Chicken with extra cilantro.

Today I am baking biscotti and working on some other money making stuff. Also since I’m in the mood, more song notation. (It goes much faster when I am not forcing myself).

Everybody have a lovely day!

roundup

Mohenjo Daro one of the (in my view) current wonders of the world, is dying, disappearing, thanks in part to the poverty and incompetence of the government in charge of it.

A great collection of reaction gifs, some not safe for work.

If you want to find out what an ultra-thin and flexible BRDF [bidirectional reflectance distribution function] is, follow this link.   safe for work

This is no way to greet the dawning future, except that it is true.  safe for work.

I spoke to Lois, Kaitlin’s mother, last night (thank you Keith for arranging that).  She is doing about as well as can be expected. I don’t have much more to say.  I mostly listened.  I am very thankful that she has the support of so many family members and friends right now.

 

Roundup

Anderson Cooper has finally come out as gay.  We can now go back to our normally scheduled, completely unwarranted and entirely jejune speculations about the sexuality of other people we don’t know.

South Vancouver Island has something called a (link removed for security) Permablitz.

Slap me on my ass and send me to Mars.

And there was a silence in the internet …. darned leap second.

Wow, a guide for moving back home.

Apes with Apps.

 

a little bit of ever’ting

It was a solstice party (1 pagan in attendance, check), a housefilk (whenever two or more of you are gathered together in the name of the typo, amen), a hootenanny (small children running around and massacring harmonicas and tambourines while Tapioca is cooked), a religious/cultural interpersonal therapy session as we sang the hums of our people (Falling Free, Frobisher Bay among others), an impromptu poly gathering (6 people in attendance openly poly, plus lurkers), a-a-a-and a shameless attempt on my part to get everybody to compliment me on my sheer good sense for buying Otto.  Who is a boy, Katie K confirmed it.  She also arrived with a housemate in tow and La Merveilleuse Tillie‘s fraking awesome rosemary infused vodka/vermouth libation, which despite the no drinking rule I tasted cause I had to.  And I ain’t sad to.  I’m glad to.  Still a taste left, if ScaryClown comes over tomorrow I’ll feed him some.  Stayed away from the beer, but Mike left 3 in the fridge, so at least I haz some to offer guests. Day before yesterday I made biscotti, and then shared them out liberally at the party, sending some home with the LET’S SING SONGS ABOUT DEATH (literally her first words when she unpacked the bass) Peggy  and the ever useful and opinionated Tom. Also dispensed biscotti to Mike, who sang The Weight (ah, the piercing harmonies!) and Tomorrow Wendy,  and to Rozo, who spectated with that sleepy and mischievous smile I’ve gotten so fond of.  The glorious and unabridgedly awesome Cindy added that special soupçon of harmonious madness without which no housefilk can be characterized as ‘good’.  Or is housefilk like sex and pizza?  ah, erm.  Anyway, we sang zombie songs (dead people), Frobisher Bay (freezing to death), Tomorrow Wendy (which has lots of death in it), Dead Flowers (roses on your grave), and really really kept the theme of somgs about death on track more or less by accident.  Paul sang Last Page and Cindy sang Runtime Error, Type Mismatch so Lady Miss B was there toooooo. Although regrettably not in person, possibly because I neglected to invite her?  Duh.

I cleaned my house and wrote a song yesterday, and people came over and we laughed and chatted and sang and played.  Success!  My brother has been feeling meh but not enough to crimp fun (he slept in the guest room, but Eddie the wonderkitty kept him company).

Due to overwhelming popular demand (two facebutt friends), I will be setting words to my new song, which is the third I’ve written in the Game of Thrones universe.  My Needle and I, and Funeral March of Lord Tywin (instrumental) were the first two.  This one is called The Maid of Tarth.  Oh Otto, you are demanding instrument, but I will rise to the challenge.  And now I realize that it’s 4 GoT songs, I forgot about Sam the Slayer.  When I get into a Universe I seriously fracking commit.

Now…. how do I keep my house clean enough so I actually throw housefilks more than twice a year? I mean apart from a chartreuse flamethrower and a tank of oxygen….

Sunday sundae

Taught myself a dodge for the Em chord so I can now play Uplift, which blew Paul away when I played it for him.  Also taught myself (not that it was hard) the Sublime version of By the Rivers of Babylon.  In the morning, going to pick up Carol for church (her family no longer has access to a car), being publicly humiliated in church and shrugging it off, breaking down in tears lighting a candle for Voyager which is currently on the edge of the heliopause.  Then the new minister’s sermon, which totally included the kids in a useful and intelligent way (wow, for that!!) Then the father’s day picnic, which took place indoors and I’m just as happy about that because I brought no chairs.  Then I remembered to grab something so it isn’t left in the church over the summer.  Then Paul volunteered to drive Carol home and Kathleen volunteered to close (Sue opened) and THAT’S IT FOR THE SUMMER.  Woot.  Then made some food and allowed Paul to bbq some salmon, which was just about perfect, and then met Katie’s beau. I had seen a pic but in person he is strikingly handsome (also unstupid, manners, you know the little things – and brave like hell for facing down our collection of wackos all in one go).  Enough said about all that; let’s just say that he proved to be very food positive and has a large capacity to eat salmon. Then called D. to ask about commercial kitchens – I’ll be setting up a meet with somebody this week.

Now to boring matters like my to do list.  Vacation’s over…..

More Katie

Spent a little time with Katie yesterday; we went out for pho and I brought her back here to get the last of her items out of the house.  At this point any of her debris field remaining is now good to go to the recycling.

Today, clean kitchen, run laundry, go to church.  Then maybe some practicing.

It was lovely to see Peggy and the Bean the other day. He is a busy boy.

 

One thing and another

I didn’t get as much done yesterday as I wanted to.  I did hear a piece of news that is still percolating through my system and making me very twitchy and uncomfortable, but it’s not something you go blabbing about if you want to stay friends.

I finally have a decent kitchen compost bucket; I’ve had my eye on it for a while and finally got over to Lee Valley (also bought Katie a decent kitchen knife, since as seems to be habitual in our family she didn’t have a decent one).   I also have a three instrument stand, which is good because I’ll finally be able to SEE all my instruments at once, and I got strings for the Octo.

A great blue heron just flew past my back door.  Due to habitat destruction in the lower mainland they are now nesting all over Burnaby around the lakes.  They used to have a huge rookery in Ladner but the farmer sold the land and all the trees were chopped down.  I’m seeing herons practically every day now.

Batch of biscotti is in the fridge preparatory to the first bake.  I owe Peggy big time so I will show up her place next with treetz.

I had dim sum with Katiekinder yesterday and I’m having something yummy with Sue today, as it’s been an age since I took her out for lunch.  I’m headed down to her place around noon.

After that I’m headed over to Paul’s place for some practicing.  This time we’re drawing up the set list FIRST.  The last session was incredibly frustrating, because the two of us just noodled like idiots.  When Cindy and I were practicing – and I wish that darlin’ woman would return my phone call, except I have a feeling that one of her kids has that phone – we had a set list and we worked the damned thing and even then we weren’t nearly rehearsed enough at the day.

So it’s on my list of things to do.  A Canonical Set List for Paul and Allegra.

I had a dreadful nights’ sleep, but I’m smoothly applying coffee.

I have written out The Wreck of the Margarita.  Also changed the words around.

Lists of lists

Yesterday:

Heaps of Stargate Atlantis, but also talking to the outplacementthingy and the HR gal at Schneider as it turns out I had NOT actually signed everything I was s’posed to, booking appointments, paying bills, getting programs to run properly with the new OS, hanging out with Keith and calling my mother.  Cause you cain’t call yer mother enuf.  I did not actually leave the house yesterday.  But I made cookies.  And cooked chicken and zucchini with black bean sauce over yakisoba noodles (Keith provided the sauce and noodles, I believe to nudge me to make something) and we had leftovers so that’s one less thing to disturb me today.

Today:

Gotta get Buzz set up properly and restrung.  Also buy more instrument stands, hopefully one of those threeway bluegrass ones for three different sized instruments.  Also I am tired of my tuner; I am going to get contact tuners because balancing that black box in my lap while trying to keep fretted instruments from sounding like the wailing of the damned is TOO DAMNED MUCH.  See how low my frustration tolerance is these days?  Ha.

The Grass.  This is exactly the kind of weather that makes grass tall, lush, and impossible to cut.  Lots of overcast and rain off and on with the occasional blinding sunshine.  Very, very occasional.  If it dries out the least bit I gotta do it before it attempts to eat east Burnaby.

Checking with Kathleen that we’ve paid the church rent and figuring out how much it is (it changes from month to month) if we haven’t yet for May. Also getting hold of Lady Miss D for an interview about what it’s like to bake / construct hors d’oevres for a living.  I will probably bake biscotti, it’s such a crappy day, heating up the kitchen with nice smells seems like a plan. I already made Granny’s recipe oatmeal cookies mit chocolate chips this morning for Jeff (I can’t eat them because le migraine keeps whacking me.  I’ve had scintillating scotoma every day for a week now… it’s fraking tiresome although late last week I got visuals I’ve never seen before; imagine rainbow coloured fish scales about two inches across at arms length dancing across your ENTIRE visual field – and it disappeared as fast as it came on thank goodness). I’ve also loaded the dishwasher, taken out the trash and played with Margot, who did not actually come in and cuddle this morning, darn. Her eyes are much less disgusting, the allergies must be lightening up somewhat.

Completely dejunking my head, a la Getting things Done.  I have a program (Thinking Rock) that helps with that.  Considering how many balls I’m going to have in the air for the next little while I need to marshall my time intelligently.

Deal with the exercise issue.  I’m completely on board with Lady Miss Banjola’s recent extremely useful and heartfelt rant about weight loss; what I am not on board with is actually stirring my stumps and getting enough exercise to overcome the fact that my weight is stressing my whole body.  IT AIN’T THE MASS IT’S THE MOTION.  Ahem. As in, the lack of it.

Booking the camping trip in the US in August.  Planning a circuit of the Island.  I have a strong urge to drive onto a ferry and go to Haida Gwaii, and precious little to stop me.

Just last week I was saying how I wasn’t going to go to Jericho any more because it’s so far on a school night.  Now I’m thinking I can do it every week for the whole summer!  Woot! So that may be my evening.

And soon the Dandy Warhols.

I have had precisely four beers since I ‘quit drinking’. What I have learned.  Alcohol makes me happy for about five minutes.  Then it irritates my bladder, fogs my thinking, prevents me from driving or leaving the house, screws up my nights’ sleep, makes my stomach hurt and gives me a mild to moderate feeling of wretched blankness the next morning which coffee can usually shake off.  So for the purposes of keeping tracking June 4 is now my official quit drinking date.  Unless it would be rude not to (a wake, toasting the bride and groom) I’m not going to consume alcohol any more.  Nothing bad has happened in its absence except I’m spending a sizable amount less (like, 200 dollars a month, which is not an inconsiderable amount).

 

Evening at the Heritage

Mike, Rozo, Jeff, Katie and I consumed bevvies (I had one Carlsberg and you may all laugh, I feel quite hungover) and ate nommies and listed to live music last night at the Heritage.  Who’d’a thunk we’d actually gerroff our asses and go out someplace?

Also yesterday Katie K called me up having read my facebutt post on my unemployment.  People are being very civil to me about it and I’m finding it quite heartwarming.  We had a lovely long chat and how good to hear her voice.

Today I’m going to make more lists, practice my mandolin. watch some Stargate Atlantis episodes, drink coffee, commune with my cat by waving long stalks of grass in front of her face and commiserate with my daughter about how the first day of her 11 days off is such a sucky day, as we have “BEACH” on our list of things to do and the weather is uncooperative.  Also, trip to the Island at some point.  Also, shopping trip to the US possibly. (I don’t actually intend to buy anything but I can always provide the wheels.)

Christ, gas prices.

Upgraded the MacBook’s OS to Snow Leopard yesterday.  It was lengthy, but painless.  This will hopefully stop all of my various programs from saying I’m running an outdated version of things.  I can’t tell any difference but I suppose that’s the point.  Everything seems to be working okay.  I have to say I have been completely underwhelmed by the attitude of the MacStation employees when you walk into that store on Brighton…. their cold dead eyes, their complete lack of enthusiasm to see you.  Impressive tattoos, though.

I have a deep deep hankering for doubles today from D Roti Shak.  I will get some, but I think I’m also going to learn how.  It’s a fried bread chickpea sandwich, how hard could it be?

I also have a deep hankering for more cinnamon buns, so I suppose after the dishwasher quits swishing and clanking I should fire up the breadmaker.

Jeff enjoyed my foray into chocolate chip cookies, but my brain is not enjoying chocolate at the moment so the next cookies will be Granny’s oatmeal cookies so we can both have something to enjoy.  I am thinking of making them as refrigerator cookies so as to avoid having to cook a whole batch at once.

I introduced Miss Margot to Miss Kira yesterday morning. Margot came out to the front porch with me so I scooped her up and tossed her in the car.  She attempted to jump up on the extremely slippery dash, with comic results, and then settled into the passenger’s side footwell with nary a cry nor peep.  Kira was mewing like crazy as I came up to the door but it died in her throat when she saw Miss Margot, who dashed for the cat tree and then the entertainment system as likely places to hide.  I fed Kira and when I called Margot she came out from the entertainment center (working her way through a bunch of loose wires, which looked pretty funny) and I picked her up and took her to Kira who sniffed at her thoughtfully but didn’t fluff her tail or make any noise.  Margot growled like a watch ticking, so faint if I hadn’t been holding her I wouldn’t have noticed.  Then I stuffed her back in the car, she got back in the footwell, and seemed very relieved to be at home when next I popped the door open.  I find it interesting that she cries if she’s transported in a carrier, but not if she’s just in the car.

Feeling better

Hung out with the beauteous Katie last night, and helped get more of her stuff outta my house and into hers. 

Ziva is running so well I’m wondering when the other shoe’s gonna drop.

Sun!  Sun! Sun!  It’s a pleasant change.

Paul was going to take me to lunch yesterday and then realized he’d double booked himself.  I hope we get together soon, I just figured out how to play “It takes a lot to laugh it takes a train to cry” on Otto.  This mandolin sounds so fucking good I get shivers every time I play it.  I practiced “My Needle and I” as well as the foregoing.  Morning music exercises are good fer brainz.

Awww

This is a VERY inspiring video.

Yesterday Paul and I helped move concrete.  My reward was yummy veggies and a de-alcoholized Becks.  We got to see Brian and Chari (Brian sucking back coffee and watching us work because he just had a hernia operation and Trent thought he was saying it for laffs but I saw scars.) Big tummy time with Shannon, who’s expecting another boy, which makes me happy, because Jerome and Shannon are an awesome couple and they will grow fine men.  Learned that Braden likes the Marine Band harmonica I got him, and got back Jeff’s containers (only took me a year).

Keith and Katie were here last night.  I am quietly happy, but JICOAB, my whole body hurts today.

Now to church and to get a veggie platter along the way.

I used to be a catastrophist, but I’m all right now

I hear through the grapevine that Keith found a job.  I am so glad to see my kids get their feet under them.

I think Jeff is going to win our contest.

I will be hanging with friends and doing churchy things this weekend, so I am looking forward to a restful time.

Jeff and Katie and I attempted to watch Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and I just got up and left after half an hour.  The kid was amazing but the rest of the movie sucked.  Apparently a lot of people hated the kid, but I sure didn’t.

I hung the Labyrinth quilt at my desk today, as the Tree of Life had to go back to Katie.

Hugs for the hordes of people who appear to be having mental health problems these days.  I am actually struggling towards a composure which has a modicum of happiness in it, which is a blessed and marked improvement over last year.  Vitamin D for the win, folks.  Most of us aren’t getting nearly enough, and you can’t be sane without it.