not a lot of money, but a really good day anyway

Katie is increasingly stoked about her camping trip.  Wish I could say where but we don’t want uninvited guests now do we…

The shop SMELLS OF BACON.

We experimented with a new soup recipe and it’s so simple and so tasty Katie and I are both doing the Snoopy happy dance.  We can haz cheezy broccoli soup!

It’s raining, and we don’t mind.  Only one more hour to go, and then I pick up Ziva (again) and we go to Costco (our home away from home) and then… ep 4 Band of Brothers with Jeff, since we are rewatching it.  SUCH A GOOD SHOW.

Gotye’s Heart’s a  Mess is playing on the shop sound system.

Yeah, so not so much revenue, but a good day anyway.  Regulars came by, newbies came by, I got my CRA letter off to the post box, all the fridges are behaving, I organized a bunch of receipts, wrote down the new recipe… and Katie’s crush forked over his phone number.  I can now let my breath out after a month.

I light a candle for a close family friend who just lost a baby.  I sucked in my breath when I heard she was expecting… she’s multi-risk.  And now she knows why women don’t announce pregnancies until they quicken.  It’s horrible, it’s sad, it’s completely messed up, and it is life in it’s glorypain.  She and her husband are going to lie low for a couple of days.  Hell of a thing to happen on Mother’s Day, god help us all.

 

 

Sundry and various

Brinicles. I had no idea such things existed.
Katie will be heading off for bloodwork this morning. She is fasting, and thus tired and cranky.
Izzy and I (the grandsnake) bonded nicely last night. He is one of the most hand tame snakes I ever interacted with, although I will never feel about him the way I feel about Speck, a little snake who hung out in my hat for an hour at a party, thus triggering the single funniest triple take I’ve ever seen in my life.
Margot is prowling around my room and quacking. Yesterday she got up in Creamy’s grill (he’s the Samoyed next door) by walking up to him when he was tethered outside, getting him to bark furiously, and then pelting away. What a jerk she can be.
Paul and Keith took me and Katie to supper last night at the Grand Buffet. In a stupefying and gratifying demonstration of customer service, the expensive sunglasses Keith left there a month ago were produced as soon as he appeared. You can bet Keith tipped the living shit out of those servers. The crab was particularly good.
I have found an internet radio station that plays bluegrass gospel, and it has no annoying commercials. That’s what we have on at the store now. It’s bright and bouncy and banjerrific.
Biz still slow and interestingly variable. Paul bought cherry biscotti, my latest creation, and took it to work, and there was much rejoicing. His work is going well. Per parental instructions I will be baking and shipping biscotti out to them by the end of the month.
All my friends from Ontario seem to be living through hellish times. I am not. I am having difficulties with certain aspects of my life, but these things tend to self correct. As mOm remarked, this too shall pass. In the meantime I have a loving family, a good place to live, choice friends, good health (even my back is whining less…) and the best stupid cat in the world. Hey, at least she’s keeping herself clean, although I still have to brush and de-eye-gunk her frequently.
I am now washing my hands forty times a day. It’s like acquiring OCD or something. Thank god for Uremol, and many thanks to LadyMissB for putting me on to it.
Off to work now.

My heart feels like it’s being squeezed by two subway car doors

But that is usual when you get freaked out by your to do list.  Paul and the kids and Jeff and I feasted at Chong Lum Hin yesterday. Dim Sum!  Gung Hay Fat Choi!

Katie saw Warm Bodies and loved it.

Margot is still shedding so massively that I can take a teacup of compressed fur off her every day with NO VISIBLE EFFECT.

Rob watched TSSIT and LOVED IT.  What’s not to love? Son also watched it and found it ‘adorable’.

Purim is coming.  In the words of the immortal Sean Haugh (a facebook friend of the libertarian/sf fan persuasion whom I have never met IRL).  (And you have to understand, I only friend non IRL people who are friends with at least six of my other friends).  “Purim is my favorite religious holiday bar none. A feast to celebrate the death of a tyrant, a religious service that comes with its own drinking game, and! the best cookies ever! Why Purim isn’t the biggest holiday on the calendar is beyond me.”

Here’s the Beacon Birthday Song lyrics!  Nobody from church reads my blog (thank GOOOOODDDDD) so I’m not giving anything away.

To think that it all started with committee work
These long years past
Some now here assembled came and did not shirk
And they had a blast
We are trying to help the world
All the little boys and girls
And the ones who aren’t sure which they are
Growing their theology
Becoming all that they can be
Knowing in their lives they’ll wander far
And Beacon will be part of who they are

All the controversies now seem very small
When we look back
It’s a miracle that we are here at all
With all that flack
Boards and staff in panoply
Ministers and homilies
Days when the presenter failed to show
Visits to the partner church
Pledges paid or in the lurch
Always wondering if we would grow
As if our wishing somehow made it so.

But it is no joke
To fight oppression’s yoke
Whether in the soul or in the street
What you think is true
Is shown in what you do
And sharing truth is really why we meet

Here’s to Beacon’s 30th, now raise a glass
And toast us proudly
Maybe all our dreams have not yet come to pass
Still we sing loudly
We can set up anywhere
Little but somehow we share
Knowing that our giving shows our love
The future holds its mystery
As we toast our history
And the peace that we’re all dreaming of
And the peace that we’re all dreaming of.

 

 

 

 

Big News, small news, glad news, sad news

I put a deposit down on the cafe yesterday.  So begins an enterprise.

Expert, schmexpert.

The only thing I don’t understand about the rogue LAPD cop Christopher Dorner is not why he hasn’t been caught – he will be, and I cheerfully predict that he’ll go quietly and not die in a hail of gunfire – it’s why nobody’s bought the domain name yet.

My fellow board member Audrey has lost her mother.  She was well into her nineties.  Blind Lemming Chiffon, when we had dinner at Conflikt, said that until you’ve lost a parent you can’t understand what it’s like.  That was also the same supper where he gave me the Ebay overview on what allows him to sell like a master, and where he recommended Searching for Sugar Man, one of the best and most astonishing music documentaries I have ever seen.

Jeff is having pie for breakfast.  He’s a rebel.

I was thinking (as I had another crying bout thinking about John last night) about loss.  I thought, “Ah, so selfish.  It is not my love for him that hurts me.  I will have that forever; I can’t stop loving him just because he’s dead.  I’m sad because he loved me, and he’ll never stop me from falling off a mountain, or give me a lift on his motorcycle, or make me laugh, or sing with me, or feed me or lift my spirits or be a familiar face in a crowd of strangers ever again.  And that is why I am sad.  Not because someone I love died.  It’s because someone who loved me died.”

I saw both of the kids yesterday, yay, and fed Rob and Keith as well as Jeff.  I made pork schnitzel, taters, broccoli and carrots, and there was a tablecloth and pie and two kinds of ice cream, so it was rather festive, even without beer.  I’ve gone off beer again.  There is a medical condition which I’m too polite to whine about in public which improves by about 30% when I don’t drink beer, and it definitely hurts the insomnia when I drink beer.  I just love beer and wish it wasn’t so mean to me.

It’s a fine axemurderer’s fog out there this morning.

Obviously I have a lot of work to do before Katie calls me for our trek up to City Hall, so I’ll get to it.

Duck Duck

 

A Christmas Duck not for eating.

Went to the job hut yesterday and I’ll see a career counselor today at 9.  I know how to write a resume and get interviews but since I’m not finding employment I’m obviously doing something wrong.  And when you’re doing something wrong, you have to stop doing it and get on the right track… you know, that stop digging advice.

O gosh the bean with bacon soup is amazing!  There is lots of yummy food in the fridge right now.

It is snowing very steadily and the wind has picked up.  V. glad I don’t have to cross a bridge today.

What would Jack Do and My Needle have gone off to the songbook compiler (Cindy!) for inclusion in the Conflikt 6 song book.  Hard to believe that John was still alive for the first Conflikt.  He sure brought the fun with him.  And I think he would have enjoyed SG1, and every time I write a new song I can see him rocking with laughter or listening intently (or going meh) as the song required.  I think also he would have approved of me finally practicing enough… speaking of which, another item on the to do list!

Paul gave me some coffee that he bought in Maui.  I made it really strong, but I haven’t had any yet so I think I will follow Jeff’s example (he said I made it like espresso).

Paul’s mum dislocated her hip.  Lois is with her now and Paul will be going later.  I hope she can stand the idea of assisted living; I know she’s still sharp and fiercely independent but sometimes the flesh does not cooperate with the spirit.

Watched the documentary about Boubakar Traore called I’ll sing for you.  Mali does not come across as a place I’d like to visit, although Dogon architecture kicks ass, and the guitar work (a Takamine!) is cherce. And too infrequent.  At one point, with no commentary, there are a group of pictures shown about the ‘grin’ (shebeen) movement and there’s a line of people, including a woman with a huge shiner, and I’m thinking, oh great.  I know, I can get downcast too easily.

The Dalai Lama’s book on interfaith dialogue is very interesting (Toward a True Kinship of Faiths).  He says that a global religion is both impossible and undesirable because of cultural and linguistic divisions, but interfaith dialogue is crucial because of the underlying human drive towards religion (or the numinous, or the feeling that we are all part of one big family).  Interfaith action enobles all religion.  (Yeah, as long as we’re not hating on queers…. and women…. don’t think I’m not seeing the lacunae, but I’m trying to elevate the tone here.) He talks about his relationships with other faith leaders, and what a naive little monk he was in 1956, when he first got exposed to other religious practices. He spends a lot of time on India as the model of interfaith dialogue, which is interesting, because they really have been doing it longer than everyone else.    He also talks about his understanding of the other major faith traditions and their similarities and differences… He also talks about how he wishes his English was better – he uses a translator for everything he writes in English.  Anyway, recommended.

an unusual discovery

Jeff was looking at the drives pOp gave him and there are slide shows.  Oh, yeah.  Here’s the best out of the lot.

Bean with bacon soup is simmering on the stove; I don’t have to cook any more today, yay, as there is lots in the fridge to eat and the soup will be ready by noon.

Snow has fallen – it was hailing earlier.

Jeff’s watching feetsball on the PVR and I’m trying to get my exciting song about bears recorded in some fashion.  I hear people scraping off cars.  I am amused.  I will salt the walkway now, it’s the fiendly thing to do.

 

AllegraJeffBalcony

New definition of fabulous

If we now construct the word fabulous to mean that ‘We did nothing, and enjoyed it immensely’ I had a fabulous visit to the parents’. My role as a grandchild deliverywoman is now complete.  Katie had a really good night of sleep, which is excellent because she hasn’t been sleeping too well.  I slept 8 hours continuously which must be a recent record.  I think one of the reasons I sleep so well there is because they keep the humidity set to “Human, rejoice!” as opposed to most gas heated homes, which in the winter time is “Human, all your mucous mebranes are belong to us!  Suffer!  Mwa ha ha!”

My blood sugar is 6.  My blood pressure is 136 over 88.  Not worrisome but it’s definitely time to take some weight off.  These are the kinds of things one learns when one visits parents!

I bought the What Colour is Your Parachute 2012 workbook, and it’s making me turn things over in my mind. I also bought yet another writing book.  I haven’t set a record, but I may yet.

Home made bean with bacon soup going to church with me today.  I extracted one bowlful for Jeff, as he said “Oo!” when he saw/smelled it.

Izzy is doing very well.  He’s eating every five days, and becoming quite hand tame.  He really likes Katie’s glasses.  He will be almost two metres long when he quits growing in a couple of years.

State Troopers of Connecticut have assigned a detail of Troopers to protect the families of the slain children and staff from unwanted attention.  This is in response to the crushing attention of the media, may they all experience the pangs of conscience, and the unindicted miscreants of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have promised to picket the funeral.  Given that the American public LOATHES the Westboro Baptist Church and is starting to get pissed off at the media, I think the response is fitting and an appropriate use of government resources.

Now I DEFINITELY need more coffee.  This is going to be a long day.  I am once again opening and closing at church and there is yet another interminable church discussion today.  If I get out of the meeting without offending anyone I’ll count it a plus.  HA HA KIDDING.  That’s half the fun.  NEED COFFEE.

Margot didn’t even respond when I came through the door last night (after a 6 hour journey, blech, thanks to the *ing weather in the Strait yesterday).

 

xmas cards

Almost 20 stamped, addressed and ready to go.  I concentrated on people at church who don’t come often and people I wanted to thank for their presence in my lives, including people I normally only interact with on facebook or elsewhere on the Internet.

also, mOm when you see this can I have mailing addys for Greg and Tracy, ontie Mary and Uncas Barry and Gary, as well as Phyllis?  I can’t find my mailing list from years past…..

Despite everything – unemployment, the weather, and other things one shouldn’t publicly relate – I’m in a really good mood.  I got a ‘wretched chore’ off my list yesterday and everything balanced to the penny, so I’m a happy happy girl.  Also, I went to London Drugs yesterday looking for Blue Heron Coffee and couldn’t find it.  Now normally I’d lose my shit and panic, but old age is causing me to do things like (literally, in this case) step back and look more carefully.  THEY CHANGED THE EFFING PACKAGING.  grr.  So then I looked, and there they were, for 8.99 A PACKAGE.  Normal price 14.99, normal discount and London Drugs 11.99.  I bought 5.  Glad I went! And if anybody from church is reading this, this is why I don’t buy coffee at church.  Plus I hate Spitfire Longbottom with a passion, it tastes like mud a Komodo dragon got busy in.

Also I dropped off more receipts at the accountants and I may actually get my taxes up to date, and I found the perfect gift for Jeff, which I have no intention of buying – it’s coasters made of Antarctic maps.  Jeff’s on a really serious “READ ALL THE BOOKS ABOUT ANTARCTICA” kick; he’s relating all the best anecdotes.

I still have to go to Surrey, but maybe I’ll combine it with another errand. A leathery or musical errand.  Or maybe I’ll just grimly go straight to my errand and come back.  Thinking about my mortality doesn’t please me, and thinking that my final resting place is going to be a funerary park in Surrey about blows my tiny mind.  Paul was so sweet – when I told him I was getting the cremation ‘package’ I bought back in 95 transferred to the Lower Mainland he asked if he needed to pay for it (there’s room for two in that niche, haw haw), and I said, “Considering we had a joint checking account in those days, uh, no…. you already did.”  And besides the separation agreement says we no longer owe each other anything, although I keep thinking I want to break into his apartment and steal the damned rug we bought on Pender Island.  I LERV DAT TING.

Margot is still playing “Go Home Fly You’re Drunk” in the kitchen.  I don’t know where all these sleepy, weaving, falling down flies are coming from, but even so they’re more than a match for Miss Margot.

frabjous news

I have simply spectacular good news but I can’t say anything about it until I receive authorization.  It has to do with me and music.  I’ll leave it at that.

Board meeting was excellent and productive.  We had a board meeting/potluck and Jeff grazed on leftovers.  One of the joys of Unitarianism is candle wax, and I got some on my gran’s linen tablecloth but sing HA I have already ironed the wax out and I’ve run the tablecloth through the laundry.  So no harm done.  We had to make some hard choices, but Debra is an awesome minister and she is completely unFaZed by organizational change, is a great communicator and gosh darn a nice person.  She told her partner recently that she’s falling in love with Beacon.  I dearly love Rev Katie and really enjoy her posts (and her hubby’s) on facebook (the only way I keep track of her as there is meshugas about a retired minister poking head back in to a church for a couple of years) but she is a reserved individual and Debra is a gregarious individual and it’s obviously playing out in an interesting way in congregational life.

I’m seeing Katie for lunch today – her treat, yippee.

TAMMY IS COMING THIS MONTH.  So looking forward to seeing her and her mum, whom I usually see at the festive season.

Sue is playing Santa Claus in a play which I am going to go see.  She says playing Santa Claus is hot and hard, which kinda makes it sound pornographic now I write it out like that.

I got a completely unprintable and exceedingly welcome compliment from somebody recently, to the point that I must now quote Mark Twain: “I can live two months on a good compliment”.  I may have to stretch it out even farther than that.

I have a very obnoxious complaint to make about somebody and I am not going to publicly state it.  I want a medal or something.

I think Jeff is thrilled we had company; there’s whipped cream in the fridge and the kitchen table is now clear.  Oops, just put laundry on it.  O well, it was nice while it lasted.

This afternoon after my Katietime I will do something productive, just haven’t figured out which of my piles of shit I should attempt to render into something useful first.

I love Lockout.  Guy Pearce is A GREAT SMARTASS. Man after my own heart.  Here’s a quote from him: [2007, on his music] “I don’t want to make music to get into the pop charts and make a career out of it. I just want to play music with other people. Sometimes I record it. I think there is a value in recording it in the same way that you might write a diary. Writing a diary does not mean that you want to publish it. If this is my diary, I’m not sure that I want it to be read. And anyway, I think there is an automatic disdain for somebody who is too ambitious. People think as an actor you are gifted and don’t have any troubles in life. You are lucky to be doing this thing where all you have to do is go around telling lies and you get to kiss beautiful women. So how dare you want to be able to do this other thing. I am not interested in releasing music to a skeptical audience.”

I mourn the passing of Dave Brubeck, and light a candle also for the victims of the Montréal Massacre

Lois!!!!!

We had a superlative meal at Chong Lum Hin last night – blowout amounts of food for seven people and six  beers came to $115.

And of course Lois was there so we had a lovely schmooze.  Kyle, Keith, Kate and Carly joined me Paul and Lois.  Jeff was asleep.  I think he would have enjoyed it.  There was an extremely funny piece of byplay.  The more I hang out with Kyle the better I like him.  He simply doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, and that, my friends, makes a lovely change.

Church was awesome, although (speaking as a semi-pro) Donatella should have pitched her voice lower and slowed down.  She wasn’t being kind to the deaf people in the congregation.  And Lois came so I got to sit around and drink coffee with her afterwards.  Paul took Carol home, blessings on his shiny silver head.  Rob came up to me and scritched me behind my cat ears (I was wearing the anime hat Keith gave me.)

Today I’m off to Sue’s place for ‘the adventures of further churchy business’ and tonight I’m thinking about finding an open stage and singing.

The Beacon Birthday song (or some end of it…) is substantially complete and I am transcribing it.  There’s a bridgy part that I’m not too clear on as far as the melody.  Three other songs are nipping at me to be written down, but I’ve learned to wait until the tunes are fixed to do that.

Time to pop the last of the cookie dough into the oven so Jeff and I can SCHNACK!  MWAH!

And don’t think I’m not angry about what’s happening in the world.  I am.   But I am also loving what is, including this foul and windy weather.

Food glorious food

Jeff took me out for a simply stellar meal last night.  We were able to park really close to the restaurant and it’s a good thing, cause I waddled out of there.

Leonid showers are happening right now, but we can’t see them.

Margot came in and snuggled with me this morning… then I realized her food dish was empty.