Category: Friends

New West yesterday

Went into New West on the bus to pick up ice cream and summat for dinner and to return Mexican Gothic, which was so damned good I understood why I waited three months for it at the library, but also why I had to return it as fast as possible for the next person. On the way home I saw Peggy because she AND TOM drove over and dropped off cookies and Jeff and I ate them all in one go (almond sugar cookies). Sooooo the Christmas I AM EATING THINGS I SHOULDN’T TABLEAU continues.

So Tom is home. He sounds quite vigorous, but he doesn’t get to drive for another month and a half or so.

The big fuzzy hoodies I ordered arrived. I hope people like them and if they don’t they can give them back to me.

Finished the Right Stuff TV show. It’s a little too kitchen sinky to get the full upvote, but I enjoyed it. A second season has been optioned but not ordered.

I hope everyone has a lovely day. I don’t have much planned beyond a walk to the mailbox and add to the 3300 words I wrote on The Best Roommate in the World.

Good morning

Got an absolutely lovely letter and A DESTIEL prezzie of two little badges of Dean saying BITCH and Castiel saying ASS-BUTT from Jan M yesterday, and the Oodies arrived (I went spare and ordered immediate fam something identical for Christmas (a giant fuzzy hoodie covered in cutesy cartoon characters with an enormous pocket)) so I’ll be able to hand them out in time. Jeff got one covered in otters – I got the avocado toast. I’ve washed one and they stay really soft if you put them on fluff dry.

The badges immediately went on the Nyan-Cat hat, which Keith bought for me and has gotten more compliments than any other item of clothing I’ve ever worn, which now bears badges for trans rights, asexual rights, anarcho-feminism, anarcho-syndicalism and DESTIEL. lol

So Christmas wise a great day.

I made cinnamon sticks, wrote a letter to Tammy which I haven’t mailed, watched some TV and had a very low energy day, including no practicing (mostly because I didn’t do it first thing in the morning and next thing I know it’s FEETSBALL of which there is so very much right now thanks to the COVID screwing with schedules.) I did however wash and change my sheets and the duvet cover, and so slept very well last night. Lying in bed with my heart pounding because I forgot to call Tom AGAIN and it was now too late was how my day finished.

Today I’m going into New West to pick up some baking stuff and drop off Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which finally came in to the library and which I must now return immediately so the next person who has it on hold can get it, because it would be rude to keep it until the middle of JANUARY. I read it all at one go in the bathtub yesterday. It was unpredictable without being unfair to the reader, reversed some horror tropes in lovely, finicky, hard-to-accomplish ways, centred brown bodies and minds, and had some really really cool things to say about colonialism and horror. And the monster is so monstrous. Just horrific and smelly, exactly as a monster should be. Plus a resolution totally made for me.  Yup. Noemí is a great heroine and given that the book is a NYT bestseller I have to assume that this sucker’s going to be made into a movie or miniseries, and I can hardly wait. Silvia is the co-author of the book about writing SF/F I recently bought AND she lives in Vancouver AND she’s a Dunnetteer, although she didn’t attend the ‘spit’ she told a friend she might go to, which I attended, so I didn’t get a chance to meet her. She sounds fascinating and a total boss.

We’re rewatching the Librarians. Blasted through the first 3 episodes of Season 5 of the Expanse – totally back on form after a very unpleasant and badly arranged season 4 AND THEY SHOULD NEVER HAVE LET NAOMI MAKE PLANETFALL THAT WAS STUPID and not in the books. But it’s great again. And now I have to WAIT again because they only released the first three episodes.

Elementary continues to be our TV palate cleanser. It is the show against which other shows must be compared, much to their detriment. Only POI, Burn Notice first 5 seasons, Fringe and ER come close.

I’m 3000 words into ‘the Best Roommate in the World’. Some addition, some very necessary infill. Don’t worry mOm when I’m up to 4K words I’ll send you the update.

okay COMING UP ON 4 AM when the wifi goes down for three hours so I can write and practice and do laundry etcetera so I gotta go. Everybody look busy! It’s Christmas bustle time!!

a very welcome phone call

Last night before supper time I got A PHONE CALL FROM TOM. He’s still in the hospital, but he’s got his phone and charger, and he was getting a magnesium iv, and he was bored out of his gourd, so he thought he’d give me a call.

And it was most wonderful. I tried to be friendly, bracing and accepting of his situation. He says where they cracked his chest he’s healing so well you can hardly see it; but he also says he’s absolutely freezing all the time, and that’s really not fun. I told him to start making a list of the things he needs to do when he gets out of durance vile. He said I’m gonna go home and build the biggest damn fire in the fireplace and park myself in front of it until I actually FEEL WARM.

He should be out this week.

So I’ll mail him one more letter and then go back to emailing him if he wants.

I’m really hating keeping a food diary. Right now I want to boot Jeff out of his bed like a cartoon character and make him drive me to the Timmy Ho’s on Marine for coffee, but nooooo gotta be abstemious.

It’s 8 am and

I’ve practiced guitar and formalized a new song. I’m dressed! I brushed my teeth and hair!

I’ve walked my 4 (scandalous) letters over to the post box, one for Jan M (written this morning), one for Jan G, one for pOp, one for Tish. I did not have a coronary coming back up the hill, but I was well out of breath when I got back to the house.

I’ve had a whole wheat bun and a couple of cups of tea for breakfast, I brushed and trained and watered Buster and opened his door since we’ve been locking it, and I turned on the heater downstairs so it’s toasty by the time we start watching tv.

Contemplating pizza. Probably tomorrow.

The cultural competence reader is awaiting the novel, so we are a go. Even if things don’t work out (for all I know she hates it so much she can’t bear it, who knows), the process has commenced and I’m off to a new level of fiction.

Jeff while I’m thinking of it is it possible the raccoons have taken down the netting? I couldn’t see it this am

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“I’d rather that a bigot think I’m a lesbian than a lesbian think I’m a bigot.”

 

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there’s a coup in the US but it’s quiet

another letter

this one to Jan in Toronto

I practiced this morning, that’s a plus, also reprinted the lyrics for Shit’s Fucked Up, because it annoys me that I went to all the trouble to work up an arrangement and can never remember the freaking lyrics.

I am feeling very wretched and frightened of the future, but Mike made soup two months ago and I’m eating it today and it is so very good.

Cold and overcast and miserable here today.

Paul’s out of quarantine.

Signed this today.

Me at Goldie Lake

Allegra at Goldie Lake October 2020

Photo credit Paul Caspell

Jesus Christ in mitten strings, at this point if a cis man tells me he’s into Warhammer I’m going to assume that glum darkness with misogyny is his emotional colour palette and may I also mention that I prefer it when people show, rather than threaten to show, their reasoning skills. I just read through one of the most ghastly misogynistic piece of shit threads ever, and now the whole game has a stench I must avoid.

later again

Tom’s in hospital. He’s on his cell phone though, so it’s not like he’s incommunicado or currently dying. Glad I called Peggy and learned these tidings, which I communicated to the Keith for their household.

 

word count on fic 15466

graphic shows sonic the hedgehog’s two eyes gradually growing together to form a single huge eyeball

 

current mood

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shown is a lightly smirking woman, having won a beaver handling contest I’D FUCKING SMIRK TOO not that I’d ever have her simply incandescent skill set.Image

@zhaabowekwe posted this, saying that she’s still badass and one of the most fluent Anishinaabemowin speakers

nothing yesterday

Well, not much. Walk in Lougheed Mall and picked up some veg with Paul. I was feeling so exhausted but there was chicken to cook in the fridge so I made asparagus and mini potatoes and corn and breaded chicken breasts for an early supper and then pretty much collapsed after that. I did a little tidying but the air is so oppressive I felt like crap.

AQI currently 139, went up and down all night.

Currently putting together a list of the birds seen and heard in Deer Lake Park. I think it’s marvellous that when I went to the list there was no American Coot! But American Coots come to Deer Lake all the freaking time, so immediately I was one up on the list.

The list is the names of the birds and their habitats and songs, since Paul and I are tired of always hearing the birds and never seeing them. I already know that we’ve repeatedly heard both ospreys and merlins, which blows me away. Their chittering calls are very distinctive. Getting the info here.

Insomnia. Woke at 10:30, up til 3, back down again and up at 8.

Le Mans weekend.

Fic 14,966

much better aqi, all things considered

It’s dropped 20 points since 1 am (now 145 LATER AT 8:30 AM UP PAST 160 AGAIN), and should get within kissing distance of normal – under 40 – sometime by Friday.

Buster has been extremely variable about wanting to train. Some mornings he’s all over it, but the last couple of mornings he wants to just be handed treats, so I cut short the training this am after one treat and we’ll try again in the early afternoon. This morning first he huffed training and then he begged for it and we got three paw claps and a jump and chase and a run and chase in.

My experiment, stealing a cushion off one of the downstairs sofas and using it for a backboard, is a success – however finding a replacement pillow even at places like Bed Bath and Beyond that are supposed to specialize in shit like this has proven rather difficult. I will ask Paul to assist with cushion shopping today, then I can put the danged cushion back.

Jeff took me to breakfast at IHOP yesterday and I just ate what was left of the leftovers. We had the leftover sushi for supper last night as the folks kindly shared out leftovers from Paul’s bday.

Doctor’s office phoned me saying they wanted to schedule ‘a medical review with an RN’ and I told them to go fuck themselves until after the 22nd when I (hopefully) get my glucose tolerance test. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why do a medical review when the single most important piece of test data isn’t available? Anyway, I wasn’t as rude as I sound but I took no shit, I assure you.

The hot stone massage at Head to Toes day spa with Pauline was AMAZING, I’m still feeling comfort right into my bones.  I may book another one next month just to have something to look forward to. But I suppose I should probably wait at least that long to ensure I neither caught nor brought anything.

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Review of day:

Didn’t drink enough water yesterday. It needs to be less than half tea, my liquid consumption. Did practice x 3 instruments; did walk 1.5 k, did empty the sink and fill the dishwasher; did not meditate or take my bp and pulseox; I did not work on a manuscript; I did take my pill and brush my hair and teeth; I did my shoulder exercises. No laundry yesterday or today; no osteofit, no dejunking yesterday.

Paul’s 71st bday

We ordered from L.A. Sushi, and it was really good, and we all broke up into smaller conversational groups, Katie and Keith and Paul and Jeff and I, and we marvelled that I bought a 70th birthday party card for Paul 6 months early, and then forgot to give it to him, and then dropped it on the ground outside his apartment yesterday so he almost didn’t get it AGAIN, but Jeff fetched it. Then I told him I hadn’t signed it and he’d have to sign it himself just to prove receipt and he got a good laugh out of that.

Earlier I had a panic attack at the Pier (the smell from the creosote after I took the N95 mask off literally made me hyperventilate – I didn’t learn until AFTER we left that the fucking pier is STILL ON FIRE and will remain so until the last of the creosote is burned) and ran away from Paul (because I needed to get home and he wouldn’t get in the car because he’d run into a friend on the street) and took a cab home, but I managed to calm down enough to go back out again for supper, and I’m glad I did because Alex was delightful playing Minecraft and it was really really really good to see the kids. I bought beer and drank a lot and guess what, no bad result today.

Massage this afternoon. I know it’s crazy, but if somebody doesn’t touch me I’m going to die, so wish me luck and I’ll have my best masks with me.

It’s been really shitty around here, but I feel a bit better today and the AQI is down under 160 for the first time in a week. The sky is SO OPPRESSIVE – it’s just horrible. Even so Jeff is helping things stay on an even keel, and we try to get out to get a little sun.

There’s a little more visibility, but we’re wrapped in a grey blanket of smoke and dirt. LATER… 170 is the AQI, my head is starting to hurt again, and damn I do not want to leave the house.

nothing on the fic today

Later, it was a lovely massage, and I stayed masked the whole time.