Photo credit Suzanne Palen – she’s claiming Ryker as her grandson on Facebook and I’m thrilled because I’m not believing you can HAVE too many grandmas. And he is Alex’s well-beloved little bro.
Category: Grandson goo
Nothing done about the tree
No progress on writing. FINALLY got my package to m&d into the mail to them; includes Alex’s art and the Guest 23 mag I have a poem in, thanks to Dave.
Ball lightning: shown in the video is either ball lightning or a transformer dying, although there was no ‘bang’. … there are family stories about ball lightning that EERILY mimic a story from 1963 recounted in this article. (pOp saw ball lightning move down the centre of the fuselage of the Argus he was flying in). Also, Grandma Susie Hinde saw a troika of ball lightning moving above the frozen surface of a river, as she told me sometime in the 1980s about an event from her girlhood in SK.
Drove Paul around to run errands and get him out of his apartment yesterday. He was in much better shape than on previous days and we had something approaching fun. Keith was about to go for a walk with a friend and Suzanne was there cleaning when I arrived.
Ukrainians who are Orthodox are switching up when they celebrate Christmas to distinguish themselves from a version of Russian Orthodoxy whose Patriarch Cyrill the Biggass Hypocrite has announced that any Russians killed in the UK campaign go straight to heaven. VOOP! YUP up we go! Local parishes have a choice now about the 25 December or 7 January date for celebrations..
Shlep this morning. I already bought milk at Walmart in Lougheed Mall yesterday. Also came home with about 20 bucks of Purdy’s chocolate TIS THE SEASON.
Justin Trudeau is ‘standing up to China’ which basically means whining and not putting more federal money into chasing down Chinese nationals openly laundering money in this town, the single biggest reason nothing is being done about it.
I HAVE COFFEE, the world is ok.
The artist falling into a black hole
and yes, that’s an Among Us figure saying “UM”
we actually phoned pOp
So we got to wish him the best of the day, which it sounds like he had. Any day he can get in the Camaro and drive to the Place of the Rural Pollinators with his sweetie is a good one.
Ordered curried shrimp and rice from D Roti Shak yesterday. DOD it’s so good and as usual it arrived more or less as I clicked on Door Dash to order it. Jeff got a chick’n roti.
Keith came by and fetched the frozen food we’ve been keeping for his household. He didn’t hang around obvs; it had to go back home.
Buster trained HARD this morning, good kitty.
Kyiv still facing blackouts as the Ukrainian grid totters under Russian attacks.
More Hornblower. g’DAMN but David Warner plays such an amazing villain; in this case a Hero Gone Bad with opioids and drink, and possibly early onset dementia. Jeff and I were so thrilled that the movie/episode started with a flashback and there was no trial. (Believe that Jeff and I have made clear how we feel about courtroom episodes except for Good Wife). Now we’re shuddering because chances are the next episode will be nothing BUT a trial. Here’s hoping.
Most recent stats show one in ten americans over 65 has dementia and 22% have cognitive decline. Source: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER October 24 press release
one quarter of the Canadian population is immigrants. Source: Statscan via CBC October 26. With climate change and other issues I think their predictions for the future are sadly out of whack, but that number will definitely rise no matter who’s rattling and jimmying the population model.
of course Indigenous people count those numbers differently, and I mean no disrespect. Population stats for Inuit, Métis and Indigenous peoples shown here.
Another chunk of the Epic of Gilgamesh has been discovered, to the joy and wonderment of archaeologists. The joke going around the internet is that our anonymous scribe from ancient times ‘dropped a new chapter’ before George RR Martin coughed up another Winds of Winter book (What Game of Thrones was based on.) If you know, you know, and if you don’t, we still have more Gilgamesh.
so happy for the rain we’ve been getting. We’re about to get a flood more, but nothing like last November.
Just heard the foghorn blow FIVE TIMES blasting up the hill. Guess it’s foggy on the Fraser.
This showed up on facebutt this am:
I entitle this picture I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION.
Hey, feel like vomiting in disgust? look who’s back. …at a tough on crime hoedown. Good to know wife murderers are allus welcome.
And just for laughs here’s my stats from AO3 yesterday sometime. I’ve posted more than 36 stories since 2017. I deleted some; total is currently 36.
Because Rishi Sunak is a horse’s ass, (and a fucking rich horse’s ass, to be sure) he didn’t acknowledge Larry the Cat as the UK’s new PM went to Number 10 Downing Street for the first time. Larry made no comment after regarding this untoward snub.
slipping away
Poor Paul. He used to sew things, but that hasn’t been for years. Yesterday he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and told me he made it. I told him he hadn’t because he doesn’t handsew seams (all of his sewing was machine sewing) and he got all quiet and sad and I feel – and felt – like a jerk.
Everything else about our walk at Fraser Foreshore was exceedingly pleasant. The chickadees recognized us and put on an aerial display I HAVE NEVER BEFORE WITNESSED.
One of them did a 180 IN FRONT OF MY FACE to get my attention and beg for treats. One landed 4 inches from Paul’s elbow (he got to see it). And one of them flew into a tree and deliberately grabbed a branch with one claw and swung upside down to impress me.
You have never heard a white woman apologize so hard to anyone. ‘I AM SO SORRY I BROUGHT NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS I AM BAD’
After we picked up more coloured markers for Alex and Keith fed me a salami and swiss bagel for lunch.
Katie gave me a ride with Alex back to my place and currently he’s wrapped himself like a blanket burrito. He’ll awaken in an hour or so and then we can walk to Timmy Ho’s.
god this is hard
Well I committed an emotional mistake in front of my grandson tonight and I’ll be lucky if I haven’t scarred him for life. Anyway I decided to show him video of what his mum looked like when she was Riker’s age and there is actually video of her, she didn’t get completely eaten by second baby syndrome and not have any pictures. He got to see John when he was slender and hirsute, and then there was Kaitlyn as a toddler and then Grandma Caspell. I backed out of that and then we watched Keith jump out of an aircraft in a tandem jump – had a video taken as a souvenir, and that was awesome, although thanks to the swipe of the passing breeze across his brow his expression was not always as dignified as he might have preferred in retrospect.
He got to see how red and enormous his mother’s infantile hemangioma was – and how it completely vanished. I had a hemangioma when I was born too.
Then I found the video, before in the brilliant sunshine taking off from Lake Weslemkoon, and after, of the crash at Buttonville Airport that nearly took the lives of Paul, Wally Solotow, me and both the kids – Katie in utero.
Hearing my own voice as Paul took video of the crashed aircraft at the darkened side of the runway, calmly saying that Keith took no permanent harm and that if he was experiencing discomfort he’d be crying, put me in no stable state of mind. I’m fine and I’ll be fine since I have a minor child in the house but I IMMEDIATELY changed the name of the file so I never have to watch it again without a goddamned content warning. Bugger me but that was awful. Of course I knew then that Paul was taking video, but the great river of time had released me from that memory, and now I was watching the lopsided aircraft in the terrible light and there it was in realtime.
I ordered mickey d’s for supper for Alex and then forgot to order Jeff’s burger.
8520 words
didn’t get the wordle this morning
sigh
whiplash feels
Woke up and immediately started weeping about the state of the world; sought to distract myself with internet, checked my email and there was a blessed message from Alex the Gamer via his mother, indicating that he desired to hang out here and have an overnight. Maybe he only cares about the donuts in the morning but apparently I’m the one he wants to see. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have two sets of grandparents close by when I was growing up. I hope I help make him so many happy memories that they all start to blur together.
I need to put together some activities for him, I was very low energy the last time he was here.
Drought in the US is very concerning for food supplies across the planet. I imagine many domestic animals will a) not be purchased, because there’s no fodder and b) be slaughtered early because there’s no fodder. Meat prices have no option but to rise.
Managed the wordle in four this morning – without cheating.
The ladies who lunch and love Dunnett are being quite clear in their comms regarding a Dunnett lunch this year… Zoom or a breezy warmed patio to eat. One said that COVID is still happening no matter what politicians and pundits want you to believe, and she’s quite right. I await the decision of the group. I’m kinda hoping for a patio, but you know me, any chance of a trough and brew and I shake off my bleak rationalizations and get in a cab.
8267 words on Part II.
Jeff got me a two salads a burger and a shake last night. It was very good to eat.
Good morning to everyone except the woman who threatened to call the police on a man taking his daughter to the women’s washroom at Walmart. (someplace in the states).
Steve Bannon got four months. As an abolitionist I can’t approve. As a human being with a wilderness of conflicting political trends inside me, I hope he uses the opportunity for reflection, perhaps some self-improvement.
but everything is going great
yah, that blog post heading is a line from one of my songs.
the line before it is: Sure, the world is sliding into a pit. That’s from “The Evening News” which I wrote in Montréal and is generally considered to be one of my finest tunes (the guy I took the music course from and Paul both agree).
Suzanne dropped by yesterday with a sunflower in one hand (currently brightening the kitchen) and a beige lace tablecloth (now on Granny’s dining room table) in the other and she picked up the camera set from her dead friend Richard since I couldn’t sell it on Craigslist … and so it doesn’t matter when she shows up she brings a little happiness.
I’m still thinking about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. I think the jumping spiders are just about the cutest animated critters I’ve ever seen. I just loved that movie.
Buster seems completely healed up. When I think how much blood was on him when he showed up on the 8th it seems miraculous.
My mood isn’t bad but I don’t really feel like moving. Practiced yesterday, sent some words to mOm (which reminds me, 6012 words on part II). Watched Sharpe’s Rifles (the first Sharpe) yesterday; Jeff dl’d a simple wonderful copy. The music though is gross. Electric guitar and French horn need a lighter hand than either of the men credited with the music could supply.
I’m supposed to get Alex on Friday.
Candles up for Jessica’s (Katie’s best friend’s) dad, who’s languishing at RCH with MRSA and he can’t get his heart operated on until he throws the infection, minimum two weeks. Katie’s liable to burst into tears at the thought; he’s been a kindly hardworking lovely human for more than half her life and she’s terrified he’ll die.
Thinking about Foreshore Restaurant for Brekky.
another perfect day
Around noon went for a walk with Paul in Everett Crowley Park. First we drove all over hell’s half acre trying to find a decent parking spot at one of the usual parks. That’s how we ended up on the garbage dump park. It’s a good place to go if YOU NEED TO PET SOME DOGGIES. I got very very tired and couldn’t walk any farther very fast. Then we got home and I nuked up some chicken vegetable rice for Paul, and then he hung around. I did his toenails (they weren’t scandalous, like the last time, but they needed to be done). Then I checked my blood pressure which was 105 over 71.
This is 30 points lower than normal. What in the actual hell is going on. I don’t actually feel good at that blood pressure – I sure don’t feel like DOING anything. Picture shown above is Morty, from the sci-fi animated modern classic Rick & Morty. It’s okay fOlks! you are not expected to watch it or like it; it has machine gun delivery of multiple concepts, not always in the best of taste (that’s one way of putting it, check that face shown above). But I love Morty because he’s grown a spine over the last seasons.
Paul long-term-loaned me John’s resonator guitar. <—- this after he realized at Peggy’s that he can’t even pull a guitar out of a case without fighting it. I have to add a string but it looks like all the bottle slides I bought attracted a guitar I can use them on. They’re the kind of guitar with a big perforated metal plate attached where the soundhole usually is.
Mike called and released himself from self-jail; he brought his unbelievably sweet new parlour guitar and played nothing but songs Paul knew, which was deft of him, because Paul has happy and enthusiastic about singing along. He also gave Paul the long anticipated tour of the Delica. Long about five I kicked Paul out (nicely) but he got to have all that social contact and stay the hell out of his own house for the afternoon, which has a crying baby in it. Ryker has a cold and he freaks out when he can’t breathe and so there is much screaming. STILL NO FUNCTIONING FREEZER AT PAUL’S PLACE!! JFC landscum, you need a blunt punt.
above-noted picture is almost 15 years old. That’s Mike and Paul at a minimalist costume party, back in the day
I had ONE Fat Tug last night ENJOY MY ABSTEMIOUSNESS.
Mike finally got to look at Suzanne’s friend Richard’s bag of photography equipment. JFC IT’S A NIKON FE an absolute classic manual camera with one of the first built in digital light meters. AND THE MANUALS for it and the lenses. Cash on the barrelhead it’s worth no less than $250, but Mike doesn’t want it because he’s not a Nikon user. I am currently considering my options, but I think I’ll advise Suzanne before taking action.
Spoke to Keith on the phone. He appears to be doin’ okay.
Currently running a 12% kudos to hit ratio on Landslide – the number’s actually going up. This never happens so I’m finding it weird.
Found out that the Seagull (the one that isn’t Smokey) was put away in E minor tuning so I noodled away on that for a while and I think I may have the core melody of some soundtrack stuff.
Mike said he used to wear a special watch with a pulse ox monitor but he said he had to stop, since it kept telling him that he was dead every night. (Thought pOp would find this amusing.) It came with his new Samsung phone. His new Samsung phone is incredible, the camera alone is goggleworthy. I don’t care, I’ll probably get a simple-phone if I ever live alone again but I’m never having a cell phone again, otherwise.
Mike says his project – his Sisyphean work project – six times now he’s tried to set up a customer service department off shore and six times an internal shift in priorities has moved it. It was in Spain, it was in the US. It was in Costa Rica. This time he just sent his luckless lead tech into the mouth of a typhoon in the Philippines. Anyway, he hopes he survives all the corporate bullcrap long enough to get laid off, with a package, (word is as a French company they’re used to making big payouts to make employees who are now surplus to requirements GO AWAY) and then he’s going to take the Delica and drive across this country and dip a toe in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Please let me know if you want him to come visit you after he’s laid off, because he IS AWESOME. HE’S SERIOUSLY THE BEST.
Jeff keeps having interesting dreams. I imagine I dream every night, but I sure don’t remember them. I guess I keep it all for waking life.
Then, a stunning variety of products, after which we watched Everything Everywhere All At Once, which is a good movie to watch while impaired, and Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and James Hong are absolutely amazing in this. I believe I raved about it on my blog the first time we watched it, but it really is a trip to set a wildly inventive and ecstatic movie amid the drab exigencies of Chinese immigrant life. Mike was impressed as hell and said some variant of (with amusement), “It’s a damned good thing they’re speaking mostly Mandarin, if it was Cantonese it would be triggering.” This with respect to the ghastly way Michelle Yeoh’s character treats Stephanie Hsu’s character in the movie. THEN I FOUND OUT THAT Yeoh, Quan and Hsu are going to be a family again in a Disney action comedy tv show? WHO’S WRITING, ALLEGRA YELLS & chomps popcorn impatient-wise.
At some point Mike went home. IT WAS SO GOOD TO SEE HIM.
Worked hard on Totally Boned yesterday; couldn’t stay hydrated. Didn’t practice enough. That will change lol. I need to drink 16 oz of water RIGHT NAOW
I had another perfect day, y’all. I’ll be checking my blood pressure again for sure though. Whatever is wrong with me, it can’t kill my good mood.
Alex is here
we’re about to walk over to Timmy Ho’s
He’s a good egg. More later.
Reasonably active day
I got through a mountain of laundry, including not forgetting to put the last load to dry; ran errands to the library and the weed store (for edibles, trying to cut smoke for my health), and went with Paul to fetch beer from the Independent Alcohol Supplier and schnitzel from Balkan House for supper. Why? because it was his seventy-third birthday yesterday AND AS A SPESH BONUS I got to speak to Ruth, his sister, as she called to wish him a happy happy. LOVELY. She got my facebook coordinates and promised photos of her trip (she was calling from Northern Newfoundland!!)
Katie went off to the coparent’s for the purpose of stuffing supper into Alex. Why? Because the two of them realized that Alex was running both ends against the middle in terms of his food foibles, so they’re introducing new food and working on his texture issues with family meals. (isn’t it interesting that Katie double booked herself for the evening – I do the same thing so often, thank you ADD.) As long as the coparent is being civil Katie just rolls her eyes. Also saw Mike Rykerdad and greeted him, and I don’t know where I got the idear that his mum’s name is Isabel, it’s Christine. Ryker pretty obviously likes his dad just fine. I did get to dandle and play with Ryker, who was in splendid form, and interacted with civility with Alex about Plants vs Zombies and other subjects, including school. Alex is trying is mother’s patience quite a bit these days, but his haircut is awesome.
The fucking landlord over there STILL HAS NOT PROVIDED A FUNCTIONING FRIDGE. The freezer doesn’t come to temp. Knowing that is enraging, we’re going for two weeks now of this bullshit.
Anyway, sorry for that ill-tempered outburst. So it was just me Paul and Keith for dinner over at their place (I made a plate for Jeff from my leftovers and gave him the fresh bread when I got home) and watched an episode of Sean Bean in Sharpe. Then Keith drove me home since Paul doesn’t drive at night these many long years. Keith and I talked about the diagnosis, but no conclusions or action plans resulted.
Jeff and I were still awake so we watched tv for another hour or so and crashed.
more laundry
There is the eternal laundry pile. It grows – it shrinks – it exists.
Filk today at Peggy’s. I’m not going to tell Paul which makes me a lead-lined bitch, I know it. Katie fled her own home last night so what does that tell you.
My improved mood continues. Mike’s coming over for movies and snax on Sunday and Jeff and I are well pleased.
I hope everyone has an excellent day. The two grandsons when they were similar ages.
late post – sorry
Lovely visit with Alex yesterday, talked some more with Katie about her domestic situation, Keith is coming over today to help with the yard.
Ordered breakfast from Angelina’s this morning, a truly spectacular amount of self indulgence but I ordered zero meat and most of the fruit in their amazing fruit bowl is local.
Buster is very subdued, mewing in a sad way, but he’s definitely uninterested with ‘outside’ at the moment and requested that I re-lock the cat door after I opened it. I know that sounds insane since he can’t talk, but he stands in front of the unlocked catdoor and sort of nods once and walks away, then stands in the games room to show that he is *moving away from the door* and settles after the door is locked again.
No AC today until later, will probably only need it to dehumidify and cool a bit.
I got four hours of sleep. Didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 but another couple of rewatched episodes of Sandman and I finally got to lights out.
metformin, coffee and a short walk
The foregoing combination was poopulous.
CONTENT WARNING POOP
Fortunately I had my grandson Alex with me (full of Tim Horton’s finest) and he said that there were no brown stains, so I made it home without public embarrassment, just that drawn face and awkward gait that accompanies an er accidental blowout. I’m only sharing this so my mOm can smile sadly and nod. Getting old BLOWS I tell ya. I knew better, and got coffee anyway. On the plus side, I managed to avoid pooping myself until AFTER I picked up the amlodipine at the drugstore. So I managed to run an errand AND poop myself this morning, go me…..
TIME TO DO LAUNDRY well it was anyway but NOW IT’S REALLY TIME TO DO LAUNDRY
Did I ever tell you about the time I pooped my pants on the transit in Montreal? This would have been when I was in my thirties…. it’s a sad and smelly tale with a happy ending.
2238 words
JUST TO MAKE MYSELF FEEL BETTER, here are all the comments (all of them) for my “Accidental Mr. Right” destiel story. Look at all the strangers I made happy!
I really really liked it
This was…. everything :}
Another lovely story. Thank you for sharing.
This was absolutely fantastic. Xx
You made me cry
Amazing!!! This was fabulous and I plan on reading it again so that I can take it all in. I loved the internal monologue from both boys and I was ready to cry both when Cas went back to Georgia and when he came back to Dean. THAT SIGN AT THE AIRPORT!! Great job, thanks for sharing.
This was GORGEOUS
Your stories contain some of the absolute best banter I have ever read, ever. Coupled with the sweetness and cuddling and softness, the wit and cleverness works so, so well. One million kudos to you, lovely.
This was so good! I loved it.
Do you know how adorable this is?!?!?!?!? Do you?!?!?!? Because I loved every tooth-rotting fluffy moment of it, from the gorgeous start to the fantastic finish. This is the perfect combo of angst, thickheaded characters, fluff, and pure unadulterated love. I almost wish I could go back in time just to appreciate this from the very beginning.
Holy mother fucking shit. That was so BEAUTIFUL! Everything about it! Beautifully paced, beautifully written, beautifully characterised! I can’t get over it. So many moments made me gasp and made my heart flood with emotion! ‘The love of my life’ what a perfect realisation for the two of them! And it was truly written as a love story. I could see them truly being in love and not just ‘here’s two hot guys. Now they’re fucking!’ I can’t get over this. I’m going to reread it so much!
aaaaaaaa this was wonderful!!! I love the characterization!!!!
Very nice!
Those adorable dummies! Their banter is just perfect, especially at the diner at the beginning, comparing views on politics and sports and religion. I’d kill to write so well!
I loved this
This was very sweet. ??
ha ha assholes keep trying
Title refers to the people coming to my website…. You shall not pass.
Just played my first coop game (PvZ) with my grandson. They grow up so fast (tiny tear.)