Category: Domestic Life

i’ve been sitting in the sun

but not at Vantan, one thing, another, the whole Dinsdale stale trail of when plans go awry. I shall be crispy tonight. Jeff said I looked a trifle sunned. I heard stunned but you know how siblings are. (That did not, in fact, happen.)

However Mike came over and cooked supper outside on a campstove and it was nom nommity yes indeedy. Gai lan and beef&onions, over rice, mochi balls to finish. For whatever reason Buster who has in past been his devoted fan, wouldn’t go near him. He’s been fine but weird lately.

Knoweth how to party, Mike, in any event. Jeff had two whole beers. (I am drinking de-alcoholized, as is Mike. The cannabis was stylishly abundant I will leave it at that.)

He is now cleaning up, the Mobile 8th Wonder of the World.

We’ll reconvene over John Wick 4.

I was tired yesterday

I slept SO much yesterday, I think I napped twice. I feel fine this morning, and my brain is pretty clear.

Finally started reading the novella Glenn sent me. My roundtuit is busted I reckon.

Off to the Save-On for foodicles this morning.

Mike’s going to pick me up to go to Vantan sometime this morning. Yinkies, time to do a load or two of laundry.

D Roti Shak for shrimp curry yesterday. DAMN IT IS SO GOOD. I think if I was forced to only choose one way to eat spuds for the rest of my life, it would be the Caribbean style aloo. HAPPY SIGH.

Everybody have a good day now! I’m going to get some sun where the sun ain’t been since the pandemic started…

Not much happening

I think I’ll go spend a couple of hours helping Paul pack today.

Mike says we may go to Vantan, the private members naturist club up at Mt. Fromme, this weekend, weather depending.

Really looking forward to it. Place is completely off grid – even the hot tub is wood fired.

Membership requires 10 hours of work each year or a donation of cash or kind if you can’t work.

Church yesterday

It was a service with a LOT of music. It was all standard white people music that wouldn’t have been out of place any time in the last half century, so it matched the congregants quite well.

I was the ONLY PERSON who brought animal flesh to the soup lunch (there are always meatatarians in every crowd) so I’m proud to say that two thirds of the chicken thighs I baked last Thursday got consumed by people like John H. The leftover leftovers went with Keith back to the Junction where I imagine Dax and Katie will consume it.)  I had lentil chickpea soup, which was quite tasty and had the right amount of salt. Keith is so loved at church, everyone wants to talk to him and he’s always helping out.

I was seriously peopled out and came home and consumed media. Jeff took me to White Spot for breakfast and I still have some in the fridge. I’ve already had my coffee and scritched and trained Buster.

Posted this to FB yesterday:

why you want to train your cat to understand you speak, example the entienth.
Buster: I am minding my own catly business snoozing in the music/spare room. (Further note – we leave this door closed as it bleeds too much light into the media room so Buster has to ‘ask’ us to open the door for him when he wants to use the room)
Allegra: Enters room. Holds up guitar. “Noisy, Buster. Noisy. Can you get down please?”
Buster: Teensy-weensy put-upon mew, jumps down from bed, finds another place to hang.
Allegra: Vigorously and noisily practices after closing the door.
Allegra: Opens music room door after 45 minutes. “All done Buster, no more noisy.”
Buster jumps down from the media room sofa and retakes his music room perch.
The most important thing about communication is respect. I know he hates it when I play. It’s kind of a drag after Miss Margot, who loved music (especially the theme for Stargate Universe and U2) but Buster and I seem to have a quid pro quo….
I am extremely happy to say that Paul has signed a lease for an elder facility and he will be living there starting July 1. it is walking distance from here. MY RELIEF MAY BE IMAGINED.

the state of the world

The state of the world is such that I am quite anxious, but I’ve got some food to take to church for a potluck so I suppose I can feed the anxiety beast that way. Keith will come and get me around 10. It’s possible Paul will come but he’s not fond of getting up early so it’s 50 50. Lois is for sure not coming.

Ukraine stats…

16000 dead Ukrainian civilians according to their government closer to 40K according the the US.

60K dead Russian troops 150K wounded according to Russia

280K Russian troops ‘taken out of combat – killed or wounded’ according to Ukraine

120K dead or wounded Ukrainian troops according to Ukraine – US estimates a lot more than that.

Went to twitter this am and some pendejo in the states is saying that Russians are killing Ukrainians 50-1. Armed with the above (rounded up from wikipedia) I told him to stop tweeting nonsense. Ukraine can ill afford to lose any troops but they are holding up. Russia is having a very hard time raising more troops and there are apparently tens of thousands of Russians of conscription age still outside Russia doing whatever it is they do when they don’t want to be drafted.

We are still watching Medium. I have never seen a show which depicted white north american family life as well as this one. Absolutely a fucking standout show. Two limp episodes in two and a bit seasons so far. Love all the actors, INCLUDING the child actors, who are magnificent and well directed.

Polls SAID UCP was going to win in Alberta but as the election inches closer (Monday) an NDP majority is actually looking more likely.

 

 

 

pollen so bad

My eyes are not actually dry but they are very gummy. My nasopharyngeal parts are gummy too. I’m not coughing but my chest feels tight. (AQI good pollen counts moderate)

Tried Fatburger yesterday. White Spot is superior in virtually all ways, and not that much more expensive.

I miss my grandsons. Spoke to Keith yesterday. No word on whether Janice has left.

Watched John Wick Chapter 4. The clunkiness of the script poses a bit of a challenge but the fight scenes were exactly the way I like them and Donnie Yen was fucking perfect as always. (I mean how do you get typecast as a blind martial artist??? by being fucking good at it.) IT’S A COMMITMENT it’s like 3 hours long. All action movies should be ninety minutes or so. It is a law. Unobserved, sadly.

I am continuing to practice la la la on the ukulele. My brain appears to work okay today.

I am continuing to wrestle with edits on TB. The last pass was to make sure that every word of every line of dialogue in the first part is a) to the education level b) in character c) germane d) unmagical (ie there is a plausible way the character could know it to say it). I suppose editing dialogue without cementing the plot bunnies in place is useless & pointless (deck chairs, Titanic, Augean stables, etc.) but still I endeavour to persevere in the worst way possible – which was standing up in a hammock last time I checked.

Elon Musk is going to turn Ron DeKrampus loose on twitter in an effort to help him get elected.

I don’t get these people, but I guess I don’t have to.

For the first time, Russian nationals fighting for Ukraine have made incursions and captured enemy weapons and tanks inside the Russian border. What impact that will have to escalate the war is anyone’s guess.

 

 

damnation

Well I found another ghastly technical problem with the mss and I’m feeling like really not thinking about it right now, so may I recommend the 30 year old Studio Ghibli masterwork “Pom Poko” (literal title translation = Heisei-era Raccoon Dog War Ponpoko) which is an animated fantasy as a way of directing attention away from my creative solecisms.

One of my fave brotherkins on twitter @aPebbleintheSky a Swedish manbear anarchist recommended the film as among his favourites, and I can understand why.

  1. Japanese folklore is the primary aesthetic driver. Specifically folklore about Tanukis. (Raccoon dogs.)
  2. Testicles ARE A PLOT DEVICE. LOTS OF THEM. It is gobsmacking. They can be transformed into other things, like parachutes and smothering weights
  3. It is a primer on running an anarchist revolution, right down to how everyone runs away from the problems after setbacks and how MUSIC ART AND DANCING ARE INTEGRAL TO THE REVOLUTION god this was so amazing to watch
  4. There is a strong element of #LandBack
  5. Almost half of the film is narrated so you at least have a fighting chance of figuring out what’s going on.
  6. The gay fox is one of the most hilarious animated characters I’ve ever seen.

It won’t be to everyone’s taste but I adored it.

No church yesterday. Dishwasher’s running, and when it’s done I’ll run a load of laundry or two.

more rewrites more rewrites

There is no cell service in southern Guyana so I’m going to have to rewrite any reference to cell phones in TB. Goldingit. I think I should prob’ly check some other stuff too.

Was invited to join Keith for church this morning. I may go, haven’t made up my mind. Paul’s unlikely to go because his s/o Janice is in town. Katie’s gone camping with Dax and the boys.

 

 

Unusual

So I did my Lumosity and after weeks of very shitty results I got this today: – the trophy cups represent best score ever…. Familiar Faces is a wickedly difficult game and I’ve been stuck on a level for about 8 months now so that was a real relief! Of course it’s the math game I huffed. Sigh.  So there you have it, my brain is working better.

I’m wearing on of John’s tshirts because I miss him so much these days.

Paul has visited another facility and likes it better. We’ll learn soon which is going to get his business. Either way it’s close to where I am currently living.

The second biggest hunting spider I’ve ever seen was in the upstairs bathroom sink this morning. I didn’t turn the light on so I didn’t notice him (claspers) until I went to wash my hands and there’s a SHELOB shape so I had to press pause while I got him safely out on the deck.

Kudo on a story last night. Mebbe 65 words yesterday on TB and a whole bunch of musical practice. Still haven’t put my laundry away but I’m not too worried. I’m too busy being inspired from Tuesday night.

Katie and I and the kids are supposed to go to Victoria this weekend but I don’t have the stomach for four sailing waits and there are no reservations available, coming or going… so I advised against. We’ll know later today.

nice low key day

Suzanne will be coming later.

SPOT PRAWNS IN STEVESTON I REPEAT SPOT PRAWNS IN STEVESTON

Jeff bought us chicken and ribs and salad for dinner and it was NOM.

I have to put my laundry away or my weeks of having a clean floor will be for nothing.

Practiced Uke already this morning. I may even write a song in D. Now that I know what it is. LOLOLOL.

Completely edited section 2 of TB EXCEPT FOR WHERE I BACKED myself into a story corner. I will fix, I have a handle on how. Removed so many adverbs it was like an infestation I tellink you.

Kaossilator settings. 90bpm, High C, G02, 4ths, P91. Start in lower left corner and push your finger around for some bass and drum cool tuneage.

-Later

90 bpm P90 4ths G08 High C – I’m going to call this one the Robots’ Rap Battle and I am having LA FONNE with it

very hot in the house

The aircon didn’t get turned on yesterday and it is still very hot upstairs. I’m about to throw the door open and get some air in here – it’s 17ºC outside.

Laid back day, nothing of particular interest to report.

The grind around Bakhmut continues. The Russians are demoralized, panicky, poorly-led and -provisioned and the Ukrainians have more and better armaments almost every day. And men are still dying in droves, mostly on the Russian side.

Apparently every day that’s nice men go down to Wreck Beach and take photos of the beachgoers. I’m not saying men are scum, but I wish the old timers’ ways of dealing with rubberneckers still obtained.

Pulse check

Spoke to Dave and Keith yesterday.

Dave’s bathroom ceiling caved in yesterday morning. It’s possible a poorly installed bidet in the upstairs apartment is the reason but let’s face it the building is not new and it could be other leaks as well. I asked him how close he came to getting killed and he said about ten minutes. A miss, as they say, is as good a mile.

Keith told me to hang in there, to keep working on not taking Paul stuff personally, to thank me for my efforts and to invite me to go look at the next care facility.

Did not dress or leave the house yesterday. Updated my care sheet to include that I’m due for a mammogram. I made flower rolls (white bread buns) and they came out just spectacular (the texture is pure pillowy softness) and I’m irritated now because I am not 100% sure exactly which recipe I followed or whether I jammed two together. ADD, ADD, polishes as it cleans, ting!

Jeff’s day has started and he is drinking tea.

Buster has hairballs and refuses to let me dose him with hairball remedy.

Other than that, it’s hot in the house and I’m going to ask Jeff to turn on the aircon.