Category: Domestic Life

We went to the Fraser Foreshore after going to the Crest and sending Ruth a bucket of documents from Paul for her to sort and analyze. We were supposed to go to the Fraser restaurant after for lunch but it was JAMMED I mean the entire parking lot from one end to the other was jammed and the outside tables were all jammed too. So we went to our fallback, Phó Edmonds, and had a lovely meal; then visited the bakery next door for treats for Paul and Keith (picked up flower bread for Jeff) and went back to Casa Caspell, where I googooed at both Oreo and Ryker and picked up ten bucks worth of beef stew, frozen, from Keith, which is now defrosting in the fridge.

The birds in the forest were in full spate – we saw the usual brace of songbirds and ducks and great blue herons, and walked at least 2 k, so we really made an effort after weeks of my being a lazy bum.

It’s turned out a simply lovely, warm sun/cool breeze sort of spring day full of dappled sunshine.

Tomorrow we’re doing a tour of one of the local homes for eldercare. I’ll be heading over to Paul’s for about 9:30 am and then we’ll run some errands afterward. Keith will be joining us.

Paul was quite sour when we first started walking, making many comments that nudged up against “EVERYBODY IS BLAMING ME FOR EVERYTHING” and I did my best to not take it personally until walking enough and eating put him into a better mood. He says that any time he talks to Keith, Keith ignores him, and I hate to be a contrarian, but it just ain’t so.

I promised if he went into care I’d see him Tuesdays and Thursdays and take him for walks and run errands. No weekends cause that would be for the kids and grandkids. Yes I’ve been terrible about this since the weekend of Jim’s memorial. I have not been 100%.

Just got a forward on twitter from Michael Balter about this. What a HORRIBLE TRASHFIRE ABYSS OF SUCK that woman is.

Anyway, my day is back under my control so I’m going to run a load of laundry and check my mail and I’m finally well slept enough I don’t need a nap.

This site was briefly down.

I have eaten all the shirazi salad, so I made more. I drank all the coffee, so I made more. I brought Jeff black tea this morning (I usually give him a choice of coffee, black tea or peppermint tea so that he can stay hydrated while he’s doing things like encouraging my site to come back up and beating his customers’ sites into submission).

I hope you all have a lovely day filled with hummingbirds and butterflies and clement weather. It will be seasonal and partly cloudy here today. I intend to have an entirely brainless day, since both wordle and lumosity tell me that I have no brains whatsoever this morning. So brainless I am! brainless I was when I awoke, and brainless all day I will be! I cheerfully predict it, and it’s okay. One kudo overnight, so I re-read the story thus adorned and found it a pleasant diversion. I mean, that’s what fanfic is for, right? I got in maybe two words on the new one and while I think non stop about Totally Boned I haven’t had any movement as far as pushing pixels is concerned.

Had a simply SPLENDID conversation with pOp yesterday about pOOping. (I never talk to pOp on the phone so it was a pleasant surprise.) I greeted him thusly, “Oh what a terrible thing it is that you have been forced to answer the phone. Has anything fallen off you lately?” (This in keeping with the family lore that pOp has quietly become a very well-behaved not-eating-mOm’s-brains zombie.)

I have been eating enough fibre and things are good amidships, with occasional Metformin induced explosions, but he reports much sadness with various tubes and wishes that they would behave in a more reasonable fashion. Blessings ON ALL YOUR TUBES AND WIRES pOp, I hope you can get them to do their thing without being so troublesome.

I carry no brief for John Cleese as I believe I’ve made clear in past posts, but him mocking the living shit out of Chuck & Cheesewit getting crowned was balm to my wounded soul.

 

He brought us Chicken Roti and … other things. We nommed.

We watched Beavis and Butthead (a new tradition) and Bohemian Rhapsody (which I hadn’t previously seen). It was pretty impressive given that the director was fired about three weeks before production wrapped and an actor wa threatening to quit because they clashed with Singer (the original director) so much.

Coffee’s made. Time to fold laundry and think limply about running an errand or two.

did some laundry, ate leftover tacos, watched the second Shazam movie.

Brain seems to be okay.

No writing.

Just staying calm.

Probably won’t go to church today, I’ll wait for Keith to call (or not…)

LOL slept through the beginning of the Coronasplodation so I will not be doing that. Fucking Camilla in Queen Mary’s crown is making me bark and bark.

Leftover tacos and shirazi salad and lashings of coffee with cream (just this once…bought a small container) for brekky.

Keith came by yesterday for a brief lunch and a chat about his housing situation and that of his housemates. Jeff was very clear on two points (about which I agree) – that Keith could bunk with us if no other options came available, but that it would be a very tough accommodation FOR ALL OF US (mostly because these days Keith is all about the sleep hygiene (10 pm to 7 am quiet times) and Jeff and I are more or less being active between 4 am and 8 or maybe 9 pm). That said it was a good meal and a civilized discussion so all is good.

I send my love and solidarity to all the English Republicans who’ll do jail time for peacefully protesting the Media Colonization.

Glory peace and victory to Ukraine.

Fuck Putin, whose apparent response to the head of Wagner complaining about no ammo is to advise him that for the money he’s being paid he can buy it on the open market.

My brain appears to be working okay this morning. Tiny bit of writing yesterday.

Someone on nextdoor asked for where to buy a first communion dress for a little girl (the catholic supply place on Main most probably)

Time to run the dishwasher and line up my errands for the day. Peggy got her little bag of biscotti and said that it’s amazing how the flavour survives being tossed around in the back of the car for two days LOLOLOL.

I have schlepped, gotten money for the cleaning specialist, delivered biscotti to Peggy (just emailed her to advise) and tried out my new N95 mask at the Save-On. Thanks to Jeff for moving things along so ably and dealing with my mutterings / ‘turn left right here’ as I attempted to ‘alligate’ him through the Burnaby New West borderlands.

Now I’m gonna make shirazi salad. Fuckers at Cazba restaurant at Lougheed didn’t pack the two shirazi salads I ordered – they sent the much cheaper green salads instead – and I paid for the expensive ones…. I left a very hot review on Doordash. I’ve had SUCH A CRAVING FOR SHIRAZI SALAD IT’S INSANE. I am going to make some right now cause I bought ingredaments.

I am in a good mood, moving well and faster than usual and of course it’s May the Fourth Be With You Day. And it’s sunny and warm and the world has intense amounts of suck but I am not getting sucked in. Dave called me yesterday and how good to hear his voice. My brain seems to be working well and I can still see the floor in my room. Today I have no idea what I’m going to do, though. I may just grab the Paleolithic book and sit out on the deck after whining at Jeff to set up the gazebo. LOL. Emptying the dishwasher, washing the rugs and my sheets might just be on the agenda. Back door is open and a fresh breeze is stirring in the house….

So yesterday was a perfectly fine recovery day. I slept in, got my booster, came back home and we watched TV and ignored the world. I had premade lentil soup for lunch and toasted the chickie sandwich Jeff got me for supper the night before last and it was NOM, so no cooking. I still have some sweetened condensed milk so I didn’t have to do any shopping before I could enjoy coffee. Jeff has been most kind.

Today I’m going to see what I feel up to and then hopefully I can stop meeping.

Spoke with Paul on the phone yesterday. He’s back to telling me I took his drivers’ licence away. I guess I still want to run away from home some days. He said he’s not going to his volunteer job today (I offered to give him a lift.)

I am so freaked out about this voyage I’ve gone completely limp and I haven’t finished the biscotti.

3:18 biscotti have commenced. I’ve got two logs worth of dough left to cook. House smells amazing.

5:36 last batch is in for the second bake. As soon as they’re out: shower, lay out my pills, finish packing and wait for the pickup.

I may or may not post again over the next 48 but I’ll keep notes and do a big round up sometime shortly after I get home on Sunday. Picked out the ‘burntest’ ones for Jeff, who does NOT mind, but there’s no way I’m subjecting him to 4 hours of biscotti baking without leaving him any.

 

We shopped, now for some Endeavour on the telly, and biscotti making for tomorrow’s feast/celebration of life.

So I MOVED MAH BOD today.

… also folded and put away my laundry, spoke to Katie on the phone, and now I’m drinking more tea and dejunking.

Ruth is coming May 4th-11th YAY YAY YAY She’ll be staying at a motel apparently.

48 hours to leave for Jim Palmer’s Celebration of Life in Courtenay BC

make a proper list including folding chairs and whatever I want to bring to the fOlks’ place on Sunday and make sure I’ve got enough masks

clean out my purse

pack for an overnight

toast enough almonds to make enough biscotti for a hundred people, and then make enough biscotti for a hundred people, which is three double batches, possibly more depending on ‘shrinkage’

find a gift/card for the folks putting us up

not panic the way I always do before a voyage of any description

Ran the dishwasher and a load of laundry yesterday. Jeff cleaned out the moribund stuff in the fridge may all gods cherish and protect him because YUK it was ghastly.

 

Suzanne has been and gone and of course Buster has already scooted across the newly clean kitchen rug. Definitely need a walk today.

Washed my room rug and the cleaning rags from yesterday, all dried and put away. Linens today maybe. I hear that Ataulfo mangoes are in at Fruiticana.

Wordle I blew completely (I ended up using a solver …. stupidity) BUT three top scores in Lumosity after a cup of tea and a roborative night of sleep. 140 words on the fic.

Weather continues damp and cloudy and cold.

Went to Paul’s, helped for about thirty seconds with dejunking, mostly talked about trip planning with Keith. Took Paul on various errands including banking, shopping and buying himself a treat. Paul insisted on purchasing egg bread and lemon tarts for Jeff which I delivered…. I should probably fetch out the rest of the treats that are currently lurking in my purse and let Jeff find them. I’m helping him with the egg bread, but the lemon tarts are all his.

144 words, Wordle in 3, ghastly (again) Lumosity. I’m either so stressed I can’t think straight (I don’t feel that way) or there’s something going weird at the brain level. I had very brief issues with my left hand a couple of days ago; migraine or TIA who the hell knows, I sure don’t. I did all the normal things at the time, smiled and raised my arm, both of which worked. Speaking has been gross – words disappear as I grab them for the queue. Jeff has been wondering I’m sure.

We’re already through four series of Endeavour, can you believe it. Love the show. The music, scripts, acting and mise en scène are all stellar.

Less than ten days to the Celebration of Life for Jim Palmer. As with all journeys, I am in worry mode.

RIP Moon Bin. He was a Korean pop star of whom I know nothing, except that he was 25 and those lads and lasses are under so much pressure to perform smiling and keep working that it’s no surprise they buckle. He apparently took his own life. I just hope none of his fans choose to join him.