Category: Domestic Life

Mask acne

Cpap again, woke up with two painful active zits on my face. How delightful!  But I woke up at 6 instead of 2 and had a delightful nightmare – I don’t normally remember my dreams – about hanging around with a family and having my racial prejudice demonstrated to me and then going to another location and having a different kind of racial prejudice demonstrated to me, and then realizing that the dream was probably just as much about class as race.  I’m not describing the dream even though it was extremely detailed, it’s just too embarrassing.  Fortunately at the end my girlfriend Carrie showed up, found the item that had fallen out of my purse into a tourist trap with no railings, and despite her fear of the ghastly, ricketty, bannister-less stairs, rescued me from the darkest portion of the interior.  What a thing it is to have friends!

Yesterday I ate junk food, watched tv, had a bath and stayed in bed. I think this morning I’ll get up and walk around the block and then make coffee when I get back.

Katie said she had a delightful time at Gadget House and Alex is in fine form.  Both the kids were good travellers after three months.

I can do hero pushups too, but the damned dog won’t leave me alone.

 

 

Folkfilk I accomplished

“Folkfilk I” accomplished! Planet Bachelor v3.0 has been housewarmed!

1. Paul, *while cleaning up* thanked me profusely for arranging it. Hey I just wanted it at your place so neither Peggy nor I had to clean up afterwards. But that, my friends, is what makes Paul, Paul.
2. SO lovely to hear Alexis Hinde singing again, and her swansong was Amanda F. Palmer’s Ukelele Anthem, which Brian, Paul, Mike and I enjoyed immensely.
3. Finding out Hal trains people in medieval Japanese martial arts, specially with pole weapons = win. Also, he is a very flash guitarist.
4. Chili got et, but not all of it, so my brother gets some. Peggy brought plum cake.
5. Brian C. has an extremely lovely electric guitar and his noodlings added that je ne sais quoi of 60’s twang and reverb.
6. Brooke Abbey sang “The Wreck of the…..” to the plaudits and open amusement of the crowd. Peggy chimed in with that bowed bass which provides the one moment of gravitas. Plus I asked for “It’s just so nice when someone knows your name.”
7. Next one’s at Lunders in a couple of weeks, more deets later, and the one after that at my place (Geekhaus). Everybody wants more, so why not??
8. My evil plan to relieve the Lunders of every last one of their kazoos continues apace. Mine is an etc etc etc.

Some progress

Used CPAP last night.  The Liposic allowed me to open my eyes without creaking this morning (still dreffle dry, but not the :spend twenty minutes thinking sad thoughts to get my tear ducts to work so I can open them: dry of yesterday morning, which was a horrid start to the day). My new routine is Liposic at night since I can’t see a ****ing thing when I put that stuff in, and Systane in the morning since it is much runnier.  I am also going to start supplementing with evening primrose oil again and start monitoring how many hours a day I am at the computer and watching tv, which will probably horrify me into a neurasthenic stupor.  Also I have to drink water or tea instead of coffee, GRRR.

The congregational dinner was absolutely lovely and I sang Tapioca, but my almost new medical problem (self-diagnosed from symptoms, so YMMV, and almost certainly triggered by my slip and fall in the shop although the broken shoulder got all the attention) fixed it so that by the end I was barely able to walk, drive or lift anything, which given that I was on the cleanup crew didn’t halp.  I am good for about 2.5 k of walking before the pain is so bad I start to waddle (which is characteristic) and all the strength goes out of my legs, (ditto). When I got out of bed this morning all the bones in that region of my body grated and popped like a ship’s rigging in bad weather.

As this is almost certainly the consequence of not having proper foot support and wearing the same shoes day in and day out (which Chipper has warned me about many times) I need to drag myself off to the doc and get a scrip (again, I lost the first one) for  foot support and to quit walking barefoot in the house, since anytime I put my foot to the floor without arch support I’m just being an idiot and making it worse.

Last night as I was driving home a passenger jet came so close to the ground as I was driving along 10th between 8th and 6th that I nearly drove off the road, and then it BANKED like it was heading into the ground.  I have no problem with jets flying over my house as long as they are 1000 ft AGL like they are supposed to be, but that close scared the bejabbers outta me.

Chili and buns for today’s meal has been prepared or purchased.  I’ll head over to Planet Bachelor at some point after church.

So tired… all I can think of is coffee, and I shouldn’t.

Why won’t you die? (It’s a song, don’t worry)

Here it is…

Also, I thought I’d lost a different SG1 song, and it turns out I haven’t.  I’ll have to construct a new tune for the verse, but the chorus (the most important part of the song) is still firmly lodged.

Yesterday was an editing as opposed to writing day, but I still ploughed through some stuff on section 2, mostly in the “minions find the hologrammic skeleton” section.  I also did laundry, cleaned up cat puke and cat litter, baked a banana cake, ran the dishwasher, talked to a bunch of my friends on the phone and drank far too much coffee.

I think it’s possible I had the CPAP on for as much as four hours last night.  I get very dry eyes and it’s hard to swallow.

Buster is just as affectionate as ever.  Apparently he enjoys my skritches.  He has learned how to scoot his ass across the floor to scratch his bum where the surgery was, since it probably still itches like fury, and whenever he does it I burst out laughing, for never did I see a cat so locomote.  He can get up quite a turn of speed.  When he still had the cone on he was dreaming about cleaning himself in his sleep.  (Paw twitching, tongue coming dreamily out in licking motions).  He has finally policed himse’f up to the point he no longer smells, which is probably a relief to everyone.  He’s still pestering Margot, and yet they sleep in the same room, every day.

I will be getting chicken and chili ingredaments today for my various activities today – Jeff got home from various work related stuff so late I didn’t feel like going out.  Kids are going to Victoria, yay!  My mOm is kvelling herself into a little groove there, I’m quite sure.

Buster’s promenade

He came back about 5 am after an evening catting around, and demanded, importuned, and got up in my grill for skritches.  Then he abused Margot for a while, who is starting to have tics from all the chasing around, she’s permafreaked.

I’m reading Amanda Palmer’s The Art of Asking.  She is a very remarkable person.  Check out her TED talk.

I’m off the grocery store to get what I need for foodicles for the Beacon Congregational Dinner and the chili for the Anti_superbowl_musicfest on Sunday.  Much cooking.

Went to Fish the same day Paul and I went to the Foreshore park and picked up a PERFECT haddock filet, which Jeff and I devoured with happiness.  Last night it was a really yummy pork chomp with taters and red pepper and tomato.  I was going to make it like a greek salad but the feta was growing a most interesting and scary kind of mold, sigh.

Back to the CPAP machine.  Two hours of not sleeping, followed by maybe one hour of sleeping with the mask on, at which point I woke up and ripped it off.  This morning both of my eyes were stuck shut.  If I am going to continue I have to solve the dry eyes problem.  Apparently I don’t have enough grease in my eyes.  I am disgusted by the prospect of seeing a doctor about it, so I may just use hospital tape and tape my eyes shut, a solution that at least has the advantage of being cheap.  I may also get Omega three oils, if I can find one that doesn’t give me heartburn flavoured like the ass end of a fishing trawler.

Sandy’s toilet is now running again after much stupidity and spending of money and waiting for plumbers.  I hope to the incorporeal remnants of religion that she sells the place this year, as much as I don’t want her to because I love the house and campground.  Paul wants to take me out there for a flying visit at some point and I am much pleased by this notion.

I am FINALLY back on the writing horse, 600 words yesterday and with luck I’ll get something done today. Reading Amanda Palmer helps.

The Northern Hemisphere gets weather

It’s precipitating like, very hard, man, in a variety of places, including, according to my correspondents, England.  Israel and Norway are also getting pounded.

This showed up in my feed this morning courtesy of Ian Michael Walden

To quote the Two Ronnies – “It’ll be choking ’em in Wokingham, killing ’em in Gillingham, and if you live in Lissingdown, take an umbrella”.

YOINK.

Paul asked for additional support for the Yes, It Continues unpacking yesterday.  We also noodled around for a while (quite a while in my case) on musical instruments and vacuumed and swept various surfaces in prep for the party on Sunday…. and Paul made pork stir fry with yellow curry sauce and quinoa and greek salad om nom nom, while I collected Keith from work. Ayesha is a TUB but so affectionate and sweet.

The downstairs neighbours are appropriately chastened that Buster wuz not a grrl.

It would be nice to have a job.  This week I started pulling all my lyrics into one place; I know I’ve written a lot of songs. I’ve gotten better at it as I get older.  The novel sits glaring at me.

Sandy’s pipes are frozen.  My travails, in many respects, are small.

The hypochondriac in me

I fucking hate it when somebody on facebook says “I meet most of the diagnostic criteria for X HORRIBLE INCURABLE UNTREATABLE DISEASE”.  Because, lalala, I run off to the dreaded Differential Diagnosis Machine that is Google and go “ARGH MY GOD I HAVE THIS DREADED DISEASE and it isn’t fatal  BUT GOD HOW INCONVENIENT.”

No, I don’t have this dreaded disease.  I am just complaining about how the ‘monkey see monkey do’ part of my brain seems to be hyperactive.

Keith and Paul, bless ’em, have gotten me out of the house for walks over the last couple of days.  Oakalla was gorgeous, as always, full of lovely dogs.  Whom I respected from a respectful distance, but Paul never saw a Samoyed he didn’t want to manhandle.

Inherent Vice is a sterling example of how you CAN film a Pynchon novel.  Joachim Phoenix is remarkable, as is the rest of the extremely well chosen cast.  Josh Brolin is a standout.

I have met Keith’s girlfriend!  She exists.  L. is a charming young woman with a most infectious laugh. I gave her a lift home the other night and so had a chance to interact with her.

Buster is remarkably blithe for someone who’s been castrated. He leaped up onto the pinball machine less than 24 hours after the operation.  If he keeps this up he’ll rip out his stitches.  Remarkable feline. Hopefully his remarkable aim, persistence and bladder capacity will be put to more pious uses in future.

Today’s walkies will include tomaters.  Jeff needs tomatoes for BLTs.  Also, I must cook bacon.

Everybody have a lovely day now!!

 

Moar coffee

I got a perfectly good nights’ sleep but I feel very sludgy today.

On the list of things to do:  Mail package to Sandy.  Buy butter.  Make a list of the stuff I have to get  for the Feast of St. Brigid – we’re having a musical evening at Planet Bachelor on February 1st and I’m cooking (and likely cleaning, if trends hold). Practice songs and assemble song books for that event. Moar editing – I’m doing a little every day, which is happy making.  Hopefully it will result in fewer “What the hell is this??” notes from Dianne. Make some phone calls.  Go for a walk – I am thinking of walking up to the library. Watch the Librarians double episode season closer. Put away my clothes, including my COAT which Buster PISSED ON.  Argh.  Sally told me yesterday that once male cats get that habit you’ll be dealing with it forever, but we can has UV lights for piss detection and we shall enzyme clean and Feliway everything in the house if we have to.  Right now it’s REDOLENT up in here. Take a metric crapstack of painkillers and clean. Figure out how to get the mirror off the wall in the bathroom so I can get it resilvered, I am tired of looking like a zombie in my own bathroom mirror.  Fix my website. Get more crap to Value Village. Make a square blankee for Alex.

Jeff is really liking Z Nation – it’s not a soap opera with occasional zombies like Walking Dead, it’s all zombies, all the time, with occasional stops for breath.  He sometimes comes upstairs and tells me of the new and improved zombie killing methods the show comes up with, like squishing them with the Liberty Bell, which you have to admit is hilarious.  Also it’s shot in the Pacific NW so props.

Seahawks did the ultimate haw haw you thought being two td’s ahead was going to stop us to the Packers yesterday.  The fans screamed themselves hoarse.

I forgot to say how VERY HAPPY I was to see Ivy back at church yesterday.  I love that woman and I’m glad to see she’s recovering well from her busted hip.

 

 

Church today

I am wearing my pink dress and my tie dyed tights today; I won’t be easy to miss.

Buster peed on one my mOm’s quilts which is very annoying but Jeff popped it in the laundry for me.

I am continuing with the decluttering.  Yesterday it was all my bookmarks on my computer.

I edited three sections totalling over 15K words today and yesterday.  I will go back and edit them again, tightening, deleting, expanding, and upgrading the punctuation.

Good morning!

I’ve been awake since one ayem and up for 45 minutes; I had rice pudding for breakfast plus a large mug of coffee, so that puts paid to me sleeping – or does it?

Spoke to a girlfriend this morning.  Her husband is giving her grief.  I am trying to be sympathetic, but she knew she was marrying an alcoholic, and even if he’s dry now the physical and behavioural consequences of his life choices are not allowing him to be a good mate.  I am on a drama-reduced diet, myself.

I joined a decluttering group online and so far I’ve removed two bags of clothes from the premises.  I am going to deal with the tyres today (the group leader is English).  They’ve been sitting in the garage for two years, why not.

 

 

My day so far

I’ve climbed back on the writing horse, but since it’s edits I can’t really say OH I WROTE THIS MUCH TODAY.  It’s going well.  I have to figure out how to represent targets though.  Manuscript pages edited?  Dunno, that seems most likely.

I baked bacon for BLTs and made up ingredients so they are ready to go.

I watched the last Hobbit movie.  It was quite well done, although purists will be shuddering from head to foot for the duration.  I am not a purist.

I went for a walk in the predawn murk and fetched cream for coffee and milk for tea, to keep that writer’s support of caffeine flowing.

Poor Hannah, the gal who was supposed to help yesterday, was sick. I was sick all the bloody time when I was her age.  Now I literally cannot remember the last time I had anything resembling a cold or flu; how much I’m washing my hands might have something to do with that.

So many people, including the visitors from last week, volunteered that it made life much easier; the soup lunch is always quite chaotic, and then there was a business meeting at the end of it that I was just as happy to stay out of. I had Peggy’s turkey soup.  It was quite yummy.

I wore my brown snowflake motif pj’s and my steampunk hat, and was complimented.  Seriously. By everybody from Jane (who has an identical set in purple, it’s like she’s my time twin or something) to the minister, who cracked up and then told me she admired my sense of style.  The only places in the world that make me feel anything approaching the same level of acceptance, in order of closeness, Mike’s place, Planet Bachelor (but only when Janice isn’t there…. ha ha), Tom and Peggy’s, my fOlks’, Conflikt and Polycamp. I am a lucky hound, f’sure.

I told Rob to invite himself to supper sometime.  He was happy to hear it.

I’m selling printer ink on Craigslist – buyer is supposed to show up tonight around supper.  There’s nothing like buying $75 of ink and having the fucking printer promptly quit.  I’m letting it go for cheap just to get it out of the house.

Sue drove me home again, home again, and then off to an audition.  I hope I’m like her in 18 years!!

Katie didn’t come to church but she just posted that Alex rolled from his back to his tummy.  I wonder if and when he’s going to start crawling.

Margot stared me into throwing a treat to her this morning.  I can’t wait for Buster to get fixed, he’s so lively, even with the cone of shame, that it’s quite exhausting for her.

I dejunked my phone this morning.  I took out a hundred phone numbers, mostly for the café, which, duh, I no longer need, and 1.2 gigs of crapware.  Go me.

I got enough sleep last night! I went to bed at 8 pm and woke up at 5, which is wonderful.

Here are the cinnamon buns I made yesterday.

Cinnamonbuns

 

 

Hate is strong

I really hate Bell Mobility and their stupid goddamned website.  I went through everything to update my plan and was told, on the same page, that it hadn’t gone through, and it had been confirmed.  I haven’t gotten an email confirming the update, so I am assuming it did not in fact go through.  Emmanuel on chat was helpful.

At some point today I’m hoping we can do a shop. I haven’t left the house to do more than put trash out in three days, so I should probably stir my stumps; on the plus side I can see some of my floor and almost all my clothes are clean.

 

Alex is coming!

I know, most of the world doesn’t care…. anyway, I have put aside a couple of kids books for him, being Koko’s Kitten and The Pokey Little Puppy, seeing as how they are family favourites.  Katie’s going to come some time this morning and we’re going to go for a walk, since I need to mail Tammy’s sweater back to her.

Keith dropped by yesterday and we fed him crudites with crockpot pork chomps and onyums.

I found my will and my burial arrangements yesterday!  I cleaned out the living room, and candidly that is not where I expected to find them.  However they are now back in my room where they belong.

We tried to watch Fleming, the 4 part miniseries, but it was goshawful, so we stopped.  We’re enjoying Salamander, which is Belgian and very suspenseful, and I love love love Filip Peeters, who is about as cute as middle aged men get and has one of the most startlingly asymmetrical faces I’ve seen east of Picasso.  Also, Mike Verdrengh would be perfect as Jordan de Riberac.

I made pancakes for breakfast.  It’s been ages since I did that.

Into the Woods

Saw the wussified, bowdlerized, defanged and diznified version of Sondheim’s Into the Woods last night with Sue.  I enjoyed it.  Chris Pine ripppppping his shirt off in the Agony song was pretty funny, and Emily Blunt was bloody marvellous, but really all the cast was good, and I enjoyed it.  I’m actually glad I saw it on the big screen as it is quite pretty.

Also I ate poutine and drank beer (except for parties I’m not keeping it in the house anymore).  Now I’m going to get up, make coffee and get stuff done.  Since there is literally no more episodic tv to watch unless we’re rewatching SG1, which is okay too I guess.