Category: Nature

Friday teh 13th o noes.

Today the horror of the landlord’s minion coming to pressure wash the back deck, which will probably disassemble, it’s so rickety (or at least parts of it are).

Last night the horror of the evil across the street black and white cat whom I narrowly missed ejecting from the house. He came in and started fighting with Eddy, who has taken to guarding the cat door with Margot sitting about three metres back from him. Margot is showing signs of developing a healthier regard for her skin than has been evident previously.

Saw Brave yesterday with the kids and Katie’s beau, who was much distracted by the transmission on his month old car crapping out. I really enjoyed it. Lovely animation with some awesome sight gags.

Had a fucking uninspired and oversalted meal at Ihop yesterday, but Tamara’s company more than made up for it. We caught up (it’s been AGES since I saw her, like 10 years or something equally ludicrous) and LAUGHED our faces off. She looks radiant with health and enthusiasm and that is a special privilege to be around.

Too hot to bake today so I’ll go off and do other business related things, god knows there’s a list a mile long. I’ve already practiced and I’m just finishing up the instrument case for Otto so it will be ready tomorrow. I need to find some upholstery tacks.

Roundup

Anderson Cooper has finally come out as gay.  We can now go back to our normally scheduled, completely unwarranted and entirely jejune speculations about the sexuality of other people we don’t know.

South Vancouver Island has something called a (link removed for security) Permablitz.

Slap me on my ass and send me to Mars.

And there was a silence in the internet …. darned leap second.

Wow, a guide for moving back home.

Apes with Apps.

 

Brief update

I got a good night’s sleep, the proximate cause of Teh Sad is dealt with although the sequelae will continue to reverberate, and I’m going to the Dandy Warhols tonight at the Commodore.  …. after almost ten years of threats I am  writing the script for the first episode of Midnite Moving Co.  I am enjoying Celtx as a scriptwriting tool.  You type like a mofo and it does all the formatting.

Margot and Eddie are getting along better than they ever have.  Sometimes they just look at each other.  Sometimes they jump up for side-by-side scritches.

My FoodSafe cert arrived yesterday.  Board meeting went well.

One thing and another

I didn’t get as much done yesterday as I wanted to.  I did hear a piece of news that is still percolating through my system and making me very twitchy and uncomfortable, but it’s not something you go blabbing about if you want to stay friends.

I finally have a decent kitchen compost bucket; I’ve had my eye on it for a while and finally got over to Lee Valley (also bought Katie a decent kitchen knife, since as seems to be habitual in our family she didn’t have a decent one).   I also have a three instrument stand, which is good because I’ll finally be able to SEE all my instruments at once, and I got strings for the Octo.

A great blue heron just flew past my back door.  Due to habitat destruction in the lower mainland they are now nesting all over Burnaby around the lakes.  They used to have a huge rookery in Ladner but the farmer sold the land and all the trees were chopped down.  I’m seeing herons practically every day now.

Batch of biscotti is in the fridge preparatory to the first bake.  I owe Peggy big time so I will show up her place next with treetz.

I had dim sum with Katiekinder yesterday and I’m having something yummy with Sue today, as it’s been an age since I took her out for lunch.  I’m headed down to her place around noon.

After that I’m headed over to Paul’s place for some practicing.  This time we’re drawing up the set list FIRST.  The last session was incredibly frustrating, because the two of us just noodled like idiots.  When Cindy and I were practicing – and I wish that darlin’ woman would return my phone call, except I have a feeling that one of her kids has that phone – we had a set list and we worked the damned thing and even then we weren’t nearly rehearsed enough at the day.

So it’s on my list of things to do.  A Canonical Set List for Paul and Allegra.

I had a dreadful nights’ sleep, but I’m smoothly applying coffee.

I have written out The Wreck of the Margarita.  Also changed the words around.

Lists of lists

Yesterday:

Heaps of Stargate Atlantis, but also talking to the outplacementthingy and the HR gal at Schneider as it turns out I had NOT actually signed everything I was s’posed to, booking appointments, paying bills, getting programs to run properly with the new OS, hanging out with Keith and calling my mother.  Cause you cain’t call yer mother enuf.  I did not actually leave the house yesterday.  But I made cookies.  And cooked chicken and zucchini with black bean sauce over yakisoba noodles (Keith provided the sauce and noodles, I believe to nudge me to make something) and we had leftovers so that’s one less thing to disturb me today.

Today:

Gotta get Buzz set up properly and restrung.  Also buy more instrument stands, hopefully one of those threeway bluegrass ones for three different sized instruments.  Also I am tired of my tuner; I am going to get contact tuners because balancing that black box in my lap while trying to keep fretted instruments from sounding like the wailing of the damned is TOO DAMNED MUCH.  See how low my frustration tolerance is these days?  Ha.

The Grass.  This is exactly the kind of weather that makes grass tall, lush, and impossible to cut.  Lots of overcast and rain off and on with the occasional blinding sunshine.  Very, very occasional.  If it dries out the least bit I gotta do it before it attempts to eat east Burnaby.

Checking with Kathleen that we’ve paid the church rent and figuring out how much it is (it changes from month to month) if we haven’t yet for May. Also getting hold of Lady Miss D for an interview about what it’s like to bake / construct hors d’oevres for a living.  I will probably bake biscotti, it’s such a crappy day, heating up the kitchen with nice smells seems like a plan. I already made Granny’s recipe oatmeal cookies mit chocolate chips this morning for Jeff (I can’t eat them because le migraine keeps whacking me.  I’ve had scintillating scotoma every day for a week now… it’s fraking tiresome although late last week I got visuals I’ve never seen before; imagine rainbow coloured fish scales about two inches across at arms length dancing across your ENTIRE visual field – and it disappeared as fast as it came on thank goodness). I’ve also loaded the dishwasher, taken out the trash and played with Margot, who did not actually come in and cuddle this morning, darn. Her eyes are much less disgusting, the allergies must be lightening up somewhat.

Completely dejunking my head, a la Getting things Done.  I have a program (Thinking Rock) that helps with that.  Considering how many balls I’m going to have in the air for the next little while I need to marshall my time intelligently.

Deal with the exercise issue.  I’m completely on board with Lady Miss Banjola’s recent extremely useful and heartfelt rant about weight loss; what I am not on board with is actually stirring my stumps and getting enough exercise to overcome the fact that my weight is stressing my whole body.  IT AIN’T THE MASS IT’S THE MOTION.  Ahem. As in, the lack of it.

Booking the camping trip in the US in August.  Planning a circuit of the Island.  I have a strong urge to drive onto a ferry and go to Haida Gwaii, and precious little to stop me.

Just last week I was saying how I wasn’t going to go to Jericho any more because it’s so far on a school night.  Now I’m thinking I can do it every week for the whole summer!  Woot! So that may be my evening.

And soon the Dandy Warhols.

I have had precisely four beers since I ‘quit drinking’. What I have learned.  Alcohol makes me happy for about five minutes.  Then it irritates my bladder, fogs my thinking, prevents me from driving or leaving the house, screws up my nights’ sleep, makes my stomach hurt and gives me a mild to moderate feeling of wretched blankness the next morning which coffee can usually shake off.  So for the purposes of keeping tracking June 4 is now my official quit drinking date.  Unless it would be rude not to (a wake, toasting the bride and groom) I’m not going to consume alcohol any more.  Nothing bad has happened in its absence except I’m spending a sizable amount less (like, 200 dollars a month, which is not an inconsiderable amount).

 

Evening at the Heritage

Mike, Rozo, Jeff, Katie and I consumed bevvies (I had one Carlsberg and you may all laugh, I feel quite hungover) and ate nommies and listed to live music last night at the Heritage.  Who’d’a thunk we’d actually gerroff our asses and go out someplace?

Also yesterday Katie K called me up having read my facebutt post on my unemployment.  People are being very civil to me about it and I’m finding it quite heartwarming.  We had a lovely long chat and how good to hear her voice.

Today I’m going to make more lists, practice my mandolin. watch some Stargate Atlantis episodes, drink coffee, commune with my cat by waving long stalks of grass in front of her face and commiserate with my daughter about how the first day of her 11 days off is such a sucky day, as we have “BEACH” on our list of things to do and the weather is uncooperative.  Also, trip to the Island at some point.  Also, shopping trip to the US possibly. (I don’t actually intend to buy anything but I can always provide the wheels.)

Christ, gas prices.

Upgraded the MacBook’s OS to Snow Leopard yesterday.  It was lengthy, but painless.  This will hopefully stop all of my various programs from saying I’m running an outdated version of things.  I can’t tell any difference but I suppose that’s the point.  Everything seems to be working okay.  I have to say I have been completely underwhelmed by the attitude of the MacStation employees when you walk into that store on Brighton…. their cold dead eyes, their complete lack of enthusiasm to see you.  Impressive tattoos, though.

I have a deep deep hankering for doubles today from D Roti Shak.  I will get some, but I think I’m also going to learn how.  It’s a fried bread chickpea sandwich, how hard could it be?

I also have a deep hankering for more cinnamon buns, so I suppose after the dishwasher quits swishing and clanking I should fire up the breadmaker.

Jeff enjoyed my foray into chocolate chip cookies, but my brain is not enjoying chocolate at the moment so the next cookies will be Granny’s oatmeal cookies so we can both have something to enjoy.  I am thinking of making them as refrigerator cookies so as to avoid having to cook a whole batch at once.

I introduced Miss Margot to Miss Kira yesterday morning. Margot came out to the front porch with me so I scooped her up and tossed her in the car.  She attempted to jump up on the extremely slippery dash, with comic results, and then settled into the passenger’s side footwell with nary a cry nor peep.  Kira was mewing like crazy as I came up to the door but it died in her throat when she saw Miss Margot, who dashed for the cat tree and then the entertainment system as likely places to hide.  I fed Kira and when I called Margot she came out from the entertainment center (working her way through a bunch of loose wires, which looked pretty funny) and I picked her up and took her to Kira who sniffed at her thoughtfully but didn’t fluff her tail or make any noise.  Margot growled like a watch ticking, so faint if I hadn’t been holding her I wouldn’t have noticed.  Then I stuffed her back in the car, she got back in the footwell, and seemed very relieved to be at home when next I popped the door open.  I find it interesting that she cries if she’s transported in a carrier, but not if she’s just in the car.

Photos for passports acquired

Now to get them signed off and away we go.

Work was VERY interesting yesterday.  And of course I can’t say more but it nets positive, except that now everybody is using a new buzzword, which immediately makes me want to scream and sigh.

Fuck pertussis man.

Having Katie around = the happy.

Having Keith drop by = the ditto.

Fresh coffee and cream makes me the happy too.

I bought a cat toy for Margot last night and although she promptly lost interest in it, the ten minutes she enjoyed it were quite hilarious.

a miscellany of news items

So Paul dragged me out of the house for a walk yesterday (I wore my cloak, as it was the perfect weather for it) and while we were walking up Davies Dave the Plumber and his wife tried to run us down in his truck while we cowered in fear.

Uh, no, but I can imagine somebody watching thinking that.  Dave, a devout Sikh and one of the best plumbers and pipefitters in the lower mainland, has a puckish sense of humour.  We chatted for a bit and continued on with our walk, much amused by our ‘near miss’.

When Paul and I first got this house outfitted for a gas stove, Dave did the work.  I came back from my first interview with (previous x 2 company) all bubbly and happy and then I got all sad face because when I asked how the work was coming on and both Paul and Dave with straight faces said “Terrible, it’s not working”, and then when I got testy they burst out laughing.  They had not actually prearranged this little gag so you can see why Paul and Dave were two peas in a pod.  I am thankful to know such good tradesmen, and I particularly thank him for the amazing work he did when the ‘spring’ happened in the back yard at the Augur Inn.

Paul’s on course for six weeks and has weekends off and no nights.  I’m sure he’ll enjoy that.

Jeff is still feeling crappy but he took some small amount of food yesterday.

The idiot ex has quit harassing Katie.

Keith came in to the office on Friday and we played Forbidden Island with the D-man.

I made borscht for the Sasamat soup lunch this morning.  It is FREAKING AWESOME, but I betcha I’m gonna be musical in the office tomorrow.

I have one more load of laundry to do and then all my laundry will be clean.

I told the Worship committee Easter will be my last homily for Beacon, as I am going to have a stressful 2012-13 year at church (I am taking on a much bigger role in terms of governance) and I need to reduce stressors big time.  I think King Jesus is a great topic and I’m going to be going out with a ‘bang’ so to speak.

I have decided that I am going to write a book about customer service.  mOm is going to help me with it.

I took food to Sue on Friday; her knee is ow-ie.  I asked her how the hell she’s going to be in two plays between now and the middle of May and she laughed and said that the roles require her to be in bed for most of the shows.  I thought this was a stupendous coincidence and congratulated her on what appeared to be prescience.

I have pulled so much fur off Margot in the last three days (she’s doing the spring shed) that she’s having existential angst as it appears to her I’ve pulled a Margot-equivalent of fur off her already and she doesn’t understand that she can still be here.

Well, it’s that time again.  I’m doing the coffee in church today so I won’t be upstairs listening to the service.  Tom’s friend is being memorialized this afternoon so no rehearsal for my new song to be performed in church, we’re hoping Monday night now.

If you don’t have a will please write it up now.