I can see the bridge

I can finally see the Sto:lo bridge from my back window again…. it’s been the best part of a week. AQI is 24, about as good as urban air gets in these parlous times.

Two loads of laundry plus the dishes yesterday, plus restringing Smokey. We’re still cursing an intermittent blue streak about the intermittent leaking of the dishwasher but no solid ideas.

Buster trained hard this morning, three paw claps and a couple of bounce and chase, and really focussed. Between having his fleas dealt with and the better air he’s def got more of a tigger-sproing in his step.

Le Mans has started and Jeff’s well-ensconced.

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Muppet Bison

like 2020 couldn’t suck more for centrist americans who wear masks

RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg. McConnell’s going to get his wish and pack the SCOTUS with Republicans for a generation and a half. The Republic has fallen.

It fell when the Russians interfered with the last US election, actually, but now the general consensus in my corner of Twitter is that it’s all a done deal, especially if the new candidate is sworn in before the next election; that way any lawsuits complaining about the election results will be swiftly and summarily dealt with, and the Republicans will start picking off political enemies by directing mobs at them with no senior judicial branch to help clean up the mess years later, since they’ll be rubber stamping charges of treason. I wonder if the chipper young Democrat women like AOC understand at this point that they’re going to die in jail.

As ugly as it is, it will be uglier still, and the ugliest parts of all will happen in the shadow where no media penetrates and no signal comes out.

nothing yesterday

Well, not much. Walk in Lougheed Mall and picked up some veg with Paul. I was feeling so exhausted but there was chicken to cook in the fridge so I made asparagus and mini potatoes and corn and breaded chicken breasts for an early supper and then pretty much collapsed after that. I did a little tidying but the air is so oppressive I felt like crap.

AQI currently 139, went up and down all night.

Currently putting together a list of the birds seen and heard in Deer Lake Park. I think it’s marvellous that when I went to the list there was no American Coot! But American Coots come to Deer Lake all the freaking time, so immediately I was one up on the list.

The list is the names of the birds and their habitats and songs, since Paul and I are tired of always hearing the birds and never seeing them. I already know that we’ve repeatedly heard both ospreys and merlins, which blows me away. Their chittering calls are very distinctive. Getting the info here.

Insomnia. Woke at 10:30, up til 3, back down again and up at 8.

Le Mans weekend.

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much better aqi, all things considered

It’s dropped 20 points since 1 am (now 145 LATER AT 8:30 AM UP PAST 160 AGAIN), and should get within kissing distance of normal – under 40 – sometime by Friday.

Buster has been extremely variable about wanting to train. Some mornings he’s all over it, but the last couple of mornings he wants to just be handed treats, so I cut short the training this am after one treat and we’ll try again in the early afternoon. This morning first he huffed training and then he begged for it and we got three paw claps and a jump and chase and a run and chase in.

My experiment, stealing a cushion off one of the downstairs sofas and using it for a backboard, is a success – however finding a replacement pillow even at places like Bed Bath and Beyond that are supposed to specialize in shit like this has proven rather difficult. I will ask Paul to assist with cushion shopping today, then I can put the danged cushion back.

Jeff took me to breakfast at IHOP yesterday and I just ate what was left of the leftovers. We had the leftover sushi for supper last night as the folks kindly shared out leftovers from Paul’s bday.

Doctor’s office phoned me saying they wanted to schedule ‘a medical review with an RN’ and I told them to go fuck themselves until after the 22nd when I (hopefully) get my glucose tolerance test. What the hell is wrong with these people? Why do a medical review when the single most important piece of test data isn’t available? Anyway, I wasn’t as rude as I sound but I took no shit, I assure you.

The hot stone massage at Head to Toes day spa with Pauline was AMAZING, I’m still feeling comfort right into my bones.  I may book another one next month just to have something to look forward to. But I suppose I should probably wait at least that long to ensure I neither caught nor brought anything.

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Review of day:

Didn’t drink enough water yesterday. It needs to be less than half tea, my liquid consumption. Did practice x 3 instruments; did walk 1.5 k, did empty the sink and fill the dishwasher; did not meditate or take my bp and pulseox; I did not work on a manuscript; I did take my pill and brush my hair and teeth; I did my shoulder exercises. No laundry yesterday or today; no osteofit, no dejunking yesterday.

Paul’s 71st bday

We ordered from L.A. Sushi, and it was really good, and we all broke up into smaller conversational groups, Katie and Keith and Paul and Jeff and I, and we marvelled that I bought a 70th birthday party card for Paul 6 months early, and then forgot to give it to him, and then dropped it on the ground outside his apartment yesterday so he almost didn’t get it AGAIN, but Jeff fetched it. Then I told him I hadn’t signed it and he’d have to sign it himself just to prove receipt and he got a good laugh out of that.

Earlier I had a panic attack at the Pier (the smell from the creosote after I took the N95 mask off literally made me hyperventilate – I didn’t learn until AFTER we left that the fucking pier is STILL ON FIRE and will remain so until the last of the creosote is burned) and ran away from Paul (because I needed to get home and he wouldn’t get in the car because he’d run into a friend on the street) and took a cab home, but I managed to calm down enough to go back out again for supper, and I’m glad I did because Alex was delightful playing Minecraft and it was really really really good to see the kids. I bought beer and drank a lot and guess what, no bad result today.

Massage this afternoon. I know it’s crazy, but if somebody doesn’t touch me I’m going to die, so wish me luck and I’ll have my best masks with me.

It’s been really shitty around here, but I feel a bit better today and the AQI is down under 160 for the first time in a week. The sky is SO OPPRESSIVE – it’s just horrible. Even so Jeff is helping things stay on an even keel, and we try to get out to get a little sun.

There’s a little more visibility, but we’re wrapped in a grey blanket of smoke and dirt. LATER… 170 is the AQI, my head is starting to hurt again, and damn I do not want to leave the house.

nothing on the fic today

Later, it was a lovely massage, and I stayed masked the whole time.

Visibility less than a kilometre

stench outside insupportable, and we got days more of this. For the people in Portland and western Oregon the air quality is up to three times WORSE, so feel something for those poor suffering bastards. At least Ned is safe while 12 percent of the population of the state is on the move.

King County R number is .6, best it’s been since the pandemic started. It’s flying way over one in Ontario, so stay tuned for more Fordfuckery.

Only seven squash left.

Tuesday we’re having a family supper at Planet Bachelor for Paul’s 71st bday. Everyone likes sushi, so that’s what we’re going with.

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Apparently I’m going to host Alex the long haired Minecraft grandson today.

Yesterday was a good day, I hope today is too.

still keep flashing on Sue and our convo the other day, talking about how the day will come when we’ll end ourselves so as not to make work for our loved ones

french toast and bacon

Not exactly on the high blood pressure and kidney problems diet, but I will only have two pieces of bacon. In a few minutes we’ll take off for the store; Jeff will stay in the car and I’ll go do the shop, as per their current instructions – they only want one person per household…

Latest bp 157/87, not too bad. Nice walk back from the pharmacy yesterday – it was literally the only part of the day that wasn’t too smokey to be outside.

Two dozen deaths, minimum, from the wildfires, and it will be closer to a couple hundred by the time it’s all over.

I got 11/15 daily routine items taken care of yesterday, so even if I feel like I didn’t do much besides laze around and harvest squash (put them in a carryall LOL to carry them, otherwise you’re negotiating with a dozen verdant cannonballs) I did actually DO THINGS yesterday

et the littlest one last night as a bedtime snack, seeds and all, damn it was good

LATER ABOUT THE SQUASH two more of them found homes

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The weeping and wailing about Supernatural ending continueth on twitter.