LMB writes a traditional ballad

And fails gallantly.

I got to the end and thought – gonna have to learn that one.  That will make a nice companion piece to Judith Hayman’s song about signing your donor card. Or maybe we can start a thread of public health messages…
Last night helped Kopper orgalize and shove furniture around.  It took me 20 minutes to get home from her place!  Amazing what making your connection will do for your timing.  For my pains I received a spice rack, which I needed.

As predicted, the furniture was assembled and in place when I got home, and the barbeque was set up.  I am going to learn to char meat!  That is if I can touch it, we all know about the keepers of the sacred flame…. Guys and Q’s.

Continue reading LMB writes a traditional ballad

Political punditry and conspicuous consumption

This dude takes on ‘bittergate’ – supposedly Obama’s bitter misreading of middle America.  As is frequently the case, the post is excellent and some of the comments are even better.

What kind of strange middle class fffreak am I turning into?  Going shopping at IKEA?  Yes, we bought a kitchen table and some kitchen shelves.  I rented the Montana (finally learned how to put the back seats down and up again, with some struggle) and we went to the Richmond IKEA and I have to say Monday evening around supper time is a way better time to shop there than the weekend.  The last time I was there on the weekend I thought I’d died and gone to a special corner of hell.  I’m glad Patricia suggested eating in the cafeteria at IKEA.  The food was excellent (they have a license! but of course I had a CAN car so I stayed off the sauce) and with milk and cookies and meatballs included it was 16 bucks for the two of us.
The car smelled funny.  I am almost inclined to get it detailed to try and offload the curious “what the hell is that?” aroma that is in the car.  The Prius was like that too, especially on a warm day.

After much delay, I’m off to see Katie K tonight.  What with her staging her condo and me moving, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other and we are long overdue for an earflapping.

There was snow at the same time the sun was out yesterday; then snow pellets; then this morning a skin of ice on everything.  Winter is clinging like a cast off lover with a personality disorder.  Except, of course, you can’t call the cops on the weather.  Even if you could, I can’t hear Mother Nature saying, “Don’t tase me, bro!”

Eddie has been to the vet, and now he has medicine.  The vet at Petcetera is pretty good and his staff are too, so says Jeff.

When I come home tonight, the furniture will be assembled.  I asked if I could help, and Jeff just looked at me like I’m nuts; being my brother he gets to do that a lot, since I provide loads of evidence that it’s true. Let us hope all the hardware is in the fracking box.

Man, is BSGs4 going to a dark place or what???

Watched Breach last night.  That was a damned good movie.  I may want to see it again sometime.   If you want to see a movie that has very little swearing, no graphic violence whatsoever and only one little bit of violence, no explosions and no car chases, but a gripping plot, good acting and a great script, check it out.
Shoot.  It’s 7am.  Time to don the gay apparel and grab the next shuttle to the mothership.

Food and family

Keith and Paul were here. We ate leftovers, but there were loads in the fridge, and then I made lovely rice pudding for dessert. I bet it’s all gone by the time we get home tonight.

Then we watched The Big Lebowski which is one Powerfully Strange movie, but very funny, and I thank Joe the fanboy for loaning it to us.
I wrote a tune on the mando yesterday. No lyrics, it’s all picking. It’s called Willie’s Lament. I did laundry and admired the activities of the 59000 Sun Runners on the psychic plane. Between 420 and the Sun Run there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going downtown yesterday.
Tonight, off to Ikea for a kitchen table.

The thrice-blessèd Jeff silenced the toilet (the noise alternated between hissing and a tick tick tick noise that made one think of a limpet mine), installed smoke alarms (the one that came with the house was wired into the AC and kept going off hoarsely at odd intervals) and put up cup holders so now we have Places to Hang Things in the kitchen.  He also got the internet running on the big screen in the living room which means we can now play Youtube Bingo where everybody can see it.  Honestly, watching Youtube videos with friends is a truly fine experience and with the wireless keyboard, you just hand it to the next person and see what insanity comes up.  Of course THIS is what he played first (lyrics not safe for work, and yes I previously posted it).  I heard the first few bars, started giggling and ran out into the living room.

I had a great three days off.  But I’m happy to be going back to work.  Sick, hunh?

And today is

420

So there will be the usual gang of celebrants on the Art Gallery steps downtown.  I won’t be there.  Today’s the Sun Run; Peggy is participating, but I won’t be there either. I will be doing laundry and shuffling boxes around, and if I get myself together I will try to work on my June 1st atheism homily a bit more.  Also, I will take out my bike and do a small bicycle shop; I really should get panniers but I’ll borrow a backpack instead.  Keith is supposed to show up later, and I am looking forward to seeing him.

Shay, a family friend of Suzanne’s and thus of daughter Katie’s, has made the finals for the stand up comedy contest, and I will be going to see the show on the 24th, if the fates are propitious.  Gotta support those lady comics, you know.

Yesterday I watched Ana’s hummingbirds and Rufous hummingbirds dodge wet snow to slurp back syrup at my folks’ place.  The breeding plumage is so glorious.

Yesterday, the folks, Paul and I went to have lunch with Granny.  I am so very lucky to still have a Granny to go visit; Paul adores her and couldn’t go to Victoria without dropping in on her.

The biscotti are practically gone.  They don’t keep, you know.

Dinner last night was grilled chicken breasts, salad and steamed cauliflower.  Still no cheese, must fix this soon…

It’s supposed to snow today, which is odd, because it’s GLORIOUS weather out there.

various

  1. The Willie P Bennet Memorial event went off hitchless, magnificent, and a credit to the participants.  Goddess bless the James Bay Coffee House and all who frequent it! Paul and I got through the set without embarrassing ourselves and Paul received praise for his fingerpicking.
  2. Peggy showed up the second we cleared the door of the coffee house.  I hugged her twice, I was so happy to see her.  And she crashed her at my folks’ and then I got her to the ferry for the 7 am (which was the reason she crashed here, because if she’d stayed at Pondside that would have been somewhat harder logistically).
  3. Yesterday after we made town I saw the Pondside crew and met a small horde of Devon Rex cats.  I didn’t understand their charm until I met them.  I nearly kidnapped Spice; what a cat!  Suki recognized me and sucked up to me something fierce.
  4. I gave Juliana a copy of the Interfilk auction video I took in January.  w))t!  No, you may not see it.  Private. Also screechingly hilarious.  Ha.
  5. John introduced us to the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian Buffet restaurant on Head Street in Esquimalt.  Man, the food was AWESOME and I am so glad to have had njera again. That is some seriously great bread.
  6. My folks are doing famously and we and Paul are going to head to Granny’s place and have lunch with her today, and then leave for the ferry from there.
  7. All in all so far this weekend has been a spectacular success and I wish I could put the feeling I got when I saw Peggy in a bottle and uncork it whenever I feel sad.  I thought my heart would burst with joy when I turned and saw her with her best mischievous expression. 
  8. Peggy brought Tom’s blackberry jelly, two jars.  Loki pronounces himself well satisfied with a house guest who only appears to deposit blackberry jelly on his kitchen table (he didn’t see her as we were in late and out so early).
  9. Did I mention the Willie P memorial was a rousing success?  That was, after all, the point of the exercise.  But it seems that we may weave extra happiness into our days by availing ourselves of the fleeting opportunities as they pass, and by feeling grateful.  I know that I’m very, very grateful right now.  For my health, my family, my job, my friends…. and frankly, screw the weather.  You can’t have everything.

Weird weather in Vancouver

Last night at about 8:30, Keith and I were watching Cool Hand Luke (Keith’s first time, my fifth at least) when someone outside the house fired the biggest flashbulb ever.  At least, that’s what it looked like.  Both windows in my field of vision lit up like daylight for a fraction of a second.  I had time to look quizzically at Keith, then turn back and shrug, before the thunder arrived.  We estimated that it was about four seconds after the flash; long enough for both of us to dismiss the flash as something other than lightning.  We were wrong.  The thunder was like an earthquake; the house shook violently and I felt the shaking throughout my body.  I couldn’t figure out how the thunder could be that loud if the lightning strike was so far away; Keith suggested that it had indeed been far away, but right above us.  That would explain what we observed.  Of course, what made this particularly interesting for us was that it occurred at the point in the film where – you guessed it – there was a thunderstorm.  Anyway, soon after this event, it started to snow.  And this morning, snow covers the ground.  This is going to be a weird year for weather.