Sweaty Sunday

The night was more akin to what I’d hope for. Sleep came at a better hour and that afforded waking at a more desired time. As it was I opened my eyes with twenty minutes remaining until the seventh bell of the day. That gave me a bit of time to lounge before springing out of bed and making ready for the day like I would most others. I had my list and was ready to rock by half seven. I stopped to get a McBreakfast and then parked at the Walmart to consume it. A disheveled man emerged from one of the cart huts with a gym bag and a wild eyed look to him. He started approaching the truck upon seeing me in it. I got a little nervous until he put his fingers to his lips in a mime of smoking. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders without even putting the window down. He moved on and scored his free dart from someone else. It was an unusual encounter that filled me with questions. I forced my mind to move on from it. Once in the store, I decided I’d take a bit of a walk around and have a gander. My first aimless shopping time. I had the list for the grocery aisles but wandered the kitchen stuff and the fishing stuff. I decided I’d make up a small tackle box with some key elements for times when I had to pack lighter. I got my favourite lure and some jig heads to get started. The jig heads were much bigger than anticipated but they are a start. I’ll pillage from my larger tackle box to fill this out. I’m thinking it will go in my pocket with a couple of soft plastics. I walked by the exercise stuff, which is on an outer aisle now. I spied a 25lb kettle bell and figured I’ve lost enough strength that the 45lb in the basement might be too much for me nowadays. I should build myself back up. There was no price on it or around it so I rolled the dice, figuring it can’t be much more than a buck a pound, ha! I got home and unpacked the truck before stowing everything. Here is a shot of what I got. It’s the least amount I’ve purchased in a long time. Just a top up after my mega shop in preparation of my family visiting.

I put in my laundry and bought some bags of softener salt to the basement along with my new toy. Those three trips on the stairs tuckered me out pretty good so I had a bit of a rest and did my French lessons. I think I’ve found a neat little hack to gather experience points quickly and easily. I’ve got a two hundred and change point lead right now in my Diamond league grouping. I’m poised for my third Diamond League (the highest) crown in 2021. Here is a picture of big brother and little brother in the basement.

While in the basement, I fired up a load of laundry just before the phone rang. My parents were calling on their way home from visiting some extended family. We chatted for a long spell, during which Admiral Bonesaw and Dutchie called, also trekking Northward. Eventually the reception got too dodgy and I had to close things out with my parents and call the Adrmiral back after moving the laundry over. We talked for over an hour, it was a good catchup considering we hadn’t really talked in earnest for several months now. They’re busy with their kids and apparently putting in a pool. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought but I don’t think they have the final bill yet either. The laundry was completed by this point and I had to make the bed in the basement and fold and stow my clean clothes. By the time I finished that it was well after one. I had a snack of some Cool Ranch Doritos and a Pepsi before jumping on my computer. I finally remembered to do something I have been meaning to do for months now. I got the Meat Man his Christmas and birthday combination gift. I got him a nice gift card to Cabela’s. He has aspirations of someday buying a fishing kayak so I donated to that cause. And I hope he gets it, I think that would be a fun way for him to explore the area. He prefers to fish like that anyways, often using a paddleboat himself or a canoe, or rowboat. A fishing kayak would be much more appropriate. I did some other computing as well, mostly looking up things I wondered about. The garage was my next destination. I had some cleaning up to do and wanted to get my tackle box. I checked my old one to make sure it was empty and I hadn’t left some reserve items in there. It was empty. I brought the current unit to the kitchen and began to populate my new little box. I wanted to have a general mix of anything that might be useful for trying a new spot and I think I got that. It’s got most of the basics and I even tossed in some soft plastic for fun. It fits nicely in the pocket of my shorts and I can move freely with it. In my mind it will be handy for hiking into spots to fish. Not sure when I’d ever do that but I’ve got it now. I can also use it when fishing with friends to reduce the stuff I need to bring along.

After filling up the tackle box and putting everything away I resorted to some HomeScapes to fill in a bit of time. I was listening to my newest audiobook acquisition, The Fellowship of the Ring for most of the afternoon so chose this relaxing activity to allow that to continue. Around four my tummy was getting hungry. I returned to the kitchen and decided that instead of making the soup I vowed to make today and that I’ve been needing to make for months I’d use some of the leftover pasta sauce to make some simple pasta. I had the Catelli Smart Linguine still from when my family visited. Mother asked me to provide noodles to eat with the sauce she brought on the first night but then she brought her own noodles anyways, likely not trusting me to be able to buy noodles. So I cooked them to perfection, just a hint of tooth left when I pulled them. I pulled some fresh parsley from the pot of herbs growing out front and piled my plate up for a nice photo before adding parmesan cheese and mixing it up into a lovely meal. A simple classic done well is fantastic.

After cleaning up my minor mess I put AP Bio on in the Living room and used my actual couch, something that I’ve avoided since it started to disintegrate. It spews out chunks of leather that flake off and it pulls material off the blanket I use to hide the shame. They are very visible on the rug. I managed to complete the second season of the show. I enjoyed what was available to me, there is apparently a third season done and a fourth being made but not on the Netflix, thus not available to me since my pirating days are behind me (if they ever existed). It was only eight and I figured I had time to watch a movie. I selected a film with an interesting description but with unknown actors. It screamed indie, which means it might have an original story. The film was called Every Day. It was an interesting concept. I won’t go into detail other to say that I enjoyed it and it left me feeling warm and hopeful. Those feelings are increasingly rare in our pandemic world so I really appreciated that outcome. Pair that with the unique story and I’d throw the thumb’s up on it. It was close to ten when I turned everything off and found my bed. I think it was half ten when I winked out for the night. I enjoyed today, lots of small things done or in the works. Hope your day was as pleasant.

Productively Relaxed

I opened my eyes at half six and wish I hadn’t. I had made plans with the Chef to meet up for breakfast on his turf at eight today and knew I should shower and had to fuel the truck. I couldn’t fade back to sleep, who knows when I’d have woken. I got cleaned, dressed and fuelled the truck I was over there in good time and apparently he had been up early too, having already gone to the dump with a load before I was even on the road. That’s craziness from him, he’s always been a ten in the morning wake up guy. Regular workdays seem to agree with him, or he had a terrible sleep like he said. Who am I to judge?! We made our way to Country Girl in his town for breakfast. I traded him some vitamins for this meal. I’m not disappointed. I got the classic eggs benedict and did the “supreme” to my homefries. That is just some shredded cheese and more hollandaise. That really tied the plate together. It was tasty. We didn’t stay to chat for long as it was busy and I was going to tour his place anyways. It would be the first time I’d see it in the last ten months or so. Actually this was the first time I’d seen him in over four months. Pretty crazy.

First stop on the tour of his work was the backyard. You can see that he’s put new siding on the garage. He has a nice pad poured at the top, this is the first tier of the yard. You can see his retaining wall below that. It is built with neat blocks that are filled with concrete that he mixed and poured himself with his own cement mixer. A lot of labour to do that. The wall extends around the second tier but I didn’t include any pictures as the weeds were pretty nasty when I was there, if he shares a picture of it trimmed I’ll add that later. For now, this is what I could see of the back yard.

The front entry way has been finished or close to it for some time now so I didn’t look at it much. What I wanted to see was the progress in the kitchen. The last time I was through it was back to the studs and he was having to re-do the plumbing and electrical before sprayfoam insulation then drywall. It appears those things are done and he’s starting to get his cabinets in place. The last big piece for the kitchen is to get the tiles put it, something on his list for today actually. Eventually he will replace all the windows in the house but that will be once some other expenses are handled.

The Chef has completely rearranged the layout now. The new sink is under the window, there is counterspace. The stove is moved and an upgrade is planned, the fridge I gave him got sold and his new subzero unit is to my left in the below picture. Also to the left that I neglected to photograph is the island, well penisula actually. It comes out from the wall the stove is on and makes a breakfast bar as well as a lot more counter space. The kitchen didn’t have any at all before and that is being fixed. He shared that he is not planning to have upper cabinets but rather shelves. I told him that’s very chef kitchen of him.

His bunny still roams free around the main floor. I think she was a bit frightened of me. Which is fair, to a little critter like that I’d look like a giant.

Next on the tour was the upstairs bathroom. It has been a bit gutted for awhile. He is getter all the board up still so it has been all the way non-functional for a long time. He’s removed everything and has it all lined up the way his new design needs it. He is working on the shower currently and waiting for the toilet to come in. Supply issues are part of the reason he is still working on this project.

I moved to the opposite end of the room to take a picture of the toilet nook. The tank is there against the wall, apparently it will be concealed in the wall. I’m not sure how that makes me feel. Where it will sit is where the stairs to the loft used to be. I like this use of space better. You can also see the shower, he got the base and installed it yesterday and will start work on putting up the boards for the inside of the shower soon. Then he has to tile it and hook the water up. I like the design but it will take some time before he has a working shower again.

The upstairs hallway was mostly finished before but it looks more complete with the painting done now. There is some trim left to go but it’s getting closer and closer.

The attic or loft has been the part that I’ve been giving him the most grief about all winter. I can see now why he was so hesitant to work on it. There are so many lines, angles and weird sections that doing drywall for this had to be a nightmare. The dormer alone would have discouraged me from attempting this. He went hard the last couple of weeks and got it to the point that the first coat of mud is done. There is one corner not complete, waiting for the bathroom venting to be done before it can be closed up. Not sure when that is happening. After that he will have to build stairs up here, this will eventually be his sleeping quarters. The flooring is already done and installed so as soon as the drywall and painting are complete then he’s ready to move things up there. The room that will have the stairs will become a bit of a walk-in closet. It’s a unique idea and I’m looking forward to seeing the end result. I think it’s a cool use of the space, rather than just for storage like the previous occupant.

We went down to the basement too. He is in the process of re-doing this bathroom also. The last piece is to change where the toilet pipe is but he can’t do that until the other toilet is working. Living in a house with no working toilets feels too medieval. Once he rotates the can and removes the old sink this room will get closed up and will be a nice little powder room. He also showed me the wine cellar. It’s a work in progress as he adds special insulation to really keep the humidity at the right spot for controlling expensive wine bottles. There are still a lot in there but not as much as previously.

He also finally gave me my Christmas gift. It’s a bit different that I was expecting but in a good way. Its a deeper pan that the one it is replacing. Same base though, which is perfect. I’m looking forward to getting this pan into the mix and making some interesting things in here. The extra height will mean more stirfry probably. I thanked him for the lovely gift.

Once my time at the Chef’s wrapped up I had to hustle home. There was rain in the forecast and I was planning to cut and fertilize the lawn before that happened. The rain kept moving up in the forecast and it felt like a race against it. I cut the lawn first while listening to a podcast called Exit Scam. It was suggested to me by my real Facebook Friend. I’d already heard the tale on another CBC podcast but had mostly forgotten that experience so dove right in, consuming the whole thing before noon. Once the grass was cut I spun on some fertilizer at the cost of my thumb’s comfort. I went a couple directions. The forecasted rain finally showed up, a few minutes after I got back in the house. Hopefully it washed all the fertilizer in. That’s the second feeding. I’m going to try another in September and another in October. I want to make sure that fertility is not an issue for the lawn every again. Something is happening. Big dead patches are happening and I haven’t sprayed anything so that’s not the issue this time. I’m not sure what is killing it, just that it is dying slowly.

I had worked up a bit of an apetite by this time so I grabbed the leftover pizza, a thermos of ice water and headed to my lair. I took down another couple of AP Bio episodes before working on Musings. By the time I was done I was feeling like I could use a nap. Napping is for the weak though so instead, inspired by Ronny Ronks, I fired up Red Alert 3 Remastered and played a pair of skirmishes. I’m still a couple of workdays behind him in hours played but if I’m quiet about it, I might be able to catch up to him. It was quarter past four when I finished up with that and decided I’d better go see what was left in the larders to prepare for dinner. But rather than do what I ought, I did some online shopping and ordered a couple of items of the Amazon. While I was on the computer I decided to write up my D&D characters in a format I can post. I finished one and started a second. This exercise came about as I thought that I needed to start thinking about my drafted backup character, in case I die in our current game. Things are getting serious and I’m told it’s good practice. Before I realized it, it was six and I hadn’t even thought of dinner in all that time. Because of this I decided to have a mindless meal. I warmed up some Stouffer’s Bistro Crustini Mozzarella and Meatball paninis and enjoyed a cold, refreshing Pepsi. That will have to do for tonight.

After slamming this trifle of a meal into my gob, I returned to the basement to enjoy some more AP Bio on the Netflix. I soared through the end of season one and had some good laughs. This show is pretty entertaining. I got about halfway season two before closing things off just ahead of ten. About three quarters of an hour later my brain was about ready to pack it in.

Finally Friday

Another late night leading to another delayed start to the day. Today I was out of bed and heading to the shower when I got a text from a customer asking about a quietly stressful part of my job. He said they weren’t going to have what they needed and since this whole part relies on me, it was naturally going to be my fault it things didn’t work out. That’s why this aspect of my job stresses me out so much, it’s just me making the call. I asked the customer to give me ten minutes and I hustled to get my garbage and recycling out. I’m shared with you multiple times how that is such a good feeling for me to get the trash out and clean the slate. It was important for me to do that before eight. I dealt with the issue after that and it turns out that it was a false alarm, I had what they needed or could get it easily, phew. After that it didn’t make sense to try and have breakfast so I just kept on going. I knew that I was going to be checking out for summer hours this week so I just wanted to get four or five hours of work done and move on with my life. I wrapped up a couple of tasks. I did a long training that came in and I tested a few other things. It was a very productive morning. Around one I was starting to feel hungry. Around ten I’d gone to collect the empty recycling containers from the curb and get them back into the protected environment of the garage and I’d slipped a few pieces of beef jerky and a granola bar to keep me going. But by one I was feeling it. I’d taken down a lot of water and my system was crying out for something more substantial. I polled my buddies on what I should order for takeout and I got limited replies. I decided to go with Pizza Pizza again, knowing that it would be a mistake. I ordered enough for multiple meals. I got some chicken bites, a salad, a panzerotti, a large pizza and some brownies. The bites and salad served as lunch. The panzerotti and a slice did dinner and then the rest was set aside in reserve. The brownies didn’t see sunset. When the food arrived I set up shop in the basement and fired up the long anticipated continuation of He-man. Kevin Smith assembled an all-star cast of talent and delivered a great story. Well, a great first half of a story. The rest will come later apparently. I was a major fan of the toys and the original show and have been wanting Hollyweird to make a move on this franchise for years. I’m glad that the live action attempt that studio execs tried to ruin won’t be the last word in the chapter.

I chugged the show. I watched all five episodes about as fast as you can on Netflix. I couldn’t get enough so I flipped over and watched the after show that was up there too. I want more. I told Meat Man that I might need my He-man DVDs back. Apparently they finally started watching them so I’ll have to wait on that. I was pretty pumped. Hopefully this effort shows the money holders that this dog can still hunt and we get some more content out of it, I’d love a live action movie to help wash away the previous abomination. I know, I know; I can wish in one hand and crap in the other to see which gets filled first, but it don’t stop me dreamin’ is all. I wasn’t done with Netflix though, I needed to fill another couple of hours so I started into the show AP Bio starring Dennis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia fame. I didn’t say Glenn Howerton because it’s basically Dennis as a teacher. The show is a bit much to start with but it quickly grew on me and before I realized, I was seven episode deep and had eaten dinner already. I guess I had a couple slices. By the time I closed the box I was quite full, painfully so. Around that time it was approaching the time for D&D so I powered down and made my way upstairs.

Tonight’s session was pushed off the regular slot because one of the players was at a cottage with his family for most of the week but decided to come back a bit early. By some miracle we were all open to play tonight so we did, and planned to go a bit longer if required. We’re entering the end phase of the campaign now and we’re on a specific quest. The kind where we have to find specific ingredients to try some huge game ending move. We set out to find the first of these things. We mucked around a bit but eventually stumbled across a woman lost in the wilds and through some arranging by the others she is now tied to my character. We kept going and we’re at the objective but will have to settle things next week. It was around eleven that we ended the game for now. A couple of the guys had gotten quite drunk and probably couldn’t continue much longer anyways. We chatted a bit and I peeled off around half eleven. I was asleep ahead of midnight for the first time in days. I did wake up at half one for a spell but was able to get back to sleep before two. The day moved quickly and was actually pretty enjoyable once I got past that initial scare. Hope the good times continue.

Calm Day

Another late evening culminated in me sleeping in later than appropriate. It was half seven again when I pulled my carcass from the cloud and got my day ripping. I made my usual breakfast and watered the plants. It was about quarter after when I fired up my office, I put half past as my starting time though. I started into the task I was working on at the end of the day yesterday. For a break at one point I started poking around the software tools I’ll need to use in the fall to ensure I had proper access. That consumed some time, some things had been moved around but otherwise I think everything is functional. I wrapped up my task at noon, just in time for a weird lunch of leftovers. I had a sausage in a bun with the remainder of the jambalaya from last week. It was better fresh. No cheese on it today.

I didn’t take much of a break choosing to get right back at it. I started working on my mundane Excel project from awhile back. I rocked tunes and powered through a big piece of that until shortly after five then I got a couple phone calls that kept me busy until after half past. I’m saying I got my 9h in today. The meal board demanded that I have perogies for supper so I preheated the air fryer and indulged the board. Looks like a pretty typical perogie setup for me.

If you thought that it was typical you’d be wrong. In the bowl I’d mixed together some of the pizza flavoured perogies I’d purchased frozen from the market when I went with my family with some regular potato cheese ones. The pizza ones had a vibrant flavour to them. Definitely manufactured and not handmade but pretty delicious and a fun change. The regular ones were nice too. A filling meal.

After dinner there were some MSC challenges to be completed and while I didn’t catch myself up, I came pretty close. I figured I’d need something for the weekend. While I played I consumed a handful of YouTube videos. When I felt I’d had my fill of both, I grabbed my headphones and set out for a short walk. Whilst out I enjoyed hearing about the Tugboat’s Tumultuous Texas Trip. I also grabbed the mail. With a slight sweat sprouting I sought the comfort of my AC and kept the podcast going. So many details I’d forgotten, I’m glad we captured those memories. I watched too much YouTube then tossed and turned until midnight before finally tasting the sweet relief of sleep. I don’t like this new sleep cycle I’ve stumbled into.

Something Missing

My day started late today. With such a late night last night I wasn’t keen to race the sun out of bed. I went with the Italian shower today too to save some time. Breakfast was also truncated. I used the lessons I learned on Monday with the bagel and sausage rounds to expedite my time in the kitchen. I ate it over the sink like a ferocious beast and hustled upstairs with my thermos of water. I still started on time. You know it’s going to be an okay start to the day when your breakfast smiles at you like this. Is that wink even?

The day was going a bit more like Monday went. Lots of stuff going on. I spent some time adding colour to a file for someone that would enable his team to clear a lot of space in their warehouse. Probably a relief to everyone. We had a call in the afternoon to talk through a few questions and in short order crushed that annual little chore. I had a call with our soybean breeder. It had been over a month since we caught up. I pride myself on working closely with the breeders in both crops and keep them informed and keeping myself up to date on their news. Our forty five minutes call ballooned out to nearly two hours. We had a lot of ground to cover. I think we both walked away better for the time spent. I answered some customer calls after that and then got on the horn again with colleague, then another. Soon I realized it was nearly half two and I hadn’t eaten lunch and breakfast was smaller than normal. My tummy sounded like a thunderstorm. Unfortunately for me, nobody could hear the loud growls through the computer microphone. Ahead of three I found my way to the kitchen and had some leftover jambalaya and a Pepsi to wake myself up. I put a bit of shredded cheese on the steaming pile. Shrimp with cheese on it felt like I was crossing some kind of sacred line but it was tasty and I don’t regret it, even if it looks like a pile of slop.

The short remainder of my afternoon was aggressively productive. I got after a few jobs and managed to book most of my holidays for the year. We found out yesterday that there was a crucial corn meeting in the week of August 9 so that week dropped out of the running for a vacation week and instead I booked off August 23 week now. I also booked eight days in December leading up to Christmas and then between Christmas and New Year’s. In the old days those were just given to us as days off. I’m sure I could have not used vacation days for them and just not worked and it would have been find but it didn’t feel right to me. Maybe I’ll revisit those three days to give myself some carryover days. Dammit, I’d better do that. I want to have my five days to carry over and use once the world is back open and people can travel to see other places for pleasure. Anyways, it was half five before I realized, the perks of a late lunch, short afternoon. I didn’t have to hustle for anything tonight because there wasn’t going to be the weekly D&D game. One of the party was at a cottage with his family and the reception/signal was too weak. He was willing, just wouldn’t have worked well. I took my time and made the cardboard pizza the meal board prescribed with some added shredded cheese, some parsley, some Cholula hot sauce and a special addition. With about five minutes left I nuked some of the leftover tots (a mistake) and then put them on the pizza to finish in the oven. I should have just put them on the pizza with five minutes left. The microwave melts them into something gelatinous. The overall concoction was pretty fantastic though, and unique. I showed a few people and got a mixed reaction, some thinking I’d lost my mind and others thinking me a genius. The base pizza was fancier too. A Delissio thin crust Canadian pizza, bought for the family to eat as an appetizer when they visited. We never got that far so it was mine to enjoy.

After dinner I went straight to my bed, another bad habit, and watched YouTube for a half hour. I willed myself to stop that and made my way back to the office to sit and fire out a few days of Musings that were needing touching up. I was feeling pretty good about catching that up so I put the finishing touches on my drone video and shared it with some friends. I just added some tags and the end screen details. I’m slowly but surely getting through the little chores that I’d been putting off the last week or so. The night felt different without D&D this week but when next we play (maybe on the weekend) it sounds like it is going to be intense. The GM has been warning us that it’s going to get much harder for the rest. I’m both nervous and excited. I better tune up my backup character just in case. Apparently it’s likely that one or more of us won’t survive the coming weeks. Something to look forward to. By the time I’d finished all my computing it was ten and time to slow my brain down and get ready for the sweet embrace of restful sleep.

Fast Morning

The trend of rising early continued and this time I took advantage. I was up before half six and had myself another great shower and got a big start on my Duolingo for the week. I got a power up booster and found myself in first place in the Diamond league. It’s early in the week but I might make a play to claim my third first place finish in the top league. One thing I did win at today though was breakfast. I got back to my usual fare. Look at these two beauties. I ate them both at a hotter temperature than I normally would so that I’d have some time before work to do my own thing and I was not disappointed. Sometimes a little time away makes the heart grow fonder and you realize what you’ve been missing. I’m not being romantic about it, they were THAT good!

I had some more things to handle fo that issue from yesterday and I think it’s put to bed now. I’ll wait and see. Am I being vague about it, yes I am. I have to be! I had four meeting throughout the morning and I can tell you that it flew by. I also was hard on the water so I noticed that there were few breaks between meetings. Most were directly related to my job and my responsibilities but there was one about invoicing that troubles me. I’m a bit worried there was a mistake made in the system and we’re going to have to correct it. This spring won’t seem to die and end. It was nearly one when the last call ended and it was well timed because my bladder was either going to explode or my kidneys were fixing to shoot out my back. I made a tasty lunch out of some leftover jambalaya and got back to work. The afternoon was mostly spent on the phone again with customers and coworkers. I did manage to get a few tasks done and I’m happy to say I got the inbox tightened down under twenty now. My workday ended with a long chat with a colleague talking about our customers and mostly life in general. We’re fairly newly acquainted but will be working closely on things and it was good to start to get to know him a bit. He’s out West so not a lot of opportunity to sit down with some beers. I shut things down around six and followed the meal board on this night. The plan was to have sausages and chips but I didn’t exactly have chips. I had tots, regular not cheesy, and I had some breakfast potatoes. I decided to save those and consume the substandard tots. If they don’t have the cheesy ones next time I’ll go without, these ones kinda sucked, even in the air fryer. The sausage was amazing though. I did them at 370F for ten minutes and they were perfect. The other half of the tots and other sausages got packed away and I went about my evening with a pleasantly full tummy.

The evening section of my day was again wasteful. I spent too much money in the HomeScapes app and played that for way too long. Then I switched over to YouTube and I’m not happy to say but I went hard at it. There were several rabbit holes travelled, starting with watching a bunch of Mike Tyson videos. I’d never really seen any of his fights outside of quick clips of a knockout. I went way beyond clips this time. I have a much better appreciation for how dominant he really was and his relationship to Muhammad Ali and his trainer. I also didn’t know he was an Olympian and two time National champion. I was all over the place after that. I think the majority was Soprano clips and music. While I was in my mega-binge I was snapping with She. There was a reply every fifteen or twenty minutes, which is frequent for her. I think I was up later than her for the first time ever. I finally dozed off around half midnight. My brain was essentially asleep long before that I think. It probably showed in the quality of my responses. At one point she said something about having all the FACTS so I used the word TRY in my reply. She didn’t get it but I thought it was exceeding clever since one of my favourite YouTube channels started their journey as the FACTS channel before becoming the TRY channel. I think I did that just for me. I’ve also spelled it out here just for me too I suppose. Aw well. It was another productive and busy workday and a long and wasteful evening. Hopefully I don’t make it a hattrick.

Return to the Grind

The early bedtime resulted in an early start to the day. I was awake ahead of six and my brain was not very happy about it. It felt a bit sore and I suspect that was more to do with the way I had been sleeping than anything else. I did manage to get back to sleep for another half hour or so and that seemed to make quite a difference. I was feeling a bit better and had a shower that should only be described as life changing. I’m not sure if it was the heat and refreshing nature of the soap or the fact that it was the first one in a couple of days. Either way, I was feeling good going into breakfast. I decided to change things up and went with one of the bagels I’d purchased for Mother, a something and herb deal. I used a couple of sausage patties and sliced cheese to make a samidge out of it. A bit of a tweak from the ordinary.

Found my seat at eight and started work. There was a big issue to deal with off the hop. I’d received a question about it over the weekend and when I looked into it I found that it was something I really had to ensure I did correctly. I didn’t love that part, returning to it I mean. I started the day strong from there and was able to half the number of emails in the inbox before the first meeting of the day, the regular weekly meeting to start then a meeting that was moved and another bi-weekly. I only mention the detail because it stampeded over the lunch break. The last one on the docket was a one on one with my boss. We had a good chat. Better back and forth this week, usually I have a long list and barely get to chat with him. Towards the end of our time, a major computer update started going and made a heck of a racket and required multiple restarts. Fun. I had to have a meeting after around the big issue then spent the rest of the day on the phone working through said issue. You’ll note that I didn’t mention stopping for lunch, that’s because I didn’t. Eventually my computer got closed at half five. At that point I was able to snap my customary Monday picture of the board from the previous week. You can see that I did pretty well this time. The list on the right is what we wanted to get accomplished while the family was visiting, again, pretty successful. I have a couple of jobs on their without any priority behind them. Someday I’ll do them, maybe.

Dinner was leftovers again, actually the leftovers of leftovers. Thie was the remainder of what I made for dinner last night with some naan bread tacked on. That finished it off. I’m down to just a couple containers now. I should be through the last of it in the next day or two.

After eating and an easy cleanup I essentially shut down for the night. I was in my bed around seven and watched YouTube and played HomeScapes while listening to podcasts until the evening sky darkened. It was a very wasteful use of time and I was regretting it and feeling guity the entire time but didn’t make a move to change it. I feel asleep somewhere around half ten for the night. It was busy day that thankfully passed by fairly quickly. I’m officially back to work. But that didn’t mean I was only thinking of that. I had started dreaming about when I’d take my next break and it was looking like it would be August but choosing a week was feeling difficult. Trying to gather intel on the plans of others and plan something to avoid missing out. Is this FOMO? Am I a millenial yet?

Hung Out with the Sun Out

I slept in until nearly eight after a fitful sleep. I woke to pee almost every hour I think. Around half five I popped a couple of Tylenol in anticipation of issues, a mild headache was starting to bloom. I started trying to have a tumbler of water with each time I got out of the bed from then on. There was no breakfast on this day. I was officially hung out. I kept on the water and reveled in my mild suffering until around ten. By then I figured that I’d better get some chow into me. I made a plate with some leftover rigatoni and stacked some Indian food on top of that and let the microwave do the heavy lifting. I chugged that down and continued to re-listen to Deception Point by Dan Brown. It’s not his best work but it was adequate to keep my mind engaged. Unfortunately I remembered the entire plot about halfway through. Was still good. I ate some candy and sweets with a lot of water and that made my body go into a nap. Clever move to shake off the hangover. When I woke up close to two I shifted gears and moved to the basement to play some FS19. That consumed the most of the afternoon. Around six I cooked some rice and added in some lentil based leftovers. That was a tasty combo. I also ate the majority of the remaining Tandoori chicken. That really fuelled me back up.

By the time I’d finished on the main floor it was nearly seven. I retired to my chambers to edit a video together from a few drone videos I took in the North and then I watched YouTube until my brain powered down. It was a nice relaxing Sunday to recover from my slight oversight. With an early bedtime and hopefully I good sleep I should have been able to shake off all the cobwebs and be ready to take a healthy chomp out of the upcoming week.

Happenin’ Saturday

Up at six and had a fantastic evacuation and shower to start the day. After fooling in some time I decided on an early brunch. With no plan I started rifling through the fridge and freezer to try and decide what I would include in my brunch for one. I didn’t make any breakfast components. I warmed up some Great Value brand Mozzerella sticks that I’d purchased to have with the family. They took under ten minutes to prepare and much less time to eat. They were perfection out of the air fryer. I will for sure be doing these again.

I also cooked a carboard pizza that I’d picked up as an appetizer. If you’re not adding extra cheese and other garnishes like this parsley to your cardboard pizza you’re missing out and making a grievious error. I’m not sure what I expected would happen with meals but I was definitely ready for anything while the family was visiting, hallmark of a great host. It was also tasty and I left the table quite full.

I hustled upstairs and got myself caught up with MSC challenges and Musings while enjoying my audiobook. I did a number of French lessons as well, to keep myself in the mix. Before I knew it, it was already noon. Should I eat again? No, too soon. Instead I took out the antiques that were not destined to be gifts for people and arrayed them so I could take a photo. You can see that I did buy that carved lion. I’m not convinced that those are real teeth, maybe from a puppy or something. I really enjoy the look of that beast. The book is called the Texans and even though I got it soley for the textured cover, the content is interesting and I will read it. If you don’t know about my history with Texas you need to listen to this series of Conversations. And then you should listen to these ones too. The tiger painting and the well crafted cigar box are from the other antique store. I’m not sure where I’m going to hang the tiger, I’m thinking at work. I had an idea for what to use the box for but I’ve since forgotten. All but the book are more than I’d normally spend on these items, I guess I was in the mood to try some cash around at the time of purchase, out of character. I generally adhere to my Scottish heritage when it comes to money. I bought more stuff but they’re gifts, so have to remain not public until their delivery.

I did some lounging and watched some YouTube but mostly played HomeScapes for a bit. Essentially I was killing time. I unexpectedly had plans, social ones. That’s the real first sign that the pandemic is starting to pass. People are vaccinated and ready to start mixing it up again. My friends Cheese and Two Glasses of Wine had asked me if I was around. I delightedly revealed that I was and they said they’d see me around three. I had no clue what they’d had in mind. If it was a quick stop in on their way by to bigger and brighter things or if they were going to sit down for a bit. Did I need to feed them? I was well equipped to host still, that didn’t worry me. As it turned out they wanted to have a visit, go for a walk and eat at a restaurant. Unbeknownst to me, they’d left their kids with 2GW’s parents for the first time in many moons. Actually the first night they were spending away from their youngest ever. We chatted and I realized that I was more awkward in that setting that I’ve ever remembered, must be out of practice with interacting with live humans. I’m losing my touch, if I ever had it. After doing that for a spell we drove to a local park and walked the loop. I didn’t really pay attention to the time but I think it took an hour or so. We weren’t in a rush. In fact they were playing a game they came up with in Thailand where spotted wildlife are worth points. Once I figured out the rules I spotted a baby bunny which gave me a sizeable lead. Not long after we came across this doorway to another realm. Very cool but we wanted to go to dinner so we didn’t enter the other dimension.

We went straight from the walk to the Royal Turban, the same Indian restaurant that I’d ordered from with my parents. We elected to eat on the patio because it was such a beautiful day. The server was less enthused that we chose to do that since we were the only ones out there, most patrons taking advantage of the newly lifted restrictions and eating inside. There was a breeze but it was pretty manageable. The chairs on the patio were not super sturdy but I sat in such a way that I was stressing it less. I couldn’t move much for fear of crushing it to the ground but I was comfortable enough until my glutes started to burn at the very end. They both ordered fancy mango drinks whilst I stuck to water. They also ordered an appetizer tray. I sampled one of the spring rolls when prompted. It was good, had a rub type spice on the exterior which I found interesting, not something I’ve come across before. My order was for lamb roganjosh but I think she gave me chicken instead. I think it was the same price, or close enough. The meal was very good and filled me to an appropriate level. I was pleasantly full, not painfully so. They didn’t finish their meals, the appetizer and fancy smoothie drinks were their undoing, but they got leftovers, a fate I was actively avoiding with my horde back home. I offered to split the cheque three ways but they generously left me with only my meal to cover. I felt a little bad with the disparity in totals but again, I’m … very careful with my money.

We drove back to the Harbour and after using the facilities they made the return trip to their city. I tidied up and got myself ready for a group call that the Meat Man had asked we do. Cheese wasn’t aware apparently and popped on briefly when he got home, they were going to a drive in movie theatre screening of League of their Own once the sun went down. Meat Man, GRP, myself and later Booj were on the call. The Chef, Admiral Bonesaw and Ronny Ronks just didn’t answer and McQ is still out of commission. I took a picture of my setup. This night I was drinking Wildfyres. They are an ounze and a half of vodka with ice and filled with pineapple/melon Powerade. I prefer to have them out of my Medieval Times metal hurricane glass with a metal straw. I think I must have taken down about six of them during our nearly three hour chat.

After the first hour or so I transitioned over to the couch in the living room for another hour or so before making my way to my bed with the Mini. When the call ended I just had to switch off the lights and go to sleep. But I was drunk enough and so full of liquid that it didn’t happen that way. I tossed and turned for an hour or so. Eventually out of sheer exhaustion I faded out. I was up a bunch of times in the night to pee. Turns out taking down that much fluid right before bed wasn’t smart. The other fool move was that I didn’t switch to water partway through the evening like I usually do. More on that in tomorrow’s post. All in all, it was the most social interaction I’d had in a while if you don’t count my parents. I was glad for it.

Partial Family Feast

Another late start with some lingering in bed. I didn’t shower today, though I should have. The morning lounge in bed was facilitated more by HomeScapes today. Once the Mini got low on power I moved to the office and started working on the MSC challenges. My goal was to knock down June and get my perfect status for the month. That is what played out. I got through the last of my podcast queue around noon and went down to prepare some leftovers for my first meal of the day. The combo I got out today was to put one of the chickpea based Indian dishes on some of the leftover rigatoni, warm up the chicken balls and red sauce and the crossed sauces with rice. The two mixed sauces were chicken curry and butter chicken sauces that actually mixed together beautifully. That was scooped up by the garlic naan bread. I included a Pepsi cause I’m on vacation. It was tasty and filling. I will overshare and say that the farts from this conconction were magnificent. Very enjoyable.

There wasn’t much that happened after the meal that would be considered productive either. I did finish the June MSC challenges and got a got lot of the July ones wrapped up. I ate a considerable amount of chocolate covered almonds. I played more HomeScapes. I answered a couple of work calls that came in reluctantly. I watched a number of episodes of Hot Ones on YouTube that I’d skipped over previously. Very quiet afternoon. Around four it because apparent that our Family Feast was going to happen early this week. We also learned that Sudbury sister wasn’t able to get the necessary ingredients and had to get ready for a yard sale at the in-laws. She tapped out, the first of us to do so since we started this last fall. We didn’t make it a year. The energy level was lower this time. I was pretty focused on chopping myself. It was my selection of a meal this time, and I picked chicken and sausage jambalaya. I like saying it, it only made sense I’d pick it. I seem to recall being rushed to make a choice also. I had some improvisations in my preparation. I used cooked shrimp, I used jasmine rice that was more than par-boiled, I used bacon and cheddar sausage rather than chicken andouille sausage, and I skipped all onion components. Here are the results.

Effort from the parents.

STL sister’s version.

The Tugboat’s effort

The consensus was that they were all a bit looser than expected. I took the lid off at one point to try and boil off some of the liquid but it didn’t seem to matter. I added some extra spice to mine also, being of the mind that it should be a spicy dish. I used some parsley to garnish rather than scallions. I ate mine while it was piping hot. I wish I’d let it cool down some. I poured large amounts of cool water in my food hole to abate the painful burning but it just left me with an angry tummy for an hour afterward. After selecting the next dish and date I moved downstairs and started playing FS19. The big news is that STL sister is excited for the border to open up, they are scheming a bit on when they can return to Canada. There wasn’t much banter this time for whatever reason so I just played my game until and after the call ended. Around nine I came upstairs and got ready for bed. An hour of re-listening to Deception Point on Audible later and I was asleep. Another big day of doing nothing critical.

Full R&R

Today was beautiful. There isn’t much to say. I woke up late and then lingered in my bed for a couple hours watching YouTube and generally getting caught up on things that I waste my life at. Next I went and worked on getting caught up on some Musings. My STL sister who couldn’t join us due to the pandemic was on my case to get things posted so she could read about the minutia of what we did while spending some time together. That took much longer than I would have expected and it was nearly noon by the time I got things completed. Turns out that it’s kinda hard work to run a website sometimes. Like when you fall behind daily posts. I should remind you (cause no one else will) that I’ve posted something daily since April 17, 2020. That’s a really long time! I don’t know how to stop now. Eventually I will but I don’t want to yet. When I had got myself caught up and told the interested parties I flipped over to podcasts and playing my Microsoft Solitaire Collection challenges. I was well back on those also. I nearly got all of June wrapped up before my tummy took the wheel and decided it was time to eat. I grabbed a couple of things of leftovers and warmed them together on a plate. Here you can see the excess leftover filling from the Deuce Logs and some chinese food leftovers. A tasty combination that mixed well together.

After eating I made my way to the basement. There I fired up Farming Simulator 19 and moved ahead with my plans. I got all my fields of soybean harvested and then planted back to canola. That took me over five hours of real life time to do. I was able to put a big chunk of crop in the bins and now I’ll speculate on the price before I decide to haul and sell it so that I get the best price. I didn’t have time to do that because it was nearly seven by the time I wrapped that up and I had to get to my office and get setup for the postponed D&D night. There was a potential issue looming but we were all on before eight and got our game in. We wasted a bunch of time apparently asking stupid questions and trying to get more information than available about what to do next, we really didn’t have a next step planned. Turns out that was all for naught, we just had to talk to an old man and he got us moving on the next leg of our journey. Our GM warned us that it’s going to be pedal to the metal, breakneck speed for the rest of the time now. We did get the ability to travel by portal so no more trudging along, it’s go time! That wrapped up around ten and after some light interneting I shut it down and moved on into sleep. It was a very relaxing day.

The Departure

The final day of the visit had arrived quicker than expected. I guess that is to be expected with such a full itinerary. They claim they were here for five days, felt more like three to me, and this one would be a short one. I was up ahead of six and started getting ready to face the day. They didn’t say when they were leaving for sure this time. I assumed somewhere between half seven and half eight. I again made them breakfast. In the finale I went with breakfast samidges. Mother doesn’t care for egg so I gave her the choice of nice cereal, a bagel, blueberry eggos or avocado toast. She picked the bagel. For the others I gave them a half avocado and nobody liked that. Big T did his best to eat it, Sudbury sister tried to put half inside with ketchup (gross) and Irish Gal didn’t wake up for breakfast or have any. She was given some coffee and water to bring her to life but didn’t really appear until nearly eight. I enjoyed my breakfast more than the rest apparently, which is fine with me.

The stress of the nut delivery came to a head during the packing process. The Big T was not open to any suggestions and was convinced his way was the only way. When offered alternatives he claimed he was being bullied and stormed off like a petulant child. He didn’t find any sympathy from me as I cleaned up the kitchen. I told him he has to be open minded and learn to consider the opinions of others, even when they are wrong. Let them try and see and if your way is truly superior then you know what to do to complete the task. He didn’t care for my opinion. They eventually managed to jam it all in there. I still think if it had been just eight boxes, rather than eleven, they’d have fit everything no problem and not have had to have things on their laps. Aw well, another reminder never to help anyone with anything ever I guess.

They rolled away at eight and left me alone in my house with no work to worry about. I made out pretty well, my fridge was filled with leftovers to enjoy for the next few days. I had two beds that needed washing and some other laundry so I set about that after watering my new plants. I fired up FS19 while I was downstairs and started fixing my messed up fields. If you’d recall, I accidentally had one planter with corn and the other with soybean when they were meant to both be beans. I got that repaired and changed loads in the mean time.

I wasn’t feeling very motivated to do anything constructive so I flipped over to Netflix and went on a bit of a binge. I watched a movie called The Half of It, a delightful romantic comedy that brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my lips at the same moment. I really enjoyed the original story. I get more out of films like that than the monstrously swollen budget studio jobs they churn out. Suck it Marvel. I warmed up a Deuce Log and got the third load of laundry in. I folded everything coming out and worked on making beds as they finished. The goal was to have the house back ready to host again by the end of the day. There was some uncertainty about the D&D tonight, the GM had a medical emergency in the family so we all told him we could play another time, look after the situation. With that in mind I started another film, Gunpowder Milkshake. The cast looked promising. I also warmed up the last Deuce Log for supper.

I got a call from the Chef, he was stuck in traffic. He made the mistake after chatting for awhile about asking me about our D&D campaign, I’m certain he regretted that. Eventually he got moving again and couldn’t handle anymore of my chatter and we ended that call which started my dinner. The meal was eight out of ten and the movie was maybe a six. The cast was good but it was flat for me. Seemed rushed too, and not enough substance to it, just a few neat action sequences. They didn’t build the lore enough either, rushed exposition. D&D got moved officially so I put on Project Power. It looked a bit stupid but turned out decent. Much better story telling at least. I took the clean laundry upstairs and made the last bed and put the towels back. I’m ready to host again. I finished that just before going to bed. I opened Twitter in bed and saw I had a message. One of my friends had had a health scare and was in hospital, I told the boys as instructed but won’t say at this time. He’s fine now, just under observation to ensure the procedure worked correctly. Pretty scary though. I had mentioned earlier in the day that we hadn’t heard from him in a couple of days and that was odd, now we know why. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Sleep came a bit after that little rush.

Market Day

I woke up naturally and got my usual morning routine in. Today was going to be an early departure to beat the crowds but with rain imminent, not sure it was required, best to prepare for success though. With the early start we decided to get a McBreakfast to expedite things. Because there wasn’t a breakfast photo, enjoy this rabbit I spied in my yard instead.

The market opened at eight but with the chance of rain, COVID, etc. We figured it would be fine to shoot for half eight and let some people sleep in a bit more. We were right of course. There were far less vendors than when we went last year and far less people as well. Things were well organized to handle crowds but it wasn’t the busy day for the market either. We went for the fresh vegetables but stayed for the other stuff. I got some pizza perogies and some nice wooden stuff. Mostly for gifts, for Mother, who was there with me to pick it out. The parents bought a bunch of pottery and some other things to go with their heaping sack of veg. The two girls went off on their own and I’m not sure what they got. I know they spent quite a while in the antique booth. They can’t get enough antiques. We all met up at the truck shortly after to drop stuff off and then went back in to explore the other two buildings. I don’t think the girls found the livestock building. Not sure what there was to see on a Tuesday in there anyways.

After a short drive through of the village itself we moved on to the antique market. This one is much smaller than Woodstock but generally has some interesting stuff. I picked up a cigar box for some reason, something for Booj and eventually circled back to get a tiger painting. I didn’t take any pictures of the buys. Maybe later.

Mother found the fancy glass design the girls were hunting and bought the bowls as a birthday gift for the Irish Gal but let her have them now. They didn’t find too much else, some jewellry and other glass stuff. Big T found something he was looking for, actually I found it for him but he was very excited. He tried to buy another stupid car too but was able to restrain himself. There are only three long aisles here but you have to walk one twice to escape, that let to ninety minutes of exploring for me and the parents. The other two only took an extra forty five to finish today. We waited in the truck and enjoyed some fresh air and visiting.

We ripped home for lunch before enacting the afternoon’s plans. I made sandwiches for everyone and they warmed up some of the chinese leftovers to supplement. Chips were again added too. First move after eating was to bring the girls over to the antique store again so they could try and rewalk some of what they rushed through the day before. I figured they’d be a couple of hours. Both their phones were charged up for this round.

The rest of us went on a different side adventure again. This time we went up to the LCBO to get Mother a couple more drinks. She’d consumed all they brought for her already. The two of them ran off on their own while I grabbed a couple of bottles of whiskey and a six pack of beers I enjoy. I even spotted an attractive girl, they do exist in my town. We stopped at Winners on the way home for Mother to buy some sheets for the bed I use when visiting them. They’re talking about buying a new bed for down there too. I just suggested a new mattress that is higher than the foot board. They have a whole scheme to switch several beds around in the house. I waited in the truck. I put the windows down, and was nearly asleep when they came back. There was an electricity in the air, like a storm was coming but never did. Strange weather day all around.

When I got home I started prepping for the dinner tonight. I was cooking and making a uniquely Tugboat dish. I got potatoes cut up and on the boil and started cooking a heap of bacon. While I was doing that Big T asked if he could help with the boat and I showed him what I was doing with removing the foam and why. He said he’s work away at that. Mother went to try and have a nap after a weak sleep the night before. I was on the third pan of bacon when we got word from the girls that they would be ready just after four for pickup. Mother returned from her unsuccessful nap to take over the prep and Big T came back in drenched in sweat, that was gratifying for me. I’m glad it wasn’t just me that found that sweaty work. I got the girls after some traffic delays and we were back ahead of five. They spent some time reviewing their recent buys and overall what they got and why. I went about rolling out thawed pizza dough and assembling the filling of the Deuce Log. I made six of them but four in the first two batches (pictured). The sized and shapes varied widely based on my rolling. I used a liquor bottle again, despite heavy pressure all day to buy an antique rolling pin. I am holding out to buy one new, which I need to do now. They were skeptical when I told them this was in the plan but settled when we watched the video. Mother still calls it a doosh log but they worked out.

They weren’t as juicy as the first time and the dough was more floury one these but the taste was good and everyone lapped them up quickly. It filled them all up, as planned. I wanted a heavier meal to conk them out early so they’d get a solid sleep before their long journey home tomorrow. I’m considerate of my guests like that. It has worked several times at Dudes Weekends, heavy meal on Saturday so everyone gets a thick sleep and doesn’t have to drive home hungover. Party smarter, not harder. I made up two extra ones and put two balls of dough back in the freezer for next time. This way I’d have lunch or dinner for one of the upcoming days.

After supper the plan started to work. Big T fell asleep right after. We were just sitting around chatting while the two girls went up to rest, pack and shower. They didn’t want to have to do that stuff in the morning, rather preferring to sleep in.

Not long after they went for a walk and I stayed back to clean up. When they got back I put on the All-Star game for the Big T and put on a film in the basement for the females, The Little Things with Denzel. I went back up to watch the game with the T. I got another sermon about how I need to exercise and what I need to do. It’s the same thing everytime, as soon as it’s just him and I he goes on this same tirade. I don’t care for it and I don’t find it helpful. In fact, it makes me feel worse about myself and sets me back. I’m not good at sticking to it or finding the motivation or discipline to exercise regularly. I’d like to be that person but I’m not. I’ve tried many things and have had checkered success. This sermon I get from him never helps me. Eventually it was over and we were able to just watch baseball, have a beer and some chips. We only made it to the sixth inning before it was time for bed. The girls had dispersed previously, Mother to get ready for bed and the other two to finish the homework. They were into the beers a bit so hopefully a good mark comes back. It was around ten after ten when I turned off all the A/V devices and sent them to bed. Another full day of vacation in the books.

Antique Adventure

My sleep wasn’t as rosy as the others. The lad next door wanted to have a cinematic experience night and the volume he selected made it difficult to sleep in my detached house next door. I never enjoy that. As a result, I overslept until nearly seven. I’m generally up at six to make sure my parents are looked after. Today was the day I was planning to make my Poorman’s Kolaches, or my Lazy Man’s Kolaches. I haven’t decided on the name yet. I hustled to get them going. It involves the breakfast burrito filling but rolled up with cheese in Pilsbury Grands or Crescents. You’ve seen me make them before. Sudbury sister was hungry and took down two of the big ones, Big T had one and some little ones when they came out. Mother, who doesn’t like egg, tried a few. I had one with just cheese for her but she had a few more too. Big T wasn’t a fan of them. Said he would never make them but they were okay, not what he expected. Everyone else thought they were good.

After eating and the other crushing coffees I cleaned up my own mess. We found ourselves ready to rock much too soon again. The stores weren’t going to open for another hour so I put on some Try Channel videos to entertain the crowd. My parents had enjoyed them last year when they visited and the two girls were also amused by them. After ripping through a handful of those we were actually ready to get moving to our first stop of the day.

We brought the Big T to Picards so he can pick out his own treats this time. Also, local shopkeeping legend, Ambie, in there area is making some moves and wanted a supply of these world renowned nuts in her offering. We were told she ordered eight cases, only to find it was eleven. That was going to serious constrain the amount of room they had for the return trip. Big T was also miffed about having to pay for them for some reason. This gave him something to dwell on for the rest of the trip, something to occupy the worrying part of the mind. I’m sure it influenced future decisions. I got a few sweet treats and Mother got a couple items. The girls didn’t get much, instead saving their cash for the main attraction of the day, the One of a Kind, Woodstock Antique Market. We got there a few minutes after they opened and overheard the staff telling a vendor that it was the most inventory they’d ever had right now, everything was stocked up and booths were full. After months of not being able to operate, they were ready for crowds.

My parents and I didn’t walk it together but managed to get through everything in just around three hours, just over actually. In that time, Sudbury sister and Irish Gal didn’t even make it through the first floor, there are three floors! Apparently it took them four hours to complete the first floor. I’m not even sure how that is possible. They must be incredibly thorough. We left them there and went for lunch at the Harbour. Both their phones were dead from taking photos of things so Mother traded with Sudbury sister and we brought her phone to charge it. That way they had a way to let us know they were ready to be picked up. We had a nice lunch of soup and samidges. I’d purchased a fresh loaf of bread and fixins for the occaision. We supplemented things with some chips. A tasty little snack. The Irish Gal only had coffee at breakfast and they didn’t have water. I offered to run them over some samidges and water but they refused, way too focused on their mission.

After cleaning up the lunch we set off on another side mission. We went over to the Home Depot to buy some mesh and/or a vent cover to try and avoid another grackle situation next spring. The main thrust of that visit was to get some plants though. I took some photos of what we ended up with and captioned them all to explain what you’re seeing. For mobile users the photos will look normal, I tried a different arrangement you’ll see on tablets or computers. Felt neat.

I mentioned the lady next door wanted to change out a plant, the light green one on the left is the new one. We added two roses that were on for fifty cents on either side of the struggling hosta. They will have to battle it out to see who stays.

The pot on the left are partial sun herbs. I’ve never bothered with a herb garden, just a basil plant once. These fit for this spot and we’re on sale. The other is a mixture of interesting plants. Mother arranged them for me.

This was one at the back that we didn’t need to touch. Everything you see came back from last year. The theory is that seeds must have dropped and eventually germinated. I mixed the dirt violently in the spring so it wouldn’t be regrowth. Happy to have one already done.

The main attraction pot. It has been here since I moved in and has had that same solar lamp and rain gauge all this time also. It’s not what I usually plant but it looks sharp all the same.

This pot had one petunia returning for another year already but we added in some friends to keep it company.

This bright nee addition is destined for the dining table once it’s just me eating there again.

The aloe plant got knocked around a lot in its life and needed some attention. It got a more spacious home, some support and a hug to keep it growing the right way. The lavender burned up while I was away.

The two girls didn’t ask for a pickup until 4:45pm, just ahead of the closing time. They didn’t have a major haul either. I was expecting some furniture or major stacks of stuff. They had a box and a poster, only amounting to $130 of stuff. I’d spent $49 myself in a tithe of the time they were in there. They spent over six hours touring through. They said they made it all the way to the end but had to rush a bit. I think fatigue was a factor also, Irish Gal later revealed she nearly passed out at one point, yikes! The plan for the evening was chinese food, from China Wok. This was the place we got great food from last year. We ordered another preset meal, dinner for five. Again, it was more food than five would eat, but this time it was closer. More leftovers were added to the now full fridge. I’m glad that I planned my groceries to not fill the fridge, working out great now. Here is a picture of the spread, below is a picture of my plate, the second most filled next to Big T’s mountain of food. I busted out the gurgle pot for this meal, after we saw them in Stratford the previous day, I was the only person drinking water though.

After dinner we decided that Sudbury sister would go up in the attic to poke around, both for her amusement and to check on things for me, since I can’t safely go up there alone (or at all). During the placement of the ladder we somehow offended the Big T and he stormed out to sulk. He wouldn’t talk to us when we came back down either. He and Mother went for a walk and Sudbury sister tagged along. Irish Gal wanted to get cleaned up and relax after such a big day and I stayed back to clean and draft Musings. It’s hard to keep caught up when hosting family you know! The walk did little to cure his temperment but Big T offered to help with my vent project. We took the ladder out again and realized that it wouldn’t be long enough to do what we needed it to do. That task is going to have to be handled by a professional now. Unless I find someone with a long ladder and no fear. I turned on the Homerun Derby for Big T and the rest of us went to the basement to watch a movie. We landed on Jojo Rabbit. None of us had seen it. Sudbury sister missed most of it as she passed out. Mother didn’t care for it. Irish Gal and I were on the fence. Everyone went to bed afterwards. Turns out Big T, who came down for the last twenty minutes of the film (and sat on the bike) had fallen asleep for most of the two hours the movie was on. It was just around ten that the day ended for everyone. The girls may have stayed up chatting and drinking, who knows. I included a number of interesting photos below for you to review. These are things that caught my attention.

I was quite taken with this beautifully carved lion but was struggling with the price. I left without it.

This glass chess set was pretty neat with faces on the pieces. I’d never seen that. It would need to be displayed somewhere and I don’t have a spot to do it justice.

This whole booth was wooden art. This was the piece that I liked the most of all of them, and it matches my interior. Creative idea.

I was taken with this interesting design. Reminded me of something I might have doodled years ago. Cool emblem.

This nightmare fuel really stood out amongst the faded pastoral prints in the booth. I sent it to the Corn King to suggest he hang it in the Little Prince’s room to help him sleep.

This was just weird. Racoon Mario high on the pot.

Stratford Sunday

I woke initially close to six and got showered up and ready to seize the day. I got bacon going and prepped for perogies. The Big T always likes to have perogies on a Sunday. I had the coffee ready to go and even finished the perogies in the pan for him so it had some char like he prefers. The others slowly stumbled out of their beds and everything was laid out for them. My Sudbury’s sister’s partner, the Irish Gal slept through it all. It was a pretty decent effort on the food. The Big T requested an egg as well, he put it with his toast, basically the same meal he’d have had at home, thus keeping his streak alive. My plate was less picturesque than his.

The stores didn’t open until late morning so there was no rush to get a move on. The early breakfast made for a bit of a gap and my parents don’t do well with downtime, well Mother can hang but Big T needs things to do. As such we didn’t wait the full time until we should have departed for the day’s adventure. We made a call to go to Stratford as it appeared to have the lowest chance of rain today rather than tomorrow (the original plan). We were actually trusting the weather idiots. The forecast had changed since we made the amendment to the plan so we had to make sure we had some rain gear. We rationalized an earlier departure to allow the girls to scout out some shops they’d find interesting but in reality it was because we weren’t doing much at home. I had extra time so I prepared everyone’s mug of water to keep the gang hydrated. We got rolling around ten I think.

The two girls had no agenda, just wanting to explore things. Mother wanted to get some specific chocolates and a specific coffee for her friends. We parked in the free parking area and did a circuit of the shops, all closed. It was raining steadily the entire time. The chocolate store was closed Sunday and they didn’t sell that coffee by the bag, just the actual drink. That closed out the agenda. We walked the entire downtown loop twice and then went down to the river. The two girls split off to do their own exploring.

It was lovely in the gardens and at the river but not as nice when it’s pouring rain. There were several flowerbeds that just weren’t planted this year. I’m going to blame the pandemic and the expected decrease in tourists until recently. Even then, it was pretty dead for a weekend, despite the rain. The flowers that were there were spectacular.

We didn’t see anyone renting boats or eating ice cream on this miserable day but luckily the bathrooms were open. We all took our turn. You can see in the below photo, not much of a crowd. This part of the world is just starting to open up now. Hopefully people start to move around safely and we can get the economy going again. We climbed back up to the high street and went in the Scottish shop, which is right beside an English shop that we also visited. I was surprised to see myself buy things in both, I’m usually more Scotch with my spending.

Now that some of the shops were opening up we did another tour of the area but made few stops. By the time we’d completed most of a second tour it was getting close to lunch time and some were getting hungry. Mother reached out to the girls and we met up to decide which of the few patios we’d eat on. Many spots didn’t do patios and some that did weren’t open on Sunday so the selection was limited. We happened to have met up next to Fellini’s Italian Cucina on the main drag so we tried there. They not only could seat the five of us, but also put us under umbrellas. The lunch menu had nice variety but we all went for the sandwiches. They looked like a screaming deal until you realize the salad isn’t included, that didn’t slow us down though. The server was excellent, coming back to make sure she’d gotten the order correct, which is good, or Sudbury sister would have ended up with just meatballs rather than a meal. Everyone but the Tugboat had cocktails and enjoyed the meal. I had the chicken parma ciabatta sandwich. After an intense discussion on salt and pepper applicators it was time to pay the bill, I treated.

We again split up to cover more ground (?) before retreating the rains for the truck. It wasn’t long after that the two girls showed up, ready to leave. From Stratford, home of the Shakespeare Festival, we ventured to Shakespeare itself. There are a couple of antique stores there, they are higher end but they are there. We picked the one they liked best and I dropped them off and went to park. As it happened, the lady there told them the others are closed most of the time, one folded and the other was a junk peddler. So I guess they picked right. Nothing was purchased, prices and quality are very high there, more for rich city people who are serious about design. From there we stopped at my old research farm just to show the girls where I used to run the universe from. I had my keys so we went inside for a minute. They didn’t seem to care at all so it was a very short stop, mostly for them to use the bathroom. From there it was back to the Harbour and it was nearly four. The Big T asked for a scotch and I put on some guitar riff videos (first one we did of many) that we could guess at. It’s a fun game to play. The women were having cocktails as well. I served some snacks and apparently not enough ice for the T. You can see I gave him whiskey stones but he wanted some cubes for the dilution. I just stuck to the cold balls in my fancy glass that my former assistant Red gifted me at the end of a long year together. Eventually we started playing some euchre while the other person ran the music. The Irish Gal and I lost in a historic comeback from Mother and sister. We were up 9-4 at one point I think. A loner hand and a euchre later and it was over, that quick. Low card draw sat out, it was me. The next game went quickly and I was back at the table with Mother as a partner this time, Sudbury sister was out. We built a bit lead up on them before the food arrived. Leading 8-3 before the break.

The original plan for tonight was to have some sushi but since things aren’t open enough for all you can eat, we decided on takeout. We thought about some of the chains like Boston Pizza, Kelseys or Montanas but dedcided to get some Indian food after seeing a Butter Chicken Food Truck driving around my neighbourhood promoting their menu. They’ll be parked at the Canadian Tire apparently. That makes four Indian spots on my side of town, pretty good for a town of 41000. But still no good Thai, had the thai train left the station at this point? We ordered from the Royal Turban and got the preset menu for four. It was a huge meal that resulted in leftovers even though there were five of us. I don’t think we’d have finished it even if it were five of me. The Big T treated for that one. After eating it only took one more hand to finish them off and it was decided that a walk was in order. I stayed back to finish cleaning up.

Photo credit: The Big T

Photo credit: The Big T

After they got back from their walk the Big T wanted to watch the Jays game. The two girls went upstairs to work on the homework and to have some down time and Mother and I went to the basement to watch a film. I don’t recall at the time of writing what it was exactly but it ended ahead of ten and it was time to shut it down. My parents selected the basement knowing that it was cooler and were primed to have a great sleep. The girls were concerned about the heat in the spare room so I jumped the AC up and they cracked a window. Better sleeps were obtained with these measures I’m told.

The Arrival

I was awake before six which was fine, not a big rush to get myself moving right away. I got cleaned up and dressed and did my French lesson immediately, not sure when I’ll get another chance. I ventured out and got the truck filled up with my new fuel card, it works. I went to another Esso, my favourite Petro is blocked by construction. I got myself a McBreakfast (again) and then went to finally get groceries. I put it off for almost a week and survived off my core foodstuffs. That meant they’d have to be replenished. I was also buying a lot of extra food this time for my guests. My parents, my Sudbury sister and her partner were coming to stay with me for a few days to explore the south and get out of their own little worlds for a bit. I was happy to host, my sister has never been here before. When asked to donate money I tried to donate a fiver plus whatever brought my total to the next nearest dollar. The lady misheard my fifty three as sixty three so the total wasn’t perfect. I didn’t care for that. I got my haul home, took longer to bring it in and to stow it, here is what I got, probably can’t see it all.

That left one major task to tackle, the lawns. But it was still pretty early in the day to fire up an annoying mower. I instead took to Musings, I was nearly a week behind in posting my drafts but hammered away and got a few days up for you to enjoy, they are loaded with fun tales. Some other yahoo mowed their lawn at half nine so I figured I’d go at ten. I was out there with workboots and gloves on, should have had safety glasses to complete the PPE picture. I mowed the side lawns before the lady next door popped out. She wanted me to let her swap the free plant she planted in my front garden for something else. Apparently she didn’t like the seeds off the existing one, they get everywhere and grow in the lawn. Uh, sure. Not sure how that counts as me doing her a favour but either way. She put in a dwarf bleeding heart, I had the non-dwarf version before so this should work nicely. We chatted for a bit, we’re both double dosed now, her brother is dying, I shouldn’t have filled in under my steps with gravel. You know, neighbour stuff. I moved to the back lawn and buzzed it off before using my big scissors to trim out the stuff the mower couldn’t reach. It’s not perfect but it’s much less the mess I was looking at before.

After cleaning the mower and myself up, had to let the sweat dry, I had a bunch of water and a single drumstick for lunch. I got back on the computer machine and finished updating Musings while I wanted for my family to arrive. They appeared around just ahead of two in the afternoon and after a chaotic dropping off of the stuff we embarked on a tour of the Harbour for my sister. We ended up in the living room and then started to workshop plans for the next few days. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, rain is forecasted for every day they are here except today so we decided to get some miniature golf in while the weather was nice. We took a tour across downtown first to show the girls and then the battle was on. It appeared to be no masks while you were playing assuming you could maintain distance from other parties. We played the Coast to Coast Miniature Golf course like we usually do when my parents visit, it’s a unique venue.

There were a lot more photos taken, I think Mother got one of every hole. Each hole is themed for a different attraction in each province and has a brief description of each. I squeezed us all on to the same score card. It took me a hole to get warmed up. Apparently I was a bad host and didn’t let my guests win. They had a chance but had a couple of collapse holes each. Both the girls had aces to offset some other rougher holes. The important part is that we all had fun and the weather was great.

It was ten to five when we wrapped things up and headed back to the Harbour. Drinks and chips were served and Mother started to thaw her sauce. She whipped up some tasty rigatoni with the frozen sauce she had. After some recovery we had tasty drumsticks. It was a delightful meal to start the trip.

The girls went upstairs to work on homework for school and relax and I took my parents to the basement to watch some movies. We started off watching The Kid Detective, primarily because it was filmed in North Bay but also because Rek had said it was good. We did enjoy it and Sudbury sister joined us partway through while her partner wrote an essay. She went back upstairs and we watched American Assassin. I’d already seen it but neither parent had. Everyone enjoyed it. It was after ten by the time it wrapped so we called it a night. I’m confident that my parents will sleep well in the basement but I’m worried the guest room will be too hot for the girls, they don’t have AC so maybe there is a chance.

Halfway Friday

I woke up feeling fine, maybe better than fine. I zipped out for a McBreakfast to prime the pump and moved from that straight into work. I worked away at another Excel formatting task for the morning.

I got a good jag of it done and was humming along. I started laundry early and often. I was going to have four loads to do today in preparation of my family visiting. One load of my clothes and then my bed pretty much takes three loads to do, one for the sheets and duvet cover, one for the duvet, and one for the thick mattress cover. The hydro meter will be just ripping today. It was around noon that I started to feel tired. I wasn’t sure if it was the vaccine doing it’s thing in me or if I just needed to eat. I gutted work out for another hour, I was hoping to get to three before clocking out but my brain wasn’t cooperating. I needed to switch to something more mindless. Buj had been talking about watching Starship Troopers recently and I’ve never seen it. I read the book last year with the intention of watching the film after to compare the two but just never did. He confirmed it was on Netflix so I got after it after one. It was not great. I understand why it has the cult following though. There were some serious departures from the book that made the story worse but with budgets and run time as factors you have to make moves sometimes, I get it. There was also some really gorey props and violence, but also gratuitous female nudity. I didn’t want to debate vaccine vs need to eat any more so after changing loads again I marched upstairs and made some meager wraps with the bit of smoked chop I had left from Canada Day and some never go bad items I had in the fridge. Not pretty but effective.

I started playing the game of finding hidden gems on Netflix. I started watching Ode to Joy with Martin Freeman and Morena Baccarrin. It was interesting, a strange concept for a story but I bought in. I was starting to have a mild fever, just felt warmer than I should have laying in the cool basement. After that I changed loads and did some folding before starting Upgrade. This was a lower budget sci-fi thriller type of hidden gem. Lots of action and a new interesting story. I enjoyed it, despite knowing it was pretty terrible. It made more than five times it’s budget though so I guess? When that ended I knew it was time to suck it up and get a move on. The fever thing was gone, very, very mild headache so I hammered a pair of Tylenol extra strength and got to work. I cleaned the remaining toilets and wiped the sinks. Then I tackled making the bed. It was time to replace the old mattress cover, it was still in okay shape except that the cheap backing had partially flaked off. It’s been terrible, the stupid white flakes get everywhere. And that means I had to use my train whistle sounding vacuum again. It’s honestly terrible. Everytime I use it I swear it will be the last time. It sucks fine, just loud as all hell, embarrassingly loud. Once I had done an initial pass I took the mattress off, found more flakes, rotated and swapped the box springs, found more flakes and then I rotated the mattress and put it back, put the mattress cover on, then the sheets, then the duvet cover, then the duvet, then the pillowcases. It is so much walking to do alone. If I ever take a wife it will be to get a second income and to help me make the bed. It’s a huge pain. Once it was made vacuumed the room again then I did a few last minute things and tried to let my sweat dry before sinking into the cloud. Hopefully there is no lingering effects tomorrow.

The Second Dose

Today was another day that I didn’t have breakfast at home. I zipped out for a McBreakfast again. I think back to when I was working and I used to get it four times a week every week. Now I’m feeling guilty everytime. Pretty interesting change in mindset. I got back with my prize and inhaled it before starting work at eight. I’d set up two tasks for myself that I’ll need done for the fall and it’s nice to get it done early while I’ve got the chance. I’m working on a few long term projects too that aren’t moving fast or regularly so these jobs will fill the time. Also, they are manipulating Excel files, something I love to do. I put on my audiobook and just let it rip. Nothing scheduled until late in the day so I just soaked it up in the morning, having a glorious time. It reminds me of my first fulltime job when I was in the office and doing this all the time or given the time to expand my role or create better systems and processes. I loved that job, minimal responsibility, maximum opportunity. Anyways, needless to say, the morning zipped by and lunch showed up. My larders are still bare so I had some Campbell’s Chunky Chicken and Rice soup which is fairly watery and no crackers. This is problematic. I had the brainwave to slice a tortilla strip into strips, spray them with oil and air fry them into perfection. I could have looked up the correct temperature and time to do this but I did not. I figured I’d keep an eye on it. They came out hard and burned, not ideal. To add insult to injury the soup was piping hot and burned my tongue like as if I’d licked lava. The whole meal experience wasn’t good. Sustenance I guess.

I went back to my delightful toil, forgetting when I had planned to depart for my vaccine appointment. The actual jab was slated to happen at 1:51pm and the facility was between thirty and thirty five minutes from my desk, depending on traffic. It was raining so I felt I needed to err on the long side. I planned to leave at ten past one, giving thirty five minutes to travel and five minutes or so to prepare. As I was heading out the door I realized I’d forgotten to print my demographic card. This is something my public health unit has asked us to do. I sprinted back to my computer in a panic trying to print a copy. The printer had decided that it no longer is willing to work with my computer. I tried a few times, unplugged stuff and plugged it back in. I didn’t have time for this and figured they’d have copies, I can’t be the first one to do this right? In case I grabbed the wad of papers from previous visit, not sure if I’d been given it back last time or if it was collected, no time to check! I got in the truck a few minutes late and hustled down the highway. I arrived at quarter to two and checked the files, it was there. I augmented that one to be appropriate for the second appointment. I’d also received my new driver’s license in the mail that day so I reviewed that paperwork until it was time to go. I was right one time, as instructed and you know what? I forgot the damn paper in the truck. Turns out I didn’t need it anyways. Things were a bit more relaxed this time around. Screen questions weren’t asked directly, I guess she figured I knew my business. I wasn’t asked much at the next booth either and only to confirm my email when I got to the actual chair. I took a second shot of Moderna in the left deltoid and waited my fifteen minutes and departed. No fuss, no muss.

My arm was more sore this time initially, but nothing debilitating. I had a call and then polished off my first task that I’d been working on all morning. I had some extra water and then went to lay down (carefully) after work wrapped up around five. I ordered some chicken bites from Pizza Pizza and a bacon cheeseburger panzerotti. It was very tasty and the chicken bites were very nice with the two dipping sauces (sriracha creamy garlic and creamy dill). After a call with a colleague driving through Montreal buying people bagels and smoked meat to order (I didn’t get anything). I watched some YouTube, but mostly I listened to my audiobook, which has gotten great and played HomeScapes. I dumped some more money into that mindless app. I know that it goes on forever but I feel like I’m in the last room of the house now. It’s well designed to keep me going. Around eight I realized that I had to get cracking and in the next ninety minutes I cleaned every inch of flooring in the house. Swept the basement and main floor, vacuumed the rugs and the stairs (the worst!) and swept the upstairs bathrooms. Then I mopped all the non-rug flooring. I was sweating something fierce by the time I was done. Then I went after the upstairs bathrooms and gave them a cleaning too. By then it was nearly ten so I tapped out and carefully arranged my sore arm in the bed to get to sleep. Let the fourteen day countdown begin until I’m invincible!

Routine Wednesday

Normal version of the McBreakfast for today. The trip to and from was much more civilized today also. Nothing much exciting happened in the morning. I watered the plants and did some weeding before work and then at eight it was time to work. I trudged through a handful of items in the morning and the day was shaping up to be another slow one. I had a juan on juan call with my US boss and kept him in the loop on the Canadian business and my wallet story. Then there was a general info session on silage that I listened to. The rest of the time was spent working through invoicing nonsense, not exciting at all. I took my lunch a ways after twelve and make a mountain of Mr Noodle. I used two regular chicken and one spicy chicken. Even using three packages the meal was still under a dollar, you can’t beat that! You just can’t. I talked to the Chef for the majority of my lunch time. There was a brief period at the end when I found myself laying across the foot of my bed.

My lunch rest ended abruptly when I got a text about an announcement. One of my long-time colleagues changed jobs and I’d be working more directly with him going forward. It was good news for me, bad news for his former team. I figured he’d retire this fall so maybe there is some gas in the tank yet. I got asked by a few people if I’d seen that news. It was better than the one on Monday. I didn’t do much of value in the afternoon. I read through some info emails that I’d ignored while on holidays. I did some math and had someone check it so I could answer a customer question. At one point I was down to four emails in my inbox. I’m waiting for a few reports to come in, then I can get busy again. Around five I started dusting. I got the entire upstairs dusted in about forty five minutes, it never takes as long as I think and I generally dread the task. It was an interesting experience because there was a significant thunderstorm raging while I did it. We got a pounding rain, hopefully that helps my lawn recover. Dinner followed the first round of dusting. I took the easy way out and just popped the last of the perogies in the air fryer. I did some dusting while dinner was cooking.

The meal was quick and tasty. It fuelled me up to keep on dusting. I managed to get the entire main floor done and then I moved down to the basement. I got it all done before it was time to prepare for the first D&D game in what feels like forever. We missed last week due to one of the guy’s anniversary, fair enough. I found myself trying to remember the rules of how to play and what my character was capable of in the moments leading up to the beginning of the session. It was an info session, lots of stumbling our way through trying to cover some exposition stuff. It wasn’t glamourous and exciting but it was a lot of fun. That went to just after ten and then we signed off for the week. We did get a bit silly at times, we’ll have to reign it in next time. I pulled the trigger on my new wallet and added a knife like the one I got at Christmas to keep building my set and to get the total over $50 for free shipping, except it was trying to make me do a free Prime trial and I’m not sure what happened. The order went in and I don’t have Prime, dodged it again. I’m not getting Prime until Wheel of Time airs on there. Then it will get added in to the mix.

Slow Tuesday

Thick, beautiful sleep was wrapped up gently with some lounging and a big day for French lessons. There was no breakfast food left in the house so it got outsourced to McD’s. In the lineup I saw that they have a new promo item, a habanero bacon and egg McMuffin. Intriguing. I got that on the side with my usual number three meal with OJ. I ate the spicy one first, the only difference was a sauce on the top and bottom. It tasted odd, a slight tinge of the Big Mac sauce with some heat. The spice wasn’t overpowering, there was some zip but it was fine. I suspect smoke would come out of Big T’s ears though. It was a fun comparison.

The drive to the spot was fine but the drive back featured a lot of people who must have had a double dose of stupid pills today. Just before home someone pulled out and tried to have a head-on collision with me. Luckily I was hyper vigilant from previous fool moves. COVID is winding down and it shows, roads were buzzing like crazy. I got home and slowed things way down. After socking back extra water I set about a task that has been looming for a few weeks. I’ve been getting notifications about it now. I need to make more space on my phone and for me that means dumping a lot of photos and videos. I have stuff from March 2020 onwards, including everything from September 2020 to today. A purge is long overdue. I plugged in my phone and tried to get files to transfer, no dice. The are the right format but they are transferring the shell of the file, not the actual thing. I was getting frustrated. I had a couple of calls in the morning to break things up but after making moves for a couple hours to find out that none of it worked, that sucks, let me tell you! I got some advice from GRP before noon that didn’t work out. I ended up buying two different pieces of software, both for $1.29, and neither helped. What I’d done wrong apparently, was trying to move folders. When I opened the folders and selected a small grouping of files they moved just fine. I had to go lighter on the videos. Anything over 200MB caused it to freak out a bit. I worked at this one and off all day. I stopped work at five but kept going on the files, finishing that at six. Then I transitioned into playing some MSC Challenges, there were a few weeks worth piled up from my time away. I started into those while consuimg my audiobook and before I knew it time had flown, it was well after eight. I decided that I’d have to forgo dinner, Oprah says not to eat after eight. So I kept on it. Then I traded screens and watched YouTube on the Mini until half nine before falling asleep with a more empty belly than usual. Can’t hurt me to miss a few meals from time to time. It wasn’t as productive of a day but I got the main task done. My phone has over 1000 less photos and over 150 less videos now. That cleared up over 10GB of space, that should keep it happy for a bit. With that win, I was able to fall asleep at a decent hour and get a nice rest.