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Month: December 2023

Brevity: It’s a Skill.

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Not being vague, but concise. Giving exactly the amount of detail required, no more, no less. It isn’t just being blunt, nor is it the gift of omission. As a long winded person whom prefers to write micro short stories, it is simply a must. Learn it. Use it. Enjoy it. We are, all of us, better off for it.

Being able to distill complex ideas down and explain them without volumes of text is challenging. Ask anyone who has to write a precis of any written work. Hard number counts and being brief is difficult to master. What to keep, and what is covered under the umbrella of what is kept is a high level thinking, big picture challenge. Try it. Tougher than it looks.

Finally here on Thursday. Christmas will be here in four more days. All this build up and poof! Gone by 8:00am Christmas morning. Soak it in while you can. All the best. Ciao Bella!

You Best Leg It Then, My Son.

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Don’t want the expense of putting more gas in the car, best walk round the shops then. Hate the cold, but hate spending money even more? Leg it, the less expensive, slower, and more time consuming method of travel. Leg it, not approved for the newly minted, the injured, the elderly, or the sick. Not available in all areas. Terms and conditions apply.

But seriously though, I need to gas up the van, pick up a prescription, and do some grocery shopping. None of which are going to help lower this months Visa bill. It is going to be a dozy. I forgot my eldest birthday party went on the old Visa on the 2nd. That was $500.00 I wasn’t planning to add to this year’s Christmas shopping attack on my account. I had hoped to pay back in October, but it had to be done on the day, for some reason. I guess because we had some late drop outs, and a few new additions, and my wife added extra meals to the order (which went uneaten, by the way). Oh well. I didn’t have to host, cook, clean, nor entertain a room of 12 children nine and under for several hours on a Saturday afternoon. Money well spent, but it’ll jump up the ole balance a hefty notch. Ugh. Tighten the belt heading into January in preparation of the Spring Tax collection season. Blargh.

I have remembered to bake my daughters polymer clay creations this morning, so the house is a tad smelly. Glad for the basement apartments oven. Wouldn’t want to do that type of craft curing in an oven I cook our food with. Yuck. I have a timer on, so I can’t leave to shop/gas up until it peeps. Don’t want her creations to burn. She made them in different colours so as to not have to paint them. If I burn them, or make them brown that will defeat the purpose of how she made them.

Maybe I’ll go work for a second and then check in on them. Ciao Bella.

Are We Close Enough To That Holiday Limbo Period Where You’re Never Certain If People Are Still Working, Or Are Off On Vacation Time…

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But sometimes they answer emails or request work, but you’d swear you’ve had an OOO message explaining an absence for the end of the year. Do I need to finish this asap or… will you approve this now or… should I wait for a reply and any possible changes before I go round my pal’s for a drink or… do I give you until 9:00pm and then shut down for the day or… that type of thing. Get it?

Tuesday of the week before Christmas,  and other such Holidays are upon us as well. Seasons greetings, Happy Holidays, Happy/Merry (?) Kwanza, Happy Chanukah, and any such others that I’ve missed.

We have a very light dusting of powdery snow this morning, masking a brittle & crunchy layer of ice beneath thanks to all of yesterday’s rain. Is it treacherous out there? I dunno. All I did was uncover both vehicles, but parts of the driveway were slick, so I’d have to imagine so. Go a hair slower towards all those four way stops, and give yourself a breather heading towards lights at intersections. That sort of thinking should help you out on a day like today. Get some of that good old glare from the sun off the road and you have yourself a recipe for smashed glass and dented bumpers. But we all hope not.

Here’s a quick health tip reminder. Drink a glass of water. If you feel bound up inside, head-achey, or a bit dry of lip, go drink a glass now. It might rush right through you in the next 10-15 minutes, but a cool glass of water will be appreciated by your body. I regularly forget to do so, and I should take better care not to forget. One small step of personal kindness. Just don’t do it if you have to go drive somewhere, or wait in a place with no bathroom access. That will not be of any immediate help to you! Ha.

In alternate news I did a good amount of clearing up down in the basement. I finally tossed several years of old fair entries, kept all of the ribbons though. Kept some of the more special entries too. Stuff that really displayed effort and/or creativity. I also condensed down our books to open up some more space for the kids things, and to provide additional playable surfaces for them both. It doesn’t look like I got rid of much because of how much is still left, but I know I sent off 70lbs worth of books, novels, and hard covers. Tried to get some old manuals out the door too, but those five were rejected. I knew they would be, but worth a try. Can’t score if you don’t shoot! Ha. In all honesty though, as happy as I am with the progress, there are an awful lot of things that still need to be sorted out, organized and gotten disposed of. The old water softener which weighs a gods be damned tonne has to go. But I haven’t been able to empty out all of the congealed salt yet. Also my wheelie cart went to the in-laws never to return. So I need one of those, my ratchet straps and a final destination planned out before I fuss with it. We have a change table & crib combo that needs to go too. If our newly pregnant cousin on my wife’s side doesn’t want it, I’ll take it to the Care & Share donation drop off site. I just want it gone, but not to a landfill. I could just as easily break it down and burn it at the cottage, but it deserves to keep doing its thing unhindered.

I also need to designate an appropriate storage spot for all of our newly acquired wheeled luggage. I don’t want to bury it someplace it’s a pain to get to, but they are big & light weight. I guess the closets I emptied recently of baby clothes is as good a spot as any. I was hoping to retain that space for later, but those new bags need a clean, dry, and out of the way place to be stored so that the kids don’t try to climb inside them, and break the wheels or zippers etc… I tell you I dream of storage space. A magical extra door in the basement that leads to a cavernous, yet dry and luke warm room with rack upon rack of easily accessible storage. An Indiana Jones style warehouse to put all of our extra stuff. These are the desires I have. Not extra wives, or girlfriends on the side. No. I dream of adequate storage space, and an upgraded shop. But I digress. I could daydream about that sort of thing all day if I let myself. That and winning the lottery. Again – I digress. Shame, that. I’d be pretty good at spending money on all sorts of fun things. Probably why most lottery winners go bankrupt or end up back where they were inside of ten years. Eyes too big for their account balances. Plus getting fleeced by banks, bad money managers, shady business partners and the like. I’m drifting here, I can feel it! Dream a little dream of meeeeeeeee!

Less than a week to go now until Christmas. And then we’ll be looking down the barrel of a looming 2024! Crazy. Anyway, take care. Ciao Bella!

Donating books

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Had a bunch of books I didn’t like, and won’t read so I bundled them all up and dropped them off at the local Care & Share. I offered them up for free to anyone I know nearby, but alas no takers. So a seventy pound box of books went off to a new home. I think 90% of them were in pristine condition too. I take good care of my book collection. But when it comes to authors I don’t like, or books I just couldn’t get invested in, they gotta go. No point holding on to so many things I don’t care about. I need the room for things I do care about. Hopefully they go to people whom like those authors, and get read, reread over and over again.

Oh Don’t You Worry, I’m Very Aware That I Dress Like A Toddler.

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Rumpled t-shirts, the same two pair of comfortable sweats, and a Patagonia style zip up sweater are my go to wardrobe now that I am a full time work from home dad, and have been doing so since 2017. With few to no in person meetings I have left my professional work attire unattended in my closet gathering dust. I also put on several pounds during the last four years, and I’m certain much of that attire no longer fits in a flattering manner. As I can attest to during the series of funerals I attended this July. Well, I had updated several pairs of slacks, but never thought about my dress shirts, and those lovely shirts may need to go to someone else. Or I have to do something, and lose weight. Or at the very least tone up the flabby bits, so I can get away with keeping my work clothes. My usual grey or black monochromatic dress code looks super-duper shabby. I should at least try to wear proper pants, or at least jeans or my work pants once or twice a week. I think I can build that into a habit. I keep meaning to hem some other pants I have to increase my wearable roster of leisure wear. I’ve said this a few years in a row now. But! Ha-ha, we have a sewing machine in the house now, so I can do it myself if I find my thread and figure out how to load the machine. Or hand stitch a bunch more. I did at one point start this process on each pair of pants, but gave up after putting in a couple stitches on each pair. It was tiresome, and it needed a lot of stitches. I stabbed my fingers a few times, and was unhappy with the lacklustre results. Will I remember? Will I follow through on the shift in what is an acceptable wardrobe for a forty plus year old man, father, husband, business owner/operator? Stay tuned.

It’s a rainy Sunday here today. I have one last Amazon package to be delivered. Not a Christmas present to be exact. But a new, large stereo for the house. A JBL Boombox 2, 80 Watts of blood pumping waterproof goodness. I want to be able to annoy the neighbourhood with my 50’s classic rock, and a soft spot for Weird Al Yankovic. Followed closely by the raucous chaos of Chas n’ Dave, and a bit of Status Quo on top. Layer in a fair bit of Wolfmother, Soundgarden, and early 2000’s club beats and I’m there my friends. Shaking, bumping, gyrating to the music. Club rat 101 going on out on the dance floor. I may jiggle & sway a whole lot more now than in my twenties, but I can still cut a rug, or get down!

Even had the chance to take a few Christmas presents over to my inlaws on Saturday. Slowly I am making my way towards reclaiming floor space. Hell on Friday I moved nine (9) full vacuum bags of childrens clothes out of the basement closets. That had to be 500-600 cumulative pounds of too small childrens clothing. Enfant wear, right up to age 5. Anything that fits a 6-9 year old child got kept, obviously. But we made a significant dent in the amount of clothing we were storing away. I’m beginning to be able to see our basement floor again! Progress. Next on the list are toys. Some can go to school for the MID kids there, others can go to the cottage, and others still can go in the trash. But most of all, I want it sorted, and looked after, up off the floor. I admit, that is tough to do with the Christmas tree in the living room, but they should be able to manage their own rooms for grown out of toys & junk / garbage. Or I’ll wait for school on Monday, pick a room and begin to purge unannounced.

I wanted to do that in September but I was actually busy with paid work, so this fall I did not do any DIY projects, or go over the entire house to throw away the newly gathered junk. I did a real good job of that the first year both kids were at school together. And in all honesty we have not gathered up nearly as much junk since that initial clear out. Not to say we don’t have things to get rid of, we absolutely do. Just not anywhere near as much. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Our house is tiny, and the clutter makes it feel even smaller than it really is. We can not hold on the every single thing that catches a passing fancy. At least not in the current disorganized way. I’d like dolls of certain sizes to be stored with other similar items, so that if you are looking for a specific toy of that nature you need but upend just one bin, and not every single toy box in the house. Simple things like that would make me happy. Less clutter, more organization with intent, and a habit of cleaning up after oneself. Not perfection, but sweep after dropping food on the floor, taking plates and cups to the kitchen after use, not leaving wrappers all over the house. We can build up from there.

Have a great Lazy Sunday. May all your chores go smoothly today. Ciao Bella.

Things That Give Me The Ick: A Cringe Chronicle

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So many new terms coming out of the mouths of the youths these days. I find myself falling further and further down the slang terminology wormhole, having to look up new things almost monthly. Alot of it just seems to be a new/shorter way to say old words, or to act like it has just been discovered. Whatever. Do your thang, fam. Lit. Bet. Word. I guess once you hit that unknown language skid, and you slide on out of the commonly used words of the community but cling wildly to your own lexicon you start to “feel” a lot older than you really are. I’m a pop culture guy, I thought I was with it, but I couldn’t pick most of the new musical artists out of a line up. I should wear an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. Chuckle if you understood that reference.

Today is Taekwondo belt testing day. Going to leave here shortly to drive across town to watch my oldest kick her patterns in the business and move up the chain one half belt. In all sincerity I hope we reach the next full colour belt by May. Then we can pause for the summer & swimming, to pick it back up in September if she wants.

Happy sunny & cold Saturday. We did the Wonderland winter experience last evening while it was 10°C. Lots of lovely lights. We didn’t skate, but rode some kid rides and walked around looking at all the lovely lights. Fun time.

The Next Day, Afterglow receding.

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Now we look long and hard into the deep recesses of a new year ahead of blog posts. I should probably make a list of topics I’d like to cover over the next 364 days. Would make things a little easier, and probably add some dynamism to the average post here. Always good to have a plan in place for some things. I have the habit for writing – yes. But not of planning out what to say. Not like a full on outline for each post, but maybe a list of things I’d like to discuss in the coming year. Maybe one planned post per week. Is 52 planned posts too much, after doing none? Should I scale that back to just 24/12? Only one or two per month? That sounds more reasonable to me. I’ll see how it feels to execute come January. I like the looseness of my blogging. It isn’t a revenue stream so i don’t want to make it a chore to do. It’s an outlet not a side hustle. This ain’t no paying gig, you feel me? Ya dig? Bet.

Closer than ever to the big day! We are inside the last 10 days until Christmas. I’d love some snow for the day itself. Makes the lights look that much nicer when all the cords are hidden. Plus you get all that light scatter & sparkle from the snow which makes it feel all twinkley. Love it.

Yesterday’s post was a long one, with lots of photos. Jet Pack had a bit of an issue with it. It was my annual year in review, and a description of my reading challenge for 2023. Still not exactly a long article by any means. A 5 minute read at most. Simple.

Happy Friday. Ciao Bella!

Jabby jabs to the arms.

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Recently had a notice that we have some needles to make up with the kiddos. Funny that. Every time the kids have gone to see their pediatrician we make a point to ask if they need any and the answer has consistently been no. But now between the two of them we are down by four. Very strange in deed. So off we go today to have them updated in their little booklets. I would have preferred Monday for this, as today is the longest after school extra curriculars day for us. Could end up being an ugly scheduling mishap on my part. Or not. Hard to tell if a sore arm will really up end their day that badly. We’ll have to wait and see. I called the school before it had even opened to leave a message. Not sure why it didn’t click through to the attendance call service but I’m sure they’ll call me at 9:00am because no one checked the messages. Oh well.

Tomorrow is the official two year anniversary of my writing campaign. I have an image prepped for my post. Not a big deal. Must have lost track as I miss counted the number of books I read entirely & partially. I did more than I thought. Good news I guess. Now that Christmas is just around the corner I wonder if sitting down to watch Oppenheimer will make me more likely to finish the American Prometheus book? Possibly? That’s for tomorrow me to ponder aloud.

It is Wednesday, Hump Day, middle of the week day. I think my largest client has shut down for the holidays, or had many of the marketing staff take off on vacation. So I’m going to make the edits I was asked for yesterday evening and then I will wait for their return to proceed any further. Sounds about right to me. Happy day.

Nobody asked for it… but

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Here’s the crafting/wrapping station I set up for myself in the basement this year to help me get through our Christmas presents. It helped me out by not having to hunch over on the couch, or sit awkwardly on my bed to wrap gifts. I had a steady, and sturdy surface to cut paper on, and lots of room to spread out too. I had my labels/tags set off to one side. All of my tape gathered at arms length. And room for my scissors, straight edge & pens. Besides the Bluetooth speaker blasting out tunes and a cold bevy in my hands, it was a very serious matter. I really wanted to enjoy wrapping this year instead of feeling like a rushed, frantic chore. I leaned in, and I leaned in hard. Few distractions to be found except for breaking out into song while I worked. 10/10 do recommend. 5 stars. Worth the drive to Acton, such as it were. Nod if you get the reference.

Wrapping bright lemon coloured school apparel for the whole family.

The Big Holiday Down Turn of 2023.

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News is out saying the theme for Christmas 2023 is… “Cutting Back“. Corporate Greedflation pumped up the price on everything so folks just decided to not treat yo-self. I get it. I mean I didn’t exactly cut back. I took greater stock of what I was buying and how much I spent, but I didn’t deny my kids anything. Also – did you look at a lot of toys they put out this year? Big, bulky plastic items with little to no articulation, over sized pricing to match the ridiculously over sized toys. I don’t blame people for not buying massive chonky toys that don’t do much by way of transformations, or gimmicks or anything really. Do I need a three to four foot tall Batman robot that stands rigidly? No. No I don’t. Even as a toy obsessed adult it doesn’t ring any bells in my head. Also, I am not going to spend more than $15 on any one action figure, so those Star Wars Black items, or DC legends figures on the rack that start at $35 are an instant flop in my book. Know your worth.

I could go on and moan about things I see in the store price wise, or playability wise and bore you all for an hour. But rest assured, the general state of the toy aisle is kind of stagnant. Action figures of all shapes and sizes were a sizable part of my youthful Christmas experience. Selection seems to have diminished as well, over the years. But that could just be the youthful glow of nostalgia and lack of self awareness as a child in a toy store clouding my judgement/memories. I see copious amounts of the same seven to ten toys, but not a huge selection across the entire store between IP’s, brands, or category of toy. It could potentially be that what is currently offered doesn’t register with me as I don’t follow things like Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, or Five Nights at Freddy’s, or things of that ilk. So perhaps I have blinders on when walking the toy aisles of various stores. That’s a definite bias to watch out for.

In other news I did manage to find time to wrap some gifts. So that has taken some of the stress off of my shoulders. I also have some of the girls laundry in the wash, and the dish washer has run and been emptied. All great news for me. I have some clothes left to wrap and then I’ll put the Crocs in gift bags as I don’t feel like wrapping shoes. I had a great time wrapping gifts last night. Loud music, a cold bevy, a nice big rigid work surface I can cut on without worry. Lots of paper to choose from, lots of scotch tape, and all the self stick tags you could ever need in a single year. I might wrap some of the wine bottles I bought for my inlaws. Otherwise I’m just about done. I have one last item due in from Amazon at some point today, and that will conclude my holiday shopping.

One big local tradition that we have avoided like the plague was the Elf on the Shelf. I can go to bed at night and rest easy knowing I don’t need to set up an interesting tableau for my kids to find. I could add some glib note towards surveillance and the panopticism, but I’m not that guy. I just didn’t want to be bothered to set up 24 different scenarios for my kids to find or wonder at. Just doesn’t sound like any fun.

Have a great Tuesday December 12th of 2023. I’m down to just a few days left before I reach two years on my writing every day writing streak. My how time flies. Ciao Bella!