Month: August 2024

While we did not commit to the seven full weeks here like we have done in years passed, we still managed four weeks up here this summer. I broke that up by going home to check on things, run errands, and take various people and pets to appointments.  We will be back into the real world soon enough. While I don’t particularly care for the length of our stay it is a lovely place to relax, and enjoy the outdoors. I however would prefer to have my musical instruments, model building apparatus, sculpting tools, wood shop, and karaoke things here too. I can only sit and watch the lake for so long on any given summer. The fact that the only radios here are in the boats is kinda weird. I utilize music when I do just about anything. Probably why I volunteer to drive around so much up here, so I can blast tunes in the car by myself. I need music in my life! Gotta have it. What a crap existence it is without music in it. I should say not just music, but that of my choice, and choosing. No chance to cut a rug up here either. At home we dance in the kitchen/living room almost every day, the kids and I, that is. Makes life more fun.

I think it’s Wednesday today, so I’m tying up loose ends with all of the various interns I collaborate with for the clients I do work for. They’ll all be returning to school in the next two weeks, and I wish them well. I meet quite a few each year, and I enjoy the fresh ideas and innovations which they inject into our ongoing projects. Some are Ivey League business students (under Canadian standards) that I follow along with their exploits on LinkedIn. Helps me to find & understand new trends. Youths. Indispensable.

What else is going on? Hm. Kids are now off to the library for their last information session with the town. This time it’s about bugs/insects. They’ve done some on the moon, turtles, sewing, and possibly one other that slips my mind right now. 2 hours for them to go and do some educational learning away from devices, and out from under my feet. I need to cut the grass so this should be a good time to do it. Then I can go home and do my own lawn later this week. Just you watch, the temperatures will soar, and I’ll be drenched in sweat taking care of my own property. Just lovely.

Actually I’ll be able to sort out our gardens on the daily, once school starts up again. I don’t think I’ll have a tonne of paid work to do this fall, so my table refinishing project, and the gardens, and walking the dog will become much bigger priorities. Getting a sculpt completed and painted for the Markham Fair will be high on the list too. Finish my resin model build, can’t forget the Ninja Turtle bust aswell. Turn out the last couple of illustrations for my children’s book and publish that on WordPress. Maybe get a gym membership for weight lifting and/or continued elliptical usage. So much potential available in the days, weeks, months ahead. Positive thinking! Strike a bunch of long term projects off my list.

Sort out closets. Purge clothes. Purge old/broken toys. Wash walls. I have plenty to keep me busy inbetween paid work. I should definitely try to power wash the back deck. I sanded & stained it only a few years ago, so I should try to maintain it better this go around. Which reminds me I have to cut the nozzle off of my garden hose if I want to be able to use the power washer. Add it to the list!

You know what awaits me when we get home? Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, and the untended lawn. I pulled up about 200 weeds when I went home last week, so I pray there aren’t 200 more after all the rain we’ve had. An obscene amount of it this year. Something like 42cm worth since June. That’s insane! We still had drought like conditions in between those massive downpours. Three to four inches one night because of Berryl, and then this other storm that dropped another 2-3 inches in 24 hours or so. Cloud bursts and sudden heavy showers all over the place. Weird. So very weird.

Happy Hump-Day, Middle of the Week Day. Ciao Bella.

Last night I cleared out quite a few cardboard boxes, and I managed to burn about 100 old useless magazines, and a number of old text books which the kids school wouldn’t take, my wife’s school wouldn’t take, and the care & share wouldn’t accept. So a good old fashioned book burning was had! Autocar bible from 2006 – whoosh! Up in flames. Maya, Flash, Quark Express, and a first edition DreamWeaver went to Ash too. Front porch cleaned up, and the boxes went out of the front entry way. Burnables from the kitchen used up too. If they’d let me loose for a day or two we could really do some damage to all the extra crap kept here. But alas – farmers. Keep everything. Just one notch shy of pack rats, and a ways off being hoarders.

I never understood getting attached to cardboard boxes. One or two, sure thing, keep them out of the way, but dozens of them? For “just in case”. Yeah – no. Recycle that shit. Burn it. Get rid of it. Pure garbage. Looks so messy, and squalid. Ruins a lovely space. If it were my choice I’d get rid of all of the kids “cardboard creations” that have sat untouched for the previous two years. Weeze it! Gone. Poof!, no longer a problem, or an eye sore. Sentimentality over a poorly cut-up cereal box doesn’t make any sense to me.

Tools and such should be kept organized in the shop or office space instead of left lying around in every single room, and in every conceivable surface. Kick a hammer, stub your toe on an impact wrench, stab your feet on screws, nails, staples, and racks of every shape & size. Come on, it’s fun! All the cool kids are doing it.

Not to mention the piles of building materials left all over the place taking up room. Promised to sit for only 6-8 months, now going into year three of its placement in everyone’s way. Glorious. Add to that various piles of broken second hand appliances, and you have yourself a party. Dig up the landscaping and leave it that way for multiple years? Yahtzee! Bingo! Winner winner chicken dinner.

I have a line of five itchy, lumpy bug bites on my left leg, and let me tell you something, I’m not all that happy about it. I’ve managed to avoid bites for the last month, and now I’ve been munched on while asleep. Means people are leaving doors open to the basement, or not closing the screen doors after themselves, and my leg is feeding all the mosquitoes that found their way indoors. Not cool. Hard to defend yourself when asleep! Not like I’m out camping, or sleeping in a tent or yurt here. So itchy. I hate it.

I thought the weather was supposed to get better today, but maybe the sun will come out after lunch. It’s Monday anyway, so I bet I’ll have work to do before too much longer. Speak of the devil! Gotta jet.

I didn’t beat my old score by much, an extra 7 calories, and an additional two hundred steps or so. Real close to hitting 5,000 strides in 33 minutes. I think I can make that happen, but I really have to focus on my breathing, and my pace. I’m very happy with the incremental upwards movement of my score.

To get anything  drastically more I will have to really work harder than I’ve ever done whilst running. Maybe shoes so I don’t slip on the pedal platforms once I get all sweaty. Choosing my music and sticking to the playlist songs so as to not divert my attention away from running, and keeping my pace set, instead of fumbling with my phone’s iTunes app.

Perhaps not eat right before a run. Use the bathroom atleast twice before settling into a desire to run. I don’t know. I’m not up on the mechanics of what produces better results for running on an elliptical. Outdoors you have wind, sun, weather considerations, bugs, and other people. Inside I’m by myself and don’t have to worry about any of that. I don’t really know, besides trying harder, what I could do to get better, beyond sticking with it, and watching the step counter and clock to keep near where I want to be at any point in time. I’ll just do that. Seems to work so far, four or five runs in.

Breathing was a little less than I wanted this go around, but I did just eat breakfast before I ran, so maybe that’s it? I took a run yesterday, so my legs today weren’t as rested. I don’t know if that played a part in not getting to 5,000 steps or not. Hard to quantify. I think taking my eyes off the running to figet with my phone cost me those 40 or so steps needed to get to 5,000. Better luck next time!

Not to mention whomever was turning on lights and wandering around at 4:00am this morning set the dog off to barking for a full minute, which I didn’t care for. Not that I admonished the puppy, afterwards I just fell right back to sleep – exhausted. I imagine the puppy will sleep a fair bit today after stressing through last nights storm. The rain doesn’t seem to bother him, noise wise (he isn’t a fan of getting wet) but the thunder really makes him sweat.

I sleep like the dead so storms don’t typically wake me up, but a dog pacing around on my bed does, same with a full belly bark inside my room. So I may be a tad grumpy due to such interrupted sleep. I’m not ashamed to admit that a terrible nights sleep will adversely affect my mood. I try not to let it but my patience will hover near zero at a minimum today. Fun times.

In other news my run didn’t seem to upset my hips, knees or calves. That’s a good thing! My breathing is getting better when I run now too. Usually that is the big barrier to success for me, breathing. That and my ankles wanting to snap off my legs leaving me just about unable to walk afterward, for several days. The elliptical seems to not aggravate that. I guess it’s from the strange truncated gait it utilizes for the modified run path. I’m all for it. My guess is if I try to run for real my ankles and legs will immediately not enjoy it, and my breathing & pace will go right out the window!

If I can get a run in over the next few days I’ll be happy. I thought I might try for every day, then every other, and now I’m just looking to go again regardless of frequency. Better head phones should be used to eliminate technical obstacles, and the need to constantly adjust the listening experience. My playlist is over 4 hrs long, so I have no shortage of good tunes to run to. Keeping the kids occupied so that I can run is another challenge in and of itself. Goodness me.

Oh well, it’s Lazy Sunday-Funday so let us hope the rains pass quickly, the storms are brief and uneventful, and that we don’t lose power or the cable/satellite internet either.

Did the 28 min, plus 5 min cool down Weight Loss run again today and managed 1000 additional strides, but only 8 more calories burned. I blame it on my in ear head phones which I spent more time readjusting them back into my ear rather than focus on running, or my pace. I am not breathless which is great. That’s how I felt last time when I opted for an additional 60 minute interval run, which ruined my hips, and turned my calves into bricks for 3 full days. So today it’s just the one run. I’m happy-ish with the results. More steps, more calories burned. Those are wins in my book. I had hoped for a marked improvement, but incremental serves to build a habit more than wild flights of fancy, as far as I am concerned.

Next time I need to use the headphone that go over the top of my head. Better for running in. Sound quality isn’t as good as my in ear ones, but fussing with those was a pain in the ass. I’ll take slightly lower bass in my tunes, for a fuss free run/jog on the elliptical. Still going barefoot too. Why mess which what seems to work for me?

Perhaps drinking the Twisted Tea Mango before I ran was a bad idea, but it is what it is. Runs in the bag now. I’m sweaty. I should go back and swim or something. Or go stand in the rain. Happy Saturday!

My youngest to be exact. Every video she watches is of some person yellow “Oh! Ooooh!” About everything they see, say, or hear, so now my daughter is either a mute, or screaming “Oh! Oh!” At the top of her lungs like she’s just want a billion dollar Powerball lottery, where that sort of enthusiasm would be warranted. Seeing a kitten fall asleep does not. Watching a dog take a treat off the face due to a bad catch attempt does not. Seeing somebody slip on ice in their driveway does not. See where I’m going with this.

If she can’t regulate or modulate her voice she is going to get removed from classes for being disruptive. Catch that label and every subsequent teacher is going to hate your guts. Whether they’ve met you or not. Word travels fast in small schools about behavioural issues. Like it or lump it, that shit will follow you around.

Spent several hours on the road yesterday inbetween errands and appointments. Slept like shit too. But, I have turned over all of my work which was requested late in the day yesterday, so I’m all caught up, and clients can review it by 9:00am Monday when they clock in to the office. Nice!

I’m not sure why the artificial elevated enthusiasm levels resonates with my kids so much, especially my second grader, but who-boy! Does it ever, bruh! Bro, what the heck? Jesus Christ! On a loop, every 15 seconds, all day every day. Take the screen away and it persists. It’s very deeply ingrained now. She’s too little for Sigma, Skibidi Ohio Rizz Toilet, and that sort of cultural babble. Pauly Shore wants a word!  Or some mangled variation of them. Slang nonsense has been around forever, so it’s not going anywhere. Learning the new meanings of things is tiring, and repetitive. Not my new favourite pass time!

Summer break is winding down, as we gear up for the return to school & work. Weird time of year if you ask me. Lots of things changing this September. Makes me anxious just thinking about it. Ciao Bella.

Drove home last night, made great time too. Sang the whole way home, much to my puppy’s chagrin. I’m sure he wasn’t too fond of my 2:05 hrs long concert. He’ll have to learn to either love it, or tune it out entirely.

Today we’ve pulled weeds, done laundry, gone grocery shopping, pulled down a stand of trees, picked up prescriptions, and soon head off to a vet appointment for needles, medicines, and a weigh in. I’m making lunch for us in between loads of my kids laundry. I even vacuumed the main floor this morning before we went out on a walk through the cemetery. Lovely day thus far.

I’d love to get all laundry run through the dryer before we head off this evening. I need to check the mailbox, and look over a few things today. I wish I could stay longer and maybe go see Deadpool and Alien as a double header, but the family may not appreciate the delay. Can’t have it all, at least not all at once! Ha.

Happy Friday to all whom observe the first and freshest moments of the weekend! Ciao Bella.

Well, if you are Ross Geller for one, but in my book it’s if you go on vacation anywhere with your children in tow. Nothing like having to do all the same family obligations someplace else where you don’t have your stuff, or your system in place. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, entertainment. It’s all the same, but harder. Fun! That movie you loved, but hated when we were packing to come away? Yeah, that’s a home where we left it. Those snacks you bought and forgot to bring? Ditto. That obscure thing/tool that would be perfect in this instance? Yup, you guessed it, tucked away in a drawer at home, miles away. Might as well be on the moon. Groovy. Gotta love summer break! Smile!?!

Halfway into August, so the school days are getting closer. Home work, packed lunches, new shoes, pencils and whatever else will be back, front and centre in all of our lives once more.

I was just thinking about how we skipped most of November and it’s awful weather by going to Florida, and it’s three months away from being a year ago. Felt like just a few weeks ago. Crazy how time works.

Watching my kids first hand growing up with experiences, and a family dynamic that I didn’t have is… conflicting. On one hand we’ve strived to give them a stable, loving family community with options, and a variety of activities to pursue, and on the other hand I feel as sense of mild resentment that my own early childhood did not contain such things. Oh to be a kid again, remain in the same house year over year, build friendships from Kindergarten, have close family around endlessly, be interwoven into the community via Fairs, the School, and athletic endeavours. Seems nice. I wish I’d had some/more of it myself. Tough pill to swallow that. Giving somebody else that which you didn’t have yourself. I love it for them. I am also saddened to have not had it myself. Is that paradoxical? Maybe that’s not the right term.

We are effusive with love, and time spent, but I’m not rich so material wealth isn’t something I can lavish upon them. I hope that the warm and loving years before five that last the rest of their lives thing is true. I always had time, if nothing much monetarily to give to both kids. I worked during naps, and at night, so I have not been a major earner in quite some time. Not that I ever really was. I capped out at $75K once nearly a decade ago, and that didn’t last. Chasing dollar-dollar bills y’all never worked for me. But this isn’t about money, not really. I agree that experiences cost money.

Being open to carting your kids from one thing to another nightly, across town, and to different cities is expensive. I don’t know that I missed out on money related things as a kid, so much as parents whom WANTED to do those things with you, for you, after a full days work. Maybe that WAS asking too much of two full time working parents that commuted daily. Seems weird they’d pay for us to join a club, but balk at the idea of getting us to/from there. Guess I should have sorted out the public transit system when I was six to take myself places. Perhaps that was my own narrow view of how I was supposed to navigate the community spaces around me. Walk, yup, bicycle, certainly, get driven, ok, bus? Not until I was in 7th grade and a pass came as part of my student card did the bus even enter my mind as a thing I would do. Perhaps I wasn’t imaginative enough to work it out myself. Could very well be. Perhaps missing out on soccer practices, games, and the awards ceremonies were my fault because I didn’t think to hop on a bus before I was ten. My privilege is showing me up! I guess if I couldn’t walk there, or ride my bike there I felt I should get driven there. I should be kicking myself for not considering that as a viable option. D’oh!

Either way, I didn’t grow up with a cottage, water sports, access to a snowmobile, farm lands, swimming pool, sauna, hot tubs and the like. I envy my kids childhoods just a bit. Not enough that it becomes a barrier to us bonding, or having a great time, but enough that sometimes I think, “man I wish I could have done some of this as a kid!”. I recognize it. And I’m working through it. Obviously. Ha.

So it’s Wednesday, and my sore forearm, hand, elbow, tendons are still a little fried, but I think I can get back to work today. I don’t know if I fell on it, or bumped it yesterday, but man, spending the last 16 hours with a numb right hand, wrist, forearm, and fingers was unpleasant to say the least. I think I used the Weedeater for too long and aggravated my trigger finger issues from my twenties working 10 hour days using a weed eater on the boulevards of Brampton. Working in a factory prior to that didn’t help much with how repetitive the motions were pulling medical supplies off of an injection moulding machine. The hands, they give me trouble sometimes. The right one mostly. It being the dominant one. For now atleast.

Happy Hump-Day. Ciao Bella.