Two big ones, at least from my point of view. One: I’m about to achieve the second best year on this blog in about a week as I get close to day 740 of my writing streak. That’s pretty cool, especially given how much of the year is left. Could I rival my best year ever? Don’t know. This place seems fickle but I’m ok with where we’re at.
Two: Home Depot offered me the chance to be an Influenster with their seeds program. I’m not sure if it’ll go through, but all my years of writing reviews for Amazon, Google Maps, Canadian Tire, and Hone Depot feel kind of vindicated. I don’t really know if anything will come of it, but you know, it’s the thought that counts. The onboarding survey was pretty extensive, though it felt geared towards women if I’m being honest. I did include the dog, my spouse. And both of my children so maybe there might be something for them to look over in the mix. Again, I don’t really know, I just thought it was interesting.
The Income Tax Man has come through and taken a bite out of my bank account, so I have that much dealt with. Now I wait to see what state my HST/GST is in so that I hopefully get a refund again this year. Whilst I hate to see good cash go out the door every three months towards it, I like it even less when I have to make a lump sum payment alongside my income taxes. It really stings that way. Doing it quarterly means I don’t have the cash on hand long enough to feel as though it’s mine. Be gone foul beastie! So that’s what’s going on over here.
It is Thursday April 23rd, 2026 and the sun is shining, it’s going to get up to around 17°C today. We got a few points higher yesterday, and it’ll continue to slide down lower as we expect clouds, and rain for much of tomorrow and Saturday. Things are about to pick up as the pace quickens towards the end of the school year. Clubs and extracurriculars wind down, birthday parties are in full swing, house parties kick off, cottage visits, pool openings, lawn care, and summer programming turn on. Recitals and tournaments rear their ferocious heads asking for more money. Belt resting comes up at the end of June too. It will feel like living in a tornado soon enough.
Work has calmed down a little, but the work is still flowing in & out of the studio. I’ll need to place lawn cutting into the weekly schedule soon enough. Give up shoveling snow for a weekly trim, and weed eater session. Until it gets really hot using the mower is actually a pleasant experience. A chance to listen to some music through my headphones and get a few steps in for my health & wellness.
I realize my news is underwhelming. Not much I can do about that I’m afraid. Oh, I got a notification my life straws are due in today via delivery instead of coming in at the end of May. That’s good news too. My tiny cache of survival supplies is really coming together. I did actually look at the York Region fire arms course for rifles and long guns again. Price is reasonable. Takes up an eight hour day over the weekend, and has the test included. Seems good to me. Just need to book a time that works for all of us. According to google I have drastically underestimated the food, water, and hygiene needs of a family of four for any sort of lengthy emergency. But all I said was “survive” and not thrive like it was our predetermined goal in life. Hobble to the finish line is still a win. Might need to stash more bottled water, and soap, and batteries to make things easier on us. For a generic 72 hour thing, we’re golden. For a week or two, no problem. The three to eight weeks is where we will see the just survive it mentality kick in. It would suck, but we’d come out the other end. Or so I believe. Reality might have other things in mind. Come what may.
Any other interesting tid bits of news that I can divulge? Hmm. Nothing really comes to mind at the moment. With any luck things will remain calm, cool and collected for years to come.bfingers crossed.
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