I sat down and played 90 minutes of guitar, about ten more minutes with my bass, and then did another 90 minutes of my own karaoke in the basement because I’m the only one home! And I enjoyed myself a great deal. Hell I even sat down to watch the second episode of Lanterns which was better than the first (or so I thought). I have spent all together far too much time looking at my phone and not “doing” things. I finally had enough of sitting on the couch watching other people do things. Up next, finish my Awesome-o painting, paint my Ork Boyz miniatures, sculpt, bake and paint my ceramic fair entry or dig an older one out of storage and get that up to snuff in its place.
The more I walk around the farm the more excited I am to get back to splitting wood in the mornings to fill those green wire bins. I also look forward to getting back to climbing twice a week as it’s been few & far between all July and August. Let these last two weeks of summer break be a lovely relaxing send off for our kids as we gear up for the start of school, and the lead off to potential October baseball, Thanksgiving, and Halloween (with all the work that that entails). By way of decorations, costumes, town events, the fair itself, and Halloween Haunt, and any potential travel plans for the fall. It’s a great season.
Hate to think about snow, but I do love me some autumn evenings. Comfy pants and sweater weather is pretty glorious around these parts. Closing down the cottage is kind of a pain but for how much we get out of it in the summer it’s not a major concern to devote a weekend or two to tidying up, and putting stuff away for the winter. Fall in the north is nice because you get the changing leaves of all sorts of colours, and far fewer bugs to contend with. That’s what I like, outdoor work without ten thousand mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies, wasps, hornets and shit. Plus the fire ban gets lifted as the rains return and we can clean up branches, logs, leaves and construction debris all at the same time.
Tending a gigantic fire is a tonne of fun. I really like gathering bits and piling them in as the flames rage on. Gotta be smart about it because the heat, danger, and metal bits make things a little treacherous in the fire pit. Don’t want a lung full of super heated black sooty smoke. No sir!
I think a small purge of the house might help lead us into the fall. We need to test shoes, rain boots, and winter boots. Not to mention all of the gloves, hats, neck rings and coats too. I’m certain we are harbouring far more stuff than what fits or is needed. Don’t get me started on snow pants right now either!
All I’m saying is, I’m basking in the afterglow of doing some hobbies last night after a full day of work. I did 23 pages on Sunday, and another 27 on Monday, and then I did a shallow soft proofing this morning and got my report off for a partial review. Plus I busted out the guitars and pedals, cords and cables and actually played. I think about it quite a bit. I really wanted to take my gear to the cottage this summer but with all the groceries there just wasn’t room for it. So I kept wanting to play but not be able to, so I just kept on not doing it once I came home. Same with the bass guitar, and with karaoke. Feels good to have at it freely after a long hiatus.
Just got to remember that sense of joy about painting, sculpting, writing, reading, climbing, wood working, and home DIY projects. It’s a weak point. I did a little tidy up around here but nothing major. I did clean out both cars so with today being garbage day I cleared out the house and garage too, and put it all at the curb on time. Even did the inlaws place! Go me. I woke up before eight and saw some texts this morning about going over to the inlaws and emptying the garage of junk. Glad I woke up early, as I’d feel bad if I missed the request. With the garbage man only coming twice per month you HAVE to make each opportunity count, lest you get stuck with too many bags and wind up having to stash some full bags to get rid of at the dump or at the farm. It’s a hassle.
Not a huge fan of the twice monthly recycling bin pick up either, but I can live with that. Cardboard doesn’t stink if it sits an additional two weeks. Garbage ain’t so much fun to hold on to for that much longer. But I digress. Today I am happy I got off my butt to do things I enjoy. At some point later today my wife and kids will come home, so that’s good too.
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