Category: Uncategorized

Now leaving grades one and four. Yikes. Where did all the time go? Fighting over homework most likely. Ha. Now we turn our eyes towards summer time, and having a bit of fun while the weather is nice. We have all ready begun the evening swim portion of the summer, and before too much longer we will be adding a midday swim, park/farm run, weeding the gardens, and collecting rototiller killing rocks from the farm fields. I’d like to add in some daily reading, and math, and the occasional written sentence/paragraph into the mix. A boy can dream.

We have a picnic scheduled at the largest park in town with many other families from the school, so that’s a really nice way to kick off the start of summer break. I’m not certain of what our schedule is for the break. I know the girls have swimming lessons in August, and we have a family photo shoot in mid July, and some plans to visit Ottawa for a comedy festival (potentially). Otherwise I will be looking for activities, and experiences for the kids to try this summer. I plan to purchase fewer physical things, and do more experiences to make memories.

Otherwise it is Thursday June 27th, 2024. The last ninety minutes of the school year are counting down. All of the kids homework came home yesterday, we just need indoor shoes, and backpacks, and lunch boxes, and the water bottles which have seen better days. I’ll need to sort & clean all of that prior to putting them away for nine weeks. You never know what alien puddle will grow if you forget to search & clean the lunch boxes before storing them away. Though, I suppose if your kids do day camps and such, you would continue to use those items and not get left with a foul smelling surprise over the labour day long weekend.

Usually the kids are home with us 24/7 for the summer holidays. My wife is a teacher, and is off too. I work from home, and I’m not all that busy this year. Last year was the fluke. So busy. But if we need to we can put them in camp for the last week of August when my wife returns to work for the first time in 14 months. They’re ok at home with me, but if it’s been a tough 8 weeks prior, you can bet your sweet caboose that we will mull over a last single week at camp for the two of them. I’d rather spend that on an iFly excursion, or a movie date, or laser tag, or go karts, or day glow mini putt in an air conditioned building. We have the Zoo and Wonderland near by, a pool, a farm, grandmas house, bike riding paths, a hockey net, basket balls, volley balls, cones, swings, a slack line, and various local parks. Not to mention books and grade school curriculum work sheets. Crafting supplies out the wazoo. We should be able to keep things moving.

That’s all folks. Have a Safe and Happy summer. May we all make it back together in September.

And boy are my arms tired. Family reunions, birthday parties, anniversaries, field trips, last week of school, recitals, on and on it goes. Woah! The last two months have been a blur, a flurry of activity even. Soon it will all peter out, and we can calmly do nothing for a day. Well, maybe we can all do some gardening here because our flower beds need some attention.

Yesterday’s birthday party went off without a hitch. The weather only sort of imposed itself upon us a few times. No electrical storms so we could all swim and be outdoors. Lots of smiling faces. Glad the 7th birthday party was good for all involved. I need a break from watching young kids swim, and try to drown themselves in the pool. My stress levels were high! So high. So gods be damned high. I’d have put them all in life jackets if I could have. Save myself some residual chest pains, and adrenaline dumps in the evening come down session.

Today is our fourteenth wedding anniversary. Seems like only yesterday we were gearing up in the rain to saunter down the aisle. I cried. I was pretty happy that day. My mum turned up orange from the skin bronzer cream she was using liberally. It made me chuckle. Lots of friends and family came. We danced the night away after a terrific meal. We swam in the inlaws pool until four forty five am. It was really something special.

Now we have two lovely kids. Very sensitive, talkative, active kids doing their own thing. Love it. Not a fan of the fighting, but that’s a thing kids do. Try to be more constructive about talking things out, but eh! What are you gonna do. Stay calm, and try not to add fuel to the fire. That’s my goal. Don’t react in a harmful manner. Chill! Breathe. Relax. This too shall pass.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my grade four, and grade one aged kids. Kids are getting older (luckily). We had a sad/somber summer last year losing a small friend to an ATV accident. Let us not lose any other friends, or family to tragedy this year, please & thank you.

Have a glorious Wednesday. All the best to you. Ciao Bella.

I feel bad for those whom placed long shot bets early on for Edmonton in seven games. I bet their eyes were rolling with the potential payoff, until Edmonton fizzled in the 7th. So long, and thanks for all the fish. At least it was a high intensity game. I had to get on my feet and pace about the patio during the final three minutes. I had to turn it off once the last second counted down. I wasn’t so much mad, as I was disappointed.

Today will be spent prepping for a birthday party. I have a cake in the oven already. I have spent a few moments this morning gathering plates, utensils, table cover, and craft materials incase the weather turns worse than just heavy rain. We can always pop on a movie if we absolutely have to. We’ve got options.

We have been plagued by rotten weather the last five or six days. Either way too hot, heavy rain, thunder storms, or extremely high winds. It interfered with our plans every single day, between Thursday and Sunday, plus today. What can you do though eh? Provide options and suitable alternatives and don’t get your hopes set on any one thing. As good as we can get at this point.

That’s all I have for right now. Ciao Bella!

What an exciting whirlwind weekend with two of my brothers and their families in town. There is not a whole lot that we didn’t do. Ran the kids ragged, and did some catching up while we were at it. Today I have the last of my appointments (until we schedule more) in the mid morning, about ninety minutes from now, and then I can get back to working on projects again. Not going to lie, I am wiped out after all that activity. I need a weekend to recuperate after my weekend. Ha.

High points, Wonderland, swimming, Playdium, Mini putt, ifly Whitby, swimming, and more swimming. Hard to beat a warm dip after a hot hard day on your feet. The kids had a long and arduous Nerf Gun battle, which sounded pretty epic for what we could hear from out of the basement. Memories made. Positive ones at that. Bonus!

Forget about singing any tenor parts today, it’s baritone until my throat heals from all the screaming in excited terror. Seems I can now carry my part in “Hoist the colours“. Usually I could do the first verse only (and just barely at that!) and then it drops too low for my range. Not so today! I regaled myself with three of the four parts. The uber deep voiced bass is still to low for me. I don’t have the resonance of a barrel chest to do that level of deep. But I think I got the other less deep bits! Cool. As soon as the stressed cords heal in another day or two, I’ll be back up to a low end tenor. My falsetto isn’t much to worry about. I can’t reach a full tenors high notes without cracking and some serious throat strain. I’m kind of a muddle in the middle. More like a sing song talking if anything. But I like to do it, so – I do. Mostly at home, or belting out lyrics in the car when tooling about town by myself. It’s no career choice if you know what I mean.

I have ordered a new book at the behest of my brother(s), so that should arrive at some point on Monday. I hear it could be a potentially difficult read. Not in a technical science way, but a “hey! I know all about that type of thing, huh...that brings back memories” so that should be an interesting read through. Can’t wait. It should at least be enlightening, if nothing else.

In other news I’m about a quarter of the way through Don Winslow’s latest. Liking it so far. I’m just waiting for the shoe to drop, which will turn everything to shit for dear ole Danny Ryan. I know it’s coming. I have a sense that in order for this to end the trilogy, dear old Danny boy is gonna bite the dust. The mob will rub him out in truly horrific fashion, and then Ian will take up the mantle (by a guest/ghost writer in the future). I can’t predict it, but that’s what I would do if I had to kill my sympathetic lead character. But I have trouble leaving shit alone, especially if I like the world I’ve created, and the people in it. Oh don’t get me wrong I’ll kill characters left & right if it suits me, but a legacy character whom builds on what came before is my jam! I can dig it. I’ll have to wait and see how it plays out to know if I got anywhere close in my imagination.

We are going to try out a new place with the kids today. It has been really great to see all of the young cousins come together and play like they’ve known each other for years, rather than meeting all together for the first time in ages. I’m happy they were here to sing happy birthday to my youngest, and enjoy some beverages and cake. I think she’ll remember that for the rest of her life. I know I will. I appreciate it.

I need to get ready for today’s outing(s). Take care out there. Ciao Bella!

Forced a deciding game seven, after being down three nothing in the series. Madness. Can they continue this heater snd make a four game sweep of their own? I don’t know, but I intend to stay tuned to find out. What an exciting game it was though! This overturning of Florida’s first goal, which cut Edmonton’s lead in half really seemed to deflate Florida. It was a call based on millimetres of error causing an offside. What a ride.

I was fortunate enough to have my eldest sat with me to watch the first two periods, cheering and reacting to what was happening on the ice. After a long day out in the heat, moving from appointments to seeing people, and wandering around in the heat of the day, our air conditioned living room & over stuffed couch was the perfect way to decompress. I know it isn’t much, but I’m glad we get to spend some time together enjoying similar things.

Now that it is Saturday, I’m ready for a more chill day. I have more medical appointments on Monday. Not sure if I’m exactly happy about it. I just know that it is all out of pocket, and is going to cost thousands of dollars if I move ahead with the procedures. Teeth & gums are expensive and not really covered by Ohip. This might get some personal insurance coverage, but it’ll cost me a bundle anyway. I thought I would go to hear what’s what, and to get a sense of just how much it is going to cost. Cannot make an informed decision if I don’t know the facts & figures. You know what I mean. The initial consult is $250.00, and if they order their own x-rays or follow ups that will go up before I get out the door. Fun.

Which reminds me I have forms to fill in prior to going to this appointment Monday mid morning. I need to find the time to sort out all of those details. Scrolling through page after page of insurance details and medical history isn’t my idea of fun. I do need to get it done though, so best find the time, and inclination.

I need to check the tv schedule to see when the big finale, game seven of the Stanley Cup actually is. Clear the schedule people! History could very well get made that night. And I for one, am here for it. Take it easy in this heat, and humidity. Ciao Bella!

It is a gamble to count on any one type of weather for Southern Ontario in June. But you can count on both heat & humidity. But will it be sunny, cloudy, windy, still, drizzle, 4ain, down pour, cloud burst, thunder, thunder and lightning, hail, or anything else beside be a sunny breezy day? Who knows – act accordingly.

The heat warnings are still in effect. Rain is on the schedule. Electrical storms are poised on the horizon to mess with our plans. Rain I can make do with. Lightning will shut everything outdoors down. I have two of my brothers here, with their families, and a lot of what we had very loosely planned involved being out of doors. Silly for us to do given the weather in June here. But a gamble made just the same.

It is prior to seven AM as I start this. My bowels are less than chill about last nights dinner, or perhaps it’s the concern about the weather that has turned me out early this morning. Hopefully it will pass quickly, and I can get on with my day.

On the plus side, our house has never been cleaner. Which is nice to see finally. I’m sure it has all been bunged into a onset out of the way, rather than sorted & dispersed properly. But on the surface the house looks neat, and i appreciate it, even if it is just the appearance of being cleaner. Ha. Fake it until you make it, I suppose.

Come September I WILL purge this house once more. I have some monster sized black garbage bags calling out to me, “Use us to cleanse this mess! We’ll help you…” and thirty six hours later someone will drop of a garbage bag of clothes or toys and all the gains will dry up and vanish. It’s a cycle.

Forgot I left the van windows down last evening when I went out to watch the Jay’s Game. I could hear something against the glass, but thought it was the nails and tiny tip tapping sound the upstairs dog makes walking on tile. Then quickly realized it was too much tip tap tapping, and bolted to the van to close all the windows. My poor man’s AC bit me in the behind! AC has gone on the van too, so I’ve revisited the 90’s by driving with all four all the wY down. Luckily I caught the storm early on, and only a few drops had gotten into the armrests. No damage done. Yay!

Also the WestJet strike was averted very early this morning, so my eldest brother and his children are currently in the air for the first leg of their flights over to Ontario from B.C. it was a real nail biter! So I’ve done a grocery shop, and snagged some extra burgers, hot dogs, buns, chicken burgers, fancy desserts, additional sodas, and some beers to have on hand if they should decide to come here to look around.

Our house AC defrosted over night when we turned it off. Had some cold air inlet blockages by ice build-up. Back to working order. Just can’t have it running full tilt for multiple days on end. Luckily after the storm last night the overall temperature dropped, even if the humidity didn’t go away – like, at all. Dehumidifiers were bone dry yesterday morning, and full to the brim by evening. That’s a wet bulb warning if I ever saw one.

Well, back to work before I go and vacuum out the pool. The storm dropped a fair load of debris into the inlaws pool. So that should be a fun clean up to tackle. Might swim while I’m at it! Ciao Bella.

Eighty two years since this last occurred. Could the Oilers “possibly” rebound from a three game deficit to take the Stanley Cup Finals from the Florida Panthers? I don’t know. It seems very unlikely, but they’ve come out the gate ready to roll these last two games. Went from a clean sweep in four, now hot on a two game heater heading into game six. Hell they took game four 8-1. If they’d have put some of those goals into games one through three it would be a different series altogether. I’m happy we still have 3xciting hockey left to see.

I have no dog in this race beyond wanting to see a Cznadian team take it. It really looked like Florida were going to steamroll Edmonton and lounge into the championship parade with nary a break in sweat. But the Oilers have pushed on, now looking at a sixth game in the series. I believe it is highly unlikely that they’ll do the near impossible,  82 years after it has last been done. But, sports can be unpredictable, so don’t count anybody out just yet.

Yesterday’s power outage made it so we had to go out to see the first two periods of the game. Grandmas speed watching Wheel of Fortune meant we missed the opening minutes of period two, and the Oilers second goal. No matter. I saw the rest of the nail biter!

Wednesday – Hump Day is here. Field trips are still on. Heat warnings in effect. Gonna be another warm one.

Was very thankful for the chance to float in a friends pool yesterday afternoon once school was done. Gathered up the whole family, and had a refreshing dip. So nice. It was a sweat rolling down your back, and stinging the eyes kind of day yesterday. So hot right now. Looks like we are in for some storms today and possibly tomorrow. I would prefer all the messy weather blow itself out by Thursday, but I don’t control jack shit, so likely nasty weather is in store for the partial family reunion weekend. Supposed to feel like low 40°C temperatures today. I feel bad for my kids at school. No AC in that old building. Kids on the third floor will positively melt in the heat of the day, and the trapped rising heat from the classes below them. The windows are small and don’t open all the way. Yuck.

Next week is the last official week of my wife’s year off. We still have 9 weeks of summer break, but by late August she will have to head back on the daily. Which means we need to have both cars looked at. AC is down in both vehicles, and he’s has an as of yet unidentified red fluid leak. The red fluids I know of are; transmission, power steering, and the radiator fluid. Plus her compressor on the AC unit is pooched, not the refrigerant, or the belt that drives it. So it requires a knowledgeable hand to repair it. Beyond me at this point.

So that’s Tuesday for ya. Need to sort out our plans for the youngest’s birthday party next week. Also pin down what it is she’d like for her birthday. Turning seven means she flip flops between items on the daily. I’d rather get her an item she actually wants instead of filler/fluff she’s not interested in.