Category: Uncategorized

I really do need to set up an appointment to get blood work done. I see the request form, and think about it, then forget, cycle and repeat. It’s not a fear of needles, or going to the lab, which is near by. I just forget. And I’m not 6-8 months late on pressing go. Gotta get on that. Fast.

Here we are, Wednesday. This month is going by quickly. Very quickly given how much stuff we’ve had to cram into our weekends and school nights. Not done yet, but we are far far closer to the end of the rush period than ever before. Book Fair / Talent Show tomorrow evening, two separate shows at that! Which reminds me I need to contact the school to reserve 3 tickets to at least one of the two shows. Time to write letters, send e-mails, and possibly call a few PTA folks. To Facebook!

I do have some pressing matters to attend to this morning, so I’ll cut this short. Have a great Hump Day everybody.

I nearly forgot to post today. Long, wild, arduous day today. Long time up on my feet on concrete floors, and pavement. Not going to lie, feel a tad dehydrated, and could sleep until noon tomorrow. Weather worked with us, at least until 3:00pm when the rain came. But otherwise a very good day to be up and about. Moving & shaking. Getting things done.

Snap your fingers and it’s all done. Yesterday was the last Spring dance recital of 2023. Works out to about $2,000.00 for both kids, instruction, uniform, costume, and recital tickets. My youngest was a one eyed, one horned flying purple people eater for the Fright Night themed recital. And my oldest was a grey ghost, I think it was anyway. The music choice didn’t give me any helpful clues, that was what I could grasp from her Acro routine. Both were very cute. And well performed, though I am terribly biased towards my own children. Pointed fingers and toes, a lot of snap to the movement changes, stayed on beat, hit their marks (well the older one most certainly did) as the Kinder Dance with teachers on stage was more of a cuteness spectacle than a talent showcase. To be expected in kids under six years of age. Too damn cute!

Still unsure why the kids had to be dropped off a full 90 minutes before curtain call, for a 90 minute show, but I’ve been off stage for many decades, and I don’t typically go to dance rehearsal, their mother does. I will in a pinch, but Taekwon do, Skating, Ringette, Soccer, Gymnastics, Parent-Teacher conferences, sick days, Doctor & Dentist visits are my thing. Guides and dance go to mum. I don’t make the rules but I do enforce them! Ha.

Gymnastics runs until the end of the month, and we have a Talent Show this week, plus a Guiding sleep over, and an Athletic Banquet all this week, so not quite out of the woods yet. Getting ever closer to all extracurriculars coming to a summer shut down. Feels never ending when you’re in it, and then when it does end you realize a whole season or year is over and gone. Hmm. Mixed emotions at the passage of time. I need to eat, and get back to work. Just taking a break while doing laundry, and finding out the kids gymnastics gear. Ciao Bella!

After giving it some thought last night, and this morning, I have decided not to shit all over Avatar 2 : The way of water. Not because it doesn’t deserve it, but because I am absolutely certain that others far more eloquent, and smarter than myself have already done so. Why add to the clutter with more noise. There is no ROI on shitting on basic Hollywood tropes, and infantile dialogue in current films. So, I won’t bother. Fin.

It’s a lovely mild Saturday, and the air quality has improved substantially with yesterday’s rain & prolonged drizzle session. All for the better. We certainly didn’t have that coastal apocalypse like NYC, but we could see, taste, and smell the smoke for several days here. Once my oldest comes home from the first of two dance recitals this weekend, I can get a move on cutting the grass. I spent much of the morning watering plants, pulling weeds, and spraying my youngest with the hose while they sprint about the front yard shrieking and laughing hysterically. Played a little catch until we caught a ball using a chin/neck combo that sucked the fun out of the experience. No tears were had, but the hard ball she chose may not have been the best choice for the occasion. Live and learn.

I feel as though a few hours spent in the park is looming in my near future. Let’s hope the breeze will keep the bugs to a minimum this time around. Have a good one. Ciao Bella!

Leaving all of your domestic duties until Friday. Laundry, sorting & folding, as well as putting all five loads worth away. Yikes. Not cool. Dishes are cool since we’ve been out of the house so much this week. Floors could do with the vacuum run round, and a wash as I look a little closer. The lawn is fine for another day. It’s been so dry only the shaded portion under the trees has shown any growth, and is still in fact, green. Everything the light touches is a dry tinder box. Glad that town car fire happened while everything was still green and had some moisture in it. As now my lawn, fence and probably the Cherry tree too would go up in flames. Phew! Made it.

Dress rehearsal at the venue last night was great, they even got a little ahead of schedule and finished early for a change. I didn’t see much, as the drop off, sign out station was back stage in a loading dock for sets and props, from the looks of things. I happily look forward to watching the kids rock their stuff on Sat/Sun. Should be a hoot.

Next week is much lighter for a change. No more dance, beyond one Talent Show performance on Thursday. A Sparks/Embers sleep over where all I need do is set up the tent, and then have the night and following morning to myself. Oh, and help edit the last book talk (report) of grade three. Which is for next Friday. Kid has done well. Read most of the 218 page non-fiction book with little to no prompting from me. Very proud of that. Happy to see the reading level maintained and improving.

Another potential interruption on Tuesday of next week aswell, but some things are worth clocking off the day job for, you know. So all in all, besides gymnastics which runs until the very last week of June we will be finishing up the kids extracurriculars really soon. My wife still has school obligations with Graduation, and a Student Athletic’s Banquet in the coming weeks, but that doesn’t involve me, or juggling kids to get them to multiple separate locations, so I’m not bothered. All that means is I’ll have the kids in bed shortly after 8:00pm two more nights this month than usual. If the weather’s good we will swim in the evening and that will draw a lot of the fight out of both of them. And bedtime should, should I say, be pretty reasonable. Neither event should see their mother come home any later than 9:00-10:00pm, so my very persistent children will lie in bed and wait for a very groggy good night kiss and then immediately fall asleep. Too cute. I told them not to try that last night, as I knew Prom would keep my wife busy until 11:00pm or later.

It is still drizzling outside (a good thing!), so I won’t cut the grass today. As much as I would like to keep all of my weekend time open, and not use it for chores, you just can’t beat the weather. It’ll win every time. No point trying to fight it. That way lies madness. Have a great Friday, and weekend. Ciao Bella!

Parched here, and we aren’t even into double digits in June yet. Going into day two of all day indoor programming for the kids. All recess & lunch breaks spent indoors due to the nasty air quality due to the wildfires currently raging across the country. My parents in Campbell River have a particularly close fire burning near by. That sounds terribly distressing. Not much fun at all.

Tonight is the last night for rehearsals, dry runs, and tweaking choreography, and learning their music cues. Then a weekend full of performances for the oldest child, and just the one for the youngest. Then those costumes will get put in dry cleaning bags, hung up and forgotten about. Just the way the gods of performances intended.

I think today is Thursday, which means PROM NIGHT y”all! Limousines, fancy clothes, expensive food, boutonnieres and corsages, neck ties, bow ties, bollo ties and shined up shoes. Suspenders, garters and every permutation imaginable in between. Oh the pageantry, the dancing, the memories and fun. Camping out and after parties raging until the sun comes up. Then the dawning realization that for a good portion of you all this will be the last time you are all gathered together. Unless you count graduation, but that party isn’t as epic as prom. At least for me it wasn’t. Graduation meant I was going to pick up full time hours for the summer months shortly thereafter before heading off to post secondary in September. Or it did twenty some odd years ago now. Oh the memories.

Yeah – that low hanging cloud of forest fire smoke from Nova Scotia, and Northern Ontario is really unpleasant. Spent a good deal of time outdoors yesterday and my eyes and chest don’t feel so hot right now because of it. When your vistas shrink visibly throughout any given hour of the day, you gotta know you are breathing in some nasty shit. Although the cooler temperatures were a blessing, the burnt incense taste on my tongue and down the back of my throat I could do without.

The kids had to go in directly at drop off today. All school trips were canceled as well, which means no Zoo, and no Track & Field Finals, and I’d be willing to wager that both recess & lunch will be spent indoors today.

Add it to the ever growing list of weird weather patterns and occurrences we’re experiencing more and more frequently. 13°C and sunny in January is not typical for Southern Ontario. Frosts up until the last week of May are not typical. Province wide smoke clouds are usually a West coast thing, so while they are known in Canada, not usually felt in Ontario for days on end. Such fun!

As I think I might have mentioned previously we are in the midst of Recital week. So full throttle on dress rehearsals, dry runs, additional hours of choreography, and soon visits to the venue to learn lighting cues, and staging in place. I’m going to be driving between home and Vaughn at least four times this week. Looking forward to seeing what they have been practicing this whole year. And also the quiet calm that comes once it is all over for a three month stretch.

Oddly enough it is Wednesday. Very strange week. I feel a little out of it given all of the off screen interruptions. Not to mention the birthday planning for my wife’s big 4-0. Even though we added some last minute travel plans into the mix yesterday, we still enjoyed the day, went mini putting as a family into the evening, swam, and had a roast dinner & cake with the in-laws last night. I was exhausted by 8:00pm. Could hardly keep my eyes open.

The campfire breeze is wafting into the house to remind me once again of what is going on outside. I best stop reminiscing and get working. Ciao Bella.

With a significant interruption no less. Should be back to normal by 8:30am tomorrow morning. Take care out there. Ciao Bella!