Greatwall Studios Graphic Design

Ah… smell that? That’s the smell of not having to work today. That’s the smell of the kids being home too. We had a large, wonderful family dinner yesterday after completing a solid number of winter prep chores around the property. My back is feeling the strain of the physical exertion, but better to have more things done, than not. I have my work set out for me for tomorrow morning after school drop off, so I have a game plan ready.

With tomorrow’s big report in hand that will put me in place to have finalized three reports, be waiting on final edits for the fourth, and starting the fifth. Report number six isn’t due to come in for a few weeks. Which means leaves, patio furniture, deck washing, covering & oiling the AC unit. Taking all of our tree clippings to the farm, and pulling up plant bulbs to be saved for next spring. Lots to do at home.

Possibly look for a new refrigerator. But will have to measure out the space properly. Could require taking doors off of hinges to get the new one in & the old one out. So that can run us anywhere from $800-$2,700 dollars depending on size, number of doors, cubic feet, electronic add-ons, water functionality (dispensers, ice machines, front door pouring spouts). Top or bottom freezer, warming tray, you name it. Not sure why you would ever need a wi-fi enabled fridge, but they have that option too. So there is that to look forward to. Fun.

Happy holiday monday. Gobble – gobble. Ciao Bella!

That’s where you’ll find Schneider, thrown there by the dynamic duo of Atkins (already) and Shapiro (forthcoming on Thursday, just you watch). I’m sure we’ll find out the decision to pull Berriois was Schneider’s call, and had sweet FA to do with the front office, analytics et al. Beeps beeps, thump. The only question is will they reverse course in order to drive over the guy a second, and third time, given how poorly the Jay’s offense was as well. As a Manager how can you possibly stay on after the SLT throws you to the wolves in such a viscious market as the likes of major sports in Toronto? Show some spine my boy, contest that bs in public. How do you go to work knowing the higher ups are ready to put you on the firing line whenever they cock something up. He didn’t HAVE to swap out the pitchers, but behind the scenes we’ve made it known that it absolutely HAS to be done, but totally his call on the day, for sure, wink wink. Such baloney. Bah!

I think it’s Sunday. We have a short while before the rains start up again, so I gotta get some leaves done outside. Ciao Bella!

We are well into October and the trees are showing all of their vibrant, beautiful colours. Hard not to stare when you catch a face full of colours with a brilliant blue sky behind it. Last evening the clouds were lit by the setting sun, and all of that pillowy softness looked like a painting. Those brief moments where you see something that makes you feel really good about things, is hard to beat. Like the first sip of coffee for some in the morning. The cool crispness of an ice cold beer on a hot day. The startling rush of cool lake water when you first jump in. Brief. Exhilarating. Makes all the other shit float away for a moment. Hard to beat.

One of my hardest life lessons was realizing that those were the moments, few that they can be at times, that really make everything else worthwhile. Having career wins, family life wins, hobby wins mixed in means you can get more of the good stuff, if you know where to look, and what to place a priority on. But I’m getting sentimental.

Saturday is here. The rain has stopped. The sun is peeking out through the clouds a tiny bit. I see a whole lot of leaves I’m going to need to get to. I’m glad we finally had all that rain recently, as it knocked a bunch of the leaves down. If I had my way I’d make all of our leaves fall over a single week so that I just had to do one full day of leaf mulching, bagging, and spreading onto the gardens. Instead of every few says over a months time. Bah! Plus I need dry leaves for my mulcher vacuum to work properly. So the rain means I have to wait. Oh well.

I will have to dig up the Dahlias and Glads before too much longer. Dry those off and store them in the basement for next spring. That’s when we will get a true sense of just how many the squirrels and chipmunks have dug up and eaten over the course of the year. Bastards.

You have to figure that 20 plus days of no rain in September will affect the quality of colours in the leaves. But, miraculously enough, I’m still seeing all of the usual colours out in the wild. I was sure we’d get mostly browns this year. But a very rainy June, July, August seems to have solved that for us this year. So what do I know. The grass looks how I thought the trees would be. Crunchy. Brown. Ugly. Anybody’s guess at this point.

Heard some good things about both minions last night, so with only 20 or so days under review they are on track, as far as they could tell. I think a more genuine review will come at the end of January as the entire first term ends. My youngest is in a class of 20. So good chance to do well if she applied herself. A quick learner, or so I’m told. Happy to hear that she isn’t disruptive and is actually engaged with the lessons. Noice! The elder one is still going strong. Reading is where it should be. An avid student, and well liked by classmates & teachers alike. Most pleasing to hear.

I took a swelteringly hot half hour to peruse the Scholadtic Book Fair and pick up a couple books off of both child’s list as a reward for being good during class time. Not that I should have to buy good grades and a joy for learning, but I’m not opposed to rewarding achievement and effort that I didn’t personally have to drag out of them.

Getting close to finishing my first pass on report project #4. That puts me 2/3rds of the way through our initial list of projects for Q4 of 2023. Will there be more? Hard to say. Last year Q4 exploded with activity and I was pumping our reports every week even into December. Could have been a fluke. I’m not privy to the bidding/request portion of the outfit, so I have no idea what to expect beyond what’s currently listed on my project to-do list. Do I hope for an extra one or two that run into early December? Yeah, sure. Load me up. But would I want an extra ten of them? Woah buddy. Kinda?, but that puts a hell of a lot of strain on my wrist, so like maybe not 10 extra. There’s only so many working hours I can operate safely, and not risk injury. Best not to get greedy! Be happy with the work available and budget accordingly. Has worked for me thus far. Mostly.

Looking outside I think after Thanksgiving I’m definitely going to need to do some yard work, and clean up leaves etc… these shrubs could do with a hair cut! I don’t remember the last time I did any weeding in the flower beds. But going on 20+ days with no rain, the weeds aren’t much of a problem for me this year. I’m sure we’ll have a damp & dreary mid October just because I’ve gone and said that. The lawn now looks how it should have done in July! Crispy. Crunchy underfoot. Not much fun to play on in bare feet that’s for certain.

I think today is Thursday. Ciao Bella!

It has been a busy couple weeks and I’m getting through a tonne of work, which means no time for much of anything else. I have parent teacher night tonight, and a book fair to wander through aswell. Kids and their extracurriculars are taking up a significant portion of our evenings, so that just about rounds out my day. Lots of work (tiring but great!) Kids programming, and running errands is about all there is time for right now. Could be worse. In fact it could be a lot worse. So I’ll take it as is, thanks.

What I do need to do is curb spending, and continue to grow my business at a reasonable pace so as not to burn out, or aggravate my RSI for my wrist. On the upside now the kids are in school I have a full seven hours to work. I’m not trying to plug away during naps, or after bedtimes. I can focus and attack my work with vigor! Way better this way. Far fewer mistakes when I can focus without interruptions.

Have to remember to rest up, and exercise my wrists every so often. Work smart by planning ahead and batching similar processes. Trying to limit hyper repetitive actions. There is a method to the madness, and having done many projects, over 10,000 in the last 17 years, I can effectively plan ahead, and work in a healthy manner. Takes care and effort to do so, but it’s my body & health on the line, so I’ll make the effort. Pre-planning to make the project as smooth as possible isn’t much fun, but pays off when you’re in the thick of it.

I don’t mean to gloat but so far these last two weeks I have been crushing it on the day job side of things. Nearly 50% of all current projects that were forecasted to come my way by Christmas are done a first pass, and are in the review process for final edits, and last pass fixes. If I keep up this pace I can be free and clear for the ten or so days I need in November. Which is excellent news.

We are coming off the contact high from the fair, and all the responsibilities that entails. Plus the fair food hang over from such rich food stuffs we don’t typically indulge in – much. Ha. Lots of standing outdoors in the heat has left the kids tired and achey. Not to mention that we did not cease any of their extracurriculars either, so a tad overwhelming at the moment. I think we’ll have to spread throughout the week, and not cram it all in on Mon-Tues-Wed. We are all learning what the kids can and can’t handle on a day by day basis. If you want the opportunity to do stuff, you have to be able & willing to leave the house to go do it. If it’s a fight, it’ll get pulled come Christmas break when we have to sign up for 2024 stuff. Fun times.

I forget that today is Tuesday. Feels like a hell of a week all ready. And it’s only Tuesday! Tuesday!?! Really. This week has been a really long year it feels like. I also need to squeeze in some blood work later on today. Only a few hours from now, now that I think about it and actually look at a clock. I skipped breakfast this morning so I’m having an early lunch. And realize what time it is. Poof. And the day is gone. Crazy.

Here’s hoping you and yours are all well as he head into Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend. Ciao Bella!

Couldn’t tell you the last time I worked out, not off the top of my head anyway, I’d need to look it up. I was four or five days in and just poof – forgotten. Again. In my defense, weak though it will be, I was gearing up for the fair, finishing entries, bagging & tagging the kids stuff, delivering pumpkins to the fair grounds, and attending 23 hours of fair fun time over the course of three days. So I wasn’t sat idle doing nothing. My hips, ankles and back can attest to just how much walking, standing, and child lifting/carrying I was doing. I also wasn’t snacking the whole time either, much to my surprise.

We had hot sunny weather, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. My eyes are starting to clear up from all the accumulated dust exposure. Now we turn towards Thanksgiving, Halloween, and doing yard clean up for leaves etc etc… if the wasps could just hurry up and die or go away I could clear off the apple trees, and co some late in the year pruning. But that’s another matter.

By best count it has been 18 days since our last rain. So everything is dusty and dry. Odd for September. But the weather has been odd for a while, and I see no change in sight. Going to hold off on the patio furniture and such for a bit more. I’d like to get a few more mild evenings under my belt sitting out on my deck at sundown. Though with how active the kids are that may prove to be a challenge. They can’t say we didn’t provide them with opportunities to try things. Sports, crafts, dance, theatrics you name it.

I think I have a new project coming in now, so I best sign off and get to work. Ciao Bella!

Not going to lie, I should have gone harder on the sunscreen as these last two days have been sunny & bright outside, and my nose & cheeks are paying the price for it. The forecast is for two more even warmer days, so put on some shorts, and a hat and head on down to the Markham Fall Fair for the final two days of its run in 2023. The midway has been a big hit, as per usual. Old Mac Donald’s farm is getting a good rin this year too.

The heat and dryness has one draw back in the dust not staying settled. Eyes feel a tad gritty, and my shoes are dusty, but otherwise a stellar showing from this years fair.