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Tag: outdoors

The cold bleak November we all know & love has arrived.

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Dried sunflowers in the early morning breeze, on a gloomy November day. (Fig 1.)

Halloween is over, the decorations have come down, dried off, cleaned and stored for the year. Leaves were raked, mulched and added to the garden beds. Nearly three hundred tulip bulbs were planted in those same beds. Last but not least the Dahlias were dug up, dried in the sun & breeze, and stored in the basement under a blanket for safe keeping.

Now we sit in the luminal spaces where we wait for Remembrance Day observances before the big gear up for Christmas. I DO NOT wish to hear Mariah Carey until after twelve noon on the eleventh. Let the vets have their time unmolested by billionaire divas nipping at their heels. Lay a wreath, take a quiet moment to reflect, then you can go whole hog into holidays of all shapes, sizes, and traditions.

I have blood work to do during mid day of the eleventh so I will wait until the twelfth to erect our tree, unless the kids want to help in which case we will assemble it on the Saturday of the fourteenth. We never celebrated Christmas until after my oldest brother’s birthday in early December, but my daughter likes the tree up, and the holiday themed gimmicks, so she wants the house done up well before. I find November to be bleak, and dreary, and so the lights and decorations are a welcome diversion from the grey, brown drabness of outdoors.

Soon I can dig up all the holiday classic movies so we can watch them all as a family, or independently. Likely I will watch a good chunk of them by myself while I wrap gifts, or clean up, or decorate the house. The next nice day we have (which could be as early as tomorrow) I will cut the grass one more time, and then put the Christmas lights up on the house. I won’t plug them in until after Remembrance Day, but I will put them up when the sun is shining, and the temperatures are above zero. I absolutely hate decorating in windy, sub zero conditions. Which is something my inlaws insist on doing. Waiting until the worst possible weather, and then spending fourteen hours getting next to nothing done because they want to argue about every cord, switch, and item position. Infuriating! So I get mine out of the way when it’s more pleasant out because I know the shit-show is coming along hot on my heels!

Today’s task, instead of splitting wood, was to dig up the last of the Dahlias at the farm for my mother in law. They are up out of the ground air drying in the cool breeze. Ready to be tagged, pruned, boxed up, and stored away wherever they decide to put their own flower bulbs.

One last row of Dahlias dug up to air dry. (Fig 2.)

I do not know what will become of all the left over peppers, and tomatoes, or any other vegetable still left in the patch. I imagine they will simply till them under. But it could go in the back of the trailer to head north and feed some deer by the cottage. I’m sure the last pumpkins, and squash will head north for that exact purpose.

They must have reworked the fields once more because I found another seventy five or so sizeable rocks and such which I picked up and enlarged my current standing piles. I have something like nine to eleven piles of rocks to dispose of. Could almost make a small chimney if I was one of those bush craft YouTubers. Make a tiny lunch time hibachi or stone BBQ for eating hot food out by the fields. Ha. Disaster waiting to happen!

Welcome back to Monday after what felt like the longest weekend I’ve had in a very long time. Halloween, two ball games, Wonderland, visiting extended family to trick or treat out of town, yard work, dog walks, five hours in a bar with friends, a time change, and the last moments of my wife’s week off of work. We were trying to do all of the things! I’m exhausted. Phew!

Ciao Bella!

Make up dates… and their associated trauma.

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We were gone for two consecutive Wednesdays so that means my children missed out on two gymnastics classes. My wife, being the sweetheart that she is, has booked a make-up session for our girls so that they can get the most out of a high cost, pre-paid for program that they do. This has obviously crossed a line somewhere and both kids are melting down about having to go, and do an hour of gymnastics this afternoon. Oh my. The horror. How could you infringe upon their March Break Minecraft madness sessions.

I will say that we swam 2 or 3 times a day, and went on various other adventures in the sun, so they had plenty of physical activity. Just not of an organized kind, like Dance, Girl Guides, Taekwondo or the before mentioned Gymnastics. And yet, the shit fit continues. So that should be fun to look forward to in four hours time. Yeah!

Saturday is here, and it’s cold again. Grey skies and lots of cloud cover. It couldn’t be any different from our vacation if it tried. I for one miss being outdoors so much, and I really miss the swimming. So much so that I find myself with too much energy at night, and I am unable to sleep. I was able to ride a fixed gear bicycle in the Keys, and swim, walk about, beach comb and just enjoy the outdoors. Yes I had to wear SPF 50 sun shirts, or cake on the sun screen to comfortably do so, but I like warmth far more than the cold. I am looking forward to being outside here to trim our hedges and start on the lawn. I’m actually going to have the lawn aerated this year. For the first time ever. Might even go for a Weed- Man spray too. But I’m not sure yet. I’m not entirely sold on the need for a perfect carpet of green grass. I’m pretty partial to the blues and purples of some of our lawns weeds. And the pop of yellow from dandelions is a nice touch. Plus those help out the honey bees in their time of need. I’m a leaf mulcher, not a bagger & get rid of’er. Keep those nutrients near by, in the beds. Gives toads and such a warm place to hide for the winter, and it protects my bulbs from squirrels and chipmunks. Little bastards.

I’m sure our elderly neighbours hate us because we are so laissez-faire with the grass. I find a saturated all green carpet of grass is a good magnet for attention. Makes you look wealthy, and catches the eye of thieves and burglar types. My ratty-tatty lawn definitely does not scream wealth lives here. Mainly because it doesn’t,  wealth that is, but no point dressing the place up to look like it does and inviting unwanted, potentially dangerous attention. That’s how I feel about it. Kooky as it sounds. The old slightly rusty minivan does a lot to keep us grounded, and not looking too eye catching either. My 18 year old lawn mower says a lot about our household too. Ha. No diamonds here I’m afraid. Lots of rocks, but no gems. The kids weekly evening programming took care of that!

I have begun the process of doing my taxes. That’s always an eye opener. Will need to spend some time on that before we get into April. The dreaded tax season! Aah.

Hopefully you all enjoy your Saturday, the last one of March Break 2024. School is back in as of Monday. We wish you all well. Ciao Bella.

Oh that’s pretty chilly.

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Sun is out but that minus nine looks unappealing. Scattered clouds on these blue skies makes me think it isn’t all that windy, which is a plus. Let us all try to avoid any brushes with Frost Nip this weekend, please and thank you. Luckily last time it was the merest of tickles upon the Frost Bite spectrum, but I don’t want anybody to risk it for a snowmobile ride. Put on a helmet and a weather suitable balaclava to stave off the worst effects of the cold. So if we could all do just the bare minimum to avoid the cold that would be much appreciated.

Doesn’t feel much like a Saturday morning. Not sure what’s making the vibe feel off. Hmm… I’ll have to think on that for a bit to see where things feel different. Perhaps it’s because this is a long weekend, and the extra day off feels weird. Is it the presence of snow and cold after that long warm/dry spell. I don’t know what it is. Could be the looming feeling of Ugh! From next Friday’s funeral and visitation services putting a dark cloud over everything.

On the plus side nobody rushed to call me with the results of my small intestine MRI from Thursday. Which makes me think the news will be mild to good. No news is good news. I’m still worried about having my mask off partially to drink at the hospital, and inside the actual machine. I really hope I haven’t tracked home Covid or anything along those lines. I feel fine thus far. My kids have been coughing and in various stages of gooey for several long weeks now, which I have avoided. Could be the near continuous running of our Hepa filter in the living room. Or my immune system isn’t fighting it and my chest feels a little less than normal, but I’m not oozing like they are with it. Is that a blessing or a curse?

Good news is we can go tobogganing now that we have six or so inches of snow on the ground. We haven’t been able to go for a number of weeks. The town doesn’t even have any outdoor rinks out like during the lock-down periods of 2020-2021. It was pretty awesome, you could go to any number of local parks and skate outside with hardly anyone else around. If I recall a fair few winter birthday parties were held on skates during those years.

In other news I broke down and bought four more substantial caster wheels for my rolling tool cart build. One of the four small ones I had lying around shattered into two halves and would not go back together on the bearing. I went up from a 1 inch wheel to a 3 inch. So it didn’t effect the overall height by too to much. Plus it rolls like a champ now, and all four wheels can be locked, and swivel independently. Very maneuverable. It’s ugly as sin, but suits my needs to a “T”. I even got to repurpose several pieces of our old change table. Now I have memories to keep.

My wheeled cart with shelves, drawers, storage space, and an open top for power tools access. Just what I wanted!

Clearing the ice is an undertaking not chosen lightly.

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To clean the ice on the 1/3rd size rink is a real endeavour. Snow blowing, scraping, and then shoveling off all of the wispy bits. Followed by checking the entire pad for cracks, hollow spots, rough edges, and then to flood the ice even further takes time aswell. Drilling a hole in the ice at the water source, dragging the pump down to the water, running stacks of two inch rubber hose, and then letting it flood for three to four hours. It’s a whole thing. Plus you add in the time it takes to get four kids, and several adults dressed, skates & helmets on, and a good two hour skate, and your day is over. Add in some meals, a hot tubbing session, and any other work done around the property and you’ve got yourself a weekend chock full of manual labour. Which is why my shoulder, arms and chest are all sore to the point of hurting. Love it.

Used the small electric Toro snowblower to clear of sixteen inches or more of snow on the back deck. I had to do that in layers, as the little Toro didn’t like being rammed into the bottom of a frozen, icy pile of snow taller than itself. It doesn’t look like much, but after an hour of holding it up in the air to clear off layers, my arms, back, and chest are just groaning today, let me tell you. Still much better than shoveling all that by hand. I imagine that job would have taken me about 3 hours to do manually, and just over 1 hr to do it with the mechanized helper. Huzzah for technology!

It’s Sunday Funday again. Not the usual Lazy Sunday we have around these parts. It is a good time to get out and do stuff, although the cold does inhibit some of the fun. Just have to play in moderation to avoid frostnip, bordering onto frostbite. Sledding, skating, tobogganing are all lots of fun. The snowmobiling is not advised right now as the kids helmets don’t all have face shields, and that wind is dangerously cold. So would I rather lie in bed until 10:00am, have a hot brunch, and then watch movies or read for a good portion of the day by the fireplace? Yes, yes I would. But the kids? Not so much. So activities it is. Probably why some weekends don’t feel very restful as we jump from one activity to another.

Almost a whole month past Christmas and the kids still have a few Lego sets left to build. I took it upon myself to Plough through the submersible build. I finished the main sub, and got 3/4 of the way through the sunken wreck / shark lair. And my oldest built one or two other small ones aswell. There should still be two or three left to go. All small, maybe 250 pieces each, or around there. That’s always a solid move if I want some peace. Lead them to Lego! They will either sit quietly and build for the better part of two hours, or immediately start to squabble over pieces. I think I have it worked out, new sets equal peace, building from the same bin of parts is mayhem. Hence so many small new kits for Christmas/Birthdays.

I have a sneaky suspicion that work is going to pick up in the next couple weeks. I need to review some documentation for a job I have to quote on. I will leave that until later on Monday afternoon. I’m hoping to do some repairs early tomorrow on the van’s bumper before I dig into actual paid work stuff. It’s lashed down pretty well to the body of the van, in order to get the kids to school, but I’d like to try and repair it in a more stable manner if I can. Hot staples, wire mesh, and melting plastic, what could possibly go wrong. At least the temperature is supposed to go up a few degrees this week, so I don’t have to work in subzero temps. Small miracles and all that. Ciao Bella.

Dial 3-9-5 to make all outbound calls.

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Getting the hang of a new phone system was always a huge hassle when starting a new job. Was it a VOIP capable phone, did you need a pass code, extension number or ID to reach your voicemail. Do people even leave voicemails anymore when you could just text or email? I had friends who would just mass delete all messages in their inbox if there were too many to be dealt with, thinking that if anything was truly important you’d write back again shortly. I hated that. I spent time archiving messages to maintain a paper trail regarding all requested changes on a project. For the most part it saved my bacon. Until you get a verbal edit request with no written follow up. Then it becomes your word against theirs. Ugly stuff.

Key cards, fobs, security check points, all exciting ways to get a new hassle tucked into your daily life. As much as I look forward to transitioning to full time in the coming years as my kids get older, and more self reliant, I don’t think I will ever return to working for someone else full time. It would have to be a dream come true job, and not just money either. A real – come to jesus – heaven on earth – moving mountains – best job of my life opportunity to pick up a commute again. But you know what they say, never say never.

If everything goes pear shaped I’d be the first to pound pavement (electronic or not) with a resume & portfolio in hand. We’re all just three missed meals away from chaos, such as it were. It’s easier to have high standards when every need you have is being met. Take a couple of the important things away and those standards drop precipitously. I remember college & university well. I worked hours, jobs, and projects I swore I’d never touch again once I got my degrees and certificates. But if things got bad enough, I’d swallow my pride and do it all again. I’d hate it, and myself, but I would do those jobs again if I HAD too.

You know that white winter you were after instead of the rain? Yeah. It’s here now. Thanks. Bye. We have somewhere between five and six inches of snow over night. So fear not. Tobogganing and skiing, and snowboarding are back on the menu! If you are so inclined that is. I’d like to think that I am, but I’d be put off after the first work e-mail that came in which I couldn’t do anything about while on the slopes. As a freelancer all I have (besides the perceived quality of the work) is my reputation. And ditching work to hit the slopes, I feel, would negatively affect that perception. On the other hand, a day outside on the slopes would make you feel alive, more human, and refreshed. So it could – potentially create a more open mindset allowing for increased creativity and productivity? Or I’d be exhausted, need a nap and give the entire day a miss. Toss up. Could go either way. No matter, not on the docket for today anyway. That’s a struggle future me will have to wrestle with.

How is it that as soon as I vacuum the floor my kids immediately choose to eat crumbly foods and leave a mess all over the damn room. Goodness. I could scream! They just know how to push my buttons. Wrappers left on the couch. Plates and cups left in the family room. Crumbs on the floor. Not taking their soaking wet gloves out of their back packs, nor saying they had them in there in the first place. Leaving coats, snowpants and gear on the floor right inside the front entrance way. Ugh. Madness. “Hang up your coats. Socks and sweaters in your rooms” it’s a mantra with us. And about 1,500 repetitions in sometimes it clicks. Mostly it falls on deaf ears, but I persist! One day these children will not be slobs! They will care for their belongings in a manner that encourages longevity! They will know: laundry, cooking, cleaning, sewing, money management, work ethics, car maintenance, lawn care, house maintenance, leaves & trees & gardening, wood working, music, reading and art. Today is not that day, but over time, they will learn it all! Damn it!

Was’sup Monday? It’s ya Boi Marko here with another installment of : Domestic Duties Monday, Ba-Ba-BAAA!

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Here we are just past 9:00am and we’ve got the kids dropped off, clothed, fed, watered & teeth brushed with lunches packed. The first load of laundry in the wash, the dishwasher emptied, and the main floor vacuumed. Followed by a general light tidy up, as fair entries dominate the space, and nothing can get thrown away yet until all tags, and art works are present & accounted for. I think our vacuum now has craft herpes with the amount of glitter I got off the floors near work surfaces. That shits going to be with us through Christmas, if every other previous year is any indication. Ha!

Even managed to get some banking done too, so we’re off on a roll this morning. If it stays dry long enough I think I’ll mow the lawn today too. Expecting a week of rain. Naturally, it being fair time, I should not be surprised by frosts, flurries, or the heavens opening up and dumping buckets of icy rain on us for the four days of the fair. Then afterwards we’ll have a heat wave or two, and I’ll attack the fallen leaves with gusto. Speaking of which, I did two full mulched bags already, so I’m only about ten more from finishing for the season. Just need all of those leaves to come down first. Then it’ll be a matter of tearing down the patio furniture & outdoor kids toys, and making sure the pressure washer hose is disconnected and emptied so it won’t burst, or rupture the gun/nozzles. Same goes for the front garden hose, trigger needs to come off, and the hose dried before storage. And the valve inside the house shut off, and the spigot emptied. All the solar lights can get packed away aswell.

Maybe this year I can get some of the bikes in the shed too, now that we’ve gotten the gazebo out of storage and shipped off to the cottage. A man can dream can’t he? Well the work emails have begun, so I best get going. Ciao Bella!

123 – easy as do ra me, simple as ABC…

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What a funny looking number. Looks fake to me. Or oddly staged, as though someone were trying to find a random number. But here we are on day 123 of writing every single day. Yesterday I sort of completed my story arc, and now I’m trying to decide if I need to add an epilogue to fill it out a bit, or just leave it be. I could easily fill book three with the whole thing in greater detail, but I’m not sure at this point if I want to. Feels a bit rushed, but that’s the thing, building up to nothing is how life tends to feel. Blink, breath or loose focus for an instant and it’s all over and done with. Like studying your whole life for an event, having a sneezing fit that obscures the brief pinnacle moment and you’re left wanting at the end. Tragic, I suppose. Inevitable? Not sure. But that’s how I write. The fiction in my writing is that nobody gets off scott free, they all die in the end. Not so true here, is it. Awful, horrible people shrouded by money, privilege and power can do as they please and languish in luxury until their natural deaths. Fuck that, I say. Treat them as you would any, and every throw away character. Boring, work a day deaths for all involved, hero or not. A stubbed toe that gets infected, and they die of blood poisoning even though they were set to ascend the power structure or live forever after one more minor detail was completed. Nope, not on my story arc, fuck face. You die, no pomp, no circumstance, no banners or lying in state for you. Left to rot and decay in a random unlisted room someplace. Maybe the janitors turned off the environmental controls after cleaning, and didn’t realize you had a panic room back there, but were so cheap you used Company environmental facilities instead of paying for your own separate supply, and it’s constant maintenance. Ha. Eat shit.

I’m thinking that as the weather gets better, I want to focus more attention outside at the house. Windows, tree pruning, the lawn, the gutter blockage, driveway, vehicles. I’d like to start the screen door or coffee table build soon. I’m thinking about sculpting more again too. Playing the guitar and/or piano is somewhere I’d like to focus my attention as well. Same with teaching the kids about baseball, soccer and bicycling. We got out yesterday morning and played some ball hockey which was a lot of fun. So much to do, and try to focus on. Easy to get paralyzed by it all and wind up doing nothing at all. Except write. I’m pretty good of late about doing some of that every day.

Oh-oh, Spiderman No Way Home arrived this week and I got to watch that with my wife one evening for a date night. I ended up having to work for forty minutes in the middle and missed a chunk, but I liked what I saw the first time around. Watched the middle portion the next day, and liked it even more! Was pleasantly surprised by it all. Made me tear up in a few spots too. Not that that is particularly difficult as I get older. I’m sad that some major plot points were spoiled for me on Twitter, but I still enjoyed the whole movie anyway.

Hope you enjoyed all (41) forty one parts of book two, The Ghost of the Dirty Starling, as much as I did writing them. It started out heading one way, and moved around a bit, and was ultimately a fun little novella to write. Maybe now that it’s off my shoulders I will write some one off’s about my dad life experiences. Or not.