The Happy Home

...I'm having a zombie day. Anybody got some spare brains I can eat?

Diet-coke-Sarah made an appearance. Apparently, there is enough aspartame in sugar-free Halls to trigger my horrible alternate personality. Condolences should be sent to Dave.

That was last week. I'm almost over the cold, Dave is almost over my alterego, and I'm sunburnt after spending a weekend at Dave's family's cottage. Despite the after-effects of the aspartame and the fact that we had to bring Dinger with us (Dave's mom hates cats) it was a good weekend.

Dave is a brave, brave man.

He got an ear infection, probably from aggravating our other cat which resulted in a scratch in the ear. Ultimately, this led to a large polyp, which required surgery. He's home from the hospital now, and doing alright, but I think Newton is laughing at him because he has to wear one of those ridiculous Victorian collars. Ahh, well. Poor beastie.

Heat is sucking my brains out.

But I did manage to get a student card. I will go to bed less stupid.

...that life is good?

Everywhere I go, I carry around a bag full of stuff.  It's a backpack, because I couldn't fit all my meds and the kit for my feet and my house shoes and the stuff that other women carry all into a purse.  So I often feel silly dragging this big bag everywhere I go.

Today, it was useful.  Just after I sat down on the bus, a kid got on who had just cut his hand fairly badly, and I was able to provide everything necessary to clean it up, staunch the flow of blood and bandage it.

Then after I got off the bus I stopped in front of one of the houses on my home to pick up the recycling bin because the lady who lives there has a hard time getting down  the stairs to the road  (I do this most Monday afternoons). The house number on her bin is so faded that she can't read it.  She said she couldn't find her marker, and I was able to produce a Sharpie from my bag of tricks, which did the job quite nicely.

Some days, I'm glad I'm forced to be more practical than fashionable.

I spent today and yesterday up north at the LARP terrain (again).  Today we built a pretty decent road through what used to be a swamp.  There is now a stream with a bridge over.  I also used the log splitter (very fun toy!) to make lots of small bits of wood that will fit in the Inn's wood stove.

A friend gave me some nastursiums (sp?) that got planted as part of a house warming thing we did with her, so they will get added to my garden soon.  Less carrots, I guess.

Long time no see, all.  I was recently reminded that I like to keep in touch here... see what's going on.  So this is me checking in.

Many things have changed.  In theory, my leg and back are both fine now.  In practice, I get a really sore blister on the end of one toe on my left foot all the time.  This at least means new orthotics.  I'm hoping that's all it means.

I've been working.  It's a bizarre job, but I've never been happier with my work.  A friend of mine is a professor at Concordia.  She's on maternity leave now (since she gave birth in January.  Since early March, I've been going in a few hours a week to help out with the baby and around the house so that she can write.  For the last two months, I've also been working as her research assistant.  The research is really interesting and the baby is beautiful, and as long as my foot doesn't hurt, I look forward to going to work every day.  It's amazing how much difference that makes to life.

The LARP season is about to be begin (two more weeks!) and almost every weekend since the snow melted I've  been spending time up at the terrain working on our camp or the roads, clearing trees, stuff like that.  It's been nice to be where I can hear birds and see woods and smell... freshness.

I've planted some herbs, but I won't have much more of a garden this year since I my landlord is going to be replacing our front balcony, so I can't plant anything that would attach to the railings.  Ahh well.  Maybe some carrots, anyway.

Facebook is eating my livejournal brain!!!

It's been a weird week for music.

Last Tuesday I went to see Flogging Molly.  Irish/Celtic/Punk.  It was fun.  It was at the Metropolis, so no seating just wee tall tables and a mosh pit.  I did not go anywhere near the mosh pit, but nonetheless, I was in pain the next day because neither my ankle nor my back were completely prepared for me to stand on the balls of my feet and bounce for a few hours.

Sunday I got talking to the pianist after church and it looks like I'll be performing a classical something sometime around Easter.  It's been like... fifteen years since I've done anything like that.

Last night, for a friend's birthday, we went to the Wheel Club.  For Hillybilly night.  It is operated by the Oldtime Country Music Club of Canada (I would link it, but they don't have a website.)  There were lots of cowboy hats in the room and gingham shirts with tassels and string ties... it was like walking into another world.  Weirder yet is that interspersed between the cowboy hats there were also University students, some of whom I swear I saw at the Flogging Molly concert.  Also, there was a nice young man sitting next to me wearing a yarmulke.  It's a very informal open-mike program.  At one point a young man got up to the stage and played his guitar and harmonica and sang, but then was chided afterward by the hosts for singing a song that was written in 1970.  The rule is "nothing after 1965".  Wow... what an experience.

It's been an eclectic week.

...my dad came out of his house in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this morning to find a possum sitting on his fence. 

Possums are native to the southern United States.  At first I thought it was an escaped pet or something like that, but it's not the first one he's seen.  Apparently, they are now common throughout the Toronto area and the Niagara peninsula.  Weird.

So so glad that 2007 is over and done with.  As for this year?  Bring it on.

I found my passport a moment ago. 

I had been unable to find it since I returned home from Cuba last year, and since we were planning to go again in January, I was getting a little panicky about the fact that I couldn't find it.  I mentioned it while I was out tonight celebrating the birthdays of two friends who are coming to Cuba with us, and I tried to downplay the panic.  It's like... a charm.  I mean, while it's in my head and I don't talk about it, it gets bigger and bigger in my mind until it's an unsurmountable obstacle.  But when I talk about it.... it shrinks.  Sure enough, when I got home tonight, I went right to the bag I've thought it was in all along and looked in a pocket I've searched a dozen times and there it was.  Safe and sound.

I got home around noon yesterday.  The train was about half an hour late because of the heavy snowfall.  The city was buried when I got here.  My balcony is waist-deep in snow.  I was greeted at the train station by a man in a santa hat, who kissed me.

This morning, I woke to two cats, each one snuggled into my side and purring.  I am happy to be home.

I'm having one of those days where I second-guess every little thing that I do and say.  Shut up, inner shithead.

So instead I'll talk about my birthday.  Lots of people came out to Hurley's tp have a pint with me, Dave gave me the first season of House and although it wasn't necessarily a birthday present, I got to add two new corsets to my collection!  Very cool.  I am satisfied.

So I'm in Toronto for the week (I leave early Monday morning) and I'm staying at Bee's.  Arrival uneventful.  Until mid-afternoon on Thursday I will be pretty occupied with family things, but I am free to visit with people after that.  Send messages to my hotmail or facebook if you want to see me.

Many, many thanks to all who have expressed condolences over the last few days.  It means a lot to me.

I've been avoid writing because I haven't been sure what to say.

Last week, my grandfather had a stroke, and wasn't expected to live very long.  He stabilized and then my dad called and told me not to come until they knew what was happening, which didn't happen until this morning.  He called to tell me that my grandfather passed away last night.  He was unconscious for the end and didn't suffer.

I will miss him, but honestly, he's been so unhappy since his wife died in early 2006 that I'm relieved.  He wanted to go and I'm glad for his sake that he's gone.  He lived a good life to the age of ninety-three.  He was a lovely gentleman and a fine scholar and I have great respect for him in his intelligence, gentleness and strength.

I feel funny writing about my birthday in the same post, so I will do that later

I've heard it said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different result.  So obviously, the computer is driving me mad.  Today it refused to connect to the internet for a few hours this afternoon.  I rebooted it and reset the router several times, using exactly the same process each time... and eventually... it worked.

three whole days without the brace and I'm basically ok (although it hurts a lot by the time I go to bed).

Buck is on his way here for the weekend!