Posts

Day 20

Image
 I had downloaded a couple of movies before we left for the cabin on the weekend. Once we got there we discovered that there was a projector that could play media on the pine wall of the cabin. We had access to Netflix, but we decided we didn't really feel like watching anything dense, partly because occasionally there was a lamp in the middle of somebody's face. We decided on raunchy comedy specials instead. I had recently watched Ali Wong: Single Lady at home. She is so cute and so very filthy, and I sounded like a loon giggling at home alone. My friend Suzie lent me her book Dear Girls, which was also very funny, so I suggested to Matt that we watch one of her earlier specials. We watched Baby Cobra, which she did seven months pregnant. It was good but I didn't find it quite as funny as Single Lady, partly because a lot of the jokes were the same ones I had just read in the book. After that we watched Gad Elmaleh in New York. He's Moroccan and French and a Moroccan f

Addenda

Image
 1. I have sat with the idea of the postal strike for a few days. It still sucks. I'm sad about the Christmas cards, particularly because I got my pictures printed early this year and would have been uncharacteristically ahead of the game. BUT it might still be resolved, and there's no point in dwelling on it either way. I do feel really bad for the small business owners - some of them are losing thousands of dollars a day, and if this drags on it will have a terrible impact. I am also very sympathetic to the postal workers. We've always been friendly with ours, and they have definitely been treated really badly on occasion, and obviously when we're talking big corporations and employees, I'm going to come down on the side of the employees. I just don't know how realistic their demands are - they might be, but it's a different world for shipping, and Canada Post has definitely been losing money. Regardless, it's definitely an effective time for them to s

In an A-plus A frame

Image
Two people, one tiny cabin, some wine and a ladder up to bed. What could go wrong? My friend Jody (HI JODY) found these adorable glamping cabins in Quebec and I shamelessly stole her idea (SORRY JODY) for the one weekend my husband is home this fall.  The weather has been the perfect mix of what he likes (sunny) and what I like (cold).  This small canoe felt extremely tippy, but the water was gorgeous. Matt suggested I could just post the pictures without telling everyone what a whiny coward I was, but that's just not me.  So pretty. So tippy.  I read on the deck until my fingers wouldn't move anymore.  Hot tub and fire pit on deck.  Lucy living her best life with Sonia and Avani. 

Well fuck

 Sorry for swearing. Canada Post just went on strike, which I knew was going to happen, but it's a mental blow anyway. I love sending Christmas cards and receiving Christmas cards, and if there are none I'm going to be really sad. I'll still write them and send them whenever things get settled. I feel for the postal workers, but it's also a really different world for sending stuff these days, so I'm not terribly hopeful that this will be settled quickly. It's going to make Christmas present shopping challenging too - I can 'shop local' as much as possible, but local doesn't always mean small business. It's fine. My children aren't small and will understand. Sucks for people who aren't in the same position.  I'm just sad. 

The I Hate Sara Linton Club

Image
I called the post that because I had a random memory of a kids' book called the I Hate Taffy Sinclair Club. Whoops, I double checked and it was actually called the Against Taffy Sinclair Club. I never actually read it. And I don't really hate Sara Linton. It would be weird if I hated her. She's just a poor, hard-working doctor widow. Also, she's fictional. Sara Linton is the protagonist of half a dozen books by Karin Slaughter. I read a few of these books and then stopped reading them because I just didn't find them that compelling, and Sara Linton was a little sappy and too perfect, and therefore uninteresting. Then Slaughter came out with a book about Will Trent, a former foster child who now works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I read this book - Triptych - and was fairly blown away. It seemed like a breakout book, with characterization on a whole new level. Trent was appealingly flawed, and the book trended darker and what can I say, I'm a little t

All the Perfumes of Arabia

Image
I keep typing things and erasing them because it sounds complainy. Not that I'm complaining-averse, you understand, I just usually save it for Surly Thursday .  Last Tuesday I had to get a filling replaced on my right back molar, which meant my head was bent in the exact wrong direction - well, right direction to maximally aggravate my neck pain. Yesterday I had an ultrasound on my left breast (it's fine), which meant I had to bend my left arm behind my head for five or ten minutes, which was likewise really crappy for my neck. I then realized that I had booked my flu and covid shots for next Tuesday (maybe I should change it to Surly Tuesday). I've been adding every single thing to my calendar because I can't keep a thought in my head lately. but unfortunately I only added the date and time, not the location. I finally figured out where it was supposed to be, and then realized I didn't actually have to go next Tuesday, thus ensuring that I would feel crappy on Wedn

Day 11

Image
It's the day when I have run out of post ideas for NaBloPoMo. I know Engie's blog has a list of topics, but today I'm just going to look at my own list of drafts. I don't anticipate this will generate anything cohesive and coherent, to be clear. I often text myself reminders - grocery lists, books to read, things to talk to Matt about when I see him, etc. Usually, even if I've forgotten about the thing altogether, seeing the text reminds me. Occasionally I come across one that completely mystifies me. Like SOA. I texted it to myself TWICE. SOA. Tried to Google it. Society of Actuaries? Unlikely. All my jobs? Already did that. One of my university boyfriends telling me how he and his brother bought his mom Poison Toilet Water when they were little. Honestly, the 'toilet water' thing is endlessly amusing to me.  I have memories of show and tell in grades one and two. Is it still common for kids to say 'what' instead of 'that'? Matthew Alpajero