Tag: Life

Unusual Work

Friday was an unusual day for me. Sue woke up feeling very under the weather. She had picked up whatever bug the kids had, so I needed to stay home from work and help with the kids.

Sprout and I ended up having a very enjoyable day together which was a great way to spend what should have been a work day.

We started off with a walk at Highrock Park with Yoshi. This park is close to our new house, and is an off leash park. There is also an amazing viewpoint looking out over all of Victoria. We could see downtown, the arena, the breakwater, Gorge Vale Golf Course, and the navy base. Sprout pointed and reminded me that last year we went to the base, got on a bus and did a tour of the Christmas lights. He even pointed to the correct parking lot we boarded the bus. That boy has an amazing memory.

Later in the day we played in the back yard for a bit. I got him a toy golf set a while ago, but we ended up playing hockey with it. We passed the ball to one another, and he had some pretty good accuracy. Every once in a while we had to get off the ice and go sit on the bench to watch the zambonie. Yes, he has a very active imagination.

Right before dinner Sprout then helped me fix his train table that got a little broken during the move. Some bracket screws got ripped out of the particle board. I was able to rig together a fix for it, and with Sprout supervising, we got the job done. He was quite happy to get the table back in action.

He was in such a fun mood all day, and I got to do all sorts of fun dad things with him.

Enormity Everywhere

A new morning routine is in the works. A little over a week ago we moved. I’m pretty excited about the new place but there is still a ton of work to be done.

The move itself was pretty smooth, but that was a weekend full of back breaking manual labour. Friday night we had some friends over for dinner and beer, then we shlepped boxes to the new place. Saturday was an all out move fest. The movers came and grabbed as much stuff as they could then emptied their truck at the new place. Meanwhile our cleaning lady did her magic at the old place, but we had a limit on her time. Then I started the final clean of the rest of the house. The sunroom and basement needed a lot of attention, and so did the carpets throughout. When all was said and done the place looked almost like it did when we moved in.

The next day the enormity of the move hit us. Boxes everywhere. Looking around the house I began to feeli like maybe it was too small. As furniture got place I started seeing quick and striking differences. Very quickly the house felt like it was big enough. Now that we have been here a week, I know that it was just the clutter everywhere that made the house feel tiny.

One of the things about the house that we loved was the lack of carpeting. Hardwood throughout, and nice, old hardwood at that. Of course, hardwood doesn’t damp the sound, and our dog has long claws. And likes to get up at 6 am. And our new yard isn’t fenced.

So far the new morning routine involves one of us (usually me since I am awake) jumping out of bed at the first Yoshi noise. Then he eats, and gets a quick pee in the yard by himself. Then we take him on leash around the block so he can work out number 2. Of course it is still cold and dark out, and I would much rather be laying in my nice warm bed.

The house is awesome though. Much quieter neighbourhood, still close to all the same amenities, and so far, great neighbours. The second night we were in the house our neighbours to one side came by and welcomed us to the hood and brought a lovely tin of home made chocolate chip cookies. 🙂 A very nice welcome indeed.

Weekend Tweeted

Last weekend, the fam and I headed to a hockey game. It was a friends child that was playing and we had a great time at the game. We had driven there, and Yoshi was in the car. When we got back to the car, below is what greeted us.

Shocking. As soon as I saw it I was quite angry with Yoshi. It wasn’t hot in the car, and I really didn’t know what could have gotten in to him. He happily jumped out of the car and was happy to see us. Then the ref in the soccer game next to the car tweeted his whistle. Yoshi tucked his tail and ran to the front of the car. We had parked next to a field not thinking about what may happen. There were kids warming up for a soccer game, but neither Sox nor I thought through what might happen.

Instantly I felt sorry for Yoshi. He was very stressed out and this was the result. Imagine what could have been if he had gotten into the front seat? These pics were taken the next day, so no, the cat food and diaper box weren’t in there with him.

Busted Nights

I’ve been lucky enough to play poker tonight and last Friday. I haven’t played in a long time previous to last week, and it reminded me of how much I do like the game.

Last week I busted out which I was fine with. I wasn’t playing all that well, and I was getting very good cards when I really needed them. I still won a few hands, and I still had a great time.

Tonight was different though. I played much smarter and tighter. I kept myself under control and didn’t chase hard hands. I folded at smart times. At the end of the night I was up quite a bit.

Counting both weeks together I was up $12 (lost $10 last week, won $22 tonight).

I think the only thing stopping me from playing every week with the work people is that I have Ulti on Thursdays, and they play on Fridays. This means I would be out of the house for dinner and maybe bed time, two nights in a row. I just can’t do that to Sox.

Ulti is ending pretty soon, so maybe that means more poker in my life?

Something Rounded

More packing tonight. I actually threw out something that was very difficult for me to throw away. I’ve already written about how hard it is for me to throw some stuff away.

This item was something I made for my mom and dad way back when I was in elementary school. Maybe grade 2 or grade 3. I can still remember making it while sitting at my desk in the classroom.

It was a Christmas craft and we were making wreaths to hang on our door. We actually used ours for a long time, but for the past 10 years (at least) it has been in storage.

The tidbit you are missing is that it was made of a rounded out coat hanger, and strip of green plastic garbage bag tied to it. Tie on some ribbon and glittery pine cones, and you have the Christmas wreath that I made 20 some odd years ago.

Yes it was ugly. Yes I wanted to keep it. Yes I got rid of it. I hope some day my kids will make something that special to them.

Glorious Play

We had a glorious day today and I really mean that. It started off with Beet sleeping in until 7. That may not seem like sleeping in to a lot of people, but not being woken before 7 is great to me.

I got up with Beet and we had a pretty lazy morning. She had breakfast and I had coffee, then we played for a bit. I actually got to read my book while she played. It was great. Sprout slept in until 9. Well, sort of. I went up to his room at 9 and he was wide awake and very chipper but he was ok with being in his crib.

The whole lounged for a bit, watched some tv, I drank more coffee, Sox cleaned the kitched, then Sox made waffles and sausages for breakfast. Mmmmm.

After breakfast Sprout watched more tv, I read some more, Beet had a nap. What a relaxing morning. Once Beet was up from her nap we all loaded into the car and headed to Beaver lake to take Yoshi for a walk and to play at the playground.

I took Beet and Yoshi for the walk, Sox and Sprout stayed at the playground. After we were done there we got back in the car and headed to Starbucks for a snack and some drink to warm up with. On the way home from that Beet fell asleep again, so after letting Sprout and Sox out of the car I sat there are read my book some more.

Dinner came and went, baths were done, the kids were put into bed, then Sox and I got some packing done.

The whole day was relaxing, enjoyable, and in the end it actually felt like I accomplished some good.

Dryer Boost

This morning I was feeling pretty gross. My cold has invaded my sinuses and my head was pounding. Still, I have a deadline at work and needed to head in to work.

After my shower I started looking for some jeans but couldn’t find any. The only ones I could find were still in the dryer and a little damp. After a few minutes drying time I snagged them out of the dryer and slid them on.

Oh mama. It was heavenly. All I could think about was the Seinfeld episode where Kramer was always heating his clothes before wearing them. I totally get that episode now. It was just the boost I needed to get out the door.

Rowdy System

There is a plan in Victoria to try and solve the rowdy bar patron problem. They want to scan people’s drivers licences upon entry, then if they are thrown out, they can be denied entry later on.

Besides the potential privacy issues the problem I see is their implementation.

Do they expect the bouncers at the bar to keep remember people’s faces when they throw them out, then scan the system for the night to be able to block them? Maybe they will ask for their licence back as they are tossing the person on the street.

I think the plan is noble, but this idea is flawed.