It was lovely getting a text from Sean as I was getting ready to leave, asking what I would like from Starbucks. I liked getting to work with a strong black coffee waiting to kick things off. I started the day with a three hour payroll and data entry session and them moved onto other things including updating my MusicFest lists. I only have 58 of the 70 volunteers I am allowed but I will start scheduling soon so I know what is still needed. I always feel very satisfied doing that type of work. I do need to spend time working on my own taxes that are due by the 15th…
After work I did a mystery shop at a Cannabis retailer and came home with some beverages to try but I will wait for the weekend just in case. After last nights bath I slept very well but didn’t like my alarm clock.
Ok so there is little to share about the day except that on my own i opened the trailer and covered it with tarps mostly between rain showers. I also mowed and realized I have a lot of weeding to do. I need to make a pretty plan for the camper before my first booking in two weeks. I booked off all the time until them to make sure it is guest worthy. There was some water damage over the winter that I will need to deal with for sure. Right now I have the canopy over it and am hoping it will dry out. Came in and finished binging Breeders.
Went for a walk with Tracey between storm clouds. made a nice dinner and then crawled into a tub with a blue kush bath bomb, as I watched Obi-Wan Kenobi. Gosh I have such a crush on Ewan, especially since watching his bike trips. I enjoyed the first three episodes, especially little Leila, although I found the roof top chase very marvel comics.
I spent the day working on a piece for my audition. I wrote it and costumed it and worked it in the mirror over and over for hours as if I were a stand-up comedian working out my timing. I even videoed it once to review what needed changing. It is the first time I have done that. It is traditional to memorize someone else’s words and present them but I want this part so bad I wanted to do something outside the box. I told them I was auditioning for the Fall show only and Nathaniel questioned if I would be available for his but it goes on in Feb and I have already been part of The Importance of Being Ernest in the past. The show I auditioned for is Misery based on the Stephen King book that was my first read ever. I never imagined that show coming to our small theatre. I want to be Annie Wilkes. I am holding myself at bay in case I should not get it but it is hard as so many people around me in and out of the theatre community have reacted with such enthusiasm, encouraging me to go for it. I do think the audition went very well and Michelle thanked me for my enjoyable auditions and Amy laughed out loud during it and was very complimentary after. That means a lot to me as I know she has a great deal of theatre experience. It is encouraging when your peers support so strongly.
I came home, had some pasta and wine and have been binging the FX series Breeders. It is quite an entertaining and horrifying look into several generations in a family and the ‘interesting’ parenting styles.
My cat played dead and the seeds that Will and Lukas planted are sprouting, interesting day all around.
There was so much satisfying in this day, I am still processing it all. I dealt with a bunch of audit items and reconciling before I saw a fabulous smiling face at my office door. Mark is on his way to Ontario, driving to be there for the celebration of life for both his parents. I was so grateful to spend time with him over lunch at Arby’s where Rae and Ash were both working and Bill was there with Gene and Sawyer, such a happy coincidence. We had a great visit and sent him off on his journey.
Once back at the office I spent the afternoon processing subsidies for clients. The most celebratory part was filing over 16K worth for a small restaurant in Victoria. They had opened in late 2018 and were just getting rolling with great success when Covid hit. I watched them adapt on the daily and see their numbers climbing again which brings joy. It makes me even happier to get them the money to keep moving forward. I also look forward to visiting them again.
After work I stopped to chat with Rae and took her with me to the liquor store as we caught up. Seems her student, Aymo has had a run in with a scammer. Someone agreed to purchase a chair he made in shop class and then convinced him to pay for insurance on shipping with gift cards worth $120 with a promise he will be reimbursed when the shippers pick it up. He really felt he had done his due diligence and their is no convincing him yet that he has just lost the money. He is only 17 and I feel bad for this hard learning experience. It is quite the chair he made that’s for sure.
Today was a very satisfying work day in so many ways. I answered a lot of questions, listened in to some very informative bits of the QuickBooks connect and had two friends pop in for visits. Stacey stopped for a visit and took the army box full of old Jeep parts back to the shop. I am not sure what is useable in it so Lance will figure that out. No sense keeping them if they are not of use or rebuildable. It was good to see her as we haven’t had a visit in a long time. I am pretty sure the writing on the box is my Dad’s. He had a flair to his left handedness. It was poignant to see as I have been missing him more again lately. Whenever I have successes I still want to tell him.
Diane stopped in to see Sean and popped in for a good little visit and we made a plan to have me over on Saturday night for dinner and crib. I am happy Aiden will be there as well. It is hard to believe he will be 18 next weekend already. I remember celebrating his 16th not so long (okay 2 years) ago.
After work I came home and got changed and the headed to RMMA for the women’s class which I haven’t been to since last year, November, I think. I was eager to see if the weight loss made a difference as I really struggled to breathe and couldn’t do a lot of the exercises previously. I was thrilled to find I have all the energy, the class went by so fast and I DID A PLANK for the first time in class! It filled my happy tank completely. I am motivated to keep going and look forward to getting even better. My next goal will be proper push ups. It was also the first time without a mask and I was ok with it.
Upon returning home, I cooked up one of my goodfood meals and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it as I ended up with three meals I hadn’t chosen due to being away and missing the deadline. The Pan—Seared Pork was delicious and I even liked the potato salad and beans, lol.
I have to get some sleep as I have some audit work to do tomorrow and Mark is stopping by on his way to Ontario. I can’t wait for a drive by hugging.
The sad in the day was hearing that the Her Royal Highness is not well. At 95, my brain understands that she can’t live forever, but she has been a constant in my life from a small child and I will be sad when she is gone.
It was very warm in my car for the first time today. May be time to switch from furnace to AC in the house, oh no, it’s going to pour all weekend apparently
I had to hustle and get to the office as I have signed up for QuickBooks Connect, an online something. I find it hard to imagine it was organized by bookkeepers as it is the first of the month when a great deal of payroll land. I had two to accomplish today, needed to provide info for a client’s year end audit and was trying to pay attention to it. Imagine a big industry conference only via a website and zoom. There was no agenda in advance so I didn’t have time to be sure what zoom to jump into. Ultimately it was good that I learned what I did but a few of the things were aimed more at businesses than account keepers. I will check in tomorrow to see what I can learn there. I picked up a few shortcuts and heard of others wanting some of the same improvements to the software. The last thing of the day was a 45 minute zoom with The Sentimentalists who I saw on AGT. They were not any better in this medium and in fact I saw him writing on something on his lap that the showed up as sketchy drawing on the ‘blackboard’. Amusing how every one was blown away in the zoom though, lol.
I spent the last part of my day working on MusicFest scheduling and that was very satisfying. I end up exhausted after being there but it is always so incredibly satisfying. I can’t wait to see all my old friends and acquaintances as well as make new ones. Soon I should know if I need to actively recruit more people. After work I went to Safeway and managed to lose a signed lottery ticket. The good thing is that if it is a big win, only my signature and ID can claim it. I left my info at the lottery kiosk.
Lunch was corn on the cob and beer, non-alcohol of course. Kory, in the office next to me brought two of his kids to the office today and I gave them candy canes while he was on the phone. The little boy made me a picture. I like being Nana at the office too.
I started the day doing society things and then got good advice from a friend about taking care of Throbby Bobby. Ever since I stubbed him back in March, he has been sore and the nail partially lifted. There doesn’t seem to be any infection or grossness, it just doesn’t look good and pressure on it is tender. It is sandal season and I need it to grow all the way out again. I am going to purchase the medication Maureen suggested and get it taken care of. The rest of the day was spent doing payroll and working on tidbits in various files that got a lot off the list. I ran out for Taco Tuesday which used up most of my calories for the day but was so crazy delicious. Another positive part of the day was getting an encouraging message from the besides. I feel good as I had time at the end of the day to do my billing, flip the calendar, and get my spreadsheets ready for June. I even got a call from Doug Cox, my boss at MusicFest. We made our plan for who does what to get the binders, etc., he filled me in on who is running what sound for stages. It was so good to hear his voice, I can’t wait to see him. And now I have the stage schedules so I can start scheduling crew which will take a big thing off my list as well!! Let’s Roll!
this month got away with me and although I managed to get the last necessary file done today, I have had low grade anxiety that is hard to ignore. I have overpromised a bit and am afraid of dropping balls again. this is the most negative part of my personality. I didn’t finish and leave work until 8 tonight. I had things to take care of before work and I had to go grab something for lunch and am having trouble keeping the weight off never mind going down as I don’t have any fruit or healthy snacks so I went to Safeway and picked up a few things. I made myself get up and walk around as well every time I felt overwhelmed. It was nice to celebrate Nigel’s birthday over the net with some good laughs. I had sent a journal and pens styled just for him. tomorrow will feel better, i will make my lists for June and feel more on top of things. I have much to accomplish for July. For now I will try to live in this moment.
I slept a full 10 hours last night, had some breakfast and reached out to see if any of the grandsons were available to help me beat the rain and get the yard tidied up. I need to set up the Airbnb as the reservations are rolling in. Rae dropped off Lukas and Will shortly after I started mowing. They started weeding and I finished mowing which took a long time as everything was so tall. It is the first time the yard has been worked on this year. I promised to take them for dinner of their choice when we were done. Lukas asked if sushi would be to expensive. What a considerate young man. We got as much done as possible, made a fire to burn sticks and pine cones and the the rain began so I showered and off we went. Sakura was a closed so we went to Sushi on the Strip and got our own little room. The server was odd but we ordered lots to share; gyozas to start, 4 special rolls and then Deep Fried cheesecake. We were all so full as it was so delicious. It was not cheap, but enjoyable and I know the boys don’t get a feast like that very often. I had to remind them not to eat so fast. There was enough, they didn’t have to eat fast in case it was all gone as I am sure happens with 8 of them in the house. I really love these individual times with them. I am also impressed with how well they worked and how much we got done. I am ready for another 10-12 hours sleep now though!
Chelsea, a woman who works in the Co-working space heard me mention I needed to figure out a second screen for my laptop for working away from the office. She came the next day and gifted me with a brand new one that fits in a sleeve and works fabulously. It didn’t work with her system but is perfect for mine. So grateful!
I was at the theatre for 10 am to attend a directing comedy workshop conducted by Kevin McKendrick. There were 9 of us, 8 friends and one new person to the circle got to spend the day together learning so many great skills. Many things I use as a director were confirmed as useful and I also learned some great ways of working with business, adding to the script without text. It was really a joy to spend 6 hours with people of a like mind, doing what we love. I was inspired to Direct again, maybe in 2024 as the next season is already set. Kevin is a very good instructor, and actor as we saw in his examples. He accepted everything we threw out there and ran with it, fine tuning the thought or suggestion. I really wish to be directed by him but he is in Vancouver. At lunch it was missed that I am allergic to peppers and every single part of it was loaded with them. I popped out to Sakura Sushi for some tempura and edamame. The part that made me sad was that the smell was so strong in the lobby where everyone was eating that I had to go sit by myself on the stage to eat. I didn’t like missing out on the conversation and connection but Kevin did come and sit with me for a while and we found quite a few people from the time I was at Studio 58 with that he knows or knows of and we had a few good laughs. It was nice to talk to someone who understood how special it was being taught by the instructors there at the time, especially fencing from Antony Holland.
I left as soon as we were done to come home and change to head to Key City Theatre as they were very in need of volunteers. It is a good thing I did as Sandra and I ran the bar and wow can those Dance Moms put it away. We went through a great deal of wine, lol. I was glad to get home and have something to eat and have been sitting puzzling and watching the Survivor Finale. I can’t believe I have been watching it for 21 years! It used to be the thing Jake and I would do every week, Taco and Survivor Thursdays.
I really need to mow my lawn tomorrow and weed but it is supposed to rain. If it does I may go into work for a while so that I can take time to do it during the week. It will also take the stress off Monday’s deadlines.
I decided I had better get my laundry done so I have something to wear to the Comedy workshop I am attending tomorrow. I forgot how long the washer takes and waited until it was done so I could throw it in the dryer. In the meantime I decided to frame the card I purchased at the Atlas Coal Mine in the frame I picked up at IKEA. It looks lovely and now I just have to find wall space for it.
I was at work relatively late but got my CCT tech business finished which took a weight off my list. After getting a myriad of things done, I settled to finish the last file I had to do before month end when a client showed up unannounced for assistance and 3.5 hours later she said want to go for a drink since I have kept you so late on a Friday. I shut everything down and met her at the Blind Pig where where we had food and bevies and a great long evening of getting to know each other. It was great as there was no work talk and much getting to know each other. As someone was passing my to leave they recognized her and had big hugs and then he turned and saw me and said hey and gave me a big hug too. It was Tom Shypitka, the East Kootenay MLA and I was surprised he remembered me as I have only met him once at the CCT Gala for our big renovation. He and his wife stayed for a good chat and then Alex and I finished our visit before heading home. I, again am grateful for where I live and who swims in this pond. There are good people here. Alex gave me a hat from her company and I look forward to sporting it around town. Alex is Metis and has a strong feeling that I am as well and would like to help me research that. It is not the first time someone has planted that seed. I am curious.
I am very tired but had a good time and will get some rest for the full day tomorrow as I agreed to volunteer at Key City tomorrow due to the shortfall in volunteers for the Dance academy night.
This morning I was up and tidying in anticipation of Erin coming for a home visit to go with my application for a college homestay student for the Fall term. She seemed to like my place and me and said she would be doing placements soon. Unfortunately she emailed me later that she found out it wouldn’t be possible as I have a door on the bedroom that doesn’t go to the floor. It is decorative and has about a 6 inch gap. I was disappointed at first but then relieved and I also figured I would still make a nice space in the den and use it for Airbnb in the winter months. That way I will still have my alone time which is healthier for me. The universe knows what I need.
I can barely stand to listen to or watch the news as the pictures and stories of the precious children and teachers murdered in Texas are shared. 19 children in grades 2-4 and 2 teachers were gunned down by an 18 year old heavily armed male. It is beyond comprehension and I just want to hold my grands close. What kind of human shoots his own grandmother in the face and then announces on Facebook every thing he is about to do and then does it? There is so much of no sense going on in the world. I just want to live in the bubble I am in, but also need to not give in to fear.
I got a great deal done today, even spent a few hours on my volunteer work without stress about the last file I have to complete and file this month. I am really doing ok finding my balance. I have come late to the game of saying no. There is so much to say yes to with aplomb, it is getting easier. I still have a bit of guilt that I didn’t come back to go to the Board meeting on Tuesday night but I had provided reports in advance and the time with family was precious. I have never taken a vacation with them and it still fills me with joy to think about all we did together.
This morning was a tough get up and function as I did not sleep well last night, seems my brain was trying to process all I needed to do today instead of catch up after all that fun.
I had to really focus as there was nothing simple about anything I had to do but I got it done and toward the end of the day my client, now friend, Matt stopped by to give me my own hoodie from his company. I had admired his with the zip neckline some time ago and he remembered and brought me one, saying, girls like pink. That made me smile. We then had a good long chat about nothing work or book related and it really was special.
I got home to have a lovely long visit with my neighbour. She liked the puzzle I bought her to thank her for looking after Missy while I was away. We were sitting on the couch and Missy snuggled her without coming near me… I guess I am being punished for leaving her.
I was going to do a really deep clean tonight as the lady from the Homestay program is coming for a home visit at 9 am but I am truly too worn out and so I did a quick tidy and will just let her know this is as bad as it gets. What with the surgery and then the trip I haven’t mowed my lawn even or weeded. I usually have pride in my place. I guess I will hope she understands. It is still very habitable and not gross so it shall be what it is. I am at the moment too tired to care but I am a bit anxious. I think I shall take a pill and get some much needed sleep.
It was pretty impressive that everyone was up, had breakfast, and was loaded in the cars by 9:30. We headed to Calgary and were at Crossiron Mall just before it opened at 11. We entered through the Bass Pro Shop which was a bit overwhelming and a little like being at the stuffed zoo. From there we split into smaller groups and shopped like pros. I think most of us bought shoes (mine were for the kayak), some of us got puzzles and others bought clothes and goodies. I think Deanne got the beautiful item of the day when she found an expensive designer fanny pack on sale. It really is lovely and it makes me happy that she is happy and blames it on me, lol. Of course I encouraged her to get it as I didn’t want her to think about it and wish she had. I managed to get a few small things but mostly hung out with my buddy Sawyer who once again made me laugh. I went to Shoppers to buy nasal spray as the air is so dry I am clotting blood and I read the three options to Sawyer of the sayings on them. He told me to get the strength one because I am a bit old and when you get older you get strong and then weaker. He’s not wrong. We ran into his friend Audrey. I bought Gene his 15th bday present coming soon in June.
Next was IKEA where I only spent $150 and got so many things including a duvet and bedding for the guest room. That is definitely the least I have ever gotten out of there for.
From there we went to Chine Hot Pots where Roger really wanted to share that meal experience with the kids. Ray and Jan, Jessy and Braeya joined us and it was exciting and complicated but good. I would probably do it again for the seafood.
After dinner it was a rush back to check into our hotel so the kids could get in the pool before it closed. There was much fun and we love our beautiful family room with the Murphy bed and more room to walk. You can see from the picture from the last hotel that room 126 (theirs) was much bigger than 113 (ours). Tomorrow is a big day as we are going to the Zoo before heading home.
I started getting ready to leave tomorrow and then raced to the office to run payroll before heading to St. Eugene Resort for the Cranbrook Chamber lunch as a representative of Fisher Peak Performing Artists society. I had great conversations with people I hadn’t met before, and some I had. The buffet had two options and I asked specifically if there were peppers and was told no for the meat sauce penne. I am going to say they were wrong as I was not feeling well within minutes of eating. The speaker was from Destination BC and it was interesting to hear the plan to recover from the pandemic. I liked the pavilion venue and can imagine beautiful events there. It went long but I hit the books hard when I got back, drank lots of water to calm my upset stomach and wished I had antacids at the office.
I popped home to change and eat some rice before heading to Key City to bartend for the Johnny Reid concert. It was sold out so there wasn’t room to sit in but I bought a great t-shirt, enjoyed my time working with Éveline and Emma, and had a great chat with the merchant guy about how I saw Johnny in 2012 for the Rick Hanson celebration of heroes in Vancouver. Alex said that was before most of the hits and called me an early adopter. We had a good laugh over that.
Once I got home I packed and organized for tomorrow; I am really looking forward to this road trip to Drumheller, Alberta.
I wasn’t feeling good so I took a Covid test just in case. It was negative and the running nose and lethargy mostly wore off as the day went on.
Focus was tough but I spent over 8 hours working on theatre books so I could have them ready for the board meeting in time. I will basically be coming back from vacation to the meeting on Tuesday, weather and roads permitting. One of my client’s forgot to send me the time sheets so I will do that payroll and another in the morning.
I got home late and made dinner which was good but the onions are leaving me hurting. It tastes so good going down…
I cleaned up and readied for not being here for a few days. Probably should go pack… and get sleep.
Ashlée sent me this shot from the fair. Gene and I enjoyed the Ferris Wheel.
It barely matters that I worked and rushed home to make dinner and change to head to Key City to volunteer for The Debaters. The single most exciting thing that happened today was when I heard a voice while I was bartending and turned to see Pete and Jayme, Luc and Colleen, friends I made while living in Bella Bella. I could not keep the grin off my face. I went in to watch the first half of the show and as I was sitting there, I realized That I had worn my Monday socks. That is what I call the ones that P & J gave me when I house sat for them, not long before I left the Central Coast. There was so much synchronicity in the evening, it is overwhelming. Just to see all those smiles, and hug again… joy, joy!
Side note, I didn’t only get socks from them, it was their dog that caused my last concussion. How great is it that I only found out at the fair this weekend that my vertigo is finally gone!!
I woke up at a decent time, very dehydrated and chased away a mild hangover with a breakfast of strong coffee and a chocolate cupcake from yesterday. Cleaned and started laundry, watered the plants and headed to the theatre to help with the strike and inventory the tech gear. Pepijn was an invaluable help to make it all happen. We sorted and recorded everything. He created 5 presets for the convenience of renters and I was impressed with how well he was able to create them from what I explained. We also created directions to make it easy for renters to follow. I will type everything up tomorrow and put it on the GDrive as well as make a copy to laminate for the wall of the booth.
One of my favourite parts of the strike was when the chainsaw fired up to take down the tree. Now that was a first.
I took all my recycling to the bin and then came home to finish chores and make a nice dinner of Grilled Asparagus and Portobello Mushroom Salad. I was glad I had fresh lettuce to use as I had let the head that came with the meal get floppy. The stickbugs are enjoying it, so no waste! It is funny that growing up I thought asparagus was slimy rope and now here I am cooking it for myself. Most things are about texture, just had to learn how I really like it, al denté. I look forward to it for lunch tomorrow as well.
I have been thinking today about my conversation with Mayor Don McCormick and his wife Bev while I was in Kimberley yesterday. We were talking about the fact that your bookkeeper has one of the most trusted relationships. It’s definitely true as the person who does your tax return knows the most about you; who you do or do not donate to, what your prescriptions are, who you work for, etc. The other thing I was interested in was that he said fewer and fewer people are going into politics as they are afraid that they will have done something to offend in the past or be found guilty for the awkward choices of their youth. That is a disturbing thought.
This day was surrounded by so many people that I can’t imagine I haven’t been exposed. I threw caution to the wind, did not wear a mask and enjoyed being out in public, accepted and enjoyed so many hugs and just took a calculated risk. Rae let me know that the older kids all had play dates to the fair in town but Sawyer did not. I have very fond memories of my grandad taking me to the PNE every year. I knew I needed to make that memory for Sawyer so I picked him and Lukas up at 11:45 to go. We were so lucky as there was no line to purchase our wristbands and they got to go on most of the rides before there were lines or before they got very, very long. We spent nearly 5 hours enjoying all the fun, including William and his friend Ryan. The boys were great to hang out with and they even got me on rides I never would have gone on due to my vertigo issues in the past which did not rear their ugly head. The only ride Sawyer stepped away from was the Ferris Wheel which scared him. It is my favourite as the peacefulness of it always brings me joy. There were so many perfect moments, I can’t even explain.
I dropped the boys off and came home to use the loo, no portatpoties for me and headed to Kimberley to join in the first anniversary of my client, Grist & Mash Brewery. I was so tired but am so glad I went. I was blessed to come home with a new glass for my collection
On the way home I stopped at the fair to meet with the family again and got in line for one last ride on the Ferris wheel. The people behind us gave tickets to Rae so she could ride with Sawyer who panicked for a moment but ended up enjoying it.
I headed home as I was getting cold and no portapotties for me. Autopilot into my jammies and was about to settle into the couch when I remembered I was to join the cast party at The Blind Pig. I got myself dressed and headed down to have a fabulous evening of theatre friends which of course involved many hugs and deep conversations. It is now 2 am and I am fully exhausted from all the fresh air and good times. I am sure there are many more exciting things to share but am worn out and ready to tuck in. Tomorrow is strike day which I have promised to assist with!!
triumphgal 