It was decently cool this morning, so I got out and mowed my lawn. If I didn’t do it soon I was going to need to bale it. So I had a coffee and sorted my puzzle pieces and headed out.
I came back in had some food worked on my puzzle, then showered and got ready to head to Rotary on the rocks at the Popoff’s house. They have such a lovely spot which held almost 30 of us and Ron had done incredible barbecued ribs, mac & cheese coleslaw, and Johanna’s delicious desserts. It was a nice turn out lots of good conversation and laughs. I was tasked by our social media crew to take pictures and at least one video for them to use.
The problem of course with all that good food was, I was beginning to fade and need a nap and I hadn’t even been drinking! I did come home and finish a big chunk of the puzzle as I started season three of White Lotus. I can see what all the fuss was about as it is very very well written.
I stepped out at one point and saw that I had a visitor.
Maya sent me pictures of her son today but I still don’t know his name
I was disappointed to learn that Jake didn’t receive his package yet for his birthday. It was sent on Monday from somewhere in Canada. I hope the guy told me the truth that he did send it then.
I knocked three big things off my list today so that felt good and I believe that was left on it of must use. I can accomplish early next week.
I came home, continued working on my puzzle and made some delicious turkey tacos before finishing the puzzle, having one of my enhanced beverages and watching a bit of White Lotus before bed the puzzle was harder than some, easier than most and there was one piece missing
I was in the middle of the trivia night when my brother called that his youngest daughter, Maya, had her baby boy. No name yet. 8 lbs 2oz. Mom and babe are doing well. I was sure it was my news to share but…. It is my first experience as a ‘great’
Today was actually pretty great. I gave my Rotary convention PowerPoint presentation at lunch and it was very well received. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat lunch and the smell was incredibly overpowering enough to make me feel a little icky afterwards as they served up roasted peppers. Rick told how he got back our gravel that had been taken when Steve Roberge visited. He in turn stole their gavel. It was a fun meeting.
I got a lot of work done as well as finished off the non-perishable food and beverage order as well as the alcohol order form.
And then headed to Encore in time to reserve a booth where Brett and J D joined me to become Forrest Grump
We got our best score ever 52 out of 60 and won $155 which was great. It will be our last time until September as none of us feel confident with the Harry Potter one next week and there is none in August.
Hmm. Today was full of meetings and work and Rider follow up. I also took the time to make a special edition item for one of the bands. Shhh, Don’t tell them.
The Ground Floor community manager is quick and efficient creating things for the cricut. And I think it turned out brilliant.
Once Home, I probably should’ve mowed the lawn, but it still had rained so much that it was pretty wet for how tall it is. Supposed to get sunny from now on so it won’t hurt to wait till Saturday. Instead, I did Lego. Well, a Lego puzzle that is.
I was reminiscing this morning as I finished the wooden Salt Spring puzzle that I borrowed from Rae. The puzzle itself was challenging because of the shape of the pieces, but the map itself was a walk down memory lane. I didn’t have to look at the box to know where the roads and lakes were etc.. It occurred to me then that I had lived for 15 years on Salt Spring and it has now been 15 since I left. I had a good life, good friends, great experiences, and provided a wonderful space for my son. It really was a significant time in both our lives. There is much I miss about it.
From our going away party in 2010
The day was full with client work and hours spent getting the orders together for the food and the alcohol for the festival. I didn’t leave the office until eight, but it was very productive time and I came home and made dinner and started a new puzzle. I was burning through my Lego too fast so thought I’d do a Lego puzzle instead. 
It sure has been raining a lot. I am going to have to mow my lawn this weekend or I will have to bale it!
Rae came to the office and we went over the spreadsheet I had created and then I contacted Tour Managers about the things I couldn’t supply. The response was awesome so far. Once i hear from everyone, I will start shopping.
After work it was time to celebrate Roger’s 42nd. We had a great visit with Fred & Niki, Jesse & Nesta, Bill & Deanne, Jeff & Dee-Anne and the kids. Sushi for the win! I gave him a double sized hammock that I brought from Ecuador.
Came home to watch my shows and finish the wooden puzzle . it was fun
I spent the afternoon compiling all the riders into a spreadsheet. I have everything ready to meet with Rae tomorrow and go over it. I also emailed all the tour managers to make a connection.
Once I’d done my recycling, I came home and started working on a wooden puzzle of Salt Spring Island. I stopped to make some food and am watching the final season of Bloodline as all my laundry and bedding is completed.
I went to the office and spent a couple hours putting together a PowerPoint of the Rotary international conference for the Thursday meeting. It turned out pretty great, just have to decide what to say. I then started working on the Rider list for Rock the Kootenay. After that I headed to Dave and Deb’s for 5:30 BBQ.
Turns out their adult kids decided to go for a hike and didn’t make it back until nearly 8. Thank goodness was Steve and Candis brought appies as I hadn’t eaten all day.
I had the best visit after dinner with Sarah, the daughter Autumn’s best friend from grade 5. She is studying law and would love to live in Seville! We made a plan for me to check it out and I potentially have a new roommate.
I also braved asking if the kids share the views and politics of the parents. They do not.
While I was at the office a big storm happened. I also got pics of the blanket that I made for Maya’s baby, and her special model.
I was taking out for a delicious lunch at the Heid-out today by Rosie, who is in town to help out with her brother Dan’s wife, Terry. Terry has very bad dementia and can’t be left alone and it’s Dan’s grad reunion weekend. We had a super good visit and a delicious burger, and I went back to the office. I did get quite a bit done and one of the ideas that we came up with over lunch I followed up on. In one of my favourite bands riders hidden in the sound rider was a comment that they would like to have the Brown M&M’s that Van Halen didn’t want. I went to the boat barn after work and stayed and visited with a manager Lukas, who was good friends with my grandson Gene. While we chatted, I use the scoop to pick out as many of the brown ones as I could, and then I went down the mall to the dollar store and found a nice screw top jar to put them in. Lukas also gave me a very good deal on them because he’s a sweetie and he said he’s had many meals at his house so wanted to give me a deal. I came home and washed the jar and it turns out I had exactly the number of brown M&Ms to fill it.
I then finished off my super Mario kart which is one of the most fun bills I’ve done so far
I am now nearly finished my pixelated Mario and Yoshi. It’s quite brilliant as well. stay tuned!
I am starting to get excited about the festival and I’m going to go into the office tomorrow afternoon so I can use my two big screens and work on the list to do the shopping and then I will meet with Rayann on Monday to make a plan and discuss things further
After work I went to Encore with my Mac and the rider binder and worked on a spreadsheet until Jill and Brett arrived for trivia. JD showed up and we were a well rounded team. We came in second by only one point. It was fun and I enjoyed it.
I came home and continued working on my Mario Kart. It is big and beautiful. it has 17 bags of parts!
Today was a lot because I had to make sure I was ready and at the office with all systems go for a zoom meeting at 10 AM with a client in an earlier time zone. I didn’t really want to be there today, but I was committed. As it turned out, she forgot about it completely and it got rescheduled at least for 11 and after an hour, I had promised a client to call her as soon as that call was done and that call went for three hours. These were zoom meetings where I had to watch the tone of my face as much as my voice. I managed, but it took a lot out of me. The good thing was shortly after that last call I received the email telling me that the bid had been accepted and I will be the hospitality queen for the festival in August. It’s funny how that makes me happy but didn’t quite bring me up out of the gloom yet. I saw a post from Jesse the owner of Encore about a band that was playing there tonight for only $15. I made myself go and be there for it and I’m glad I did. They were really good even if the sound was shoddy. After a point though no matter how much I was grooving and enjoying, I couldn’t help thinking about being home doing Lego. So when they took a break, I got myself a sticker for the back of my car because their band name and the sticker totally suited, and made my way home. I have been watching my recordings and started to build my Mario project which has 17 bags so it should take longer than the others. It is good to be home.
So I have a pretty good awareness of my mental health. I am fully aware that I am in a classic depression. At this moment in time, well for sometime now, my happy place is at my dining room table building Lego and watching TV. The problem is it’s the only place that I am truly focussed and energized. I don’t want to go to sleep. I have trouble staying asleep once I get there or if I do sleep, I have lucid dreams so I am tired all day in spite of waking up before my alarm. And so I build. It’s almost as if I knew I would need this big stack of Lego to work my way through. I will keep building until I feel like I want to do other things again. I force myself to do things outside my home, but they drain me completely. Inside my home I should wash my floors, vacuum my carpet, scrub my bathtub. I am managing to cook for myself and run the dishwasher keeping the kitchen decent and I make my bed every morning. Those are positive, and I do know that this will pass, that I am grieving.
A did very few chores n between Lego today and watched a lot of Netflix.
I am not happy with myself as I finally got R2-D2 together with lights and sound and I mistakenly revived what must have been a ballast of some kind and fried the small board. I have to contact Light my bricks anyway as the set was missing a green glow strip, so I will ask for that piece as well.
I needed to do some more for n ones after that… so I did
I watched a documentary on 7M the TikTok cult, Pamela Anderson my story, a limited Series Halston, and started Bloodline
My Lego radio is the most cool build that I’ve done
I was at Deb’s by 10 and worked until 1 with her in our trip itinerary. My ChatGPT turned out to be very similar to what she had researched on YouTube and other sources. In the end, while we wait to know if Wendy and Bev are joining us, all we did was book a car rental for the last stop in Tenerife. We do have a skeleton plan that looks amazing though!
I took my rings in to Delamonts for repair as I have missed wearing them since last October.
Came home after a car wash to put my decals on my car (pics tomorrow), do a bit of my chores, had a visit with Tracey, and then settled down to finish my R2-D2.
I stopped to make some dinner which was delicious and then continued on. I tested it with the lights and sound and it was incredible and then I undid a wire and it turns out it must’ve been some kind of a ballast because the board started to smoke and only two of the lights come on now. I will have to order a new part, boo. At least it’s all together now and looks great and the sound and lights were pretty fantastic with a remote control that made them flash and change and it made all of the cool droid sounds. I don’t plan to do any more of the older ones with lights. The directions are very unclear, the parts weren’t what was shown in the pictures for the lighting system, etc. so I was just glad that it all worked in the end. It still looks pretty cool for now though so I’ll put it up on my shelf and wait for the part to come.
It was interesting, researching the observatory in Tenerife, as I knew that my dad had a bad injury, installing the doors for the observatory in the Canary Islands that caused him to ultimately have his ankle fused. It turns out it’s on a different island than the one that we are going out to, but it’s still pretty cool that we are going to the largest solar observatory on the planet. We will be able to see some flares, etc., and learn a lot about astrophysics, which is what both of the Wyatt boys are getting their PhD in. It will be fun to be there with their parents.
I woke up early this morning, but decided not to work on my R2-D2. I will save it for the weekend when I have time and a clear head.
I feasted on raspberries straight out of the garden before heading into the office. On the way, I stopped for my brow appointment with Ireland and had a lovely visit as always. I then got a lot of work done before heading to see Minh for my nails. I only had two on each hand left so it was definitely overdue. As always, he took my hot pink colour theme and went with it and I love the results. We also talked about what to do when I go on my trip as I will be gone for so long and we will be booking an appointment for the day before I leave.
Back at the office, I was very productive and then skipped out just after three to go join Monica to assist with her bottling of wine. We sat and had a lovely visit with Elva and then Paul showed up and the conversation continued.
Following that we went back to her house and DoorDash sushi, which was delicious and we had just a lovely evening sitting and chatting about a ton of personal things. It is always so nice to talk with her about our personal lives and experiences rather than other people as a rule. Of course, other people come into those experiences, but it’s not gossip. It’s life experience. I treasure our friendship very much.
As the sun was setting, I decided I better get home. Let my cat out because she likes the evenings and get to bed at a decent time as I promise to be at Deb’s in the morning to work on our cruise itineraries.
Rotary lunch was fun because my recruit, Ashley, gave her bio and it was interesting and fun, just like her
After the meeting, I took her to pick up a chair she bought off marketplace and delivered it to her home and then it was back to the office for the afternoon.
When she came around to bring water for our plants, I was shocked and amazed to find that my Hoya had flowered after all these years. I call it my Nana plant because it was her favourite and I’m so happy that it bloomed.
I headed to Fenwick & baker after work, hoping to meet up with Dave but it turns out he had tied one on last night and had to get up super early tomorrow morning so wasn’t available I had a great visit with Michelle who has given her notice as the head chef in the kitchen and will be going to work at a gold mine in Ontario. She will be two weeks on two weeks off, so I will get to see her, which is nice. After I had something to eat I wandered over to the park for summer. Sounds hoping to catch T3 and the sonics Jamie Neve’s new band. Charity standing orders was still playing as I guess they got started late and things were disorganized as always this season. I hung out for a little while and actually had a nice talk with Jamie before he played. We have both decided not to try to solve all the problems. I also had a nice visit with Barb Phillips and Ethan Askey before deciding to head back home. It is still hard as it used to be so much fun to be there.
I thought coming home and working on my Lego would calm me, but it turns out I got very frustrated as I tried to put the fourth side on my R2D2 and one of the other sides kept popping off
I finally gave up for another day
I did watch A Complete Unknown. It was an interesting peak at the culture of the time and Dylan’s story. Timothée Chalamet really did do a great job.
This morning, I could feel myself sliding into a mental state that I don’t like to be in as I should be on Vancouver Island getting super involved in the festival today. I found myself obsessed with my Lego, which is not a bad thing. I’ve had these kits for over a year or some of them, but I knew that it was a method of distraction and I wasn’t even going to get to work at a decent time. I completed my C-3PO that brings me joy.
As I was getting ready to leave, I received a phone call from Rae-Anne who is in charge of organizing all things for Encore for Rockin’ the Kooteney’s in August. She wondered if I would be interested in a paid gig being in charge of the hospitality for the bands backstage. I can’t tell you how instantaneously I responded yes. This is exactly something that I am trained to do. She needed to put in the bid in order to get the gig, but felt pretty sure they would get it as they did it last year. After a day of work and Rotary board meeting that was very productive I met her at her office and we went through pricing out all of the riders for cost so that we could put the bid in. She confirmed with the owners that I would like to do the gig and how much she would like to pay me and they agreed! I also think that Will would be a good helper, so they agreed to hire him on an hourly basis potentially to help me out with loading in and giving me breaks when I need them. It’s honestly perfect timing. This is something that I could potentially do on a regular basis if the city likes what I do and Encore is happy with the result.
I came home and have been building my R2-D2 but this time it doesn’t feel so much as a distraction as simply something that I really am enjoying doing.
It was also cool to find out today that Wendy, my friend from decades ago on Salt Spring and the Peru trip may be interested in her and her sister-in-law joining the cruise for a week or two. That would be so much fun.
triumphgal 