Beer = No Check-In, Except at Ikealand.....!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, Sunday, late afternoon/early evening. The day was lovely for the most part, then a couple hours ago the clouds came back. We've had what feels like a ton of rain lately, but then I exaggerate, a little - it's been cloudy more often than not and has threatened to rain every day, which it did yesterday, all day. Sigh. Winter will be here soon and with it the lovely crisp dry weather. But none of this has deterred the little birds out there from arguing who gets which branch to sleep on tonight, and the crows just bark at everyone. Got some lovely jazz tunes thanks to the usual suspect...... Got a nice cool glass of a new white, a Semillon Sauv-Blanc from Rosemount Estate - ehhhh, it's not bad, drinkable of course, but not up to Stand-By caliber. Ahhhhh but Rosemount makes some good wine tho - one day I'll get to their winery.......! So yes, got the tunes, got the birds, got the cool wine - life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. I guess one of the tricks to this is to take a crappy project that no one wants, fix and finish it. And to think there's a whole additional book just like the one I've been working on to be created - another chance for me to show them how s.m.a.r.t I am. Hey, whatever, it makes the day go by and no one's yelling at me- bonus! Well, I guess the real bonus is the paycheck - hooray for gainful employment! Otherwise, all is well, am not very busy, which is nice, but there's enough to keep me entertained and out of trouble. And really, what more could anyone want out of a job (if one has to work that is)?

And then there were a couple weekends in there...... Apologies for not checking in last weekend....... Checking in was nearly impossible as I had one hell of a headache - self-induced for once, so no sympathy needed. I'd gone out with some friends that I hadn't seen in months and months, and to cut a long story short, I guess we made up for lost time and now beer and I don't get along anymore (nothing ugly or scary, just that my head and stomach have advised me not to go near it again). But it was a great evening spent at the German Club - the food was most excellent and wonderfully stodgy as expected and the company fun as always. Will just have to avoid the beer next time, although it seems a crime not to drink beer at the German Club, I shall resist, crime or not. 

Otherwise, last weekend was quite good although rather unproductive. I did somehow manage to get all the laundry done, which was nice, but not much else unfortunately. Good thing I don't do that to myself very often. My god if I did I'd live in a pigsty and be forever broke, and hungover. Yikes. Lesson learned!

And then there was this weekend. Faaaaaaar more productive, and healthy, than the last! Yesterday tho was kind of a bit of a write-off as it absolutely poured rain all the night before and the entire day. So in the late morning, while I sat in my kitchen sipping my coffee debating the merits of doing laundry only to have it hanging damp all over the teeny apartment or just watching multiple episodes of Magnum P.I., my neighbor, Luise and her little three-month old boy Zaphod (it's what kids do today - name their kids weird things. His is from the book Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Don't ask.) came up to ask if I'd like to go for a drive and a wander around Ikea, as she had a bad case of cabin-fever. And you know as well as I that for whatever inexplicable reason, in a hundred years I'd never say no to a trip to Ikea, even on a rainy Saturday when everyone - and their mothers - would be there. So off we went. And we had a great day. Even little Zaphod seemed to have a good time (not one nuclear melt-down or even a shaky, teary, bottom-lip-quivering whimper). And of course we had to stop for the lunch of meatballs and potatoes. I did actually have a couple things I'd been wanting to pick up for a long time now and yesterday seemed like the perfect chance - I picked up a new couch cover and some wall art.......! My couch is really rather cool in that the entire cover Velcros off - easy to wash and easy to replace, well, after you've flipped the couch over and taken the eight bolts out of the arm rests - then it's pretty easy to replace....... Anyways, so I got a new couch cover, something I've been debating for like two or three years, and a new bit of art to hang over the couch. The motive behind the art was to stop me from buying paint and painting a "feature wall". Although, in retrospect, buying a can of paint might've actually been cheaper...... But I can't take it with me to the next place when I move out..... someday........ Anyways, it's a different look - see what you think? I think I like it............ I like that the picture is so big - makes the room seem taller...... Hmmmm......?

And today was boring old chores. And because today was the first real sunny day we've had in weeks, I busted out those chores out like nobody's business. In fact, I had both washing

machines going (my lovely, new, efficient, non-germy washer and the communal germy one) so I could get the original couch cover and rugs done whilst getting the clothes done. Sheesh. I even mopped, haven't done that in months and months (I'd previously borrowed the neighbor's steam mop - not bad but nowhere to stash it - no stash space in the teeny apartment). Yes, yes I know, woooooooo, chores, but I tell ya, when they haven't been done right and proper for a few months, you can feel the difference. And it's nice. Trust me - if you ever stay here (not likely unless you travel light and on your own), you'd appreciate it.

And that's about that. So, even tho I neglected to check in last weekend due to too much beer and this weekend was really just chores, ok, with a teeny Ikea Adventure, you haven't really missed anything. I'd spin some story about having to save for mah trip back home in July, but after spending what I did at Ikealand (not that I'd spent that much), well, to say I was saving for the visit home'd be a wee lie..........  and really, there isn't much that I need to pick up while am at "home" - just want to hang out, catch up and eat too much Mexican food, if that's at all possible?!

So there you have it. A bit quiet, yes, but hopefully when the weather sorts itself out,

mini-Adventures can be had. Will just be happy when it quits raining every weekend (and it's clear and happy sunny during the week - nice one, weather gods), and it's thankfully no longer stinking hot and humid, I can get out and take some pictures. Now that I think about it, I haven't really been on any good, long Adventure Walks around town in a long time........ Yes, once it quits raining on the weekends will have to go for a good wander with mah camera....... 

Otherwise, I hope you're all well up there! I'd say drop me a line if you need help planning your trip down thisaway, but you know the drill by now - plus with those links over the right, they can be really helpful.... But if you do by any remote chance need one or two little hints, write away! Remind me that am not here most Sundays writing to mahself!!! Hooray!

BYE!
J!