Red Cedar

winter 2005, grasses in the yard

i’ve been a bit remiss in posting since last week – mostly because i’ve been pretty busy and pre-occupied with work and other commitments and have spent surprisingly little time in front of the computer since last thursday.

a few things going on these days – i spent the weekend on vancouver island at my folks place and then went to the institute of ocean sciences in sidney for a work-meeting yesterday. the visit with my folks was good, though i am often disturbed when visiting the island at how much development is destroying areas that i knew and loved as a kid – whole mountains stripped of their trees and redecorated with ugly and expensive housing, valleys redeveloped for golf courses, big-box stores planted on once-rich agricultural land – distressing to say the least. i’m glad i made the decision to move to the sunshine coast when i did, though i’m afraid it might not be long before the type of development-destruction takes over there too.

didn’t manage to visit any friends this weekend, as i haven’t been to the island since late-spring and i really owed my parents a full visit this time. i’m hoping to go back in november and catch up with other folks – it’s much easier for me if i just keep the friend and family visits separate if i only have a weekend.

since last week i’ve been working at getting into a routine of swimming during my workdays – going for 20 minutes of laps around 11:30 or so (earlier turns out to be better at the y) which i think will make for a good habit to get into for the fall months. there’s also a lunchtime pilates class twice a week i am also thinking of going to – but really, there’s nothing like swimming to take you totally out of the work routine and into a much better (more relaxed) place. no one around here really notices when i take my lunch break so as long as i can work around my scheduled appointments in the day, i am free to go anytime.

work itself has been a bit hectic the past couple of weeks and i suspect it will continue to be so as union and job responsibilities pile up over the next few months. i had a presentation to senior management this morning that had me nerve-wracked, though everyone seems to think i did just fine. two more meetings this afternoon on totally unrelated matters (one work, one union) – and i still haven’t got the week’s groceries since i got home late last night….. seems so much to do, but at least i feel able to get it all done for a change.

on the fun front, i’m pretty sure i have found a regular jam i want to attend in gibsons comprised of some of the nicest and best folk musicians around – i went last thursday to check it out for the first time (secretly dreading meeting another round of “weird” traditionalist musicians) and ended up pleasantly surprised by this interesting group of people. in turn, each person picks a song to play with the circle (whether it’s the first time it’s come to the circle or the 2oth time, or no matter who is there), and over the course of the evening you might have to put forward anywhere from 3 to 6 songs depending on how many people come out…. it will definitely challenge me both in my improv skills and also to learn new music to share (my repetoire is a bit scant at the moment). i’m really excited to have found this (through an invitation from my friend steve) and thursday night has become “booked” for me unless i am off the coast for some reason.

so yes, things are mostly pretty damned fine at the moment, and i’ve got a meeting to get to (unfortunate, but necessary).

so – this morning i managed to talk myself into signing up at the ywca again…

… and then i swam 20 laps in the pool. i’m pretty pleased about that at the moment (not that 20 laps in 20 minutes is any great achivement – but it does mean i swam a 1/2 a kilometre on my lunch break which is better than most days).

a hearth for my fire container – 9 very heavy paving stones

i’m lounging about tonight – too tired to do much but read a little and update my blog as i anticipate my early-morning wake-up call for the start of the work week tomorrow. my very productive weekend has involved:

preparing the front garden bed for spring planting – this meant weeding it right down to some of the sorriest soil i have ever seen, purchasing a yard of compost for it, which i then had to spread and turn into the bed, covering it in a layer of newspapers (to keep down the weeds), and finishing it off with landscape cloth. yup – that was some sweaty work – but the goal is to have a plantable bed come march so i can put some perennial-type plants in there for easy maintenance. my next gardening task in a few months time will be working out the edible garden i plan to put in the side plot.

purchasing, loading, and then unloading and carying upstairs nine very heavy paving stones to use as a hearth on my deck for the fire container i acquired earlier this summer. you can see it pictured above – simple, but it will do the trick of protecting the deck from sparks.

installing a digital thermostat in my living room – again, an earlier purchase that has been waiting for me to action it. despite a little confusion in the wiring, it worked as promised on the box – and now i can program the heat in my home to be ready when i get in from work during the dark winter months.

reading two books from my reading challenge list.

playing music with some friends from gibsons and roberts creek on saturday night. funny enough, i thought i would only know one person there (richard, who invited me) but it turned out that i knew two of the other musicians from completely different places – proving once again that i do know people on the coast.

talking on the phone – catching up with my mother, and also with aaron.

doing the regular weekend chores – laundry, groceries, other odds and ends (but unfortunately no cleaning, i was just too wiped out from everything else!)

phew! all this really because i feel that the few weekends i am around the house, i have to make the best use of – next weekend i am off to vancouver island to visit family for the first time in months.