Officially an Old Fogie

I bought this chair for my office area in the kitchen. It'll be handy for many things, but it's primary purpose will be watching things on my computer instead of my TV. Self-indulgence is my religion.

I Don't Walk Alone

It was sleeting as I left for Friday’s dog walk. When we all assembled, we all were of a mind to go back to our homes. But we persevered and the rain let up. 

G. has Dementia and so, for the past few months, her husband, D., comes with us on our doggie walks. Over time, it’s become him with whom I often walk. He’s the only other fellow and he walks, like me, at a brisk pace. And he’s ex-military. Likes attract. Not! There’s no problem for me with that at all, but today he mentioned that Trump was right about the Chinese/American trade imbalance and he differentiats between “native-born” Canadians and immigrants.

He’s an interesting man and I’ve earned a lot from him about our island and the animals that live on it; he pointed out the different tracks of animals in the snow for me. I loved that. He’s honest and open and he’s been naught but very friendly with me, but he’s different than most others I know.

Sheba arrived home filthy so I had to bathe her; she shines now.

By eleven am, the sun was in and out but there was no further precipitation, so Mr. Menopause—that’s the constantly warm, me—went into town for soup supplies. I made squash & ginger soup and a chicken salad sandwich mixture for DR and I to share whilst she’s here. Then I swept the deck and tidied the courtyard before having a rest.

She arrived just before six; we had champagne and got caught up and had the informal dinner I’d made of soup, salad and warm sandwiches and then we both went to bed early.

Today is cloudy but there’s no precipitation and we’ve no plans. The day will unfold as it does.

DR Day

I am over-the-top blissful when it’s sunny, as it was yesterday. 

I began my day, in the cool of dawn, with my first morning spa of the year. The sun shone on my face through the newly opened canopy whilst the CBC played fabulous sitar and tabla music—music of which I’m terribly fond and that brings back fond memories of time past in India. 

Every day I say to myself, “Thank God I moved here!”

I went to meet Eoin and François for a brisk morning walk with our dogs. I introduced them to the Trail to Nowhere; it’s my favourite walking trail and they appreciated how bright it was (given that it wanders through primarily leafless deciduous trees). There was still lots snow on the ground, crunching underfoot so loudly we couldn’t conduct a conversation. We were walking through a Christmas card the whole time; it was beautiful to be outside.

And I must say: Eoin and François are treasures; I revel in their company. It is partly because they’re both fine gentlemen, partly because we have things in common—a love of cuisine, birds, walking, nature, solitude and Gabriola, and partly because they are gay men like me. I have two natural families: Theatre people and gay men.

After our walk, I I lit the fire in my studio, cleared the worktable and then welcomed Margy and Fran for a flower-making session. Margy and Fran were really taken by my wonderful space; it was inspiring to be working in it again after so long. (I don’t like to use it too much in winter to save on heating fuel.)

In the Fall, for a very short period of time, it’s wonderful to harvest “dead” leaves before the wet and cool weather destroys them. Cleaning up yesterday, I found my stash from last year and they have dried beautifully. I will get more this coming Fall and make a wreath to decorate a wall.

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I can hardly wait to see Rocketman, the biopic of Elton John that comes out in May. I saw the trailer on Youtube and it looks like a fabulous romp. Taron Eggerton sings Elton’s songs, looks like Elton and appears to be a clever actor too.

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The dog walk this morning was very wet. I washed Her Highness afterwards, went shopping for soup materials and started making things for DR and I to eat whilst she’s here.

I’m comfortable with DR so I expect to enjoy her visit without having a seizure. I’m going to be pro-active if need be, and take some times alone in the studio or for a drive if I feel I need to, to ensure I don’t. 

I’m certain (but not completely positive) that my last seizure was January 11^th. If I’m wrong, it was earlier in the year, not later, so it’s a safe date to use as the start date of this attempt on my part to pass six months without having a seizure. That would put an end to any concern of losing my driver’s license. I’m going to check with the police and VGH to find out how someone proves they have been seizure-free.

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Team Selfieis chuffed. The school has embraced our idea so all 154 children there will be doing self-portraits and on our first day, we sold seventeen Selfiepanels.

Flower Bee Chez Moi

What you see above are the paper flowers I’ve been making. We'll be  using them to decorate the Community Hall for the party we’re throwing in April. Stern folding is required to make them; I get cramps in my hands at night from the work.

Each one takes about twenty minutes of earnest work. Margy, our decoration captain, wants as many as I can stand to make. I’ve made eighteen so far; I figure I’ll have about two dozen made by the weekend when DR arrives. 

The other two photos show that we had about eight inches of snow at one point and the other shows the fabulous little bags I found for gifting the cookies I periodically bake for my dog walking companions. They have "especially for you" written on them.

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It’s 6:30 am and I can see an almost full moon shining through the tress. It’s another beautiful day. I’m meeting François and Eoin and their Whippets for a dog walk this morning and then, this afternoon, my Selfie  colleagues are coming to make flowers.

We’ll be working in my studio today. I lit a fire in it yesterday and did a big tidy and clean up in advance of their coming today, and it felt wonderful to be in there. I’m looking forward to my first “crafting bee” in there with friends today. It’s a marvelous space.

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It was exactly a year ago that my “friend with benefits” of ten years came to visit for what turned out to be a disastrous visit. It was horrid; we have not communicated since. He instigated and advanced everything; succumbing to his charms was, at times, thrilling and wonderfully fulfilling; at other times, it was awful.

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In just over two weeks, Daylight Savings starts! Woo hoo.