Saturday 29 August 2020

What's next?

I saw a comment on another blog today that struck me, will 2020 eventually become a curse word?  For example, what the 2020! Sounds about right.

As many of you will know, I'm a bit of a news junkie.  The news this week just sucked big time - I won't go through a litany of the bad news because it's just too depressing. Here at home there has been another fentanyl overdose, this time a young man my daughter worked with. Not only has our city seen an increase in deaths this year, our police service has reported far too many reports where nalaxone had to be used to revive people.  Covid has raised it's ugly head too, with a family friend reporting that her SIL, BIL, and their two small children have Covid, and the person who they believe spread it to them is in the hospital on a ventilator.

To add insult to injury, my grandson's father J's flight on Tuesday morning was cancelled but he didn't realize it until he arrived at the airport so I had the pleasure of his company (as well as D and Eli) for 24 hours.  There was an e-mail advising a change in schedule but he didn't bother to call to find out what that change might have been.  They've learned that booking through a third party is not the best choice as the e-mail doesn't provide the details and a phone call has to be made to get it.  And the knucklehead (one of my nicer names for the guy) wasn't smart enough to realize it.

My first comment to D when they arrived at the house (about 5:45 a.m.), was "what the heck are we going to do with him all day", meaning J.  As far as I can tell, his only interests are playing video games, smoking, and gambling.  He was tired as he hadn't slept that night, so after we returned from a long walk, he went to sleep for about 3 hours.  Later in the afternoon, he and I took Eli outdoors and after I'd watered the containers, I put the sprinkler on the lawn so the two of them could run through it.  Eli was a little nervous and wouldn't run until G'ma did, then he had a blast yelling at his Dad to catch him.  Later, back in doors, Eil fell asleep on my lap; it's such a treat to cuddle him as it won't be long before he's too big...or least think he is.

The three of them went to bed early that evening (thankfully), so I had a couple hours to myself.  We were all up by 5 the next morning; D dropped J off at the airport and then headed off home.  She hadn't planned to stay the night, so she and Eli were both in the same clothing, and she was more than tired of J.  While he had assured her he would take care of Eli during his stay, the reality was he did not much more than entertain the child every so often so she could nap.  Not once did he help Eli brush his teeth, give him a bath, tidy up the toys, or help with dishes or laundry. He left a bunch of stuff behind, which he now wants her to mail to him. I think she has finally gotten to the point where she realizes he's pretty darn useless. Sadly, there is another little boy in his life now too, though from the sounds of it Prescott's mom takes no guff from J.  

I was exhausted myself when they left Wednesday, so didn't get a whole lot done until later in the day after a two and half hour nap.  I did get out in the morning to get a few groceries as there was a good price for coffee that ended on Wednesday.  Oh, and I made sure to check a flight radar site to ensure J's flights arrived in his final destination.  He had, hence the call to D to ask her for the items he'd left behind.  Priorities, right?

Thursday was a lovely day, as I met my friend K for lunch.  We met outside the restaurant and spent a few minutes on the patio before her partner J arrived.  He'd been golfing and decided to join us.  It was nice to see them both. After masking up, we went inside to order at the counter, get our drinks, then back outside.  They brought our meals out to us and we relaxed in the shade of an umbrella at our table.  The sun was warm, not hot, and there was a nice breeze.  Our conversation varied - while there isn't much new, we still can find lots to discuss.

That evening, I went out to bring in a towel that had been left on the deck and found two dead birds, a mama robin and a baby.  It appeared there had been quite a battle with bits of gore on the lower deck, while the two birds were on the upper deck.  I cleaned up the mess with tears in my eyes. I suspect it was crows as we've had several in the neighbourhood this week, with six in my front evergreen earlier.  I know it's the way of nature but it doesn't make it any easier to see.  When I came back from disposing of the birds, the male was in the tree but flew away when he saw me.  I'd heard him, but not seen him as I was cleaning up, so I wonder if he stayed there until they were gone.  Or maybe I'm projecting my feelings.

After several days of heat, we're trending down. Friday morning was down right chilly, 9C (48F)!  I'd left the door open to the sunroom overnight but closed for a couple of hours as there was quite the breeze blowing through. When I went for a walk later, I actually had to wear a hoodie...first time in months.


The signs of autumn continue to be more evident.  This spruce is covered in cones, I'm glad it isn't in my yard!


My favorite photo from the walk - I took it because of the wake behind the duck, and my camera saw more than I did.  I love the colors in the water!

The pond was pretty quiet, with most of the ducks resting in the sun beside the pond, the cormorant on it's regular perch, and a few geese.  I had the walking path mostly to myself too.

I made a run out to Costco to pick up another Christmas gift for Eli, and found a couple more for him and my son.  I've been updating my list and I'm more than way through the purchases.  The goal is to have everything bought and paid for well in advance of Christmas. It shouldn't be a problem at this rate.  

I didn't get a lot of crocheting this week, but will get back to it this weekend as the live sports will be aired.  I didn't mind the delay; I am thankful that the leagues are showing support to the BLM cause.  This is not solely an issue for the USA, as people of color including our indigenous people face discrimination and racial profiling here in Canada too.  Our world is changing and the pandemic has certainly brought to light the darkness that lurks in our world.  

In any event, I'm working on finishing the last of the baby blankets.  They will need to be washed and blocked, and then I'll get started on another Christmas gift, this one for my niece. It's called a poncho dress, and is made with a heavier weight yarn.  I've purchased a variegated blue yarn, similar to this pattern. 

It's been an up and down sort of week, certainly mostly down at the beginning but trending upward since then.  Fingers crossed that trend continues!  On that note, I'm off to watch hockey and crochet.

Take care everyone and stay well!




11 comments:

  1. I had to chuckle (sorry) - seems every family has at least one J!! Bright side - you got to see D and Eli.
    I love hearing about your walks. It sounds so calming.
    You have a heart like me - I have seen the cats playing with a mouse outside and I go and catch it and move it somewhere out of their sight! Hoping the poor thing will survive. I do the same with birds if I catch the kitties trying to get one.

    Sounds like you are doing good with gift buying.
    I LOVE that poncho dress!!!!!!! I had a couple similar to that my Mom made back in the 60's. I had a couple of vests (to go over blouses) she crocheted as well. They were all my favorites. That dress is just too pretty.

    Have a great weekend.

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  2. I know what you mean about the news. Seems as if things are not going to improve drastically for awhile. I did notice one thing, more people wear masks in Regina than do in my city of Estevan. It seems like the vast majority of people here think the pandemic is not real.

    Great going on the gift buying. I need to get the sweater knitted and the sewing started. But first it is the masks for Kurt's students. I have 20 cut out, hopefully another 20 tomorrow and then the sewing begins.

    God bless.

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  3. Enjoyed the blog today. Well, I do every one of them. :-) Cheryl, above is right...there seems most always a J in every family. We oughtta have a story fest with some of the events we've all had to go through on occasion. 😉 That poncho dress is a gorgeous color, and that should be a hit with your niece! That about the birds was so sad. I am always very saddened when I find such a sorrowful thing occasionally outside my home. You know, I had not thought of crows in some of these bird deaths... I certainly have plenty of them. My neighborhood is very tree filled. They are here, the crows and trees, in abundance. Eli is so big now! We have all had the fun of watching him grow up. I just smiled remembering him hiding behind the tree last blog. 💗 for you, Eli.

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  4. We seldom watch the news either, just for the weather and quick updates.
    I understand how difficult it would be to have to 'entertain' someone like J. Glad for you and D that it was short lived.
    That is a beautiful dress! Will it be lined or will she just wear a straight shift under it? Lovely!

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  5. The news is enough to put a frowny face on Mary Poppins. I try to avoid. The good thing about the J business was the snuggle time with Eli. Didn't know crows killed other birds. Do they eat them or just kill them? Unfortunate either way. Smiled at your hoodie. Yesterday it was 101 degrees and today with all the rain, I broke out my sweatshirt for the first time. Wish that part would stay.

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  6. I don't bother with the news any more. It used to be the same old bad events - war in the Middle East, terrorism in Europe, unemployment at home - but now it's much worse, and I long for days that were merely bad.

    Nature can be terribly ugly, which is why mankind spent 50,000 making civilisation. When people say they want to gtet back to nature, what they mean is that they want to live in a bit of civilisation surrounded by nature. Nature would kill most people, and not nicely.

    And on the subject of killing someone, I think I would have done that to J...

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  7. Oh, I forgot to mention the beautiful photograph. It's a winner - like an impressionist painting.

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  8. When I first saw the picture of the duck's wake I did not have my glasses on and being from the south naturally thought it was an alligator, because that is like the wake they leave when swimming with their head on the surface of the water. Then I remembered you were not in the south and had to get my glasses to see what it was. Though I have seen gators rarely, I have seen them in lakes and ponds a few times in my life.

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  9. I received your comment about my own comment but didn't know whether you would want it published, so I left it off. I had a chuckle over your brother helping. I guess opinions on the subject coincide!

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  10. the news is no fun to watch too bad there is no good news out there. That Naloxone used for drug overdoses is too available...it used to be the Paramedics had it now you can buy it and keep it on hand...how stupid is that?
    Sounds like your week started out stressful but got calmer. :)

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  11. I like that curse "What the 2020". It makes sense.

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