Monday started with the arrival of a new crew to finish the touch-ups on the interior painting. Today's pairing included two young men named Mark. Made it easy for me to remember, :p. Even more interesting though is the Mark 1 lives just a few doors down from me. We've been here for ten years so I've seen him grow up. He is a twin and I recall seeing he and his brother playing basketball on the driveway, and a few years ago, watching them learning to drive. Both young men are planning to go into policing. Mark 1 is just a year into his program while Mark 2 is done and will be looking to join the RCMP.
It could be a difficult time to enter policing, but I anticipate there will be retirements in both the local police department and the RCMP. With the focus on racism within the forces there will be those who will decide to leave, rather than face potential sanctions. For those who aren't aware my brother R is a police officer, and I worked for a few months at the RCMP depot many years ago. Based on our experiences and observances, racism and misogyny are part of the culture of these organizations. As my brother has said, while the number of officers displaying these attitudes are a minority unfortunately management tends to protect them. Police departments tend to be old boy's clubs, you either play by their rules or pay the price. R has not always done so, and has faced discrimination and harassment as a result. I won't say more than that, because the cases are with the human rights commission...and besides it is his story to tell not mine. (I know not everyone reading this will agree with me. That's okay. I agree that not all police officers are bad apples. But as I've read, would anyone want to fly knowing that there could be a bad pilot at the controls?)
Back to my less than exciting life - the guys were here for a few hours finding more areas that needed touch-ups than I or Maria had noticed. They fixed the railing on the stair as well as the first crew hadn't done it quite properly. After they left, I started painting the trim. Here's a shake of the head moment for you. I have lived in this house for nearly 10 years. While I was standing in the living room looking into the kitchen I noticed that the baseboards on one side of the room were different than the other side. First time I've ever noticed it. The baseboards on the dining area side are three inch white MDF baseboards, while the kitchen side were 1 1/2 inch stained oak. Well, shoot! I'm not about to start changing out baseboards so I went ahead and pulled the oak trim off and painted it white before replacing it. There were only a few short pieces and it isn't nearly as noticeable now.
Tuesday ought to have been grocery shopping day, but of course, I'd forgotten my wallet at my daughter's last weekend. So I took a drive there and back, spending a couple of hours with her and Eli. We walked to the park with her friend A, and A's children, Eli and Brinn. Yes, Eli...two of them, both three years old and energetic as all get out. Brinn is just six weeks old and slept through most of it. On our way back from the park the boys insisted on holding hands. We had used hand sanitizer both before and after, I'm sure they were fine.
Wednesday was a frustrating shopping day, as I wanted to pick up some bird seed, a dutch hoe, a micro SD card, and cat litter in addition to the groceries. Neither Peavey Mart or Canadian Tire had the first two items, so my next store was Walmart where you can get everything, right? Nope! I did get the SD card and some groceries there. Next up was Co-op which had Nabob coffee for $10 a can and bread for $2.50, both almost 50% off. I was frustrated when I reached the car because I realized the bread didn't ring up properly at the sale price. I could have returned to the store but I was so annoyed at that point, I wanted nothing more than to go home. However, I had to make one more stop at Safeway as I was looking for ground beef since the Co-op was too pricey. I shouldn't have bothered...the meat in the cooler was gray! I know it's simply oxidized but it looked so unappetizing I gave up. On the way home I made one more stop at the PetSmart to pick up some Nature's Miracle. I definitely left the store happier, not only was it on sale, but I had $7.50 in Treat rewards! It's the best cleaner I've found for reducing and eliminating pet odors.
At home, I put the groceries away and did a load of laundry. That was it for me, I was done for the day. The weather was cool and damp so no time outdoors. In fact, it was so cool the sunroom was closed up too. Thursday, was much the same. I went out early to Home Depot to pick up some paint supplies, and then to PetValu to pick up the cat litter I hadn't purchased the day before. It is the only place that carries the brand I prefer. At home, I started more laundry and painted the inside of the exterior doors. I thought I'd need two coats but with just one they look good. Finally I prepped the bedroom so I could finish painting those walls. (After several weeks of living with them, I could see roller lines on the one wall, and the places where I'd run low on pain on the other).
I went to bed with grand plans for Friday, painting in the bedroom in the morning and weeding in the afternoon since it was supposed to warm up. Ha! Best laid plans and all that. I woke up with a wicked headache. I tried extra strength Tylenol, coffee, ate a banana, and finally gave in and tried going back to bed. By 11 a.m. I started feeling a little better but still not up to par. At this point, I threw in the towel and spent the afternoon dozing on the couch, watching a bit of television, and hoping for an end to the pain. Later in the evening, I felt hungry enough to get up and make a bit of supper, an omelet with peppers, green onion, and cheese with bacon, toast and tomatoes on the side. It tasted good after a day of not wanting to eat or drink anything.
Thankfully Saturday I woke up feeling much more normal. (or at least as normal as I ever get). Despite having napped much of the day before away, I slept nearly 7 hours! I guess my body needed to recuperate. No painting was accomplished but I did get the floors washed in the kitchen, living room, and hall. I worked on my knitting - I'm back to working on my tank top. It was another gray day until the evening when the sun finally made an appearance. We've got one more day of cool weather forecast before we start seeing some warmer weather.
I watched the 2001 Roar of the Rings (Olympic curling trials) women's final on Youtube. I was actually at the event as it was held here. On the first day of the event I had written my final to complete my designation as an accountant in the morning so missed the first draw. But I'd bought a ticket for all 17 draws as well as the championship weekend. It was my reward for having made it through my program, pass or fail. Watching the final today brought some really great memories...and yes I passed the exam though I wouldn't get the results for nearly 8 weeks. That year, though the results were to be posted on-line there was a glitch so I actually received a phone call from the association with the news. I was such an emotional mess after the call, my boss actually sent me home early that day. Isn't amazing how our memories work?
That pretty much wraps up the week. No rain is expected tomorrow so I'm hoping to get outdoors and mow the lawn, do some weeding, and pick lettuce and thin out the radish. If the morning is too cool, I'll try to get that painting out the way. I'll be so happy when it's all finished and I can put all the tools away.
To end the post, I'll share some of the photos of the bunny who has taken up residence in my yard. All the photos were taken with my cellphone from inside the sunroom so the quality is meh but you get the picture.
These first three photos are of the bunny having a wash. They remind me of the cats bathing techniques...except the brushing of the long ear. :)
In this photo, it had finished it's bath and settled down for a break on the lawn. 
Have a great week everyone! Take care and stay well.
