Time flies...

So I thought I was really on the ball with this thing, but before I knew it, two weeks had gotten behind me. August has just flown, after a very slow July. Both were fantastic, though. Here are some of the highlights over the last two weeks:

Gros Morne Trip
Ginny and I headed over to the west coast the weekend before last, and it was an aweseome time. She has produced a very thorough recap on her blog, complete with photos, so I won't bother writing my own -- it'd be redundantly redundant.

Republic Pro Wrestling (RPW)
What a riot. It has to be seen to be believed. And at $8, ya can't go wrong. In the spirit of pirating recaps, see Jenn's entry.

This Weekend
Friday night -- Went bowling for the first time in ages on Friday night. Wound up at Don Cherry's afterwards for a small scoff.

Saturday afternoon -- FINISHED THE SIDING JOB. No more God-awful scaffolding in front of the house.

Saturday night -- A brief primer at my place, and then off to The Dock to check out Chris Kirby and the Marquee. Somehow managed to duck cover. The absence of the $40 I walked in with seems to imply that I had a lot of drinks that night. But it was an excellent show -- good ol' blues rock.

Sunday afternoon -- A birthday party at the Dwyers' place. This was a hoot. By the end a few of them got together and broke out some instruments and played a bunch of songs. It was clearly not the first time they did so...

Sunday night -- Bonfire at Middle Cove. This was the first of the year for me, and it offered me the opportunity to get rid of some of the dirty ol' spruce ends I had left over from last year.

It makes me happy to have a nice, full weekend like that. Here's hoping next weekend can follow suit...

Resolution Recap

Ugh... so here goes:

Cook more/lunches I've decided that I hate sandwiches now. So I'm going to have to cook more the night before so that I can bring in leftovers. This has not happened of late, and there's been a lot of money spent on Mrs. Vanelli's lately. On the upside, I rarely cheat on supper. I'd like a little more variety, though.

Housework Ironically, since I got the cat and the associated chores, I've been more on the ball with this. I guess it's a matter of necessity: if I don't scoop litter, there are dreadful consequences. And while I'm at this, some other stuff gets done. And I've been finally getting a bunch of one-off chores done too: finally painting the handrails after agonizing for months over what colour to go with (and the consensus is "white"), and getting out to the dump to get rid of about three years worth of accrued boxes. I guess I can thank the crappy weather keeping me away from outdoors stuff.

Woodworking I took a lengthy break after the dresser. But now that that's a distant memory, I've started up again. I've got the legs done for a wine rack, and other miscellaneous cutting done for other projects. I was cursing a blue streak while finishing the dresser, but now I find it enjoyable again. Must be the clean slate -- I'll have to make an effort not to let projects drag on.

Electronics Oi. Absolutely nothing. I still have to crank out a small enclosure for my power supply. Or I may just break down and get plastic project boxes. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Piano The stalwart resolution. I'm working on about three newer pieces, and starting to commit them to memory. It's a tough job, though, keeping all of the older pieces fresh.

Not too bad, I guess....

More catching up...

So I'm still about a month behind. I'll give it all in point form:

Andrew's wedding

My cousin got hitched on July 11th. It was a nice service, and an enjoyable, modest reception. I'm all about any reception that sells Glenfiddich for $3.75. And I'm also all about any reception that's a karaoke dance! It was going well, with a couple of my usuals. I was about ready to ask for Roxanne, since that was the Maid of Honour's name!! How perfect that would have been... had the reception not suddenly shut down at 11:15pm. I got karaoke blue balls. But afterwards, I managed to meet up with the gang who had just come off of (in their words) a "three-ring circus drunk" as a result of the Spiritfest. For once I was the most sobre person in the group... and that's saying something. Kinda wish I coulda made it, but I'd committed to this wedding months before.

Renée's wedding

This was pretty well a high school reunion. It was a lovely service, and pretty fancy reception, wherein Renée and Jerred broke out their mad ballroom dance skills and just served the rest of the room. Found ourselves at Christian's afterwards for many pitchers, and then back to my place for further conversation (and so people could meet the cat). I guess it was 4:45am before everyone cleared out... large ol' night.

BBQ's Galore

I hosted a BBQ two nights later. I think my rum-jerked wings and Gremolad tomatoes were acceptable. Then it was Paul's BBQ in Pouch Cove the night after. And then a week after, Richard and Jennifer held a BBQ complete with beer can chicken. But they were all sooooo good.

Still siding

So I eventually got my permit, after a hilarious anecdote involving the inspector ignoring it. It's almost done now, but has been waylaid by a) the power company taking their time collaring the power lines (so that the scaffold and occupants don't get zapped), and b) the rotten ass weather we've been getting. Can't even prepaint the planks, since that requires a continuum of 16 hours without precipitation -- a pipe dream.

George Street Festival

Ginny and I hit the George Street Festival on Saturday night, and met up with Tim a couple of bars in. Suffice it to say we got our money's worth in cover. The pinnacle of the evening was hitting the Sundance. Been a long time since I've dance like a fool on that floor. We also had bastardized Irish Car Bombs (the Guinness was replaced with whiskey, cuz weren't nearly drunk enough).

Those are most of the major highlights, methinks. It was a very full July. You'll notice that I haven't posted a resolution followup for that month -- which is just as well, since it would have just been a litany of slackness. And with five days to go for my next one, two of them would be redundant.

Introducing Dorrie

After years of waffling, I finally decided to get a cat. Andrea was fostering Dorrie and her four kittens for a little while, so I managed to get an a priori glimpse of her mannerisms before deciding to adopt.

She's very petite, very vocal, and very full of energy. But she has calmed down a bit since I got her fixed a couple of weeks ago. Most importantly, she's no longer yowling and spraying (fuckin' gross). As I had hoped/anticipated, my allergies have improved. I need a few more Bricanyl puffs a week, but no biggy. It's worth it for the companionship.

Attention Mice: consider this your fair warning. Based on how I've seen her "play", she will fuck you up if you dare to show your disgusting faces. I suggest you find some other dwelling to inhabit this autumn.

(Yes, I am talking to invisible mice. I'll sign off now.)

Some Jazzfest pics...

The view of the Place des Arts, wreathed in festival goodness.



A fella by the name of Felix Stüssi, one of the many free concerts:



Jennifer & Randy at an apportez-votre-vin restaurant:



So yeah, I'm hardly a shutterbug. There are a few more pics, but this is enough...