More relaxed start to this week

I found out last week that one of my projects is being put on hold for a couple of months. Now, usually what the client would do in this situation is retain the original deadline while forbidding us to work -- nice grasp on reality, fellas. But this time reason came through and deadline has been extended commensurately. The upshot is that my workload, at least for the time being, has been drastically reduced. Good thing, too, since I have a final report due by mid-March which I was fairly convinced I would be bringing home with me for the next month.

Of snow days

We had a snowstorm on Wednesday which resulted in a day off. Rather than make any pretentions of being productive, I simply slept for most of the day. There was also a bit of snow on Friday. Enough to close the schools, but not enough to close the office. Ah well.

Of vermin

It's becoming more dangerous to be a rodent in my house. Dorrie caught her first mouse Thursday morning before I went to work. I was sickly intrigued as I watched the grisly affair. Pick mouse up in mouth, spit out, pounce... and repeat. Like a hockey ref, I let the "fight" go on for a bit before breaking it up. I then bagged the mouse and threw it out on the way to work.

Unfortunately, it was apparently not the same mouse that left a few droppings on my stovetop on Sunday morning. So I set up a good old-fashioned trap last night. Woke up at 3:00 needing a puff of my inhaler (this happens every now and then, which is quite annoying). Going downstairs to get it, I noticed that the trap, within 4 hours of being set, had struck. This was a big sucker, too. I'm hoping there aren't too many more friends...

Of low key evenings

Friday night I met up with Andrea and Ginny at the Anchorage for coffee, and then we hit a couple of Water Street bars for a natter. Saturday night we headed over to Jenn's boyfriend's friend's place for a couple of drinks. Both were good evenings. I got my wish of getting out more this weekend :)

Of other stuff

• I'd like to try to grow my own herbs indoors. I'm not sure of how this will work with a cat in the house. Next weekend I'll try to snag the necessary supplies.
  
• I got a couple of jazz piano books about a month ago, and I've finally had the chance to look at them. One focuses on theory, the other is a songbook. I've started working my way through both of them. I'm glad, because I was starting to stagnate a bit.
  
• I've gotten the itch to woodwork again. I've purposely taken a break from it these last few weeks. And I believe that absence has indeed made the heart fonder.
  

All right. That's enough for now. No trouble to tell work has abated slightly, eh?

Housebound weekend

It occured to me this morning that apart from the brief coffee with Ginny on Friday night, and trips to Sobey's and Halliday's, I didn't leave the house this weekend.

Saturday involved the usual tackling of chores that pile up during the week. I guess I'm getting more efficient at doing them, or I'm getting up much earlier, since they were all out of the way before noon. That afternoon I spent doing work "homework", which kinda pisses me off. I won't even begin to tell you how awful March is shaping up to be...

That night kinda came out of the blue. Andrea, Ginny, and Hanz came over for a few drinks, and with the aid of wine, scotch, and beer, we pretty well made something out of nothing. A good way to kill off a Valentine's Day.

Sunday I made a brown stock. I've decided I like making stocks. Put them on in the morning, then strain them in the evening. And by the end of it the whole house smells delicious. I also finally finished off my power supply, and put it in an enclosure. Looks sharp now, and allows me to do more hobby electronics-y stuff. Heh. I've also been considering removing the desk -- which serves no real purpose other than that of "junk-collecting surface" and making a wall-mounted cabinet with a flip down working surface. This way, my electronics stuff doesn't get coated in sawdust, and I should have a few more square feet of workshop floor. Woo!

Next weekend I'm hoping not to have to take my work home with me, and I'm looking forward to spending just a bit more time outside of the house...

Pretty full weekend

My Friday evening started out pretty early. C-CORE had just won the "Best Small Employer" Award for Newfoundland, which was pretty cool, so we had a little party in the office at 3pm involving snacks and wine. Most people at the office are the responsible sort -- meaning I had to step up and be a suitable counterbalance. Then there was a happy hour planned for right after work, so a few of us had some beverages at Arriba's.

Thereafter, I had a cards night planned at J&J's place. So good times were had there. Except for the wine I bought -- that's twice I've brought an untested bottle of wine to J&J's and have it turn out to be terrible. Thankfully, I had brought along a bit of scotch to wash the taste out. Called it a night at around 1:30.

Saturday involved a bit of workshop cleaning. Which was tough slogging. That'll be a project of its own. It was mudder's birthday, so we went out for supper at the Gypsy Tea Room in its new(ish) location at the Murray Premises. I was very impressed.

That night I hosted a small bruhaha at my place in preparation for heading to the GTP. Fewer people showed up than had been planned, but it was still a good time had. The highlight had to have been entering the pub, seeing that dodgy cougar across the room again, and then later giving me guff about not going over and saying hello. Hilarious.

Sunday morning I was ridiculously hung over. I'm now deeming J&J "bad influences." :) But I pulled through it... and even managed to make some asparagus soup which I think turned out well. Met up with Ginny for a coffee, and then pissed the night away not doing anything in particular. That's nice every now and then.

This morning I had a dentist appointment which went well. I'm now in the process of re-staining my teeth with coffee, and lamenting this slow-moving Monday...

Quick trip

So my first visit to Western Canada was successful. We flew out Monday morning, and arrived in Calgary shortly after noon. We were staying at a hotel in Brooks, about two hours east of Calgary. The next morning, we had our meeting in Suffield, which is about an hour away from Brooks. Meeting lasted 6 hours, then drove back to Calgary and caught the red-eye back home. So, all told, about 23 hours of transit for a 6 hour meeting. Wild. But it was a good break from the grind. It's already Thursday :)

The meeting was productive, and it was helpful to see the facility the client has. They also seem fairly hands-off, which I fancy in a client. I also managed to meet up with Joe after getting back from the meeting and before my flight. We went to some Irish bar for a few pints a catchup. Said pints made sleeping on the plane easier, too.

In other news, I got my grandfather clock done last weekend! I think it turned out all right. I also think I'll take a break from woodworking, as this would mark three projects being completed in about three months. Maybe I'll even clean up the ol' workshop. Right now it's carpeted in sawdust. Blugh.