The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
Paul, my guitar teacher, has two gorgeous cats named Jimmy and Django. Every time I have a lesson there, one or both cats claim my gig bag in the name of Catdom. Today, the lesson was even more bizarre as Jimmy insisted on climbing in Paul’s lap while we were playing and Django was licking his ass at my feet… I can’t get no satisfaction.
The morning started on a less than stellar note, with the Bean whining about wanting to eat everything in sight. Things started to pick up a bit when Rafa showed up with the paella fire ring and gas bottle, but then realized he forgot the actual paella pan :-)
After a quick round trip, where some speed limits might have been bruised a bit, we were on our way cooking. By then, everybody had arrived and the house was … chaos.
There were a few moments of the blind leading the blind while Rafa and I were doing the paella because I’d never cooked one so big and Rafa was working off of his dad’s emailed instructions. Still, in the end, it was a perfectly acceptable first try. My only criticisms would be that it probably needed a bit more salt and the rice was still a bit too wet. Like I said though, perfectly acceptable, and my tortillas were very well received. There was a cubic BUTTLOAD of food on the table, including an impressive amount of baked goods.
All in all, I think everybody ate their fill and had a good time. I’ll admit to having a better time than I expected to – I was really anxious about today – but I had a really nice time with everybody. The good news is that the bad weather held off for the afternoon so the kids were able to burn off their excess energy outside on the slide and swing.
So, good food, good friends, good weather and a happy bean. Thanks to everybody who came and helped make the day!
Today, we:
– did a tip run to get rid of the last shed rubbish
– built Bean’s new play table
– finished the Xmas display shelf
– painted the table, shelf and the filing cabinet (in the hope of moving it upstairs)
Go us!
For something without eyes, the hand can sure roll them and be very expressive.
Lots of little bits of good news today :)
1. Normand sent me the aaaaalmost-final design for my upcoming tattoo and it ROCKS! I can’t wait to get it done!!
2. I have a 4-pound hunk of brisket that’s been brining for the last week currently smoking on the BBQ.
3. I broke the 18 stone barrier :) Katy and I aren’t on a diet per se, but we’re making a conscious effort to eat better, eat less and do more. We’ve been at it for a couple of weeks now. Katy has lost more than a stone already, and I’ve lost more than half a stone, but I’m finally below 18st for the first time in a while. I’ve also noticed that my fitness level has gotten better, so good news all around.
We went to Scottsdales to buy cat food and Bean wanted to go see the fish. Except they weren’t there any more. Apparently, someone came and bought all the koi they had, including Charlie. We’re talking several, several thousands of pounds worth of carp. Charlie, himself, was over a thousand alone. Dang! The sales guy was saying that some people took it a bit hard to see him go, but apparently they’re going to a very nice pond in a local village pub. Still, it’ll be weird to not feed the fish anymore – something we’ve been doing since before Bean was born.
I’ve added a bunch of new pictures here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/various_aug_2012/. This album contains pictures from a recent trip to Great Yarmouth, with an unplanned stop at the English Whiskey distillery, as well as a trip to Hunstanton and the Sea Life center with the oldies.
Some highlights of those trips:
– Bean trying to dip his toes in the sea, and getting caught and flipped by some breakers in Yarmouth
– Bean acting like a dog during his trip to EW
– Being caught by a flash storm in Hunstanton and eating really good (and fresh!) fish and chips on the prom.
I got stung by a wasp the day after the paellacoa, more than a week ago. Yesterday morning, I noticed that the bite was really itchy and a bit red. This is what it looks like today. Damnit.
Bad: got stung by a wasp this morning.
Good: I didn’t die
Bad: hurts like a mofo
Good: less than I actually feared, and wasp venom is thermolabile, so a boiling water compress helped a lot.
I am developing calluses on the fingertips of my left hand and the painted logo is wearing off my pick. All good signs :-)