Aug 30 - Mother And Daughter Clean An Aging, Neglected House, And Then I Clear My Head With A Cycle Out To Sidney

Some things don't scrub up
Still, the house improves, and smells
like almond floor spray

Aug 29 - First Babysitting Opportunity With The Nephew

What's that you say, Daq?
He's got his own language, and
chuckles as he talks

Aug 28 - Arriving At The Craft Store Ready To Make A Pretty Basket, I'm Reminded I Have No Talent For This Sort Of Thing

People think I joke
When I say I have no knack
But really, I don't

Aug 27 - Down On The Rocks Outside My Mom's Apartment

The Gorge draws women
We swim to the buoy and back
Glad for this warm sea

Aug 26 - The Thoughts That Came Up While Cleaning My Daughter's Fridge

Poor fridge, so sticky
And jammed with expired jars
What's this, pumpkin seeds?

Aug 25 - I Bump Into A New Scene On Queens Street While Shedding R&A's Junque

They look like women
who could use some nice hand cream
Life's hard on this street

Aug 24 - Sorting, Dumping, Ditching And Cleaning at Two Graham Street Houses

We lift and carry
Sifting through drawers of weird stuff
Porch pile growing fast

Aug 23 - Contemplating The Overgrown Oregon Grape At Rachelle And Aaron's New House

The tree's too damn big
But one less branch here and there
Lets the light shine through

Aug 22 - I Go Away For Two Years And The Whole Of Happy Valley Explodes In Subdivisions

I ride past, agog
Who lives in all these houses?
And where'd the farms go?

Aug 21 - The Bride And Groom-to-Be Hesitate When Confronted With The Prospect Of A Traditional Room Setup

The head table? Here
Under the twinkly archway
They have mixed feelings

Aug 20 - A Moment Of Stumbling Through "April Showers" Because I Forgot My Readers And Can't Read The Chords. I Know, I Should Have Memorized It By Now

Madge wants the blinds drawn
I fight to keep them as is
Please, lady, just squint

Aug 19 - While Tracy And Douglas Load Up Their Trailer For Little Qualicum, We Scatter Our Possessions Around Their Place And Drink Coffee

Our hosts buzz around
We settle into their house
Which is so tidy

Aug 18 - The Long, Hot and Steep Bike Ride From Gorge Road To The Latoria Housesit

How is it I thought
this route would be all downhill?
Worse: I overshoot

Aug 17 - Dinner At Toni's New Place On Bewdley

Lee cooks the salmon
While we sip drinks on the deck
Watching Austin play

Aug 16 - I Do A Crazy Tarping Job Of The RV That Incorporates A Cedar Tree, A Yogurt Container And A Lot Of Ropes And Puzzled Contemplation

It's hardly artful
But dear RV, it's all yours
Stay dry this winter

Aug 15 - When In A Gap Between Housesits, Run To The Comox Valley

I flee the city
Valley bound, where sleepy Zac
Greets me at the door

Aug 14 - In Which I Roll Up My Sleeves And Move To Locker 21, Which Could Motivate Us To Shrink The Pile Even More

This smaller locker
Looks just right for making sure
The stuff never sticks

Aug 13 - Hammering Out A Wedding To-Do List With Rachelle And A Slightly Unsettled Aaron

Paul makes a spreadsheet
I run through questions: Who? When?
A plan emerges

Aug 12 - Back To Mom's House As Our Colwood Housesit Closes Early, Underlining Once More The Need For A Plan B

One last watering
Peach trumpets call a farewell
We are moving on

Aug 11 - Oh, The Hours That Rachelle And Katie And I Once Spent On These Sunny Thetis Rock Bluffs

They are girls once more
Jumping from the rock, laughing
Like when they were 10

Aug 10 - A Dip At Esquimalt Lagoon After Washing The Car And Spending Too Much Of A Perfectly Good Sunday Working

This cold sea soothes me
Seaweed wrapped around my toes
Joints and skin shrunk tight

Aug 9 - Rachelle And I Do A Swim-And-Sun Afternoon At The Thetis Lake Rocks

Cycle, walk, swim
It's a laid-back triathlon
With cherries and chips

Aug 8 - Letter Of Inquiry? Done! PAF? Done!

Tasks make me fretful
But I get 'er done, leaving
time for a late swim

Aug 7 - My Need To Be In Water Wins Out Over My Fear Of Catching E-Coli From A Dip In Glen Lake

Paul says the geese have
made this lake a bit toxic
I still want to swim

Aug 6 - Rachelle Comes To Flannagan Place For Dinner

We eat fried chicken
With sparkling wine on the side
Wind catches our words

Aug 5 - The Strangely Insane Scene At The ICBC Office After I Ride My Bike In To Renew My MSP Number

Thousands are waiting
I must look odd as the sweat
Trickles down my neck

Aug 4 - And We're Off On A New Housesit

The tourists and I
Take the ferry home, where Paul
Leads me to Colwood

Aug 3 - Four Old Friends Find Their Way Forward In Unexpected Circumstances

In search of milkshakes
We drive Bellingham's back roads
For the sugar cure

Aug 2 - The Calm, Shallow Sea Outside Of Vickie's Beach House

I could swim across
The water never deepens
We will hot-tub soon

Aug 1 - On Cancer And Not Being Able To Do A Damn Thing To Help

Old friend, my heart breaks
To see you in this sorrow
I hope peace finds you