June 29 - We Shift The Social Scene To Rachelle's House While Paul Connects The Borrowed Propane And Gets Cooking And Jordan Does Her Midwife Prep

Three generations
head to Thetis in the sun
Then home for burgers

June 28 - A Festive Dinner On Our Latest Patio As J Arrives For Her Obstetrical Stint At VGH

The cat's gone missing
But here comes Jordan, moving
into the spare room

June 27 - We Return To The Fernhill Housesit For A Thank-You Dinner For Being Nice To Lewis

There's a weird moment
entering a space once yours
while real owners watch

June 26 - First Impressions Of The New Cat

Garfield gone feral
Though he's happy for a scratch
My hands thick with fur

June 25 - The Brilliant Sunshine Dims Sufficiently That I Don't Feel Cheated Having A Chore Day, With Time To Play The Novelty Piano

Make the old house clean
Soak gardens at the new house
Eat Toni's good crisp

June 24 - I Had No Idea It Can Take Three Hours To Get Salon Hair, Or That I Could Find Things To Talk About For That Entire Time

Good thing: A lake swim
Bad: something's up with Banksy
I get my hair dyed

June 23 - Paul Goes To The Home Of The Indifferent Ginger Cat While I Begin Final Moving Out Chores

Warm summer commute

Double housesit starts tonight

Mark it with a meal

June 22 - There's Something Unsettling About The Takeover Of Thetis Lake By American Bullfrogs,Though We Don't Let It Stop Our Lake Day In The Sun

All kids like tadpoles
But these ones? They're like small trout
With tiny back legs

June 21 - What I Learn About Reeve While Babysitting During Daq's Preschool Graduation

He likes piano
He's OK with watching me
while I fix my bike

June 20 - I Lose Almost An Hour And A Half In The Gloomy Confines Of The UVic Bike Garage And Acknowledge The Limitations Of Trying To Learn Something Challenging Via A Single YouTube Viewing

Fingers black, wrenching
like I know how to do this
Still, the howling stops

June 19 - More Bad News As We Discover That Canadian Tire Wasn't Making This Stuff Up And Now The Damn Coolant Neck Is Leaking, Whatever That Means

PT, how could you?
Paul says we still got a deal
Glass half-full. Not me

June 18 - We Are Interlopers At A Father's Day Gathering In Langford, Where I'm The Substitute Godma To A Pig Fountain

It's one of those meals
Where it's clear you're pinch-hitting
For someone not there

June 17 - Clean The House, Spread The Compost, Trim The Rose, Buy A Lot Of Cat Treats, Agonize Over A Dragonfly Scratcher

With all this new work
comes the need to spend weekends
catching up on chores

June 16 - In Which Rachelle And I Have A Successful Mall Crawl Despite How Sad Mayfair Is Looking Right Now As The Darwinian Renos Drag On

Hey Paul - can we shop?
He does duty while we prowl
Damn you, Sephora

June 15 - Wringing Out Every Penny Of My $5.75 Esquimalt Pool Admission As We Watch The Miserable Day Outside And R Demonstrates That She Likely Doesn't Need Arm Bands

Leg over and...float!
We spend hours in the pool
Swirled by the river

June 14 - Does Rosetta Project Feelings And Moods Onto The Laid-Up Cat Like Paul And I Do?

A small child and cat
fit nicely in a big cage
Though the tail twitches

June 13 - I Am Seriously Tripped Out (In A Good Way) By The Victoria Hand Project And Its Efforts To Make Cheap Prosthetics

This could change a life
Magic boxes melt plastic
Rewritten as art

June 12 - In Which I Realize That Using The Internet To Help You Figure Out A Delicate Adjustment That Could Get You Killed Is Unnerving

Shamed by squealing brakes
I tighten this, loosen that, scared
that I'll get it wrong

June 11 - The Things That A Person Can Get To Thinking About After A Trip To The Valley

Dogs need an alpha
Family needs a new start
Teens are damn stressful

June 10 - I Don't Think I Had Planned To Spend Quite So Much Of The Day Prepping Someone Else's House, But It's All Worth It To See Jordan's Relief

Shoes green from the grass
Fingers wrinkled from cleaning
I banish the mank

June 9 - I Am Cursing Myself For Taking The Cat To Another Vet Appointment That Turned Out To Be A Serious Setback

Lewis still won't eat
Belly scratch, some blades of grass
Then north to more stress

June 8 - On Private Tour At The "Family" Exhibit While Paul Distracts Rosetta Elsewhere In The Museum

Why does this get me?
Maybe I'm just like Regan
Fleeting joy shakes me

June 7 - I Am Writing This Later And Am Sorry We Ever Took The Cat To The Vet, Although How Would We Have Gotten More Drugs Otherwise?

Thetis Lake sunshine
Lewis gets hurt at the vet's
Too much knee wiggling

June 6 - The Weekly Vancouver Trips Are Not A Problem For Me, But Now I Feel Stressed About Leaving Lewis Alone For The Whole Day

Paul's on the ferry
I'm here with the cat, worried
he won't get much sun

June 5 - Morning Homecare For Sick Kitty Nearly Makes Me Late For The Paid Work

Leave late. Ride fast. Sweat.
Sorry, boss, I had to squirt
water in the cat

June 4 - On The Job At Point Hope During Vic West Street Fest, Which Brings A Feel-Good Crowd Of Curious Passersby Through The Gate

Working the shipyard
People are warm and friendly
Sweetened by cupcakes

June 3 - The Plan Was To Buy Old Towels, But Instead I Had A Long And Pleasant Shop In The Hours Before The Sun Came Out

I mean to be brief
Uh, no. Full bags clip my wheels
Summer clothes and hat

June 2 - Every Housesitter's Fear Brought To Life By Some Passing Car Or Other Mysterious Force That Has Injured Poor Lewis's Leg

Horrors, the cat's hurt
Kneecap broken. Real-life test
Big decisions, fast

June 1 - Nothing Wrong With Orchestrating A Happy End On The Night R Goes To Meet A Copper-Headed Baby

Plan for happiness
Early sleep, water play, pig
Small house excites her

May 31 - When The Rain Holds Off, It's Almost As Good As Sunshine: Lessons From The Play Date With Kass

Triple playground day
King Baby still won't walk, but
they bond at Beckwith