Sept 28 - Second Day Of Gymnastics And I'm Still Not Sure That A Two-Year-Old Is Ready For This Much Structure And Action

Gym class leaves R whipped
The rings seem hard, the drop far
Jury is still out

Sept 27 - It's Useful That She Can Only Gum The Kid, But Would It Kill Her To Act Nice?

It hurts R's feelings
that Charlotte tries to bite her
Toothless, no effect

Sept 26 - Out With Ollie, In With Charlotte, And It Strikes Me That It's Been Nice To Have Two Repeat Housesits In A Row, So We Actually Know Where Things Are (Mostly)

Things go right today
Though the late-day moves kill me
See you next time, Pug

Sept 25 - How I Feel By The End Of The Day

It's like in grade school
when you got teamed with some kid
who made you look bad

Sept 24 - That Day, At The Mysteriously Cross-Discipline Six-Month Mark, When The Gains Of Cycle-Commuting Are Recognized On A Long Ride In No Particular Direction

I know I'm in shape
When I ride hills thoughtlessly
Lost in the rhythm

Sept 23 - I Could Not Have Predicted That The Dog And The Toddler Would Bond Over Rassling With Each Other And Her Always Trying To Straighten His Tail

Ollie's up at six
Bouncing in to find his "pup"
Guess she's not too rough

Sept 22 - The Nervous Parents Finally Give Up Their Resistance To Getting A Great Night's Sleep At Our Expense, Though In Fact We Do Just Fine

Yay, a sleepover!

We watch Pooh, eat perogies

Overfeed the dog

Sept 21 - You Would Think That An Exhausting Hour At Gymnastics Would Knock Her Out. But You’d Be Wrong

Sprawled out on the sand

She’s almost asleep, but fights

I enjoy the rest

Sept 20 - Rachelle Is Coming For Dinner And Having This Small One In A More Manageable State After An Afternoon Sleep Feels Urgent

Soothing butterflies

Though I still drive forever

before those eyes close

Sept 19 - Just Because You're Politically Correct And Cutting-Edge Doesn't Mean You Do Things In A New Way

Hierarchies are hard
Many things I'd like to say
But of course, I don't

Sept 18 - The Thing About Racism Among The Politically Correct Is That It Will Be Revealed Sooner Or Later, Even During Team Lunches At Asian Restaurants

Fake Chinese accent
Like Peter Sellers back when
no one knew better

Sept 17 - I Am Motivated To Cycle A Loop Out To Elk Lake On This Drizzly Day To See If All The Money I Spent Yesterday Preparing For Bad-Weather Commutes Was Worth It

Happy for the rain
I'll be my own test subject
Lights, tights, neon pack

Sept 16 - What Happens When A Non-Mechanically Inclined Person With No Tools Decides To Mount Her Own Back Bike Fender

No talent for this
But I persist, and it works
Though it takes hours

Sept 15 - On Being A Work Keener

Opeds are harder
when it's someone else's words
Still, it wins me points

Sept 14 - You Know The Weather's Changing When You're Back At The Museum Carefully Patting The Taxidermied Wolf With The Back Of Your Hand

Old couple marvels
when R speaks in Tsilhqot'in
Cheeky wee mimic

Sept 13 - While We Do Have A Perfectly Pleasant Day At Gyro Park And Beyond, This New Development In Which The Toddler Doesn't Take A Nap Is Going To Be Challenging

Yikes, this girl's tired
Where did sleeping beauty go?
Take her home, mama

Sept 12 - In Which I Take Very Bad Advice And Drive The Latest Dog Out To The Previous Housesit

Pick up Paul's leavings
Shamus wants to come with me
Ollie writhes, insane

Sept 11 - Reflections On My Morning Cycle-Commute To Avoid Lower McKenzie, And How So Much About Cycling Is A Metaphor

Sometimes you have to
cycle far out of your way
to get where you want

Sept 10 - Quite A Busy Day Of Walking The Dog, Prepping Nervous Nicaraguan Travellers, Buying Skechers On Sale, And Getting Ready For What Is Clearly A New Season

A storage visit
This time to get rain pants, coats
The weather has turned

Sept 9 - Colleen And I Spend A Leisurely Mall Afternoon Getting Our Hands Sticky With Lipstick And Product Sampling

Few friends understand
the joy of mindless drifting
through the makeup store

Sept 8 - The Ministerial Visit Goes Smoothly And Ends Up Being Kind Of Fun

John Yanyshyn's great shot

Hit the ground running
Packets in hand, calls are made
Yay, a camera!

Sept 7 - Final Pool Day At The Fancy House, Though The Weather Is Already Turning

Reluctant at first
But then we can't get her out
Bye, pool. We'll miss you

Sept 6 - One Of Those Days When The Best-Laid Plans Go Awry. Not Big-Awry, But Small-Awry Is Its Own Kind Of Irritating. And Why Is The Panama Flats Trail Impassable?

Undone by the haze
R is intense, work seeps through
Walk is damn prickly

Sept 5 - The Downside Of Part-Time Is That Every Now And Then You End Up With One Day To Accomplish A Week's Worth Of Tasks, And With Important People Watching

Nose to the grindstone
Grateful for colleagues who rise
There when it most counts

Sept 4 - Even An Automatic Watering System Isn't Prepared For Five Months Of Sunshine As I Mark My Last Night In The Pool House With A Lazy Day

Bad leg: Good excuse
When was the last time rain fell?
The dry yard crackles

Sept 3 - Sometimes I Am So Sick Of My Own Clumsiness. Like Right Now, After A Very Nice Visit Poolside With Colleen Ends With Me Rolling My Foot On A Root On The Trail Near The House

Damn, an ankle twist
Poor Shamus gets a short walk
No fair tomorrow

Sept 2 - A Perfect Day Of Nothing

I plow through a book
The true sign of relaxing
By the pool. In sun.

Sept 1 - When A Day Doesn't Feel Like It Has Enough Hours To Get Done Everything You Need To Do

To think I once griped
that the work pace was too slow
Feds have me scrambling

Aug 31 - A Long And Happy Swim Day As We Continue Our Drive To Wring Every Bit Out Of This Summer

Pool's still warm, sun's hot
But you can feel fall coming
Nights are growing cool