The Good with the Bad

I hope the following is as amusing as it is enlightening.

The Good

At the end of last year, my girlfriend and I got tickets for Cirque Du Soleil. We had seen Alegria some time ago and really enjoyed it and vowed to go to more productions. We bought tickets for some kind of hybrid Cirque Du Soleil Ice show but the pandemic wiped that out. When we bought these tickets, we were worried that this would also be a bust, but we figured that it was a worthwhile gamble. Luckily this one paid off.

The show just opened a few days ago, but thankfully everything went ahead full steam. It was so nice to get out a do something. The show was lots of fun with a number of good acts. It is amazing what the human body can do with zero body fat and great balance. There were moments that were amazing. I will definitely go to more shows like this one. Perhaps, one day, I will be able to afford to be a VIP customer and get to spend time in the VIP booth before the show.

If I had any critiques, it would be with the high price for parking and the rather uncomfortable chairs. None of these things involved the show, so let’s leave them here.

The Bad

Yesterday, I joked about the coffee maker dying. I was planning on going through the whole vinegar routine on Sunday. The area I live in has hard water and regular de-scaling is important. I shouldn’t have joked about it, because I woke up this morning to a non-functioning coffee pot. Easter Sunday, and no coffee. Coffee makers don’t really last a long time, but I have a feeling I jinxed myself.

Suffering from caffeine withdrawal is no time to go shopping. Easter Sunday is no time to go shopping either. As it turns out, a number of stores are open, but I chose the wrong ones and couldn’t find a coffee maker anywhere. Then my girlfriend suggested Canadian Tire. I thought it would be closed and hadn’t even considered it. This surprised her as this is my “go to” store. Usually I consider Home Hardware my go to store, but sadly the size difference and stock quantities don’t really compare. I was surprised that I hadn’t checked the store hours either, and chalked it up to a lack of caffeine.

So, after several stores, I ended up at Canadian Tire and bought a coffee maker–nothing fancy. It used a basked filter whereas my current one uses a cone filter. No problem, I thought. I have a basket filter at home. Actually, what I had was the box for the basket filter, but not the filter itself. So, yes, I had to go back to the store. I blame everything on my lack of caffeine. Although breakfast was delayed, I did eat something. That was good because if I had also been hangry, it wouldn’t have gone well.

The Indifferent

I awoke to snow on the ground. While this was not totally unexpected, I had hoped that I would be on my bike this weekend. It melted and if it hadn’t been for the whole coffee maker issue, I probably would have gotten out on my bike. Then again, I probably would have had to engage in yard work too–so I really can’t grumble about this. I will be on my bike sometime this week.

Scenes from the Past Few Days (part one)

So this morning, I painted my ceiling pink.

Did that catch your attention? It probably shouldn’t have. It really isn’t shocking in 2020. Also, I should add that I thought I was painting my ceiling purple–at least that is what it said on the can. More specifically, it said “mauve” but why open up that can of worms.

One of my current projects is sprucing up my guest room. When I moved in many years ago, the previous occupant had been a young child who visited his grandmother on occasion–my neighbour filled me in on all the details. The walls had been adorned with rather crude castles, stars, and several versions of the planet Saturn. This might have been dramatic if the pictures had been done well. Instead they were done with paint that didn’t wash off. It also was hard to cover over despite going to “the good paint store” with the “good name” and buying their primer.

Last week I went to Home Hardware (not Home Depot) and bought some of their primer. It covered it up in one solid coat. Fantastic. Wish I had done it sooner. I was told the “good paint store” was better, but now I don’t think so. When I figure out what colour I want the walls to be, that is where I am going to buy it.

As for the ceiling, they have this paint that goes on pink (despite saying purple on the lable–and since I went to Western, I know what the colour purple is) but quickly turns white after it is applied. Pretty cool. Of course online reviews mentioned this pink purple fiasco because one customer was colour blind to pink but not purple–you can imagine the hostile language used.

While I wouldn’t call painting fun, the idea of getting something done that has hung over me for a while was fantastic. Definitely a Perfect Moment. Once I get the room done, I will turn it back into a guest room and house my stamp collection and stamp desk there. That should free up some real estate in both the master bedroom, the basement and the home office. I am not sure what I will do with the space, but I am sure it will come in handy.

Thanks to the Covid weight gain, a turbo trainer would be ideal if I could find one.

Are there any projects waiting to be done in your space? I would love to hear what they are and what is keeping you from getting them done.

Free Stuff! (Really)

Photo by Kadri Vosumae on Pexels.com

So, Saturday had a lucky moment or two.  While it is small, I think every victory or reward is worth celebrating, reflecting on, and ultimately blogging about.  So here it is.

I went to the hardware store to pick up some stuff for ….well, I will probably write about that later tonight and don’t want to spoil it for you….. So, the hardware store, in this case Home Hardware (free plug for them) has just finished remodelling.  As part of that celebration, they were giving out popcorn and free leaf bags.  As I am going to need to start raking up leaves any day now, I gladly took my allowed ten bags.  As my waist doesn’t need any more inches, I left the popcorn.

I love walking around this kind of hardware store more than the other chains.  I think it is because they seem to have a weird selection of products.  They have stuff that they should have discounted and liquidated a long time ago….but they haven’t.  They probably never will until someone like me walks in and thinks,”Hey, I need a gigantic hamburger press.”

It was fun to poke around, but I had to get back and work on …..Oh yeah, I promised I wouldn’t spoil that.