Tatiana's Wanderings

HAPPY EASTER MONDAY 2020!


I went shopping at 11:10 on a 401 today, getting home at 12:10 on a 407. Got 100 regular garbage bags for $20 (40 for $8.99), on-sale Jergen's Ultra Care Restoring Argan lotion in 100 mL / on-sale Jergens Original Cherry Almond lotion in 600 mL since I'm running out, store brand lemon dish detergent, on-sale Lindt mini Gold Bunny with mini Easter eggs, on-sale Russell Stover milk chocolate Iddy Biddy Bunnies (50!), on-sale Russell Stover coconut cream / marshmallow and caramel / strawberry cream / caramel / marshmallow Easter eggs, on-sale Russell Stover marshmallow and peanut butter Easter bunnies x2, on-sale Reese Easter eggs stuffed with Reese's Pieces, an on-sale Waterbridge Spring Masterpiece box of Swiss and Belgian chocolates, on-sale Febreze Fabric Refresher, a $5 box of Girl Guides chocolate and vanilla cookies, Gillette bar mop towels x8, a yellow LifeCandy shower pouf, and Heinz white vinegar 1L x3.

It was the first time that I had to board on the back of the bus with my Asian old lady shopping cart because the front area is blocked off with a rope - easy BEFORE the shopping cart, but not so much afterwards! At least I was able to get on and off the bus home - a poor lady in an electric scooter had to find another way to get home! I still think the bus driver was bitchy because I have mobility issues, and I should have noted down her bus number so I could report her later! UGH!


Hungry-Man turkey microwaveable meal, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn on the cob, and an apple cranberry dessert for my Easter Monday 2020 dinner!




( Lotion, Easter chocolate, and more! )


From Julie: Winnie the Pooh is checking on his summer body progress in a mirror. Haha, yep, still fat as shit.




Breakfast: Nissin black garlic oil noodles!

I went out at 10:30 on a 401 to go to the Bay to get more on-sale Jockey underwear x3 (too many accidents), then to London Drugs to get an on-sale Reese's holiday tray assortment with peanut butter bells / Santas / miniatures, a pack of 3 Scrub Daddy Sponge Daddy sponges, an Evercare mesh laundry bag in Aisle 3 for those slipper socks, plus a Nature Valley value pack of 12 chewy Fruit and Nut granola bars. Got home at 11:30 on a 407. I texted Barry at his request before showering and confirming my 10:15 AM eye clinic appointment tomorrow. Luckily, he can drive me tomorrow at 9:20 AM, and Elizabeth the receptionist remembered me. The Canucks played the Blackhawks tonight at 7, and won 7-5 in a seesaw game. SIX WINS IN A ROW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A FEW YEARS!


A value pack of 12 Nature Valley chewy Fruit and Nut granola bars!




Reese holiday tray assortment: Santas, bells, and miniatures!




Evercare mesh laundry bag for stuff that shouldn't go in the dryer!




From Julie M. and Wish: NO TRESPASSING! WE'RE TIRED OF HIDING THE BODIES!




From Julie M. and JUDGE JUDY: Shedrick Bennett?!

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:40 on a 401 to a sick Jeremy's for Jon's birthday dinner since Eric could give me a ride home after UBC hockey and helping in the kitchen. I bought on-sale Knorr Sidekicks in Chicken and Broccoli rice and pasta / Homestyle Cheddar / Chicken Fried Rice, some high-visibility fluorescent yellow-green stickers and slap bracelet straps from Dollar Land (FINALLY!), some 100 mL Vaseline lotion in the yellow tube for Ontario from Shoppers Drug Mart, and a small bag of NEW on-sale Takis Outlaw snacks from Buy-Low for the Gwei-Lo at Kingsgate Mall since I got there at 3:20. I managed to get to Jeremy's at 4:35 after cutting through Dude Chilling Park, and Ayler wasn't even there yet to lock me out like he did last year! Eric sent me a text while I was there to ask if I was here yet... crazy! I did give him his Windel Advent calendar and Delecto dark chocolate assortment, and gave Jeremy his Windel Advent calendar too.

The kids got there a while later; Harmony said she was glad I was there already because then I could help her watch Beckett and take him from Jesse later on when he needed a break. Yeah, I let him look at the big screen for a minute - that's not going to get him addicted! Jeremy said there were some unsafe things for babies behind the chairs - yes, I could see wires! Beckett toddled around and wanted to turn off the computer, which Ayler thought was a touchscreen again. I let Beckett touch my fuzzy purple Alia winter coat, go up on the couch (but NOT touch the Japanese painting), hold my hands as he walked around, spout gibberish about the glass table (he can see the carpet!) and point at the lights and new things, and give me all the beer coasters a few times over.

Yes, he could throw those around if he wanted to, but NOT the candles or anything else! NOT SUITABLE PROJECTILES! He was also eventually curious about Jeremy's beard, like Ayler and Hiero had been. Ayler was smart and knew that I would have Advent calendars for them. He has a bonus dragon book since HE is a DRAGON too! The Santa stuffed dog was in my bag later when I got home, but I can give it to Beckett before my trip. Hiero wanted to be Batman or Superman in front of everyone.

I was civil and polite to Raymond when he was in the way and admiring Jeremy's bookshelf while I wanted to get my UTHER book from my bag to show Trish later, and also when I handed him some dishes that needed to be washed. Caught up with Caleb (I saw his uncle William recently!), Becky, Alice, Jeremy, Randal, Jesse, Trish, Lanie, and Christon for sure. (Ayler's math prowess / the Japanese soldier who refused to surrender until his commanding officer said so / my upcoming trip / writing / Jacob's Well / SERVANTS / the Spain honeymoon / buying a new place and moving / a rice cooker / the microwave / Jeremy seeing Steph in the newspaper as a random RCMP officer and confirming with Jon)

I met Jon's friend Mallory, noticed that his friend Jay had a "scent" about him, and "met" his friends Chris and Mallory. Since we all had to leave an hour or so earlier because Jeremy was feeling under the weather (bad timing as he got sick from his co-workers yesterday!), Eric and I actually left at 9 or so! We talked about gluten-free ice cream sandwiches being good for his mom and brother, his staying home at Christmas, FIRE EMBLEM, and a raccoon being outside near the dumpster when we got to my place at 9:30. (it was a milk jug...)


Trappiste Rochefort beer!




Santa's Sac beer, haha!




( Food and safety and more! )

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:10 on a 407 to help with the kids, bringing along the rest of the Almond Butter Nature Valley granola cups. I had just enough time to stop in at Tim Horton's briefly to buy a Boston Creme doughnut and take a photo for posting purposes, thanks to the lineup inside! Then I quickly left to catch the 3, which is when I finally texted Harmony. When I got to the building, some guy answered when I buzzed to be let in. Luckily, some lady with a stroller was entering the building, so I quickly explained to her what my deal was. Then I took the stairs since the elevator is pretty small, and knocked on the suite's door while explaining to Harmony what was going on. Beckett was awake and standing with the piano bench for support, and was outside the bathroom door when I finished in there. Yes, he was excited to see Auntie! :D

Ayler was playing the piano (telling me about his piano books and music) and putting up with Beckett banging away at the keys he could reach, while Hiero wanted me to read various MR. MEN books to him and see all his paper planes and swords. Beckett wanted to play catch, but then also throw some things around. At least it wasn't as bad as a couple of months ago! He wanted to turn on the printer and play with it, whereupon Ayler showed me where the power button was - SO HELPFUL! Beckett had found his purple and yellow baby pop-up toy, and wanted me to pop the yellow shell right-side up on it: At least he laughed at that after a while, and tried popping it with his finger! Silly Beckett - you're not strong enough for that to work! He turned it upside-down and had fun sticking his finger into the hole. Then he was upset when I was trying to collect the pop-up toy and a couple other toys: he stretched his arms out towards me! So I put the shell on the table temporarily while I picked him up. YAY!

We had squash, purple noodles, soup, kale, salad, and other things for dinner while discussing Kids Night / my NOT being psychic about their Halloween costumes / math quizzes during dinner / the impending bus strike / Rice Krispies not being real food for a meal / hot chocolate sort of being like dessert / what packaging was / less waste. Beckett pointed at the ceiling lights - oh, he'll love Christmastime if he likes babbling at those! Harmony said that Jon was coming home at about 6 so she could go to a school meeting. My nephews were singing "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear" at dinner. Oh boy. Then they were asking me what a ding-dong was because an adult asked them if another kid was one for spilling his milk. Yikes.

Later, Beckett ACTUALLY WALKED TEN LITTLE STEPS ALL BY HIMSELF! His motivation was the big bag of toys! I actually saw this, and was surprised as was Harmony. He usually just toddles one or two steps and then falls into her arms. Hiero said, "Text Daddy!" Oh, she did! Later, I told him not to force him to walk - he'll do it at his own speed, and new things can be confusing. WOW, HE CAN ALSO STAND WITHOUT SUPPORT!

Then Beckett was crying and upset and hit his head on the wooden floor when Harmony had to leave (what a delay tactic...), so of course he got comforting (hopefully) cuddles and hugs from me and Harmony! I read to him and tried making him laugh with the orange alphabet and animal sounds board, which at least was a distraction. He liked the shapes and blocks that the older boys used to play with, and showed me how he could put a couple of blocks together and then throw them around. Of course I used his bib to wipe his nose - I'm sure it's had worse on it, so whatever! It's handy! After I left at 7:15 (hearing Beckett babbling to himself in his crib), I wasted time at Save-On because all the exotic pasta was too heavy and somehow didn't photograph well in the brightly-lit store. UGH!

Then the 3 had a few delays, what with the "timing point" for two minutes at 41st and Main, then the bus alarm going off TWICE! (four stops before Marine Drive Station, THEN right before the station at 70th!) Once I finally got to Brighouse, I killed time at Shoppers Drug Mart since the mall was at least warm: NEW President's Choice frozen small sweet green peas / frozen peaches and cream corn, plus NEW on-sale Uncle Ben's Canada wholegrain brown rice! Got home at 9:05 on a 407, and it was definitely time to switch to warm wintry wear like a toque and Grandma's purple lined Alia coat and stash a scarf and mittens in my bag, especially if more walking is on the agenda with this upcoming transit strike...

At home, I had some (After Eight) hot chocolate, which I also need to restock in general. Random stuff from Mom and Dad inside an Indigo, Chapters, and Coles plastic bag: a can of Chef Boyardee Beefaroni, Colgate Cavity Protection toothpaste, and a random pair of thin white socks. I left the socks and plastic bag at the bus stop since I didn't need them. The garbage bags were STILL outside at 10 PM!


From Julie M. and Wish: Spooky grinning skull medieval toilet paper holder for Halloween 2019!




One of my neighbors evidently decided to give up on their garbage bags just outside the front door this afternoon, halfway to the dumpster...




Boston Creme doughnut time at Tim Horton's!




( Shoppers potential purchases! )

After I had DOUBLE COFFEE TIME, the handyman came by at 11:30 to install the brand-new toilet float valve - YES! I don't care if it takes 90 seconds to fully refill the toilet (tank) now, because at least it works! Better than Hester lecturing me about "flush the toilet tenderly and not with a boom boom boom"... whatever THAT means!

Barry picked me up at 12 and we went banking and to Price Smart. I got All-Dressed / Salt and Vinegar / BBQ / Ranch Crispers, on-sale Silk almond milk / chocolate milk, JOY dumplings x5, Dare Foods Limited chocolate cookie chips, on-sale Cottonelle toilet paper x2, Campbell's mushroom soup x5, NEW Miss Vickie's Signatures chips (Hickory Smoked Salt), on-sale Stouffer's microwaveable meals x2 (Chicken Alfredo / Homestyle Pot Roast), and on-sale Western Family frozen vegetables.

Also bought an on-sale Gizella Pastry assorted cheesecake (mango / New York / strawberry / blueberry), Western Family dill pickle chips, Western Family ripple chips, mini Chantilly Choux cream puffs (POPPIES!), NEW Activia strawberry / vanilla / peach yogurts, and NEW on-sale Ben and Jerry's Salted Caramel Almond ice cream. After that, I paid my Shaw and hydro bills online when I got home at 1:15. EARLY! I also managed to go to the dumpster and throw out the light Sunbeam toaster oven which I haven't used for the year I've had it, AND was taking up counter space in the kitchen. Suck on THAT, Hester! :P

Then I went to London Drugs at 7:05 on a 401 to get NEW on-sale Hazelnut M and Ms, on-sale Almond M and Ms, a green tea Kit Kat, NEW Cadbury Curly Wurly chocolate, on-sale Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream, and 400 Mead index cards before returning home on the same 401 at 7:25. The bus driver said that I'd been fast - yes, I like bus efficiency AND ice cream not melting when it's humid outside! When I got in, my phone "ding=donged" at me - turned out to be Corey on LINE. I can live with that, haha!


Biomedic 70% rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy next door! Ethyl alcohol - CAUTION! FLAMMABLE! Antiseptic skin cleanser: A soothing massage solution to relieve bruises and sore muscles.




No Name canola oil from Shoppers!




No Name chicken instant noodles!




( Cadbury, ice cream, cream puffs, and more deliciousness! )