Tatiana's Wanderings

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! )

It's International Bacon Day today!


After COFFEE TIME, Eric picked me up at 12:05 for the wedding. Chinese Eric had texted him "hey" and nothing else, so Eric asked me to see what was up with that. Apparently, he'd asked him whether he'd picked me up yet. The wedding was very religious and traditional on Religion Road at Fujian Evangelical Free Church. I was glad to see Jeremy and Nate at least! Yes, things were relatively quick, but COME ON!

Later, I learned that Jon insisted that we all have lunch at Four Winds Pub in Delta - REALLY? (me, him, both Erics, Nathan, Jeremy, and Wesley) Why didn't you let someone know BEFORE I LEFT THE FUCKING HOUSE?! THAT'S the problem with spontaneity! I did NOT eat anything (the burritos were huge though!), and was very fucking annoyed with everyone - so just read and did not say much of anything. At least I got to talk to Nathan alone for a few minutes about his present feelings on weddings after all that had happened. He had had to do Citrus's wedding afterwards, but said that now it was okay, and thanked me for asking.

After that, SOMEONE also wanted to go for good coffee at Rocanini's in Steveston - can't you think of what I want for once?! We talked about everyone staring at their phone - I was trying to bang out a relatively quick message to Mike with the reliable wi-fi while we were there. THEN we decamped to white Eric's, where Veronica had kindly set up a table and chairs for us in the backyard before going to Van Dusen Gardens with Ron. At least I had water and ginger ale throughout the afternoon.

When we finally got to the restaurant, the parkade proved to be pretty confusing! I was at a table with everyone I knew, but we were stuck at the very back behind two pillars! We saw Deb, Dylan, Martin J. (who apparently also has an autistic kid), Martin T., Randal, Kevin, Isabel, Sheena, Lincoln, Karen, Vivian, and Geoffrey. We discussed the seating, "MORE TONGUE!" (we're known for shenanigans), Quiznos, Singapore, durian mochi NOT being durian MOCHA, hair follicle transplants done by ROBOTS, Samaritan's Purse, that lady who died because a metal straw pierced her brain, and the waiter taking the food platter away after he showed it to us BEFORE scooping it on our plates individually at the back. Some people had too much red / white wine, apparently including Alice's mom, which is how the MORE TONGUE thing came about.

After everything was done, I STILL had to wait around for the cleanup crew (who'd been given thank-you cards beforehand so they couldn't just "forget" about it), and then the loiterers! UGH! We did amuse ourselves at the photo booth, but STILL! Talked to Deb a bit about the summer, to Eric about PowerPoint (that's a VERY VALID excuse to leave...), and to Jon about Tom Lee Music / Hiero not getting any bullet train toys / my being there on Tuesday / speech therapy. Just as Eric and I were about to FINALLY drive away at 10:30, Chinese Eric delayed us by asking where Nathan was. HOW SHOULD WE KNOW?! I said GOODNIGHT rather firmly, and FINALLY got home at 10:40. Yes, I live THAT close to Kirin!


THE WEDDING BANQUET MENU:

* Kirin special platter with roasted suckling pig, sauteed prawns, and scallops with pureed truffle

* deep-fried crab claw wrapped with minced prawn

* bird nest soup with fish maw and Chinese ham

* live lobster in consomme with light ginger and green onion

* sliced wild catch California Mexico brand abalone braised with fish maw, Chinese mushroom, and peatips

* crispy skin free range chicken

* steamed live fish

* special fried rice with dried shrimp wrapped in lotus leaf

* E-Fu noodles stewed with two kinds of mushrooms in abalone sauce

* two kinds of Dim Sum dessert

* Kirin special sweetened soup


What do you mean, Four Winds Pub has no tacos?!




( Most of the food... )


Five years from now (our wedding day), I'll be stabbing you with this same knife. Enjoy the cake, honey!

After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME, I left at 11:30 for my 1 PM appointment at the Burrard eye clinic. Damn construction and detours! I got there at 12:40 no thanks to a crowded 6 Davie bus with one stroller / two walkers / old people, but STILL had to wait an hour to be seen for five minutes because it was very busy! Since they moved locations three weeks ago according to Elizabeth the receptionist (from 503 to 510), I took a couple of updated business cards while I was waiting. Of course I had to use their bathrooms when my appointment was done!

Then on the 6 Downtown going the other way (also crammed with strollers and walkers), I noted that the Great American Cheesesteak place on Davie (which I'd told Jimmy about on one of the last times I bused to the clinic) seemed to be closed. I sarcastically thanked a black lady with glasses for blocking the bus aisle, making it almost impossible for people to squeeze past her. She mentioned that she had a walker; yes, but MOST people still manage to be courteous and not block the fucking aisle with their clutter, detritus, and impediments!

On the way home, I remembered that I wanted to stop by Big Crazy sometime, so I got off at Lansdowne instead of Brighouse. I bought non-expired Knorr hot and sour soup mixes x8, Paldo spicy cheese Ramyun noodle packs x2, and a proper bowl for my future DUMPLING SAUCE concoctions. (they were selling mixes that expired on March 26 and will expire on May 11...) After just managing to catch the 410, I also bought Doritos Dinamita tortilla snacks in Nacho Picoso and Chili Limon flavors at Shoppers when I stopped by Richmond Centre to use THEIR wi-fi. Finally got home at 4 on a 401 to ROIMU for the first time this year, after stopping by the hospital across the street to use THEIR bathroom since I didn't trust the walking time because of the aforementioned 24/7 construction zone and detours.


From Candy: Ever talk to someone so stupid that they make you squint?!




From Amanda in Kramer's Discord server: Vegemite beef jerky?! QUIRKY COINCIDENCE since it's International Hug An Australian Day today!

IT'S APPRECIATE A DRAGON DAY! I showered and did laundry today after unpacking. Deb emailed me before the game to ask how it was being home, and say that both the kids were asking about me - cute! The Canucks played Edmonton at 7 tonight, and lost 3-2 in a shootout while also trading Michael Del Zotto to the Ducks during the game.


Lucas is dead in MOTHER 3, and isn't in any condition to eat or drink!




Lucas is dead in MOTHER 3, and isn't in a good enough condition to use any items!