Tatiana's Wanderings

The NHL also suspended their season this morning because of the coronavirus.


From Youtube: Kenyadda Marie Patterson?! The nickname is KEN, which is a GUY name, and Yada yada yada?!




From Julie M. and the Daily Mail: Busy Philipps named her kids Birdie and Cricket?!




From Reddit and r/raisedbynarcissists: Dr. JONICE Webb?! BAD SPELLING OF JANICE! Yum, jaundice!

Jon said he'd be home this afternoon since Harmony would be going to a school meeting, but I could still come by if I wanted. The last time I was around when she went to a meeting, Beckett was quite upset! I went anyway, of course. After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:15 on a 407 to help with the kids. Since I'd just missed a 3 at Marine Drive, I went into Tim Horton's to see if they had those new Dream Doughnuts: no Strawberry Confetti, but yes to Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Truffle. They didn't look that great relative to the ads, but nothing ever does!

I had to wait for six rings before Harmony answered the buzzer, but that was fine. A few minutes later, I told Beckett that I would be right with him after I washed my hands... Wet Wipes only do so much against sticky doughnut crumbs! Harmony said "yes, please - thank you!" Hey, I've heard about the coronavirus too, and so has Ayler, apparently. He says he heard on the news today that the BC patient is in Burnaby ("so not here in Vancouver, but close"), while Hiero wondered what we'd do if Beckett died from it. You can get very sick and possibly die, we told them, but Harmony kept it simple and said that she'd keep them safe and we should all wash our hands.

Ayler and Hiero thought it was funny to encourage Beckett to go to the printer, and also to take Beckett's balls away from him, but he got way more upset over this than Harmony leaving for her meeting. ("MINE!" followed by lots of crying) I was there to give him hugs and a small kiss, telling them that it wasn't funny. Jon did come home a little earlier than 6, and took over dinner duties. Beckett called the Pho noodles "noo-noo," and called the treads on Grandma Joan's slipper socks "boh-boh" - very funny! Ayler asked about school, of course, and wanted me to listen to his piano. Beckett said "help" to me a lot (and wanted me to help put on the yellow "sunglasses" that were missing a lens - Hiero said they were pirate sunglasses), said "bye bye" to me a lot (maybe when I was walking to my bag and then to my coat so he could see the fur and buttons - but I didn't leave), and walked over to show Jon various things like his blocks.

Later, Beckett went to the window to see the "boh-boh" outside and point at all the lights. He also used the blue ruler to "hide" and wanted me to do the same with his toy balls - I just pretended to most of the time. Then he said "HIT YOUR BUTT!" in Cantonese - Uncle Joe taught him that one because it's funny to hear a little toddler say so! Hiero made a "lightsaber" out of a plastic sticker sheet, and a "gun" out of the magnetic rods and balls, and wanted me to say "gun" - I don't know about that one. He also 'teleported" into me, which was NOT fun!

Ayler took out his red-and-yellow stuffed dragon toy... he remembered that I'd given it to him! Beckett seemed to like it as per Hiero - he even said a very close approximation of "dragon" and grinned when he showed it to me! I should tell him that Auntie is a dragon, haha! He also said "monkey" for his stacking blocks, "dog" for his dog book, and "apple" for the Creation story with Adam and Eve in the children's Bible stories book. He's LEARNING VOCABULARY plus CONTEXT! I left at 7:40 (not at 7:30, thereby missing my window of time to get the 7:42 Marine Drive Station bus with the heavy bag of stuff from Mom and Dad) after waiting a few minutes for Jon to finish something while it was the bedtime routine, but not before Hiero called me a "blah blah person" - RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL! I got home at 9:10 on a 407, having to finish a text message to Paulo first.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: A thin brown Mondi sweater with yellow diamonds, a thin brown Mondi sweater VEST with yellow diamonds, a random white undershirt with an actual bra built in it in a clean produce bag, Ragu Tomato and Basil light pasta sauce which expires in October 2021, more Ontrue green tea roasted seaweed x3, and more toiletries inside a Ziploc bag...

Two plastic shower caps, Kandesn Spa shampoo by Sunrider, a white scrunchie only suitable for a toddler, a Paul Mitchell refreshing citrus facial bar, three Q-Tips inside some plastic, a useless LONDON DRUGS blue circle thing, 40 mL of Agraria San Francisco lemon verbena conditioner, blue Chateau de Chine shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena conditioner, Princess Cruises Lotus Spa aloe vera moisturizing lip balm x2, a black toothbrush with a toothbrush cover, 22 mL of Ognnx Lacoupe argan oil complex shampoo x3, and 22 mL of Lacoupe argan oil complex conditioner x2.

A silver Gem hand ground nail clipper, another unbranded silver nail clipper with a nail file, Smart Shield serious sun protection aloe vera lip balm, four more Q-Tips and four makeup wipes inside some plastic (do people use Q-Tips to apply makeup?), a white hairbrush / comb in one, a blue microwavable eye mask with instructions inside plastic, a white Dr. Fresh Turbo Power battery-powered toothbrush with a free Duracell battery, and a small Princess Cruises Lotus Spa linen mist bottle.

50 mL of L'Occitane verbena shower gel, a LaRoche Posay Nutritic lip balm (47 mL), 22 mL of Be Better macadamia nut shampoo, three more Q-Tips and three cotton balls inside some plastic, sampler Oral-B floss from the dentist, a tiny yellow tube of Vichy SPF 45 sheer lotion with Bare Skin Feel, 2 grams of Super Dry Superior Dessicant with a warning on it (??), Chinese Glyso-Derm lip balm with Vitamin E, 50 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn iris bath and shower gel, a 5 mL Avène Canada soothing moisture mask in a tiny tube, 22 mL of Nourish Green Tea hydrating conditioner, and a white travel toothbrush inside a green plastic cover.


Hunt's Snack Pack: Banana Cream Pie pudding cups!




NEW from Tim Horton's: Dream Doughnuts! Chocolate Truffle, Strawberry Confetti, and Dulce de Leche!




Tim Horton's Dream Doughnuts: They didn't have Strawberry Confetti, so I ordered Chocolate Truffle and Dulce De Leche instead.




RIP, Don't Argue pizzeria...




Beef stew with carrots and Pho noodles!




Red and yellow dragon stuffed toy! I gave it to Ayler originally because he is also a BABY DRAGON, but now Beckett likes it too. He knows the word "dragon," and grinned when he told me what it was!




Tomato and Basil light Ragu pasta sauce!

After COFFEE TIME and calling the Lost Property Office too early for them to receive lost Translink items at 1 (UGH!), I went out at 11:10 on a 401 to go to the Gloucester Café to meet Auntie Catherine for my last belated birthday meal, taking the 15 Olympic Village bus down at Bay 2 across the street rather than walk the seven blocks in the iffy weather. So I was ten minutes late - it still was reasonably on time for me! I scanned the restaurant and finally saw her sitting at a table - she hugged me hello, and we eventually ordered two dishes to share with our individual hot milk tea. Seafood spaghetti in a creamy dill sauce AND chicken pineapple satay fried rice with plenty of shrimp and egg! No, I didn't want to take the leftovers with me!

She talked about church and noticed that I didn't need my glasses, so she was surprised - she didn't know about my eye surgeries! We talked about Mattias and Marcus - they're 11 and 9 now?! Chung Yan still watches Canucks hockey, so YAY for that! Auntie Catherine gave me a surprise 100% red silk scarf (probably an Indian scarf), so that was totally good! It was pretty rainy when we left at 1:20 (Harmony texted to say I could come at 3:30 or so), but I assured her that I'd be fine without an umbrella, and definitely didn't want to go to the North Shore or some other Vancouver Public Library! I just killed time at Oakridge with the free wifi, found out that I'd been BANNED from TwoX Chromosomes because of the too-inclusive special snowflakes ("not all women have vaginas" is very weird), and left at 3 on a 41st Avenue bus (then a 3) to get to the house at 3:35.

Beckett was surprisingly awake and definitely wanted to play with me, the baby pop-up toy (he's now strong enough to make it pop up himself once or twice), and the various balloons scattered around the room. He also threw the plastic blocks at me, but I didn't hold it against him. Hiero laughed when he saw that, so I said with a very serious face that it was NOT FUNNY, and let Harmony take care of the rest. Ayler had to read the Monkeys book with me, and Hiero wanted me to read a book that was at least different than the ones I'd read on Sunday. Beckett wanted to see what we were doing / be close to me, but his brothers didn't like that. I had to give him a few hugs because he was upset! I let Ayler use my cell phone calculator after he said that I was still better at math than he is (debatable) and Beckett said, "Na na na NAAAAAAAAA!", which is what he says when he REALLY wants something! (like the Rice Krispies, a couple of which I put in his mouth at snacktime, which he didn't seem to mind)

Speaking of being serious, Beckett had an extremely serious expression on his face when he was signing "MORE" at dinner. He did get more food, but started throwing it around, even decorating my red bling sweater with macaroni and cheese. (we also had squash, turkey, stuffing, and other Thanksgiving leftovers) Ayler asked me why drinking prune juice meant that you had to be on the toilet all afternoon (because I told him that), so I told him that there was a lot of fiber in prunes. He seemed to accept that. After Beckett cried and was let go from the table to crawl around, he knocked over Ayler's silver water cup, causing Ayler to get all wet and then cry and melt down himself.

Beckett threw the balloons around and said what sounded like "cup" - at least, he had the hard C sound down! Ayler wanted to regale me with piano technique, so I let him tell me about it while listening very seriously. I enjoy it when he tells me about his interests! Hiero wanted me to read to him, but I said that I had to watch Beckett to make sure he didn't kill himself. We also discussed global warming in a kid-appropriate way. I left at 7:20 and finally got home at 8:40. The Canucks played Detroit tonight at 7, and won 5-1.


Pepto-Bismol is NOT Annabelle eyeshadow, London Drugs website...




Paper bus transfer in 2019! I sure wish the buses would give out actual Compass Card transfers, though!




Lamp chop for lunch, anyone? Yay for Engrish!




Seafood and spaghetti in a creamy dill sauce as part of a belated birthday 2019 lunch!




Chicken and pineapple satay fried rice with plenty of egg and shrimp!




A red 100% Silk Scarf from Auntie Catherine for my belated birthday in 2019!

Birthday Gifts / Presents in 2019!


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This is a list of birthday gifts and cards that I received in 2019:

* Tostitos Rounds chips, No Name beef cup noodles, a birthday card with a cat coaster which is now between the fridge and my kitchen counter, Colgate 360 toothbrushes x2, Colgate Winterfresh Cavity Protection toothpaste, Colgate Cool Mint MaxFresh toothpaste, Burt's Bees ginger-lime lip balm, a tiny 30 mL Purell hand sanitizer, Simple Skincare cleansing wipes, and a new White Cross Scrubs pale blue scrub jacket.

* Jambalaya rice bowl, iced tea, and white chocolate cheesecake from both Erics, Jeremy, and Randal at the Richmond Centre Cactus Club! [Sept. 21]

* a birthday card from Jeremy

* a birthday card from Randal

* a cupcake birthday card, Mario, woodland creatures stickers, Domo, a rainbow cloud sticker, butterfly stickers, two Minions, Homer Simpson, and Easter Jesus stickers from Julie

* a dinner at Benkei Ramen from Chrystal: Spicy Akaoni Ramen served with pan-fried minced pork, green onion, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, special roasted garlic oil, and roasted sesame. Toppings: butter, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, spinach, kimchi, boiled egg, corn, green onion, cha siu, and cheese. [Sept. 27]

* a dinner at Han OK from Deb, Dylan, Declan, and Elysse (seafood pancake, spicy seafood tofu soup, Asahi beer, rice, tea, eggs, cheese, corn, kimchi, spicy pork, and bulgogi hot pot) plus a box of assorted Lindt chocolates [Oct. 4]

* a lunch at the Gloucester Café from Auntie Catherine [Oct. 1]


( Gift photos! )