Tatiana's Wanderings

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!

Today is Hot and Spicy Food Day! After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:30 on a 401 to help with the kids. Just before I was going to leave, the handyman came by and agreed with my assessment that the toilet float needed to be replaced, thank goodness! That left me with little time to catch the bus, but I JUST managed to. Then I was STILL left with time to kill at Marine Drive, so I went to T and T to buy NEW Sautao hot and sour soup vermicelli noodles and what turned out to be Choco-Caramel Mentos. I also texted Term (as is now the tradition) to say, "Hey, guess where I am right now!" Then I saw an Engrish sign: LAYS POTATO SHIPS IN KIMCHI FLAVOR?!

Jon texted me when I got to his building at 4:45; no wonder they weren't answering the buzzer because they were at the park across the street! I found them in due time; he decided to see if Beckett liked the baby swings. He was still expressionless after a few minutes of swinging, not sure what to make of it even if he'd had that experience once before a while ago. Later, Jon tickled him and took video of him laughing for Harma. Ayler and Hiero threw sand on the slide and over the railing for the kiddy structure. I swung the baby gently as Jon went over to discipline. Hiero called me by my first name, which Jon scolded him for. Later, Harma met us at the park with a new puzzle from work! Jon told me that they'd had a playdate with Deb, Dylan, Declan, and Elysse recently, and that LA Chicken was good with kimchi. Fried chicken with kimchi - WEIRD FOOD COMBINATION!

At home, Beckett wanted to play "catch" with those hard plastic stacking blocks... ouch! The soft toys they borrowed or bought are much better for that purpose! Ayler showed me his "creative part" for "THE PLANETS" (not Gustav Holst, but his own creation) and some variations he'd made up for a piano piece. Awesome! Hiero just hid Koosh balls in the "Duplo" blocks and made me guess where he'd put them. That kind of went okay, but I still had to watch Beckett, who was doing a lot less throwing than last week! I had lots of kimchi and some ratatouille for dinner, plus another slice of nectarine thanks to Ayler's aversion to mushy things. He didn't care if I ate it! (I asked him first just to be sure)

We discussed Caleb's greenhouse, Parksville, Hi-Chews candy, Uncle Percy's death (why else would Mom be inviting me to his celebration of life this weekend?), what "avid' meant in the context of being an avid reader, what Beckett liked to eat, summer reading (Ayler read a book all by himself with no alternating pages!), origami with the Summer Reading Log, practicing reading and writing, whether they needed me once school starts up again (could be chaotic), and colorful train tracks which apparently aren't appropriate for Beckett yet. He still seemed to like them, though I know that's not really the point. I left before 8 and got home at 9 on a 407, which isn't bad at all. I thought I was going to miss the 8:56 407 like I did last week, but thankfully did not run into any delays, although other people on the elevator could have counted as one. Luckily, they seemed to be efficient, which I value.


From Julie M. and Introvert Spring: I may be quiet, but I have so much on my mind.




Lays potato SHIPS in kimchi flavor! Nice Engrish!




NEW Sautao hot and sour soup vermicelli noodles!




NEW Choco-Caramel Mentos!

I spent a few minutes cutting off the care labels on my MARTEX washcloths, then threw away the sticky Western Family vanilla Greek yogurt and Kozy Shack tapioca pudding tubs.


Sparkle Hayter?!




From the May 14, 2018 Discord update: QUEUE is not a substitute for CUE! Discord, why are you not more professional?!




From Julie: Joquita?! Reminds me of mosquitoes!




From Julie: Celecia?! What was wrong with CECILIA?!




From Julie: Laricko?!

I decided to take myself to the ER at 6:30 AM or so. I got seen in ten minutes, and got some Tylenol and a prescription for TamiFlu, so I took that to the pharmacy next door at 1:20, but it took half an hour. At least I got my drugs for $11.75 instead of $54, and an option to deliver the rest of the TamiFlu to me at home tomorrow, so that's great!


From my UNSINKABLE Bathroom Reader #21: DESIGNING HIGH PERFORMANCE STIFFENED STRUCTURES?!




DYING FOR A HAMBURGER?!

Eric M. called at 10:50 to say he'd be here ten minutes later to help me with my inadvertently unplugged speakers. He found some black wire with a green plug somewhere in back of my computer tower, which had been the problem. Then he plugged some things into the back of the computer tower, fixed the volume and microphone, and commented on my index cards and the dust. While he was there, I asked (knowing the answer) whether he was going to that Jacob's Well dinner at Jeremy's, then asked for a ride back. He wondered if I didn't also want a ride there: sure, as long as he wasn't doing anything beforehand! Then he cued up a numbers Youtube video, which Ayler would probably like if only he were allowed to watch Youtube. He left at 11:10 after I thanked him, which is fine. I'm glad to have sound / audio back!


I don't judge people based on race, creed, color, or gender. I judge people based on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.




From Janina: Great job on that thing you did!




From Engrish.com and Library of Most Controversial Files: Rape me okay, rob money are not.