Tatiana's Wanderings

The kids called me at 6:45 to scream-sing a song about (as far as I can tell) licking bums or nicking bums, and asked me inappropriate questions about whether I'd like to see Jon peeing. No, thank you! Then Ayler asked if I would eat a whole pie (which Hiero said they were having for dessert) because of my "big stomach" - mmm, no, I'm not on MY 600-POUND LIFE! Harmony said that was their father's influence - yeah, I can TELL! I said hi to Beckett, who didn't really say anything. but that's okay. It was pretty brief because they just wanted to sing a song, which is fine. Life is as usual over there, I see! I joked that when social distancing is over, I'd buy a pie to throw at their dad just for all these "jokes."


From Reddit on April 23, 2019: No, PickWhatCar, deliberately leaving things for you to step on is NOT something you should laugh about. It's time to have a SERIOUS TALK with your boyfriend! What if you'd tripped over it and hurt yourself?!




From Reddit on May 14, 2019: No, "I'm blocking you" is not a silly game which should make you giggle. What if you have mobility issues like I do? I don't think you should LIKE being blocked on your way out of a room! For me, the blocking game would NOT be fun. You know I have shit to do and you're getting in my way for fun? Nope, you stay where you are. Besides, you deleted your Reddit account and I still have both of mine, so I WIN!

After I had it out with Kate because of her offensive fruitcake denseness (she did NOT apologize properly for calling me a LEAF!), Ayler called me at 4:50 (with Jon sending me a Facebook message just before - which I didn't read till later), to ask what I did today, so I said I had watched a bunch of videos. He parroted, "don't watch too many videos a day" - little does he know that this is what EVERYONE is doing during this time! I can deal with HIS talking about the same thing and I don't mind if he says wrong stuff because I expect less out of him since he's a child. He struggled to remember what they had for lunch - but came up with PIZZA! Yup, I miss pizza! Ayler says he isn't a reading master yet, but does do quizzes because they want to test him. He has 4000 stars, but wants to have 8000 on his reading program - GOALS!

I was on speaker phone, so I heard plenty of Harmony getting Hiero to understand whatever he was reading. Beckett said "Auntie" and pressed a button that left me listening to nothing for about a minute. He obviously understands that I'm not there and certainly recognizes my voice. When Ayler got back on the line, he explained what happened and wondered if I cared about it. I said it didn't matter and I wasn't mad at all. Jon told him to ask me when the last time was that I'd taken a shower - WHATEVER! I looked up the world record for someone not taking a shower: Ah, some Iranian who hasn't taken one for SIXTY YEARS! We set up the next talk time for Saturday afternoon when Jon's done teaching. I guess he teaches at home, so I don't know how that works out - they do need the money, of course. Ayler let me go at 5:05 so he could build a new train track - that's fine! I also didn't know Darryl was autistic, but he seems to cope well, and HE'S my friend so it doesn't matter!


LOL tombstone?!

I called Ayler briefly at 6:30 after Jon said at 6 that they were still eating dinner. Jon said that it was Phone Call Overdose at their place - from what Ayler describes about his phone list, that's probably very true about overload! Ayler asked what I did for the 7 PM cheer for the doctors and nurses; did I poke my head out of the balcony window and yell? I said I did. I asked what HE did for the cheer, which led to a bunch of drumming on a metal object on the other end and Hiero explaining it. That definitely would create some noise and be appropriate! I said that fire engines, police cars, and ambulances showed up right outside my window for the 7 PM cheer. He asked about the world's oldest woman right now - 117 years old - and wondered where I got my Guinness World Records books from. The bookstore, but I was looking these things up online as he asked about them.

I told him that I'd gone for a walk at Minoru Park, then heard nothing, so I hung up. He called back to say that he'd pushed the MUTE button by accident instead of the VOLUME button. "You're lucky I called you back... before you got busy!" Gee, thanks! Totally understandable, and I said I understood it was an accident - not a big deal at ALL! (he needs that) He said he and Hiero were working on a 500-piece puzzle, which he might have told me before, but sometimes he forgets things. Of course I also said THAT was okay because I do the same thing! I told him that I'm glad he's my nephew, too.

Hiero was busy preparing his drumming and Beckett was busy just carrying his blanket around. Sounds normal to me! "Any other ideas about our day before anything? I can't talk to your family because you live by yourself." He wants to talk again in "a few" days, meaning Sunday or Monday. Fine by me! People who complain about loud noises should know that it'll start around 7 EVERY EVENING, and prepare themselves or their pets accordingly BEFOREHAND! It only lasts for about two to five minutes TOPS! Unless you have a baby who JUST got to sleep, then you don't get to complain!


Virgin tombstone?!

Ayler called me at 3 to talk about Beckett going around with a blanket on his head (the same one that Hiero pulled off - and then Hiero was upset for five minutes), playing a six-page version of PACHELBEL'S CANON which took seven minutes to complete, knowing a couple of six-syllable words ("onomatopoeia" and "responsibility"), his doing online school tomorrow, Beckett's boh-boh and eggs, talking to his list of people (Uncle Joe / Auntie Wing Yee / Eric / Randal / Jeremy), his liking to talk (I can tell!), and their lunch of tuna melts. He said he goes outside and likes to play tag if he can, but plays CONNECT FOUR inside, and also reads books and keeps Beckett safe when he can. I told him that his pieces were nice (except for Hiero / Beckett crying - which he said "sorry" for later), and thanked him for playing... also when he played the Willowbrook Waltz.

He gave me his grandparents' phone numbers, said that he had reached me first before I called them, and described a magic trick he could do in person. I heard Beckett say "Auntie," so I told HIM that as soon as I can, I will go over there so we can hang out. Ayler asked how old the oldest man was, since the oldest woman ever was 122 years old. I looked it up: 116 years old ever, and a man was JUST awarded a Guinness World Record for being 112 years old. Ayler asked whether Jeanne Calment had been in good health - well, she did smoke a lot (being in France) and ate tons of chocolate, but other than that, I guess so. Ayler told me that he liked being creative and writing stories - awesome! I should tell him about my "goat royalty" stories as a kid around his age, haha.

He asked me whether I had allergies because of the cherry blossoms and spring; I told him that I did not, but I was apparently very lucky. Harmony had told him that I was born prematurely - I am a dragon like he is, which is why I gave him the red-and-yellow stuffed dragon that Beckett has in his crib now. Hiero is a Snake, and Beckett is a Dog. I told him that learning was a good thing, while he wondered if my clock did minutes and seconds - apparently, he tells Jeremy what time it is and counts it up!

He asked me whether I knew that his dad's "special sleep window" was 11:30 PM to 3 AM, since that's when Jon can sleep best. Haha, no! I do not currently have trouble sleeping, so that's good. He ended the call at 4:05 or so, during which I could hear Jon in the background, so he was home then. We can talk next on Wednesday after his online school and everything else - no, I'm not likely to be available before then at 8:45 AM! He told me, "I'm glad you're alive because then I can talk to you, and you can take care of us. If you die, my dad will be the oldest, right?" HAHAHAHA!


Nacho tombstone?!

Ayler and Hiero surprisingly called me at 10:20 AM, which is how I discovered that my phone was still on from last night, but that was a good thing in this case! This time, I was prepared with the light on AND my reading glasses very nearby! They wanted to call since we only talked for a very short time yesterday - I said that was nice and thanked them! We discussed a 300-piece Thomas Ravensburger puzzle, Hiero building something, Ayler playing a long piano piece for me, Ayler thinking that Beckett misses me (he probably doesn't understand why I can't come and play), Beckett saying "Goo Mah / Auntie / Yeah" into the phone, and Ayler wanting to play piano a lot. He doesn't want to disturb the downstairs neighbors, so I reminded him about the soft pedal. When they asked me what I ate for breakfast, I lied and said "oatmeal and a granola bar" as I hadn't eaten yet. Turns out they "also" had oatmeal, haha! Good choice!

I reminded Ayler to protect Beckett when he goes on the couch by either blocking him or holding his hands. He said that they play with the red and yellow stuffed dragon, asked me if I knew what "Didibug" and "Didibop" were (interesting - LADYBUG!), and said that they go outside instead of going to church. Hiero wanted Beckett to repeat "John Horgan / Kennedy Stewart / Justin Trudeau" for me, but no dice! Beckett just said my name into the phone, which is good. Harmony asked how I was doing, so I told her about Pathways closing because of the coronavirus pandemic. I also asked about her parents, who are both being cautious. Told her that Dad had texted me asking about my food situation - I was like "NO, DON'T COME HERE!" Harmony said that Mom was more upset about missing the sales than the special senior hour for grocery shopping, of course! That was interesting and good to talk to them.


Mathias Jakshitz and Theressa Jakshitz have a tombstone?!

It's St. Patrick's Day 2020 today! I went out at 1:50 to get 1.14 litres of regular Bailey's from the liquor store, 3 pounds of Parkay margarine / 300 Mead index cards / Cinnamint, Fresh Mint, and Spearmint Mentos gum x3 / NEW limited-edition Olympic Dairy raspberry-cranberry yogurt from Price Smart, and six more on-sale Angel Oak oversized towels / Arm and Hammer laundry detergent for 50 loads from London Drugs with my handy shopping cart. Got home at 3:30 thanks to a 407 bus driver who waited for me to get on the bus. Went out again at 5 to get an on-sale Strata 65L (65-litre) clear blue plastic tote / storage box from London Drugs - I can't fit it in the shopping cart, man! Since I was there anyway, I got two on-sale bags of Old Dutch corn chips (original / BBQ) and an on-sale jar of Lindt DARK chocolate spread.

Got home at 6 on a 407 to do even more laundry! Somebody stopped my dryer load so they could put theirs in. I put bleach in their load when I discovered this. YOU PISSED OFF THE FIRE DRAGON! How selfish of you! I FINALLY finished my laundry at 9:30! JESUS CHRIST!

I heard that Rangers fan Michelle Osterhoudt Steed died in her sleep yesterday! NOT AGAIN! SO SOON AFTER CANDY! :(


Ravenous toilet paper hoarders at Price Smart today...




( New yogurt and social distancing! )

After COFFEE TIME / SHOWER TIME / CLEANING FRIDGE TIME (yucky sticky prune juice!), I went out at 1:30 on a 401 to finally redeem that Pure Nail Bar gift card from Christmas 2019 for a pedicure before going to help with the kids. I thought I'd be on time, but NO... the 3 bus had to be late, a stroller had no idea what to do on the bus, and then there were traffic delays, causing me to be 10 minutes late! At least they didn't have to call me or anything, and it was just after East 13th! It was pretty relaxing, and I got to choose a nail polish color - Shooting Star silver glitter! They had a fancy nail dryer and a fancy pink toe separator!

After I was done at 3:45, I texted Jon and asked whether he was at the park, then went to Save-On to kill time. I should have gone to the park instead since it took him 20 minutes to get back to me saying they were home now. Fine, sure, I'll walk there - not a big deal, of course. Beckett wanted "Didibug!" which Jon asked about - it made sense, but what was it? Hiero drew me a Bat Signal and a lightning bolt, saying I could keep them in my pocket. I pointed out that it would probably fall out of my pocket, so I'll keep them in my wallet's zippered pouch instead! When I got home, I put the Bat Signal / lightning bolt / Cao Starvingbase Noodle HOO! guy in a Ziploc bag for extra protection.

Ayler was blocking Beckett's access to the piano because Beckett would try to play it, and wanted to know if the real Dean could stay later to play "quiet soccer" while Jon taught his sister Lily. I told Dean that he must be special to Beckett - every time someone comes over, Beckett thinks it's Dean! HAHAHA! "Dean! Dean! Dean!" When Harmony got home, she mentioned she was late because the pipeline protesters had been blocking UBC today - UGH! Then she saw silverfish in the bathroom, in her clothes! YUCK! I told her about the time that I had seen one CRAWLING ON MY COMPUTER DESK in summer 2017 - EW! Beckett wanted to say hi to Kayla, and of course was interested in her guitar and the rest of the students.

Jon gave me a tea rag to wipe Beckett's nose with. He's learned "NO!" and uses it frequently! I watched him knock over Jon's violin while he was teaching Willie, and Jon said "NO, BECKETT." A kid named Ethan came for a piano lesson, and his mom stayed in the room. Beckett was very interested in her phone! Ethan asked what I was doing there, so I said that was a good question - what did HE think? Jon answered when he didn't have a response. I read the rest of the DOG MAN book to Hiero, who then wanted to draw Dog Man while Dean and Ayler transitioned to quieter origami.

We had pozole with hominy / chips / Greek yogurt / choy for dinner, plus an almond croissant. Beckett wanted to climb up on the couch and needed my help to sit / stand on the white chair. He picked up the word "funny" and the corresponding grin expression. "FUNNY! OPEN! Block! Magnet! Frog!" Of course he got upset when Ayler stole his stuff... I told Hiero that he had just touched the nose-wiping cloth with Beckett's germs ALL OVER it, so Hiero went by himself to wash his hands quickly! Beckett also showed me where my own eyes / nose / mouth / ears were, with the correct words. He wanted to show me his orange half-shell, so he said "shell" - pretty good!

I left at 7:45, amazingly in enough time to catch the 7:55 3 bus that went to the station. However, I wouldn't get home in time for the second period, because there was an electric scooter that took a minute or so to adjust herself in the bus. She didn't deserve a guilt trip or anything, so I was outwardly patient. Then on the Canada Line at Aberdeen, there was an obstreperous guy who wouldn't get off the train until threatened with the cops by the female attendants! Everyone was craning their necks to look - some old man asked if I was going to save him. Fuck, no! I'll watch from safety! I FINALLY got home at 9:10 during the second intermission. The Canucks played the Coyotes tonight at 7:30, and lost 4-2 thanks to an empty-net goal from behind the Arizona net ALL the way to the other end of the ice.


Fancy nail dryer at Pure Nail Bar.




Fancy pink toe separators at Pure Nail Bar. Nail polish color from their array is Shooting Star Silver.




Pretty Shooting Star Silver toenails!




Better view of the Shooting Star Silver toenails!




I got this weird time glitch on Shiwa's Discord server last night. March 3 is "today" while March 4 is both "tomorrow" and 'today." Okay, Discord...




From Jon and Harmony for Christmas 2019: Pure Nail Bar pink envelope and pink gift card for a pedicure, which I finally used this afternoon!




Biggerstaff tombstone?!




This is from Red's Discord server. Coronavirus as a metal band T-shirt: CORONAVIRUS 2020 World Tour! China and Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, Middle East, South America. SCYTHES! HAHAHAHA!




From Julie: I'm giving up these little glasses of alcohol for Lent. I will be drinking big glasses of alcohol instead.