f1d0

2024.03.19 02.07

100928
three songs

100920
small towns

100919
best dollar stores

100918
KW day two

100917
Waterloo via Galt

100914
Facebook Humbug

100908a
Portraits at Forest Hill

100908
new family member

100907
bears raccoons

100906
frightened, bikes gone

100812
tug of war

100803
monday at centrepoint mall

100802
sunday with my folks


100300
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090400
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100907 bears raccoons

0320 todayI've clearly made a mistake with the raccoons. I hope the mistake settles down.
1400 yesterdayMy folks came over. Normally we do the flea market together, but Mom wanted to find some cheap leggings. At 3/$5 they can fit poorly. At 3/$10 they should fit better. And if the cost is more, they have to be perfect in every way. Have you guessed? We didn't find anything satisfactory.

We went somewhere I hardly ever visit: the Orfus Road outlet area. If you google this, you aren't likely to find anything, as I am sure I don't have the name right. Oh, the street name is correct. It runs east-west between Dufferin and Caledonia. But I haven't figured out what the city is calling this one-street fair. It was nice! Perhaps four ice cream trucks and six hot dog vendors. You might recognize some of the names of the outlet stores: Stitches, The Kitchen Store, Nine West, Suzy Shier, Barnes & Castle Kitchen. There are many more, but I can't recall all of them. The streets were full of shoppers and their cars.

1600My parents were all tuckered out from all of the walking we did. We would do a brief walk around each store we passed. They were warehouse sized stores. Each one sported a sign with words that meant "50% off lowest ticketed price for Back to School." If you wanted girly fashion, this was a good way to get it.

If you wanted basic colours without frills, you would have more trouble. I was hunting for a light weight turtle neck top, or a mock-turtle. The colour would have to be black, white or khaki. I usually choose black, as it stays clean longer. I couldn't find anything at any of the stores I checked. I didn't check them all.

1630Back at home. GF wanted to see our friends who live east of here. Far, far east of here. We live in the old town of Lansing, and they live in the old town of West Hill. It took about two hours by bus. (coming home went much faster)
1700We missed the first bus. Got to Eglinton Stn, missed the 54 bus. Once on the bus, we got to enjoy the company of 'the salt of the earth.' About 15 minutes along the way, someone brings their 5-year old in a large stroller. She should have pushed it to the stroller spot in the middle of the bus. But instead she parked at the front, so that each rider who boarded after her had to squeeze past her son. (note that the kid was nice; he was just reaching his arms wide, and this made him even harder to pass) After another 15 minutes on the bus, another buggy came in, this time full of laundry. The two passengers argue about who should move. Mother says laundry lady should lift her stuff overhead to pass. Laundry lady asks mother if she could move a few feet down for a moment (I'm not moving, she growls). So everyone has a very narrow spot to put one foot then the next to pass inside. After another 10 minutes, another lady comes in with shopping. She appears to have three fabric bags filled with cement stones (I'm exaggerating. She had a 20lb bag of rice, and many canned and bottled goods). She too tried to negotiate with these two women, but they didn't give her the benefit of an audible response, so she stayed near the driver. Normally TTC operators complain about such things. This one was mute, but his driving betrayed his true feelings. He started driving in a rough fashion, accelerating hard and braking harder. The driver accelerated; Shopping Lady was sent to the floor with a shriek and slid backwards. The bus heard the sound and stopped suddenly, so she slid to the front, parcels first, as though dragged by them. The women responsible tried not to look, but the driver asked the lady if she was fine. I don't think she was fine, as she shrieked, but she said she was okay, and got off the bus.
1900With a full bus, the trip seemed to take forever. Passengers were either boarding or unloading at each stop along the way. We finally arrived. Their home is west of Morningside Ave. It's the Eastern edge of Toronto.

Their home was spacious and shiny. They were great hosts, and I hope we were good guests. We spent our time exchanging stories, eating pizza, and checking out the electronic equipment there. I'm a computer guy, after all.

0130 todayFinally back home again. Our bus ride back was fast and without incident. We're alert but tired. GF has work early tomorrow, so she should be sleeping now. But she isn't. At least she's lying down.
0320As you know, I really like it when the raccoons are cute, and tug on my pants or make a soft hiss sound to call me over. Tonight and last night they actually worked hard at opening our door by pulling it. In person, and one at a time, they're nice and smart. As a group, I'm worried I've taught the bears raccoons that there is food behind the door we live in. I think I've made a mistake, and may have taught them that we have food inside our basement apartment.

When they're trying to open the door, they use all means. I hear them pulling it from the sides and edges. I can hear them twisting the door knob. And I hear them arguing (they have a unique growl sound they use for swearing at each other). They were persistant tonight: they fought with the door for about 30 minutes.

Once they stopped, I had a more humourous view on the matter. Imagine having some neighbours who drink too much, and won't stop knocking on your door after hours to "borrow" some hard liquor.

tell Dave to do this more often