This is one of those posts that I write because something petty is annoying me and I just need to get it out.
This time it’s a TV ad. Mostly it comes on a lot during hockey so I am forced to watch it over and over again. Sigh. In fact, I couldn’t remember some of the details while I was writing this so I just waited. It was in the very next commercial break.
Okay, so – an ad for TD Financial Planning. It starts with a person in a green chair saying “Thanks for helping with my financial plan Sarah; Getting on track was so easy.” You definitely get the impression that the call is wrapping up, they’ve been talking all about the person’s finances and Sarah has been helping.
Sarah responds along the lines of “and someone’s always here to help if you need it.”
And the person in the green chair replies “sure beats my other plan of waiting for my inheritance.”
Sarah: “Oh you have family money?”
WHAT?!?!
The two of them have been talking about financial planning, there is a plan in place, the call is wrapping up. And Sarah, you didn’t think to ask about family money / inheritances at any point?
Oh yes, I feel very comfortable relying on TD financial planners now… nope nope nope.
It’s kind of amazing how things that people just sort of made up one day can carry so much meaning and influence.
Today is January 1. Today I will start to try to be a better me. Like I get to define better so that’s all well and good; and there really wasn’t anything wrong with “yesterday’s” me – she just didn’t always make the healthiest choices for example.
So time – something we made up to count; and even more so calendars. Why is January 1 the “starting point” for many? Why not Spring? That’s when everything blooms again after all. hmmm
Today’s aside (you had to know it was coming)
The US Astronomical Applications Department says there are six principal calendars in current use: Gregorian, Jewish, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Julian. And now I have a new book to watch for in the used bookshops!
‣ stop wasting food – I think this really means we need to plan better
‣ schedule in the stuff I want to do (so I don’t forget and also so I don’t spend time on things that are easier but less fulfilling – social media and phone games, I’m looking at you lol)
More specifically I want to do some stuff every day so I don’t even have to think about it:
◉ move more; starting with a 30 minute walk every day
◉ stretch more; I think I’m going to try the Yoga with Adriene January focus on energy
◉ drink more water; starting with 2L a day (I think I do about this now but I want to be sure so next up…)
◉ tracking food and movement
◉ do something creative every day; practise piano or cross stitch; knit or colouring. Something.
Again – 2 instead of 3. I started reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco but then I remembered I am trying to read things I haven’t read before with an eye to whether I want to keep or give away. And well, I am NOT getting rid of my Folio Edition of The Name of the Rose!
So on we go…
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Storygraph tags: fiction lgbtqia+ literary; emotional reflective slow-paced
One of those books that travels along with someones life and it’s ups and downs and family histories and family secrets and the problems that always happen when people keep all those secrets.
At the time I posted on socials: I really love reading books about lives so different than mine. I know it’s a famous book (the damn cover says it won the Pulitzer after all) but I had no idea what I was in for. It was just beautiful and full of heart. So there you go.
I didn’t keep it though because I knew I wasn’t going to read it again. I think I put it in a local little free library. (It was almost a year ago. Sigh).
The Sentence by Louise Erdich
The Storygraph tags: fiction contemporary literary; emotional reflective medium-paced
I liked this but not as much as I probably would have if I hadn’t been caught up in one of the blurbs saying “a wickedly funny ghost story.” I’m not sure I got the humour then.
I donated this to one of the local free libraries.
I stopped to take a picture of the city from the park – it’s cool and windy and the lights and the clouds look really pretty.
And I swear the dog saw me pull out my phone and take a photo. Then he walked out in front me, sat down, and posed.
I didn’t really even have a choice. So I thought I’d make this late evening post about the dog.
From day one:
One of the very first pictures I took of him – in my dad’s van that we went to pick him up in.This gives you an idea as to his size back then.
…to today – uhm just look up a little
Oh wait – same pose again from October:
Both his parents were bernedoodles too – and so while the breeder thought he would end up about 45-50 ish pounds, I think he mostly sucked out the Bernese Mountain Dog genes and not so many of the poodle genes. He started off about 5 kg when we got him at about 2 months old (about 11 pounds) and weighed 35 kg in September at the vet visit, (about 16 months later; about 77 pounds).
He is definitely mostly my dog, though Q is getting more and more used to him. Especially as Edgar is becoming less and less jumpy and over-eager. And Edgar loves Toby but will spend ages barking at Toby when I leave for work or to go out or what have you. Sigh. Really not sure how to work on that one but we’re trying!
Edgar and I did a puppy class and then two levels of obedience. The obedience classes were at Dog Logic – and I really cannot say enough good things about Madelayne and her team. He goes to day care there too now occasionally especially when we’re both going to be out of the house for a long day! And it’s so much fun to see the photos they post on IG and that they send to me when he’s there.
He’s being photobombed by Mikey – who has known Edgar since they were about the same size!
There are a couple of things we’re still working on:
First, not jumping on people when he’s excited to see them! This is especially true for friends either visiting the house or if we bump into them on the road.
Second, getting him more used to me brushing him. I really suck at this so we’re starting from scratch again – I’m going to try using a lick mat and some frozen peanut butter and just a couple of minutes at a time and we’ll see how it goes.
Third, I want to incorporate more “training time” with him on a daily, or really every-other-day, basis. Going over what we already know, adding a few things here and there (working on stay as I increase the distance between us; definitely working a bit more on leave it again – ahhhh garbage day walks are always fun; that sort of thing).
Sometimes there’s a lot of Sheryl Crow going around in my brain but I am very happy Toby finally agreed that we could get a dog and I am so very happy that dog is Edgar.
Oh and if you want to follow him on IG you can: @edgar_fluufle
Oh I am so behind on this. And I wondered, do I continue with the Ds (where I stopped blogging about it) or jump to the Ks (the books I just finished up). I waffled. As expected. So I thought I would try to write the Ds and if it still came easily then I could keep going and if not then I would jump to the more recent. Let’s see what happens!
It definitely helps that I log everything I read – again, sometimes late but always eventually! I used to use goodreads but then I discovered it was owned by amazon now and I discovered The Storygraph at about the same time so I use that now.
And it turns out I only read 2 Ds. Oops
First up:
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
The Storygraph tags: fiction fantasy horror challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
Sooo good. So so good. I really enjoyed it and will definitely be keeping this on the shelf until The Mighty Q is a bit older. I think he’d really like the story though he’s still at an age where explicit sex scenes are “no thank you very much” and there is at least one that he would not appreciate at all.
And the other D… I swear, what the hell happened that I didn’t read three? Or at least didn’t log three. Maybe I’ll go stare at the shelf a little bit…
Nope didn’t help. If I read another D author I tossed the book. But I am guessing I just read 2 instead of 3.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
This I bought years ago from the remainder bin at the City Hall branch of the Toronto Public Library.
By Arild Vågen – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62687550
My arrow shows where the library is; though you still enter through the main City Hall doors in the middle
The Storygraph tags: fiction historical adventurous emotional medium-paced
Again, not a usual choice for me. I am not a big fan of westerns. I mean they’re okay and all but not my usual jam. Holy hell this was good. Funny and also so so sad and funny. Toby said he watched the movie and it was very good. The book was too.
Definitely good enough that I picked up another one by DeWitt from a little free library.
Okay well, I definitely remembered enough to write about the Ds so I will just keep catching up.
Do you have a favourite author whose name starts with D? Toby might pick Roald Dahl or Phillip K. Dick. I’m partial to Dickens – he wrote amazingly well AND was a lefty 😉 And if I’m feeling pretentious I will lay claim to Dostoevsky as well.