Wherein verbosity wins out over quality content. Again.

I’m on day two of a migraine, and I’m stubbornly refusing to lower the blinds in my office so the bright morning light is making me squint rather unattractively at the monitor. I keep thinking, “I swear, the NEXT blog post will have actual real content. Just as soon as I get past XXX” — where XXX = a severe shortage of time, a screaming headache, a complete lack of ideas or inspiration, an itchy left toe… yeah.

Anyway, in lieu of actual content, here’s some stuff:

• The other day, there was a comment about problems while scrolling with the new blog theme. I’ve had the same problem. If you’ve had this problem too (or, for that matter, any other problem with the layout or design) could you please let me know? From what I’ve read, this particular scrolling problem is a quirk of IE6 (I know, I know, but I can’t do anything about the equipment here. I use Firefox at home!) and the only solution is to wait until the page is fully loaded before scrolling. That should help. Or, update your browser! The comment was anonymous, but if you find that works — or doesn’t — could you please let me know?
• Did you catch Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson on Q yesterday? They did an hour-long interview but I only caught the second half. Man, I love Rush, I really really do. If you missed it, there’s an extended 63-minute interview available for download on CBC. Their third retrospective album will be my next acquisition on iTunes.
• I brought Lucas to the after-hours pediatric clinic on Tuesday night. He had a really juicy cough with a wheeze in his chest that I found quite alarming. I’m talking to the doc, and say, “He’s otherwise fine. No fever, no lethargy, no obvious signs of distress.” The doc looks up from his laptop and for the first time since I’ve arrived takes a really good look at me. “Oh, are you in health care?” he asks. “No. But this is my third child.” He nods, looks vaguely perplexed, and goes back to typing. Ah, the things I’ve learned! (FWIW, no medication required. Just a virus. Again.)
• I spent more than an hour yesterday and an hour on the weekend de-dandelioning my lawn. It’s not even the end of May yet and my back yard is already overgrown. I love summer, but it means that in addition to disaster inside the house now I have to contend with the disaster outside the house! Really, I need more hours in the day. I’m not overly concerned about the dandelions, but we seem to have a lot of those prickly stinging nettles, too, and I hate those things.
• I think our cat is on his last legs. He’s 18 years old, and has been the worse for wear for at least the last year or so. He’s losing teeth now, and is skinny and matted and looks like he’s having trouble moving around. He’s blind in one eye. Poor old guy. He came upstairs the other day with blood on his mouth, and he’s been gacking and pooping all over the basement. His days are numbered. I hate this part of pet ownership.
• There’s a giant consignment sale in Nepean this weekend, and I’ll be unloading most of our baby clothes and gear there. So far I’ve tagged about $250 worth of clothes, most of it at $3 – $5 per piece for Gap, Old Navy and Children’s Place clothes. Even if only half of it sells, we should get about $100 bucks out of the deal. I’ve been trying to remain coldhearted in the rise of swelling sentiment (“awwww, all three boys wore these dungarees from Granny!”) but there were a couple of outfits I just couldn’t bear to part with. It feels good to finally divest myself of about three cartons of clothes, though!
• Yesterday, I met our city councillor, Jan Harder, while standing in line at Subway. I told her about Simon’s enthusiasm for the new Barrhaven children’s library and thanked her for her efforts. It must be a thankless job to be a city councillor, but she seemed genuinely pleased by my praise and thanks. (The careful and almost barely noticable pause before she answered my “Excuse me, but aren’t you Jan Harder?” was very telling!) She said the only feedback she’s received so far is two complaints that taxpayer dollars are being spent on a new (and temporary) security guard who both helps orient people to the new layout and makes sure children don’t wander out the door, in case parents who come in from the upper level aren’t aware of the new exit.

I’m sure I had more stuff. My head is very congested with stuff right now. This will have to do for today. Hey, consider yourself lucky I can’t remember the rest of it!

How’s that for a satisfying narrative with a strong finish?

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