The Big Pause - Day 86 - June 5 - No Beef Patties

I finished painting the doors today. I had the first coat of primer on already and just needed to put the finish coats on. I was able to do it on breaks during the day. It's a welcome change from work and a more efficient use of my time. I find it's important to "cleanse by palette" when working where I do something completely different then my current task. Sometimes it's work related, sometimes its a walk and in this case it was painting some doors. I used spray paint on the doors and they came out well. I wish I had a proper spray booth for my sprayer but this works well too.

After work I went in for my 89th blood donation. Kerry had the car so I biked there. As long as I move slowly when I come back, biking seems like a perfectly valid way of getting to and from. There were more new rules. For instance I had to have my temperature taken before going in and I had to wear a mask. My temperature was only 95.9 even though I had just biked 3 km to get there. I guess I run a bit cooler than most people though I should probably take my temperature regularly to see what normal for me is. Might be relevant when I think I have a fever. I picked up KFC on the way home and it was lucky that I could go in. When we tried to take Carter to Wendy's later, you had to do the drive through or Skip the Dishes. We went back home to get the car and when we got back they said they didn't have any beef. Carter was not happy. More supply chain disruptions.

The Big Pause - Day 85 - June 4 - Back to School

Carter went back to school today. As Kerry was leaving for work there was talk of a stomach ache but by the time he had to leave he didn't seem too worried. I think the total number of kids is under 50 each day at his school. He's not with his regular teacher and he's in a portable but he seemed to enjoy being back with kids even though none of his regular friends went. In the evening I got caught up on a new show. DC's Stargirl is another one of these ones with an 80's and 90's feel to them. Less about smart phones and the internet and more about people interactions. First three episodes were good.

The Big Pause - Day 84 - June 3 - Too Many Peanuts

Things got a bit out of control today. I had a large meeting at work that I was organizing and I had to do a prep in the morning to make sure things went smoothly. This meant I was a bit careless with the peanut bag when feeding Covid. After she finished with the peanuts on the picnic table she got into the bag I had left on the garden bench. Only a few peanuts extra. Kerry got home after 8:00 pm. First week of school has been hectic. Carter goes to his first day of school tomorrow. He's a bit nervous but I think he'll be fine. I have no worry about spreading the disease. There are only a handful of active cases left in BC.

The Big Pause - Day 83 - June 2 - Advanced Dish Washer Repair

I Installed the second cabinet base today. I designed them with extended edges on the right and back left so that I could scribe to the wall. The one cabinet needed scribing on the back but everything else was pretty straight. I still have to put some baseboard around the bottoms but that can come later. I also had to 'fix' the dishwasher today. I like to wait a day before attempting to do a repair because it gives me a chance to think about the simple things that might be wrong. In this case the issue was that it was set to "Rinse Only". The last time it was a knife sticking out into the water sensor. I imagine repair people get lots of calls like this.

The Big Pause - Day 82 - June 1 - George Floyd

The protests continue in the states. I've posted a few items that try to point out to people what systemic racism is. The most poignant one for me is the "All Lives Matter" comeback. If someone had a family member die of breast cancer and they asked that you donate to the breast cancer society, how many people would respond with the phrase "All Cancers Matter". They wouldn't. It's these subtle "keep you down' things that prevent real change. I'm learning about the basic law changes that various groups are asking for to reduce confrontations with police. I've also seen people comment with things like. "Do they even know what they want?". The answer is yes. These ideas aren't new. What is new is that more people are listening. Hopefully our "blackface" Prime Minister initiates some real change, whether it be for natives or blacks. We need to pull control back from the "make xyz great again" groups. There is no reason we can't make things great for everyone. Not just those that have some vague memory of when they felt things were great.

The Big Pause - Day 81 - May 31 - Ninja Warrior

Carter has been watching American Ninja Warrior a lot during the epidemic and has wanted to try out some of the movies at the park but all the parks are closed. As of this weekend they have finally re-opened and we went down to Fleetwood Park because they have some complex monkey bars. He started a bit too quick and has some blisters already but once those heal he has lots of plans to improve his skills. The last few days there have been protests that at times have turned into riots down in the US. The spark was the death of George Floyd but economy and Covid have helped to fan the flames. I home it doesn't cause Covid to get a hold again.

The Big Pause - Day 80 - May 30 - Doors

I got started on the doors today. I had already cut the poplar to rough size so it could acclimate for a few days. It stays straighter this way as I've already released the tension in the wood when I cut it smaller. I managed to get the doors milled and assembled. Tomorrow I will paint. For dinner we had another family movie night. Carter ordered popcorn, hot dogs and nachos. We watched Get Smart as a family and then I stayed up late and watched the Invisible Man. It was a new take on it in that it was a suit rather than some sort of science experience. Still dealt with terrorizing a woman though.