Re-Entry

We got back from Hong Kong around two and a half weeks ago, and with the start of school last week, we’re still getting adjusted to new routines. It’s been busy.

Back to school, starting up lessons again, groceries to fill up the pantry. Paperwork and forms, apparently a lot of stuff is moving online now and I’m filling in these blank spots that don’t allow you to write in little extra add-on comments with arrows in the margins. New lunch time routines. Trying to borrow books from the library in time for book club. The library across the street closed for renovations in the spring, and was supposed to be open again in July, but it turns out it’s not supposed to be open again until October. Obviously a very small, inconsequential thing. Not even a thing.

Super, our aging dog, had his vet visit and then another one to get a biopsy on some of his lumps that he’s had for many years but are now getting bigger. They was one pea maybe five years ago, and now there are more peas and the original peas have turned into golf balls. Turns out he’s fine, just lumpy, and it was just an expensive bill and a stressful week. And now his lumps were shaved so they could do the biopsies and his pale, shaved lumps show up against his dark brown fur along his belly, so he looks like there’s something going on with him. Other than being lumpy. And also being a maniac.

Earlier in the summer, I had agreed to a monthly volunteering thing I was seesawing on,* which, of course, started the first week of September. In the apartment upstairs, we’re doing some shuffling and re-organizing and it’s required some painting of walls and some shuffling furniture and all the stuff everywhere and threats to throw out toys and what is this half chewed crayon that’s melted into the floor. We’re potty training “for real” now (Naomi is currently wearing a diaper, is how that’s going).

This past weekend, our local neighbourhood had the Cabbagetown Festival on Saturday and Sunday, which was a lot of fun, but it was several trips wandering around through dense crowds and ice cream and also manning the studio shop solo on Sunday because the main shop was open for its first Sunday hours ever and Jon had to go across to see about it all. So I manned the studio shop with the two kids who were eating snacks and spilling things and asking about using scooters while customers were trying to ask about pens.

Chicken brought home a dead bird and left it by the back fire escape stairs. It attracted things. I left it for Jon.

Since I’ve come back to Canada, I’ve also been having technology problems with a few things I normally do for the shop (blog, social media) that were really actually sort of not real problems that people who use technology frequently experience, but I was quasi using them as excuses to procrastinate. Jon kept trying to troubleshoot remotely, and I kept being belligerent.

This is all extremely trivial! And maybe also not completely trivial. It’s just life. Catching up.

In any case, I’m really looking forward to fall settling in. Getting back into routines, and the (ironically?) calmer pace of things ahead. Just enjoying the weather, and maybe reading some books, and finally catching up on the blog.

*Euphemism for trying desperately to escape.