We have a patio again

More gardening today. My neighbour a couple of houses down and I took his truck to Rona. I wanted to get some lattice and a few other odds and ends, and finally get some privacy again. We used to have a lattice a while ago. Every spring I would go out and screw it together where it had come loose. Then several years ago I realized that it was coming completely apart. I took it down, and over that summer I dug out the boxes and put down a layer of newspaper and cedar mulch.

I don't want to think about how long ago that was. It's been a while. Now, doesn't this look much better? Still lots to do.

It's still not the nice thicker cedar we used to have but better than nothing. Tomorrow I'll go get some Climatus, and some roses to climb up the lattice. Stay tuned for further BIG changes. Hint, much as we like blue, it won't be there much longer.

I've lived with cats most of my life. It never ceases to amaze me the postures they sleep in once they come to realize the house is safe, and no predators are going to pounce on them. If I tried to tuck him into this position, Curtis would protest a lot. Here he's merely complaining I've interrupted his sleep.

Last night I was up late writing. I turned around to see the cats curled up on the chair together. Celina was giving me the look telling me I was keeping her up. I love how cat's eyes behave in photos.

My feet are less tender, but it still comes and goes. I was a bit of a slacker today, other than wrestling with lattice in the wind, trying to get it done before the rain.

We sat out on the patio this evening, drinking a glass of wine. It's a nice evening, a bit cool and breezy. Although I've been having fun being domestic the last few days, I'm not unmindful of people a few miles away dealing with a major flood.

I got a chuckle out of our Mayor. At one point during a press conference he felt compelled to talk about people boating on the river. The swollen dangerous river that has burst it's banks in several places and is still running at record levels. You can see the clip here. The words Nenshi Noun will enter the local language. As in, Don't be a Nenshi Noun, used to describe idiotic and inconsiderate behaviour. Here's a bunch of Nenshi related stuff to amuse you.

Today on short notice they put out a call for volunteers to assemble at McMahon Stadium for 10 am. They hoped for 600, and could deal with a max of 1000. There was 2500 people there willing to work. The evac centers have been turning away volunteers on an hourly basis. The Stampede grounds are a mess, and they had to practically tranquilize herds of volunteers that wanted to go in and start cleaning before the water had even gone away. Stampede starts July 5, and believe it or not, they are going ahead. Maybe not as the year of planning had anticipated, but going ahead.

Today I saw a photo of part of the LRT tracks near the Stampede Grounds, here's a screen shot. They look like a roller coaster ride. As far as I know they are still pumping out the LRT tunnels and haven't even been able to assess the damage down there. It could be weeks before the south LRT is working again. The only practical way of getting to Stamped is the LRT, so this is going to be interesting. There is a crew pumping out 7 stories of the garage under city hall. It's going to be weeks before people are working in there again. They are trying to arrange alternate work arrangements for Linda and many other City workers. Wouldn't you know it, this is the time of year we pay our property tax.

On a personal front, my office is dry, and has been dry. The power was out, and our building is in the queue to be assessed. They are restoring power very carefully, and all the buildings in a substation grid have to be ready to go. I'll be off Tuesday for sure, and they don't know about Wednesday.

To be honest I'm liking the break. I've been taking the various officials at their word and avoiding the emergency areas. There are times when the best help you can give is staying out of the way.