Monday. Again. But it was back to work this week. In a new portfolio. This is a change that has been coming since mid-March, so I was happy it had finally arrived. I had new buildings and teams to work with.

The heat wave finally broke on the weekend and I hoped that would hold true for awhile. As we approach fall, my schedule is falling into place. I’ll have choir and karate in the beginning of the weeks though choir doesn’t start until the end of September. Then it’s just the weekly game nights. I may spare on the odd Thursday for Fall Ball, but otherwise I can just finish the renovation then clean and organize my home to get back to all my other goals. I’m looking forward to a quieter period of time and for cozy weather with hoodies, hot drinks, and spooky fun times. Autumn is my favourite time of year.

The evening was taken up by the Condo Annual General Meeting. There was enough people to have a meeting, but not enough to vote on a bylaw I suspect will be voted down.

I’m super excited about this bass adventure. There’s so much to this instrument. In part, it feels like a tall order right now as I’m learning the basics, but I feel like I’m going to be able to do things I’ve wanted with music for so long. I found this thread on Reddit that is full of interesting examples about the freedom in bass playing: “Can someone who knows a bit of music theory explain to me how bass lines work? : r/Bass“

I’m actually engaged in playing scales. On other instruments, they always felt like a drag. Like with guitar, why am I doing this if I’m just going to be playing chords? But with bass, they feel like a more critical piece of the whole endeavor. I’m actually cool with playing the same thing over and again until I get it down pat. I actually care enough to play with a metronome rather than half-assing it. And both hands need to be quite active, so it feels different. Sometimes I wonder if I have enough coordination and focus for it all, but I’m enjoying it.

An evening was spent with a dear friend this week. We haven’t seen each other nearly enough in recent years. Hopefully, we can see each other more often in the future.

I didn’t get to most activities this week. I planned out the plumbing stage of the kitchen and got most of the parts on Thursday. I opted to do that instead of karate given my toe and my need to have a functioning sink. The sink tail piece was outstanding as the place I got the rest of my plumbing parts didn’t have one as far as I could tell. But I was able to check out the rangehoods and I think I found a nice black one that isn’t too expensive. The big change I want to see there is one that isn’t wide open underneath because it’s harder to clean those!

Lately, I’ve also been pondering a furniture rearrangement. I don’t love where my desk is. I used to have it in another spot and I think it was a pretty good place for it. I’m thinking that my keyboard may be best where it is. And perhaps my other table will go to the dining room for crafting. Or maybe I’ll have my crafting table where my desk is and have my keyboard in my dining room. We’ll see. A long weekend is coming up and I plan to spend a lot of it painting the kitchen, but the evenings during the week may involve these moves.

It’s the time of year where my soul itches for the change in schedule as we approach the months that are quieter for me. I prefer staying home whenever possible. Except for spooky outings and comfort things like movies. I’m really not much for bars of any sort these days.

Friday’s softball game was a win. I was soooo close to catching a second foul tick! Our weekly team shot was a homemade margarita. It’s going to be hard to follow those up!

Saturday brought the annual softball fundraiser for Bruce House.

It went well! I helped with set up then mostly fought through lack of sleep as I had gotten about 2 hours only. That was rough. After the tear down, I showered and slept pretty much for about 12 hours.

On Sunday, I tried to get the last parts I needed for my sink, but Rona+ didn’t have it. I can see how they are trying to compete with Home Depot, but while I was there, there was hardly any staff in the actual departments. Between not having what I needed and people taking forever to come to the paint desk, it took an hour and a half to get two small cans of paint and a bit of sealant. I’m not saying I won’t shop there, but I won’t go there for anything that requires service. Lightbulbs, sure. I won’t get my countertop there and I doubt I’ll get my rangehood there. I don’t have time to go to a place where the inventory isn’t accurate and there’s no one around to help me.

In the evening I began my furniture reorganization, had a yummy dinner with some red wine, and watched the movie Salt. It was an action movie about a female spy named Evelyn Salt played by Angelina Jolie. It ended with much room for a sequel, but there has not been one made.