Lawn mower

 

The lawn mower that my dad gave us when we moved into this house (which was his old lawn mower already, so likely dates from the mid-80s) is now starting well. We're looking at getting something battery powered instead. 

QCC

 Missed QCC last night - had one of my uncommon migraines. Went there tonight. There was a very powerful and complex animation by Wrik Mead that was a delight. 

Cat trouble

 Cat is on her last legs (last life?). Peed on the floor. I did some research and got a reliable cleaner for this ("Nature's Miracle"), but the living room has never been re-finished so the wood just sucks everything up. We need to start confining her places at night. 

Painting again

 Ward Schell passed this camera to me last week. I'm back in my classes, but in a way I'm feeling like I should be doing something fresh. Maybe soon. 

Groceries with mom

 No big stories. Mom had her list and we picked up groceries. Sometimes she forgets that she has something already. We went back for groceries again three days later and she wanted to buy three of four of the same items but I assured her that she had enough. Had I not been with her today (and with this photo in hand as evidence) I might not have been able to convince her. 

Sylvie the cat

 Sylvie has been shrinking for a few months now. She eats and eats and never gains weight. All just skin and bones now. She likes being outside and finding new sources of water. 

AGR opening

 I was initially quite confused by Sandee's outfit as curator today, but when a couple others also donned such attire, I realized that the animal theme of the Art Gallery of Regina's opening show was being referenced. Jeff Meldrum also pictured above. 

Moose Jaw and Heather Cline

 

William and I drove out to Moose Jaw for Heather Cline's opening at the art gallery there. Fabulous as always. Part of her new normal now is that the first question she fielded was about the phone she dropped from her husband's plane that got national media attention for not having a scratch on it when they found it in a field. Meanwhile, my fighting fish died. 

 

Art crawl

 MacKenzie opening and talk (Cassil dance film and photography), Slate opening (Ward Schell and Frans Lotz) and Create City Centre grand re-opening (too much to describe). 

More apple sauce

 I cooked up the rest of the apples into sauce. I probably lost a third or more of them due to over-ripening because I got too busy to finish them, but the result is sweet (though unsugared) and has a nice colour. Got about 16 jars (with some being bigger) to add to the first 9. 

Spiderman Brand New Day

After an afternoon screening of Spiderman, A Brand New Day at the Southland, we emerged with the rain having stopped and the sun and the light were amazing and bright. 
 

Gin party

 Saw everyone at the gin party. Rain threatened but held off until later. Streets in neighbourhood packed with the Labour Day game. 

SwampFest

Lori, Al, and Rourk came for a visit this morning. Nice day on the deck to read a book. 

This afternoon Reginald returned to SwampFest, this year reading from Treasure Island as he hosted people on and off the island. Nice day. Saw lots of folks. 

 

Dandy's is closing

 Picked up mom for coffee this afternoon but instead of coffee, we ended up at Dandy's ice cream. There was an article in the newspaper today which said they are closing down at the end of this month, so this might be the last time we go. Mom enjoyed it but felt that the small was too much for her. 

Visiting Access Cable

 I joined CJTR today and Jo gave William and I bit of a walk around tour. There has been a bit of renovation since I was there last. Talked to Graham Condo. Also popped into an edit room which no longer has linear editing like I used here 30 years ago, but in that same room I saw this (see photo above) to which I was quite amused (certainly is a joke between video editors in the building). 

Country Corner donuts

 Stopped at the donus shop to see if there is any progress. I can see that the door to the back is now closed. As with last time, the inner space is stripped of counters and tables. I noticed that there is a stack of new metal vents in the corner, but looking back at my photos from May, I see that they were already there four months ago. 

Grocery day

 One change since I retired is that I am doing more of the grocery shopping. Beginning around the start of covid, Margaret was doing shopping for her parents as well as us, so it was generally more efficient that she shop and I don't. However, that era is over and I now have more time. 
Today, I noticed these cookies. They likely tast the same as regular cookies but they are more interesting because they are hot wheels. I guess kids need more incentives to eat cookies than back in my day. I recall when the cookie was its own reward. 

Lots of rain

 Rained like crazy. I stopped by the Motherwell house and found the street deep and a log floating down it. 

Nuit Blanche

 Lots of fun in park tonight. Weather was perfect. Rebekah and Dani did a cool workshop that we spend lots of time at. Matt Ripplinger and Allan Dotson both did interesting projection pieces. 

Cards with mom

 Spent some time with mom. Played some cards then went and sat out front for a few minutes to take in the warmth. Mom took a picture of me. 

Mona Navaei Roshandel's MFA exhibition

 We attended the closing reception for Mona's MFA exhibition at the Fifth Parallel. I had been expected all photos, but there was more video and installation. Well designed. Nice event. 

Fly

 Fly has taken ownership of the swatter. 

Apple sauce

I made one large pot of apple sauce today. It simmered down to about a half pot of sauce which then filled nine medium jars. Apples this year didn't require any extra sweetening.

 Steve and Gerri Ann came over for a drink this evening. Sat on deck. 

Screen Sask interview

 After a couple weeks of back and forth emails, I finally connected with Blues today to shoot an interview for the Screen Sask social media. Blues is a student intern over there for the summer with his term ending in a few days. I'll post a link once they have something online. 

Fish as artist

 My catfish has re-created his gallery, having moved it from one spot in the fishtank to another. It loves moving the suction cups around but now is somehow putting a white stone on display on top of the suction cup, as if it were a sculpture on a plinth.

Riffa panel and backyard fire

I moderated the RIFFA panel of Saskatchewan Filmmakers today. It went better than I feared. I kept things going and made sure everyone had a chance to talk. I tried to get them to converse with each other, which happened a few times. Later we lit a fire in the back yard and had a few people over. Emma, Geremy, Kevin, Rebekah, Robert, Dani, Paul, and a couple others I think. Fewer pictures than usual, so relying on 10 day old memory. William had wanted a firs on his birthday but too many people couldn't make it, so we postponed until today. 
 

RIFFA and apple picking

Picked apples off the Motherwell tree today. Probably left a third of them due to hight and lack of a tall enough ladder, but have more than we likely need. Dropped some off at Lori's. Later I attended a screening of Saskatchewan films at RIFFA this evening. Probably what stood out the most was a dance film called Rover by Tessa Leier from Saskatoon. 

William at 25

 Did some birthday stuff for William today. Geremy brought over a card first thing. We had cake. I surprised William a bird people t-shirt that I ordered through "T-Shirt Elephant" in Ontario. I'm quite pleased with the result (did one shirt black ink on white, another for myself with white on black).