Friday, October 23, 2009

Seven Quick Takes Friday

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--1--
Michael woke up this morning with the flu.  He's had a cough for a day or so, but this morning he has fever, muscle aches, and a runny nose.  I'm now completely self-conscious about touching my face.  I do NOT want to get this.

--2--

I recently joined the Goddard Association of Europe, a family history society focussing on the Goddard name which is that of my maternal grandmother.  They publish brief family information from new members in each monthly newsletter and I was one of the six or so that they printed last month.  Two days ago, I was contacted by a member who shares ancestry with me which is thrilling!  We share a 3 x great grandfather, a Samuel Goddard from Bilsington, Kent, in the UK.  I am looking forward to exchanging information with her as she is from that area and visits his unmarked grave when she is 'home'.

--3--,
It's been an arts-filled week here, with the Opera on Sunday afternoon, and Naturally 7 yesterday night.  I am realising how much more I prefer live music to recorded, and how much this wonderful city has to offer.  Both of these events were in venues that were new to me, and that are (or will become) major sources of much enjoyment over the coming years.

--4--
I had lunch with an old boyfriend on Tuesday.  It was a hoot.  We dated, oh, 35 years ago, and last saw each other 3 or 4 years ago in Ottawa.  As I waited for him in in office, he was speaking with his publicist on the phone and said "Guess who's in my office?  My first girlfriend!"  He was my first boyfriend with a car and the only person I've ever known with such an encyclopedic knowledge of the music industry in general, and the Rolling Stones and Stompin' Tom Connors in particular.  He works for Eagle Rock Entertainment as the General Director for Canada and has an office filled with DVDs, CDs, posters and awards of all the artists they represent.

--5--
Tomorrow we have an electrician coming to install a chandelier in our soon-to-be dining room.  We are repurposing the former family room (off the kitchen) into a dining room and have move the sofa from that room into the kitchen.  It's great to have a comfy spot for coffee and the paper in the morning, and the new dining room will be a bit more spacious and not so close to the mess in the kitchen (although they're open to each other.  We've also picked up some ceiling fans for the boys rooms as they tend to get hot in the summer and cold in the winter with our poor forced air venting system.

--6--
We just downsized our garbage bins.  In Toronto, your garbage fees depend on the size of bin you select (for garbage only, not for recycling).  We realised that we were only filling our bin half full so finally got a smaller one.  It will permit about 1-1/2 green bags of garbage every two weeks.  Large items (like carpet remnants and old furniture) can be left out beside the bin for free pickup.  Extra regular garbage can be bagged and tagged with a pay-per-use tag (I think it's about $3 per bag).

We also just switched dry cleaners to the one in our grocery store.  They use a natural process which makes Z very happy as he can smell the fumes from the regular process chemicals on his shirts.  They also have a reusable garment bag for cleaning so you don't get the plastic sheeting which isn't recyclable in Toronto, so we've started that as well.

--7--
This week's Clutter Diet main task is my home office, or I should say, my four office-like spaces spread over our main floor.  It will be great to get this organized, and I'll post before and after pics as I did for our front hall "Destination Station".

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