electricland

luckily, as it makes it easier to dig.

Saturday: Polaris (the former Toronto Trek). Spent most of the day in the media office eavesdropping on press conferences, but did venture out to say Hi to a couple of people and buy a talking Tardis piggy bank. I had to. Haven't put the batteries in yet, but that will come.

The Doubletree is not actually all that painful to get to by TTC; it takes a bit over an hour and is mostly long. I had books so that was OK. Also brought healthy snacks, as I've finally realized it is not essential to exist on junk food at a con.

Sunday: In the intervals between downpours, helped dig the Giant Freaking Hole in the back yard which will eventually be the stairs to the basement and the foundation of the new deck. Even granted that the hole is about 6' by 6' and 3 to 4 feet deep, I was surprised by the amount of stuff (sand, bricks, concrete chunks, stones, rusty pots) that came out of it. We were perturbed to discover that the house doesn't seem to be sitting on a concrete pad; the bricks just start. Still, it's lasted getting on for 100 years and hasn't shifted particularly, so it can't be all that bad. On one side of the hole is a pretty extensive layer of ash; we can't quite figure out what's going on there, possibly the remains of an ash pit or an outdoor oven. It was annoyingly crumbly.

Jen and John and I took it in turns to dig, heave buckets of sand out of the Giant Freaking Hole, and carry the buckets to the back of the garden and dump them out. That weed problem is pretty much gone now. We also need a few more dump runs -- haven't got rid of the remains of the shed yet -- and a scrap metal run and several trips to the Leslie Street Spit to get rid of the concrete and bricks. It's complicated.

Then I had a bath, because I was filthy. Lush's Butterfly bath ballistic is perfectly delightful and my bathtub is now full of sand.

I'm not as sore as I expected to be. Maybe tomorrow.

Books read this week: The Smartest Guys in the Room (horrifying, fascinating), Melusine (reread, awesome, can't wait for The Mirador).

Not doing so well on the assignment (hey, I have 2 more days! no problem!) or on picking my candidate for City Council (22 hours, I think) but I now have 11 partridges and 11 pears. (Jen helped with the last pears. She says they're much nicer than tax.) Partridges still need beaks. But I am actually on track here, so yay.

Also done this weekend:

- Ushed at my mother's choir's concert.
- Saw moonlightjoy and other friends I don't see enough of.
- Finished building new chest of drawers. Set it up. Put in divider box thingies. My underwear has never been so organized.
- MEC. Lee Valley.
- Some work on course assignment.
- Laundry.

To Do This Week:

- Take overdue library books back already.
- Vote.
- Finish and hand in individual assignment for course. Ditto for group assignment, also present it.
- Get caught up at work. (Welcome new person, write at least 2 articles, finish ADHD script, follow up on puzzling survey results, project plan for Big Scary Project, slides explaining What We've Done So Far.)
- Finish & mail ornaments.
- Choir practice.
- Prepare for party. (Attempt to bring order to my half of the house. Sweep. Clean bathroom. Buy food and drink.)
- Attempt to watch all Doctor Who episodes at my disposal in order to write review due in 2 weeks.
- Get flu shot. Pick up prescriptions.

I think I may need to clone myself.

At least I have clean clothes.

The very generous and talented javahousejihad has given me a whack o' Doctor Who iconses, although it took me a while to notice the fact.

They are filling my heart with the squee even as we speak. Thank you!