Timing

Phone calls are funny things. They change character depending on when you receive them. For example, any calls during business hours, or during the early evening, are completely normal and fine. Any received between 10 pm and 12 am are a little suspect. Between 12 am and 6 am immediately put you on guard. And between 6 am and 8 am, say 6:45, for example, also fall into the suspect category. Caller ID also changes them. An unknown number in the suspect time periods leads to confusion, as it's perhaps a wrong number. But familiar numbers are different. Say, your parents' number. 6:45 in the morning plus Mom and Dad's number equals Bad News. Equals your mom calling to tell you that your grandfather passed away sometime last night.

Mom says it's a relief, and I suppose it is. He was a shade of the man he was last summer, who in turn was a shade of the man I saw in 2000. Physically, at least. Mom said he hadn't eaten in three days when he had a small heart attack, which was all it took. But he was still witty, and smart, and amazing. His body just couldn't... anymore.

And then I think about timing. Mom said that they'd just gotten word that they had a place in a nursing home, finally. What timing. We're painting our bathroom this weekend in part because I wanted to take pictures of the new window with the new colour around it to send to Mormor and Morfar, since they provided the funds that helped us replace it. I wanted them to see it before... because I knew it wouldn't be long. We put it off too long, maybe, except we really didn't. Again, timing. I am happy at least that they got the picture of Mike and I before...

Mom leaves either today or tomorrow to go to the funeral, and to help get everything settled with my grandmother. And I am disgusted with myself, because I feel, somewhere between hope and fear, that sick, disturbing point right between them, that there may be a second funeral before she returns.

I will try to find some closure. I will try to be glad that he is no longer in pain and suffering the machinations of a failing body. It's just so fresh right now. Despite a continent and an ocean and a language barrier, he was still my grandfather, and I miss him.

The Return of Friday Hair, and Baffling Bathrooms

Some of you may be pleased to know that Friday hair has made a return! Yes, I got out of practice wearing my hair down with moving, a more casual workplace, and winter, but the last two Fridays, I have made an effort to return to the practice of Friday hair. :)

I've mentioned before that I simply don't understand one-ply toilet paper. Could there be anything less efficient? Well, I've discovered something else that just boggles my mind. Stop for a moment, clear your thoughts so you can fully appreciate the uselessness... Wait for it...

Quilted one-ply toilet paper.

...

On the subject of bathrooms, last weekend was a study in oddness, as Mom, Dad, Sheila and Nathan drove up from Calgary, and Mike and I drove down from Edmonton to meet in the middle at a cabin by a pond. The weekend was completely lovely and relaxing, but none of us could quite get over the bathroom. You see, the toilet ran with hot water. And not just hot water, steaming hot water. Again, stop for a moment and think about how that might feel... While the manager's explanation made sense (the septic system ran better with the hot water), it was still... odd.

And more on bathrooms, as tomorrow I got to Home Depot to see if they rent power sanders, as we have to sand our whole upstairs bath before patching, priming, and painting. I've come to the conclusion that the previous owners did a combination of the following three things.

* They didn't even try to match roller texture before painting it the current colour, simply putting a smooth roller texture over a heavy roller texture.
* They patched, but didn't sand (or didn't sand well) before painting.
* They did a mediocre job patching in the first place.

All of this means that, if we want the bathroom to look good when the teal goes up on the walls, there's going to be a lot of dust involved before we can even prime. And since we have friends coming up to help us paint next weekend...

Stay tuned.