#226 - Imperfect Women and Steaks

I had full intention of going to work today.

Really, I did.

But getting the extra sleep was more important than being in the studio today. I started around nine-thirty and had to absorb some new information that was sent last night from one of the Art Directors. It meant thinking through a sequence, noting all the changes that would need to be made, and then making sure my team got looped in.

Then we had a meeting with the producer to catch them up on our team's needs and challenges, and they had the opportunity to address them and let us know what other things they had in motion to support the team. All in all, it was a good meeting, and we were able to express what we needed.

Lunch rolled around before I knew it, and Robyn and I headed out for our lunchtime walk. Once again, the weather was glorious for walking, cool and sunny. With no upcoming meetings for the rest of the day, we took our time and walked the full circuit. These walks always make me feel better afterwards.

Back at home, we got back to work right away. I grabbed a sandwich and ate at my desk. I was able to paint uninterrupted for the rest of the day. I finished the last episode of Mr. Inbetween and then put on longer-format YouTube videos that I didn’t pay much attention to.

Around three-thirty I took a brief break and made a cortado. I took it out to the bac garden and walked around with it, taking small sips and looking at my garden. I felt like a rich old man inspecting the flowers. It makes me happy to see the tiny bit of growth that happens each day at this time of year.

The Mount Tacoma tulips have started to open and by tomorrow there should be plenty of white, fluffy blooms. They don’t last for long, so it’s important to enjoy them while I can.

Then it was back to the desk to continue painting. I did this with a rare joy that I haven’t felt since this project started. It’s been a rough go from the beginning, and today felt good to just work and know what I was doing.

I’ll be in the studio tomorrow, and I’ll have a chance to say goodbye to one of the longtime employees who is leaving the company, as well as gift the writing book to the departing president of the studio. There is no incentive to go in as far as bacon and eggs, as the diner is now closed for good.

Nothing good ever lasts forever, but it can last for a good long time and sometimes even a lifetime if you are lucky.

Time to find a new place that will give me the same type of joy. When one diner door closes, another one opens.

Fingers crossed.

After the workday ended, I headed to the backyard with some tools and reattached the gate hardware that had worked itself loose. My neighbour, Bruce offered up some longer deck screws, and I ended up using about four of them to tighten up the gate beams that had been held together with nails. The screws should add a bit of strength to the butt joints.

Bruce was cooking steaks, and the smell of them made my mouth water. Thankfully, I finished the repair quickly and headed back inside.

In the kitchen, I warmed up some Chicken Ruby just as Robyn returned from a quick grocery shop. She brought back some mini naan bread to go with the Chicken Ruby.

Every time we eat this meal we make noise of pleasure. It’s always so good. Making a double batch was a good choice. We are loving all the leftovers.

After dinner, we headed upstairs to watch some television together. We put on a new show called “Imperfect Women” and gave it a shot. We must have liked it enough, because we watched three episodes in a row.

It’s hard to believe that yesterday was the two hundred and twenty-fifth blog entry since I decided to write a blog every day. Not wanting to break the streak has kept me coming to the keyboard on many occasions when I would have rather just gone to bed or read a book. My typing speed improved immensely over these past months and my ability to sit and focus on writing has improved as well.

I’m up early again tomorrow, so I’ll keep this one short as well.

Until tomorrow.