Early Monday morning, my grandfather, Jim Johnston, passed away. I thank you all very much for your condolences, and please know that we're fine, though perhaps a little emotionally fraught and also coming down with cabin fever ( Read more... )

Composed Thursday afternoon.This has been a bizarre couple of days ( Read more... )

Composed Saturday night.Friday was fun. In helping out a friend, I discovered that my mom's ginormous sedan will fit a few lengthy two-by-fours - from the top back edge of the left rear door all the way down into the front passenger footwells. I suddenly realized why those godawful sport-utilities are so popular ( Read more... )

(Written Laund- Saturday night.)Another thing I did here as a kid was take swimming lessons. There's a teeny-tiny outdoor pool along the Sonora Road that's part of a campground business. It has a deep(er) end and a slide that might count as a waterslide if you rig up a garden hose just so. But I have many fond memories of this pool. One thing that ( Read more... )

When it comes to experiencing the sheer, awesome power of Nature, many well-known places spring to mind: Niagara Falls. Mauna Kea. Tuktoyaktuk. But for my (generally hypothetical) money, the most incredible, impressive, intimidating, and inspiring* display of Nature is right here in Sherbrooke. Yes, it's the black flies. Industrious. Indefatigable ( Read more... )

People ask me if I can handle the slow pace of life here. But really, it often seems like I don't have a minute to spare. There are crazy bursts of activity just like there'd be anywhere else. Though when there's down time, I'm forced to either relax or do only one thing. That part is different, and so far I like it ( Read more... )

My maternal grandparents got into some inconvenient medical issues simultaneously and so I, being the only unengaged close relative available, am staying with them in Sherbrooke as a sort of odd-job helper and chauffeur ( Read more... )

I am now flying from San Diego to Houston. There’s an airport there named after the second greatest President of the United States (his son was the greatest ( Read more... )

ThursdayMet up with Jim and Derek and one thing we did was pick up the alcohol and get it to the venue. I was under the impression that we’d be stuffing their rented Mitsubishi Lancer with so much booze that it would noticeably lower its ground clearance. I was prepared to carry a two-four on my lap at the very least. But it turned out to be five ( Read more... )

It's been much too long since I've written, and I've been letting a lot of things pile up. I'm scarily behind on photos, and it might be nigh a year since I've even touched my website. When presented with free time it's much too easy to use it all consuming rather than producing ( Read more... )