Margrit turns 80 and she gives a big party in the activity hall in the home were she currently resides. Lots of people, lots of presents. I don’t know how she does it, I myself am absolutely worn out after the day, but she keeps going on.

The first week of my three week visit to Europe I spent having a serious jetlag. During my better periods I visited various friends and handed out Banana Guards in all colours.

I arrive in my mother’s house and she is there as well, brought there by my sister for probably her last visit. She can’t live in that house anymore because it can’t be adapted to wheelchair access. We haven’t seen eachother in a while and we raise our glasses in celebration.

Marijn pointed out I had a big bruise on my arm. I hadn’t noticed it myself because it only hurts when you press onto it. It is probably cause when I fell of the ladder while trying to hold myself onto a clamp. Unfortunately the clamp was not firmly attached to I fell backwards from the ladder. Only 60 cm high but not very smart. Yes, physical labour is more dangerous than sitting behind a computer screen. But although I’m exhaused I like doing it.

The closet is almost completed but I can’t finish it completely because I have to catch a plane to go to The Netherlands. So my client needs to have some patience. In the meantime she’s going to paint the parts that are done.

Still to do: hanging the doors, fitting the moldings around it and making the secret compartiment that will fit in the hole in the bottom.

After many months I finally have found a doctor. In Montréal there is a tremendous shortage of Family Physicians. This has several causes, one of them that after your graduation as a doctor the Québec government wants you to work for a couple of years in rural areas (where there is even a bigger shortage of doctors). If you stay in the city you are fined by a 30% cut in your income. Another reason is that because the workload is very high many doctors are retiring early.

Anyway, I have one now and after conducting a complete physical exam he wanted to do some blood tests. I had to go to the hospital for those and of course there were huge lines. I had to wait for three hours, not fun when you have so much work to do.

Beacuse this house is old and all the walls and floors are crooked I have to level the base were the closet walls will be based on. A good base is important since otherwise things won’t won’t be level higher up. I’ve spent countless hours the past couple of days to prepare all the elements and today I transported them in the car (mightly overloaded) to the client. And when the base is finished I will put them together. I hope they fit.

Before I can install a new closet, the old one has to be removed. And since this is an old house in the Plateau neighbourhood, it has walls made with a lot of wood in it and a lot of plaster as well. I hate plaster, it really dries out your skin and gets everywhere.

Boring one of approximately 5000 holes. I’m building a big closet for a client and it is, as always, more work than estimated.

[ I’m totally backlogged (Pun intended). Stay tuned for more entries of the past week or so.]

Pepe ran away again. That’s not unusual since he grabs every occasion to sneak out of the door (front) or gate (back). But usually he’s just pondering at the corner of the street or the alley. Not this time. I looked for him over an hour and still hadn’t found him. Alison had already started making “Perdu: petit’ chien” posters. But then a phone call from the clinique veterinaire: “There’s somebody here with Pepe. Can you come and pick him up?”

A big sigh of relieve and I even shed some tears when I called Alison at work. At times I hate Pepe, but notwithstanding all his bad traits he is part of the family.

I went to the clinic and there on the stairs was Pepe, with a makeshift leash around his neck. Next to him, sitting in the sun on the stairs, a girl that held the other end of the leash. I thanked her, took Pepe end took him home. He was happy to be home again.

I should have asked her address so we could deliver some flowers but I was so happy seeing the little bugger that I totally forgot.