from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 11:50 PM
subject Une première rencontre formelle cordiale entre Harper et Notley; Smoke-drenched Vancouver takes on dream-like feel: ‘It makes you think about the end of time’
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived the trip to Cambridge with my folks and kids and then BC with Rose. My grandfather passed away the morning after Rose and I flew in to Vancouver. He was slightly conscious Monday when we saw him but not really since. It was good to see him but at the same time not. He was so thin and frail and quite clearly on his deathbed. There will be a ceremony in Nova Scotia later this month. I don’t want to go into all the details of our trip now, suffice to say that Stacy and Caroline are now successfully and legally wed, Rose thoroughly enjoyed her visit with Ruby and Louis, the drive to Kelowna and then onward to Pemberton was dramatic and incredible, our visit with Aaron was nice but too short, we swam every day, we put over 2000 kilometres on the souped-up Ford Taurus rental car. I could go on and on but guess what happened on Canada Day? Claudine discovered that we have bed bugs! So immediately after arriving from our red-eye flight we hit Ikea to get plastic storage bins, Clo and some friends had already steamed and washed and bagged a shit-ton of our clothes and bedding, and yesterday we sent the kids to Gatineau with Rose-Marie and Gilles, and then went to a birthday BBQ for Iliana in Parc Jarry and then ended up doing mushrooms and staying out until 2am hanging around the market and the fire station and then unable to sleep and then mostly useless this morning, waiting in line an hour at Discount only to discover that I had lost my drivers’ licence. Luckily it was only $12 to replace. The rest of the afternoon at work was more or less normal. Today the exterminators came to (hopefully) rid our apartment of the last remaining bedbugs, and tonight Clo and I went to see a movie at Excentris, the recent Roy Andersson A pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence, which was beautifully staged and shot and composed and felt a bit like Waiting for Godot but ultimately was a bit of a downer. Anyway, I’m exhausted, going to have a quick shower and then head to bed with the new New Yorker. Clo is on Skype with her Oboro colleagues at Wave Farm in Vermont; she is going to call in a story for a broadcast shortly.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Jul 7, 2015 at 10:56 PM
subject Le Canada doit s’expliquer à l’ONU sur le respect des droits de la personne; The battle for La Ronge: Soldiers join desperate fight to save endangered community from fire
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I picked up a truck from Discount this morning and after some normal work involving plans, queries about products, lunch with Victoria, then James and I walked to William street and I took the van back up north with Graeme and Iliana to drop off a lot of documents for shredding. We’re trying to make room. Continued the cleaning blitz at home, clearing out a bunch of junk out of our basement as we plan to hit the dump tomorrow with more William Street excess. Had supper tonight with Clo and S-Roberts at that taco place on St-Laurent but they were very, very slow with our order and we well all a little Hangry. They did give us a free round of drinks to compensate. Oh, and I had dropped our car off at Canadian Tire to have a suspension table something-something repaired, another $300 gone but the car in better working order for our upcoming road trip. Jacques also reassured me that our winter tires will not explode, but that in hot weather they may deform a bit.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Jul 8, 2015 at 11:47 PM
subject Harper est un rempart contre une crise comme en Grèce, dit Poilievre; Top general apologizes to family of Afghan vet for letter questioning awarding of medals
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived a day of cleanup at William Street. James brought marinated chicken for the barbecue for lunch. Grier and I made a run to the dump, then dismantled some unused shelving. He took some to his studio, I took some home. J-M and Kim, recently back from China, came over for a visit but they had to leave for supper as they are in the process of moving. The kids enjoyed hanging out but Sol was cranky and just wanted to watch Paw Patrol. They went to bed late and now it’s late for me and I still need a shower I think I still stink from the dump.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 10:59 PM
subject Élections fédérales: les débats électoraux télédiffusés les 7 et 8 octobre; Certify imams, Senate report urges while warning some Muslim leaders are spreading extremism
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Survived my last day of work before my vacation begins. Had a surprise evaluation with James, we did it over lunch and it went well, all seems good at the moment, despite the threat of cutting positions that circulated briefly back before the Christmas holidays. I closed a few files and prepared for my absence, then picked up the kids after daycare and we went to the market for Popsicles and groceries for supper. Clo left this morning via the train to upstate NY to catch the tail end of the Wave Farm audio residency. Sol had a fit after going to the park after supper, he didn’t want to come home, he didn’t want a bath, I was close to losing my patience with him. But eventually he calmed down and we took everything slow and steady and he fell asleep quite easily after reading a few stories. Rose was excellent. I’ve had an ongoing email exchange with TD bank over a $48 NSF charge, which happened when my $39 pre-authorized payment to Plan International tipped my account past the $600 overdraft limit. Ironically, the $48 NSF charge did so as well. Also ironically: it happened the same day I deposited my $20,000 grant cheque. The money will be release tomorrow at midnight, one full week after the deposit. After numerous emails TD has offered to reimburse $24 of the NSF charge. They won’t even pay Plan for me, leaving me to figure it out by myself, finding my account number, making a one-time payment, etc. What a hassle! I dropped hints that this was perhaps a test of my loyalty but they haven’t budged from the $24. I dropped off papers at work today to open an RRSP with Great West, and could easily open a chequing account and get my pay into a National Bank account. But that’s a hassle too, and right now I need to spend the next couple days getting ready for the camping and road trip and mural that I have to do in a little over a week, yikes! At least we seem to have gotten rid of the bed bugs.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sat, Jul 11, 2015 at 12:21 AM
subject Les ambassades n’ont pas de personnel dévolu à l’aide au développement; Chris Selley: Toronto should learn from Conrad the raccoon
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Since it is after midnight I feel I should be returned into my natural state, be that a pumpkin or mouse. I actually did a bit of prep drawings for the mural I am to be working on next week. Most of the day I cleaned, organized and installed the new shelves in the studio, cleaned the car, started packing, washed some laundry, etc. etc. Took the kids to the park at St.Zotique and St. Dominique after daycare and we stayed well over an hour, stopped to get crispy fish at the market on St. Zotiqueand prepared food at home while the kids watched Super Why. We capped the evening off with the Lego Movie. Bedtime was late but easy as the kids were tired. Maybe this is how to avoid crisis and prolonged bedtimes? Still have lots of prep and packing to do tomorrow, and need to find fun things to do with the kids as well. Maybe bike around to different parks and pools all day. Getting excited for vacation, but stressed about getting the composition for this mural down. Too tired to work on it more tonight.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Jul 12, 2015 at 12:08 AM
subject «Ralentissement» économique: Harper prône la «forte discipline fiscale»; Remembering the Oka Crisis 25 years later
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived a warm day with the kids at two different splash pools, the first in the morning at Gaspé, the second in the afternoon at Jarry. Didn’t get much accomplished regarding the mural or packing the car, though I did vacuum it yesterday, and today I built a little shelf that will hold the video player. It’s a five-hour drive to Akra, NY tomorrow. Do you think it is a wise idea to bring illicit drugs along with me? We’ll have so much stuff with us, what would be the chances of a routine check with dogs? Anyway, I’ve made some of the camping pre-registration, planned some routes, emailed some maps to myself, and partially packed for myself and the kids. Just the food and final details tomorrow, after breakfast, and after we finish watching Up. Started it late tonight, Sol let me take him to bed before he fell asleep but he was super-compliant, and Rose ASKED to go to bed with a half-hour left in the movie. I’m starting to really believe that the key to an easy bedtime is to let the kids stay up late. But on that note, I’m off to bed. I may only write sporadically during the next three weeks, vacation and all. Hey, 100 days to the election. It’s the final countdown! Cue the music.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 9:41 PM
subject Leo Housakos défend le déménagement temporaire du Sénat; Despite danger, Kelowna locals take wildfires in stride: ‘We just put the damn things out’
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I have survived a week of camping on the road through upstate New York, the Catskills, the Berkshires, Mass Moca, Maine, Saint John, my folks, my friends, some MDMA, mural prep and then today, after shopping around for the right plywood, actually started the picture for the Spicers. I’m doing it at Judith and Robert’, who have let me take over their living room as a temporary studio. And Pam and Gary are fine with the central arrangement based on le déjeuner sur l’herbe by Manet (although they prefer the central female figure clothed). Have the basic sketch almost done and will start blocking in colour tomorrow. Spent over $150 today on some new soft pastels at ESL art supplies – Darryl even gave me a good deal. For artists. My folks have taken our kids to Ponhook. We hope to meet them there on Saturday. Off to print a few more photos and then bed, so I can get a full day in on the picture tomorrow. Watched the Wolfpack tonight. A tad disturbing.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 11:46 PM
subject Nomination du lieutenant-gouverneur: Couillard n’a pas été consulté; Man convicted in Via Rail terror plot ordered to get new psychiatric evaluation
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I am surviving the development of the picture for the new Britts restaurant. Today I finalized a number of details concerning the characters, including giving you a moustache. I’ve also given a first coat of colour over almost everything. I had a phone call from Judith in Montreal who told me that our apartment had been broken into last night, but it doesn’t see that much was stolen, our iMac is still there. It looks like the thieves mostly rooted around in Clo’s drawers, looking for money and jewellery. We don’t really keep much of value at the house, except artwork, and what crackhead is going to know which picture can be pawned for any amount of cash?
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Jul 23, 2015 at 10:34 PM
subject Le PLC réclame les projections du gouvernement sur le surplus promis; Stephen Harper to join Brad Wall in call for Senate abolition on Friday: source
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I have not yet finished the picture. This morning we had head shots taken by Kelly, very pro, I will most likely use mine in my campaign this fall. Afterwards I went to a local dental clinic to check on the three-day toothache, which I think was partly caused by our MDMA adventure (clenched jaw). Turns out I had a loose filling and underneath a small cavity AND a couple cracks, so they patched it but the tooth might need to be pulled and a replacement added at another time. So I am now after supper with Kelly and Jeff and of course our summer hosts Judith and Robert we are back Into the Wild and everyone is in bed and my tooth aches again and I cannot see straight enough to continue on the picture but I plan to wake really early so as to finish tomorrow before 5. That is the goal, the plan. I want to get going to NS on Saturday, I miss my kids!
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sat, Jul 25, 2015 at 11:14 PM
subject Harper écourte ses vacances pour la période préélectorale, The making of Mulcair: How the NDP leader became a contender
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I’m still in Saint John, but the picture is more or less finished, I just completed it tonight. I needed the extra day. The mushrooms last night didn’t affect my capabilities, though I wasn’t able to fall asleep and when I did, I woke up at 4:30 with my tooth on fire. I think the filling is still a bit high. I had it ground down a bit yesterday, felt a bit hasty pulling it out before a week at the cabin. But I don’t really want to be popping aspirin and ibuprofen cocktails every six hours to keep the pain away. Anyway, in the end I did give you a moustache. I’m taking the ferry tomorrow to Digby; Claudine drove around today. I miss the kids!
-chris
DEAR PM 