Decent.

What shape is this cookie supposed to be?

“Boot for people with gout” is the leading suggestion.

Rogers Sugar has gone on strike, leading to a sugar shortage in western Canada, thus forcing people to buy prepackaged cookies in odd shapes. Not me: I’d stockpiled on sugar long before I knew about the strike. I just ran out of dark brown sugar, but I have plenty of powdered, white, and golden sugar in my pantry. The only cookie cutters I own, though, are mini triceratops, starfish, cat, and the entire alphabet. Not Christmassy, unless I spell out a Christmassy message.

The alphabet cookie cutters were intended for making fridge magnets:

Currently, the letters spell “JORDIS NUT SACK TASTE LIKE GEL INSERTS”.

I guess I have a thing for gelatinous genitals.

Anyway, I’ve decided not to make a gingerbread house this year. I didn’t make one last year, either. Finally entering a gingerbread contest and then losing out to fondant-based entries left a bad taste in my mouth. The troll in me is begging to submit an entry made of saltine crackers hot glued together to the competition and title the piece “The State of Housing in Victoria.”

I’m in the process of designing my own plush. My ability to imagine things in 3D lent well to my now-defunct gingerbread tradition. Yet, it doesn’t seem to translate to the creation of plushies. I have the will to make it work, but it’ll be a long, bumpy journey on the struggle bus involving multiple prototypes.

And, Jordi, of gel insert-flavoured nut sack fame, has introduced a new distraction into my place. For my birthday, Jordi gave me a Nintendo Switch. It is also a transparent attempt to reawaken the gamer within me. Since neither of us enjoys the outdoors much this time of the year, it’s unlocked a fun activity we can enjoy together.

The first Switch game I tried was Super Mario Odyssey. I have limited experience playing video games with a joystick controller. I wanted to impress my gamer boyfriend with my video game skills, and this game wasn’t doing that. I struggled to maneuver the camera and character controls simultaneously.

Once Mario Kart 8 finished downloading, Jordi and I played together. With the Nintendo Switch, the controllers slide into the edges of a portable screen, pair with a controller adaptor to become an ultra-controller, or as standalone controllers. By itself, the controllers give a bit of a “What’s this? A controller for ants?!” vibe but still get the job done. With a more basic controller, even a miniaturized one, I am a decent gamer. I’ve won a Flower Cup here and a Mushroom Cup there.

I’m loyal to the character of Toad, who is the cutest of them all. My choice kart is the city tripper with the roller wheels–a turbo-adorable combo–and it’s been working well. I enjoy watching the highlights at the end of each game and await the next Luigi Death Stare moment. Toad always looks strangely cheery, even when he’s throwing bob-ombs. I wonder if I can download these highlights.

The Switch, sewing, Zwifting, and a new intriguing book have spoiled the outdoors for in the meantime. Though it only takes a few minutes of time, I’ve started playing Wordle. I am a decent Wordler. So decent, that my starting word, resin, was the Wordle of the day. Now that resin won’t be the Wordle again for a long time, I need a new starting word. I haven’t found any word I’ve connected with as much as I did with resin.

I got some good news to go along with last week’s good luck: I don’t have asthma. I don’t know if I ever did, but I don’t have it now. The doctor who prescribed the inhalers also referred me for a pulmonary function test.

I went to the hospital, sat in a booth and blew into a tube.

I took a picture of the monitor at the end of my appointment to analyze the results at home. Two minutes into my research, I concluded that I definitely passed the test with my mighty huffs and puffs. The test doesn’t show whether one has exercise induced bronchoconstriction, though. I imagine the test for this puts one on a treadmill rather than in a plexiglass booth. I already have a prescription for the Salbutamol inhaler and it’s been working out well for me.

The nurse who performed the test wore a mask yet masterfully guided me through the procedure wordlessly as if she were an orchestra conductor. I commend her for being bold in her efforts to communicate with me. I appreciate people who make an effort; so many don’t.

Ok, enough about the real world. I’m going to play Super Mario Odyssey in Assist Mode now.