Someone who loves me very much, in a kind and gentle way, brought to my attention a cringe-worthy mistake I've made on the pages of Camera Crazy. Rather than describe my new friends as guerrilla gardeners (apparently a trend), I called them GORILLA gardeners. Yeesh! What WAS I thinking?
With that out of the way, let's move on to more pleasant topics, namely the past weekend. Many of my days begin with a neighborhood walk, checking on all my gardening sites for change which, at this time of year, is a given.
The weather has been so good for days on end, reminding me that when that is the case, Vancouver's beauty is nearly unrivaled. Friday morning I had my hair cut, letting Brent pretty much do what he wanted. What he wanted was to cut off a bunch, which he succeeded in doing, something like three inches. I must say it feels quite good, however, styling it myself, well, we'll see.
Later on, I walked over to Earl's to meet B for dinner where a lovely, and surprisingly, entertaining evening was spent. The entertainment came into play when a Russian fellow sat next to us at the bar and pretty much talked our ears off, much to our amusement. We asked him about Putin, as folks do the same about Trump, and he explained that, unlike how many Americans feel about Trump, everyone he knows loves Putin. One man's opinion. 😀
Because Bruce was so happy with how my hair turned out, we walked over to the salon and Brent kindly fit him in, and once again, used the scissors with abandon. How I wish I'd found him earlier in our stay, not only because he is talented, but gossipy too. Frankly, who doesn't like gossip?
Whether or not this falls into the gossip category or not, I'll let you decide, but here is some very fun scoop---a woman walked into the shop for a color and cut and you, my friends, or most of you anyway, know who she is.
Cora Crawley! Not that her family calls her that, but we do. How fun is that? Apparently, she lives nearby, so I've got to keep my eyes open, not that I don't already, but you know what I mean.
Back in February, Wendy, the head of design at Earls, sent out an invitation for a party in May. Sort of a save-the-date kind of thing. Forgive me if I've told you this before, but what Zarita let slip a few weeks ago was that the party was partly in honor of Bruce. Never liking to be the center of attention, he was anxious, however, he also wanted to look good, so following the haircut, we walked down Hornby towards the shops.
Before shopping though, we had lunch at the Vancouver Art Gallery restaurant, well, really it is more like a cafeteria, albeit a very pretty one. We ate on the patio, chatting with a woman from Edmunton who was lonely because she'd been alone for SIX hours. Who gets lonely in six hours?
Guess what I found growing along the wall there? Purple! And why am I not surprised?
We went to Winners, better known as Marshalls back home, finding a cute shirt and some new casual shoes. Before long it was time to head to the North Shore in a cab because, in 2018, who drives to a party where alcohol is to be served? Even being careful is not enough when you are older and hate night driving, so we left the driving to a young man who was quite chatty, taking us on some streets we'd yet to see, much to my delight.
As we've discussed, everyone is very young at the office. Crazy young in fact. As people began arriving, lo and behold, Lindy began squealing with delight when she saw that not only had she also cut her hair off, but was wearing pants, not to dissimilar to mine, thus she insisted we pose, a la Charlie's Angels style.
I cannot tell you how sweet they have all been to me, and it goes without saying that they all love Bruce. The weather was mild, allowing nearly everyone to gather on the lovely back yard deck. Wendy, in the photo below, is doing her best not to make Bruce blush while she describes how much he means to the department.
It didn't work too well...
Am I a bad blogger/photographer because there is no cake photo with the clever saying? On the other hand, I did get a photo of Alec, his wife, and their new baby.
As you may recall, Alec has taken on the Director of Construction position, having moved from Alberta, following the birth of their child. Bruce, during his remaining tenure, is acting as a mentor, although Alec has more experience than his young appearance would suggest. Nonetheless, he's taking advantage of Bruce while he can!
In one of the sweetest things I've ever witnessed, Beth, in the striped dress, had an idea that the whole team seemed to be happy to participate in. Saturdays, she works at a children's book store, and while doing so came across a very fun book, that she then had everyone sign. Not just sign, but more like writing in a yearbook.
Bruce's Big Move indeed. The sentiments were heartwarming, so much so, that while having my Mother's Day chat with Jonathan, I tried reading one and could not hold back the tears. Plus, all those designers have fantastic penmanship, not a sloppy one in the bunch! When you love someone, having others do the same is just icing on the cake. The old folks left around midnight, way past their bedtime!
Waking up on Sunday, there was a text from Matt, asking when would be a good time to chat. This time zone thing is quite tricky that way. Anyway, during our long Facetime chat, he mentioned that he'd sent some flowers that should be arriving anytime. What a psychic! Probably, not ten minutes later, his favorite Vancouver florist came through with B going downstairs to collect the goodies.
Matt and Tom do know the way to a Mom's heart. Then Bill and Fallon called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day while I was getting ready. My heart was full, having talked to three of my sons. David would call later, making the day complete.
In the middle of last week, a text came from Giovanni asking if we'd like to join them for a Mother's Day brunch on Sunday at one. Once again, they have been way too good to us, not only picking us up, but taking us to such a lovely place with their big Italian family. We ate at the Granville Island Hotel, a place we'd only stuck our head in before to scope out. Wonderful location with water views, well duh! It is an island Gail!
The place was packed with both outdoor and indoor tables.
What beautiful children and grandchildren, right?
Both Pina and Giovanni's Moms were there, both in their 80's, and still feisty, as was her Dad. The food was scrumptious, with so many offerings it was hard to choose. When I was heading to the dessert stations, Pina's Mom claimed I was so skinny, a term Bruce dislikes, rather preferring people call me thin, however, either one is fine by me. Anyway, bringing back a very full plate, I showed her that I indeed eat plenty.
Apple pie, blueberry cheesecake, red velvet cake, lemon tart and fruit? Heaven.
The family left, including the grandparents, leaving us to roam around Granville Island which was jam-packed on this gorgeous day in Vancouver. Plenty of folks were on the water too.
Our building is behind the bridge. It hardly doesn't seem real to me that we've been so blessed.
On a warm day, street performers are found throughout the island. We spent time watching this fellow juggle knives,
followed by escaping a straight jacket, held by the two fellows on the right. It was crazy!
This British fellow was quite the crowd pleaser. Leaving Granville, as is their custom, they took us around a bit and we ended up in Kitslano, where the views of the city are grand.
It takes a good eye to see how packed the beach is; apparently the public pool has not opened quite yet. Believe me, the beach is packed.
So, if all that were not enough, and the reason I waited until Tuesday, is because we were not fools, as I mentioned in an earlier post would be the case had we not done so, and saw David Sedaris at the Vogue Theatre on Granville Street.
There were multiple signs asking that no photos be taken, thus the empty stage beforehand.
Built in 1941, while not ornate, the ceiling was way cool.
We laughed the night away, followed by a lovely walk home in the warm air.
Could we have had any more fun over those few days? I should think not.
yours truly,
Gail
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