Ever the optimist, I tried playing pickleball last night with predictable results. Too much, too soon. After a few games my elbow area was letting me know that it was not ready for even the slightest strain. So, instead of playing this morning, I sat at my computer deleting photographs, a task I find laborious, but in the interest of my hard drives, necessary. Somehow I ended up on the month of December, 2017. Perhaps you might remember that we were living in beautiful Vancouver at the time? I thought you would. As you might imagine, I took a lot of photographs that month, but that number is now 826 less than it was before. As I was going through them one by one, I found some good stuff I'd forgotten about, so because the job is not much further along, I decided it could be fun to look back. I hope you agree.
But first, I am loving the shininess of the new tile which, of course, will look better once the grout is applied. 
It took most of yesterday for Daniel to tile the arch, as well as some of today, but now it looks like this:
He is very methodical, taking his time to get it right. Small tiles at the ceiling line and he is almost done with the walls!! The countertop with sinks arrive Monday, and we have the bathtub painting scheduled for the following Monday. Marching closer every day!
While I won't bore you with all that transpired in December, I will be sharing a bunch.
Make of it what you will.
Countless times I've mentioned how we kept our tiny tree up from the middle of November to the end of March to help keep the gloom away. Here is the baby tree with the ornaments still on and our darling Baxter who was weeks away from being too sick to keep going. (Only the lights remained for most of the time) This was taken during a fog white out, something that came as quite the surprise to a Floridian.
I was so intrigued that I went walking to Stanley Park where I got lost in the fog, but not before being amazed. Friendly people helped me find my way.
One night in December, we went to our first hockey game which turned out to be a lot of fun.
On our walk home from church one Sunday, we found a spot to watch the Christmas parade on Howe Street. The Chinese influence is everywhere, including many of the floats.
The morning of the day that Matt and Tom were to arrive from London, I saw what I imagined were tiny snowflakes outside the window. At twenty stories up, they were very tiny, but I was sure that is what they must be. Before long this was confirmed by looking at the grass in the park below.
This view is walking out of the building. From what I've been told, that site across the street has now been developed.
Snow, snow, snow, snow...let it snow....lyrics from one of my favorite songs.
Tire tracks on the bike lane (l) and strollers taking a stroll.
We did all sorts of things during their stay, including taking a bus to Whistler for the day. For those who have done the same, you will recall how scenic the Sea to Sky highway is. Going through my photos, I was reminded of what we were sure was a wolf along the side of the road which was very thrilling. The snow in the city melted fairly quickly, but on Whistler Mountain there was plenty. The gondola ride up was a wee bit scary, especially when it stopped for a bit, but what did I expect?
Did I add that we were not wearing nearly enough clothes? I should have. Tom looks as if he is feeling the cold through his shoes. Matt took this of his parents.
Oh my, how I love the mountains.
We decided to ride the above gondola, what is called the
Peak 2 Peak and talk about scary!
I finagled my way onto a window seat at the front of the car for the best views. We are almost there!
Once over to Blackcomb Mountain, we didn't stay long as we were freezing, freezing, freezing. Gathering our nerve, we re-boarded for the journey back to Whistler Mountain. Down the mountain and into the town, we warmed up with tea at earls.
Speaking of "earls", the company is the reason we were blessed to live in Vancouver for a year. We could not have asked for a more good and generous employer and that's a fact.
The town of Whistler is full of charm and occasional whimsy.
Another trip we took, this time traveling south almost to the border, to White Rock in order to visit with a long lost cousin of Toms. That would be Mount Baker, near Seattle in the distance as seen from the White Rock pier.
The last time they'd seen each other was more than twenty years ago in England, so you would think it would have been difficult to figure out who was who, but really, in spite of loads of others on the pier, it took no time at all. We enjoyed a lovely lunch together at a local pub.
I was anxious to show them Queen Elizabeth park because I'd enjoyed so many visits there. This time though it was far colder than was super comfortable. Nonetheless, we carried on.
Fun decorations were to be found all around the park. Rarely does anyone take my photograph, that is unless Matthew is around.
I can't remember if I'm wearing blush or just plain cold! I'd purchased tickets beforehand to the light show at the nearby
Van Dusen garden. Having no idea what to expect, aside from the fact that it was crazy cold, well, you decide for yourself what you think.
It seemed kind of showy walking towards the entrance and our initial impression held true. Seriously, there were lights everywhere!
Having visited throughout the fall, I'd seen workers stringing lights in the trees, but never imagined it would look quite like this.
If you could physically hang lights on it, they did so, and then some! Very crowded and very cold, we made our way through and back to the warmth of the car and condo.
For a Christmas gift, I bought tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show in town, made even better because it was within walking distance. A first for us, it was both strange and captivating.
Another night, walking home from the Christmas market at Canada Place, we moseyed through downtown past the skating rink at Robson Square.
So we did all sorts of fun stuff, but we also did stuff like head to the grocery store for Christmas dinner ingredients, walking there along the seawall. Matt is pulling my shopping cart, something that saved me on many occasions.
You cannot visit Vancouver without spending some time in Stanley Park where the Black Capped Chickadees are very friendly.
Dreary when we started our drive, it began snowing while we were visiting the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, where there are tremendous displays of Indigenous art and culture.
After they left, there was still my birthday to think about. Bruce was thrilled to drive us to the
Reifel Bird Sanctuary as a gift in nearby Delta, where there are beautiful mountain views.
Along the way...oh my, a field of hundreds of Snow Geese!
Did I mention it was crazy cold? Oh yes, not by Canadian standards, but most certainly by a Florida couple's standards. A pair of Great Horned Owls was one of the highlights.
If you didn't know better, you would think you were looking at a cat's face, don't you think? The chickadees were friendly there as well.
And here is the last photo I took in December 2017, probably on my way home from shopping. What a joy and privilege it was to live on the twentieth floor of this lovely building.
Which one, you ask? That would be our corner balcony in the building on the right.
Well, that was a trip down memory lane. Our friends Pam and Glen spent only about six months living in New Zealand, probably twenty or more years ago, but, just like Vancouver, it was a glorious place to live and one that will never be forgotten. They still reminisce about how much they loved living there.
Those who are loyal readers may have seen some of this before, and then again, maybe not. I choose photos on the fly, so maybe some of these will be new. For those who are new to this space, perhaps it will inspire you to visit Vancouver in the future. It is a glorious city to visit, and even more so to live there, if only for a year!
Daniel and Herbert will be back on Monday so, until then, we wait.
your friend,
Gail
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