Welcome to Vancouver!

Autumn!!

I've heard that phrase, welcome to Vancouver, several times in the last few days, most recently about ten minutes ago while I was taking Baxter downstairs for a potty break. One of the ladies who lives on our floor was referring to the rain which has been intermittent up until now. Here's the next ten days forecast. Yikes!!

We can't say that we weren't warned ahead of time because we were, but reality may just be setting in today. Life goes on as if it weren't raining though, because, well really, what else are you going to do? Before we get into the rainy photographs, let's do some pretty ones, shall we?

I'm not sure which trees I like the most, the burgundy, the reddish orange, or the yellow, because they are all pretty darn great to me. Bruce has been having some computer issues this past week so one day he came home early and we walked to Urban Fare, through David Lam Park, to get a few things for dinner.

 On another sunny day I took this shot, well I didn't need to tell you that, now did I?

I have no idea how we got so lucky to have such magnificent views every day. Seriously! Because it is hilly, looking across False Creek, the houses look as if they are stacked with beautiful changing leaves amongst the buildings.

You are already familiar with the scene below but doesn't it look wonderful with the added beauty of the orange and yellow trees?

However, when the clouds hang low with moisture, it looks more like this.

Yikes!! We've been told numerous times that last year it rained every day for nearly five months, with barely any sunshine at all, which has this Florida girl feeling a tad nervous. It was easy not to think about it much when it was sunny, but now? Well, I must, and will, somehow get used to it.

Friday I took advantage of the dry weather and took the SkyTrain to Fabricana again. I've now used the blouse pattern I bought there, three times, completing number three this morning. Fabric from DressSew.

I am in love with the Kwik Sew patterns and bought four while I was there.

That would be my backpack atop the pattern drawers, should you be wondering. Another exciting happening on Friday was that our glasses were ready to be picked up. Bruce walked from his office, meeting me there after I'd walked from home. In a moment you'll see how spiffy he looks. One of these days B will take my photograph and I'll show you mine. Mint green should you be wondering. Cute too!

Maybe it was Thursday that we began seeing the empty lot being, once again, transformed for a film shoot.

The fellow told Bruce it was for a reality show, however, this morning, when filming began, I discovered he was not so truthful afterall. There is a website called What's filming in Vancouver, where I discovered it was for a television show called Legends of Tomorrow. Seeing this kind of activity from the balcony is what prompted me to question the whole reality show thing.

Over the weekend, Saturday was gloomy, but we did have some fun nonetheless. Before leaving for our date, we had a balcony visitor that stayed for like twenty minutes!

I'm telling you, the seagulls here are huge, more like the size of a small chicken! The dreary weather does make the tree colors seem more intense. The park is looking wonderful.

I do so hope the read will stay long enough for the rest of the trees to turn yellow. Won't that be fantastic?

We are missing everyone, but it seems as if fond reminders of friends pop up regularly. I can't walk on Beatty Street without thinking of David and Cheryle. It didn't hurt that there was an original MINI next to the sign!

Surprisingly, we are no longer completely anonymous. We decided to head over to Earls for dinner Saturday night and once there, it was crowded, so after a bit, we were lucky to be able to sit at the bar. Our seats were the very same ones we'd had about two weeks ago, and the same held true for Will, a fellow we chatted with that time. He was in the same spot, and this time he had a friend with him named Kevin. It has been very rare that any of the Canadians we've met have engaged us in a political discussion, however, neither Kevin nor Will had any qualms about bringing up the subject. So, he recognized us right away, and it wasn't long before Joe, from the office, and his husband came over to greet us. Holy Cow! Anyway, Kevin works on a television show that we had never heard of, despite the fact that they are now filming their thirteenth season. Well, duh on me. Now you can see how spiffy Mr. Peck looks.

Sunday was sunny!! It is amazing that we get to church on time when we are walking, whereas at home, we were always cutting it close.

The film industry has used the church countless times for productions, including X-Files. The little blue triangle you see on the far wall is what they use for "Heritage" buildings. Following church we walked over to Hudsons Bay, walking along one of my favorite "autumn" streets, Hornby.

This section of Seymour was closed off due to a Halloween parade. Yup, apparantly they celebrate that on any given day. I love how you can see the sails from Canada Place at the end of the street.

This morning I donned my new rain jacket with the hood, making the 2 1/2 mile roundtrip to DressSew for some more fabric. I was telling Matt last week that my most pressing need is for garments, and since I have what I need to make them, I am going to try and improve my skills in that area. Sewing with knits is not something I've done, but tomorrow I'm going to give that a try. I also bought a coat pattern. Ambitious? Yes, but when I think that I made one when I was 17, surely I can do the same now. The beautiful trees along the way helped to dispel some of the gloom.

My Canadian postal service woes continue. Last week I walked to the post office to mail a birthday card to my sister Maureen, writing that I hoped it would not take forever to arrive. Well guess what? This morning, I checked our mailbox, which is ordinarily empty, btw, and found the card I'd sent to Maureen in there!!! Can you believe it? Nancy, another sister. also has an upcoming birthday so, after having some lunch, I set out in the rain, drizzly more than anything, and went back to the post office, such as it is. The woman I actually handed it to last week made some excuse why it was returned to me uncanceled. Here's hoping it works this time! As I was leaving the condo, the film set was making smoke.

Then, on my return, I came across this! Now I know what those black clad people look like up close.

Way back at the beginning of this post I said I ran into our neighbor while taking Baxter down again. As I exited the door, which is just off the left side of the above photograph, I was told to wait because they were just fixing to call action. The street was filled with smoke and those black clad guys.

Welcome to Vancouver, indeed.

yours truly,

Gail

Thanksgiving Their Way

Before we get into how some Canadians, in Vancouver at least, celebrate Thanksgiving, let's do some fall color, shall we?

Looking down from the balcony the trees are in various stages of change.

Speaking of the balcony, how about this for a sunrise?

Whew...can you stand all this color? There is a wonderful stretch on Hornby that I am in love with.

I was on my way to order new eyeglasses for the two of us at Clearly on Robson Street. Unlike the clerks at the place in Yaletown where Bruce had his eyes examined, Jen seemed delightful to work with us, even if we are old.

The good news is we were able to purchase our glasses at Clearly for about half of what we would have paid at Costco.  The longer we are here, the wiser we are becoming about shopping. From there I went over to Hudson's Bay on Georgia, a department store that is totally working for me.  Carrying all price ranges for goods makes for some excellent choices. Leaving the store, I got a kick out of this Little Pony shirt as high fashion. I think the lady who wandered into my photo thought as much.

I'm not sure how I have missed this awesome alleyway, adjacent to the Orpheum Theater, in my previous walks but ooh la la...what great color, especially on a dreary day such as this morning.

Next door to the dry cleaners is a little florist shop that oftentimes has some cute outdoor displays.

On the home front, the buttons are all sewn on, the pjs washed, and I am wearing them as I type.

Little bird eggs for the win! Today's high will be 52 degrees with a low of 43.

Saturday afternoon I walked, once again, to DressSew, this time for a zipper as I wanted to make some zipper pouches as hostess gifts. Along the way I couldn't help but notice how the leaves almost perfectly matched the building color. So pretty in person!

Wendy, the head of design at Earls invited us, along with Claudia from the office (I've forgotten what she does), to dinner at their lovely home in North Vancouver. It was decided that the three of us would share a cab so no one would have to drive home after a few drinks. Isn't Claudia lovely?

Wendy and Marty are both Vancouver natives, Wendy having grown up close to where they live now with their 13 year old son. The meal was just wonderful. During our conversation I learned that they were skipping Thanksgiving, aside from brunch with their family on Sunday. Seriously?

Honestly, we had such a good time, and of course, I was loving the fact that they are real Canadians as I've actually met so few. A 20 year Vancouverite, Claudia emigrated from South Africa. Interesting to note that not all cab rides are equal...the first leg of our trip cost $10 more as the driver went a different route. Also of note...Uber is banned here, or at least for now. On the other hand, marijuana is pretty prevalent.

So, thinking about Wendy and Marty Sunday morning, I should not have been surprised when Bruce said we were going to Zarita's in the afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. Although the actual date is Monday, it seems as if people are prone to do what works for them. So, the pouch I was going to make had to get done ASAP before church. In spite of making some stupid mistakes, I managed to recover.

Walking to church, the trees look as if they are on fire along Burrard Street.

In Florida we may not have red trees, but the brilliant yellows and pinks of our Tabebuia trees are pretty great too.

The church was decorated with loving care.

Have you ever seen anyone use an empty pumpkin as a vase before?

We drove to Burnaby to join Zarita, Gregg, and some of their family for dinner. Burnaby is pretty darn big, according to this, the third largest city in British Columbia. It really is just an extension of Vancouver.

Gregg is from a large farm in Manitoba and Zarita is from Calgary. This is one of Gregg's brothers with their darling little boy who looks so much like my Bruce when he was this age.

Wasn't it wonderful of them to invite us to share in their Thanksgiving feast?

Following dinner we made our way back into downtown to attend to Baxter, although he, more than likely, slept during our absence. Mr. Baxter is showing his age more and more, not just with the potty training business, but I believe he's losing both his eyesight and his hearing. I can call him from across the room and he barely turns around. Further, sometimes he wanders around like he doesn't know where to go. It is pretty sad to witness. On the other hand, his new wrap is working well, so that is a positive.

The sun rose on the actual Thanksgiving day, and we took off for an adventure, seeing a run, perhaps a Turkey Trot like they hold in Orlando, along our way.

As this post has gone on for a while, I'll save the adventure for next time. I will say it was pretty darn beautiful.

yours truly,

Gail

The Great Wide Open

Tom Petty's passing is on my mind, and I bet he is on yours as well. Immediately after learning the sad news, it reminded me of another Tom I knew who died in much the same manner. That would be our dad, Tom Price. He was also 67 and I wonder now if I thought he was as young as what I'm thinking about Tom Petty. Of course, being just three years younger than Tom Petty, my idea of young and old surely differs from when I was 28, and had my whole life ahead of me.

And then there is the news from Las Vegas....there are no words for that. A madman at work. :(

I wrote recently that I think I'm loving the sky show so much because there are no trees to hinder my view. The corner balcony, indeed, affords a great wide open look at my immediate surroundings and I am taking every advantage of it while I am here.

Did anyone see the full moon last night? While it was tremendous in the dark, if you were up quite early this morning, it was even better. The  Harvest Moon turned a lovely shade of, well, it's hard to describe the color, but my point is that it was tremendous. I watched as it dropped into the Pacific Ocean.

My photograph does it no justice that's for sure. Last night, while trying to capture the moon as it rose over the buildings, unsuccessfully, I might add, I watched as one of the large boats made its way out to sea. Before living here I had not a clue about how many types of watercraft are in use. There are several large boats such as the one below, mostly party boats that take folks out in the evening, presumably a sunset dinner cruise. This one, however was way too late for that, so why they would head out at night is beyond me.

In the daylight hours I have been definitely putting some miles on this old body! And I've been sewing. Monday, my steps took me across the city, once again, to DressSew on Hastings and Homer. When first I visited the store, I was overwhelmed with the merchandise, however, on this occasion I began looking through much of what they have in stock and it is a lot, and I do mean a lot. Somewhat messy too.

What I discovered was every type of fabric I've ever heard of, and some I've not. Seersuckers in multiple colors....check. Vast variety of knits....check. What may be even more astonishing to me is their vast array of notions. Unreal how many zippers they have in every length and color. This shows only a fraction of their stock.

My mission that day was to find just the right buttons, a familiar theme now, for the blouse I just completed. I'd purchased the fabric at DressSew during one of my first visits, however, I waited until I bought the sewing pattern at Fabricana before using it.

So that's all done now, as are a pair of cotton pajamas I made. I know, they sell them in stores, but what's the fun in that? Another day, another trip there for, you guessed it, the perfect buttons for the pjs.

Tuesday I finally got up the guts to call Apple about my photo library, but first I moved the computer out into the living room so I could use the "landline" to make the call. So much easier for me when I know I'll be on the phone for longer than I would like.

First I talked to a woman in Oregon who was sure she could help, but then she couldn't. Next it was Travis in Austin. We talked, we screen shared, and then he had me do something that was going to take several hours. Rather than keep my eye on the screen, I took a walk on Davie Street towards the West End. You cannot escape America here as there are signs of it everywhere.

Leaving the commercial part of the WE, I walked on one of the residential streets, loving the changing colors.

When I returned, Travis and I had another session and finally we are back in business after I imported nearly 4,000 photographs that had gone to the wrong place. Whew...all of our cross country trip photos and nearly two months of our stay here.

When I told Irene I was nervous about the winter weather she told me it comes on gradually so you have time to become acclimated. Well, as it turns out, the leaves changing comes on gradually as well.  As this is my first Fall experience, I'm not quite sure how I thought it would work, but I'm learning.

Homer Street runs alongside David Lam Park and we take it frequently as it runs into Beach Crescent. I've no idea why the field is closed off, and what all those barriers mean, but I can say the grass sure looks better than it did about a month ago. Plus, all the yellow trees!!

It is not often that I see any police presence here. While I'm on that topic, I bet I forgot to mention that on our entire cross country journey we probably saw only about four police or highway patrol folks which seemed somewhat remarkable to us.

Our health insurance brochure claimed that a doctor's office on Hastings did direct billing, except when I visited them, they do not. I did see a neat piece of artwork in the lobby though.

Unlike, in say New York City, there are no guards in lobbies of the big buildings I've been in. I do so remember the joy of popping your head into some of those grand buildings in NYC before 9-11 that are now off limits.  How about you?

More walking, more sights.

More fall color...

After walking past it on any number of occasions, I finally went into a home decorating store on, yep, Homer Street. My friend Sue would go crazy in here, especially if her wallet was full.

Your friend Gail was digging this display.

Walking along Hastings Street I came across a cooking store so I popped in to see about buying a rolling pin and I was in luck. On sale too as they were having a promotion for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday which is Monday, October 9. That date makes a lot of sense to me....instead of having two major holidays, sometimes within a month of one another. Zarita and Gregg have invited us for dinner!

One of the items I purchased on our recent Wal Mart run was a mixer, and although it was crazy inexpensive it works surprisingly well.

Because I have to rely on Google for recipes, it is really interesting how one of the first websites to come up is from Ricardo cuisine, apparently a Canadian celebrity chef. I can certainly vouch for his recipes, having made this oatmeal cookie one, as well as a delicious apple crisp. Now I have a mixer, a pastry blender, as well as a rolling pin. A pie plate too, however, I cooled the cookies on the broiler pan after baking them on a nontraditional cookie sheet. Baby steps my friends.

Finally, you don't see a whole lot of graffiti here, well, hardly any, so it surprised me to come across this seemingly very West Coast ideology.

And that's all for now folks....off to order new eyeglasses for both of us. Of course, that will involve walking...

yours truly,

Gail