Remembrance Day in Canada

It is not in our nature to spend this year in Canada without participating in the local proceedings to the best of our ability. For some folks, being a part of a church group is not their thing, however, for us it is proving to provide not only food for our souls, but for our sense of belonging, something we, of course, took for granted while living mostly all of our life in one place. And so it was that a week ago Sunday I wrote that it was a terrific service, in part because they take their duty seriously as to remembering those who have gone before them. Tremendous music, as well as recited poetry, lighting of candles for those who passed away during the previous year. That sort of thing. And yes, there was the singing of O Canada with vigor. We learned that the red poppies everyone was wearing were to be removed on November 11, the same day we celebrate Veteran's Day in the States. Throughout all of last week I saw the young and the old sporting poppies on their jackets, their way of showing support for the military. So, that is a little background for you and I'll get to more on that in a moment.

At this time of year, if the sun is shining you want to be out of doors, that is all there is to it. Except, try as I might to get a mani/pedi appointment for one of the rainy days, it didn't happen. Instead, I had one for 10:30 on the only sunny day of the week, Friday. On my way, I could not help but be smitten with the trees along Beach Crescent.

Most of the park trees have lost their leaves, aside from this large stand.

You may be thinking to yourself, why not just wait as you've done for quite some time now? Well, we were actually going out for dinner with some locals! Yup, the same fellow that makes the furniture for Earls, invited us out to eat at one of their families favorite local places in Kitsilano. Pina, Giovanni's wife, grew up there as did he. As they are both Italian, we went to, you guessed it, an Italian restaurant where they know the owners. We had a delightful time, however, like a dummy, I left the card out of my camera so no photographic evidence!! After our meal, he drove us around that part of Vancouver, showing us where the University of British Columbia campus is. I can't wait to go back during daylight hours.

But, back to the manicure. You may recall that the last time I had one here, two woman worked on me at once which felt so strange to me. I knew I did not want to return to that salon so I tried a new one that has all Chinese workers. I got a wee bit lost finding it, but eventually I made it,and had Cynthia all to myself for the next like 2 1/2 hours!

Talk about diligent! Oh my...finally my feet feel better after she cut calluses off the bottom....well, I won't go into the gory details, suffice it to say, although as the hours passed, and the sunshine was waning, it was all worth it in the end.

After a late lunch and attending to Baxter, I decided to take a walk while it was still daylight, heading to the West End along Beach Avenue.

Before the leaves are all gone, I especially wanted to walk down Burnaby Street as I'd seen from Burrard that it was pretty magical.

The West End is a perfect place to walk as most of the streets are residential, with lower rise buildings, although that is soon to change, much to the chagrin of the locals.

I am always amazed when I see folks with walkers heading up or down the steep streets. Not steep like San Fransisco, but steep enough. What can I say about the Japanese Maples that hasn't already been said before?

When I first set out, I got a call from the vet who told me that the geriatric blood work came out just fine, as did the urinalysis, so that was good news. She said she would call today with the culture results; she is as good as her word because I just heard from her and indeed that showed bacteria. I am putting off the walk there to get the medicine, finishing this up, and hoping the rain quits in the meantime. For that I'm not holding my breath!

Could this place be affiliated with our Hamburger Mary's? It's a small world after all!

I'd read in one of the papers that the Remembrance Day ceremony and parade were to be held on Saturday morning in Victory Square, near Bruce's office. How could I not go? The day was gloomy, and a little bit wet, so I wore the Uniqlo Heat Tec pullover, as well as a long sleeved t-shirt and my hot pink rain jacket. At the last minute I changed backpacks in order to carry an umbrella as well. All precautionary mind you. As I drew nearer, these little girls were handing out programs, having fun while doing so.

I heard singing and a large crowd forming. I will say this much, these Canadians, (because I don't want to generalize too much), were so respectful, it was really something.

Finding a bench to stand on, I thought perhaps I'd call Bruce to let him know I was fine and dandy. Except, I had left my phone on the counter when I changed packs. Not to worry, a lovely woman allowed me to text him. He replied he'd walk over. She, the nice woman, texted him that I was standing on a bench in my bright pink jacket so I'd be easy to spot. The festivities, if you can call it that, began with a parade of soldiers, and the like, marching down to W. Hastings to listen to the program. Kilt wearers!

I'll tell you what, it was such a moving program and again people were so respectful, I was amazed. At the beginning of the program, there was the singing of O Canada followed by a fantastic reading, by the director of the local Shakespeare troupe, of a poem that is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye. Something called the Last Post with trumpeters, one situated on the balcony next to the WE,

while the responder was on the ground. Wreaths were placed, and the program ended with God Save the Queen. So, the nice woman left, and I was still standing on the bench looking around for Bruce when all of a sudden someone said, Hi Gail! Holy Cow! That someone was a man from church who we've chatted with on a number of occasions. What a shock that Gordon would see me amongst the crowd. But then again, I was wearing a hot pink rain jacket. He asked after Bruce and I said I had no idea where he was because I had no phone. Call him, he said as he extended his phone. Between Gordon and myself, we guided him towards where we were. Woo hoo!

The parade passed by..

and then following Gordon's lead, as he told us the poppies were meant to be pinned on the various wreaths, we did just that.

Honestly, they take this all very seriously.

By now it was darn chilly with rain imminent. We parted ways with Gordon, heading to Bruce's office so he could finish up what he was doing, but not before Gordon loaned him his scarf!

Looking down from one of the windows in his office building as we left. So happy the rain held off until the ceremony was complete.

Bruce asked if I wanted to go out to lunch and my answer, of course, was yes, let's go to the Railway Stage and Beer Cafe, mostly because I'd read some things about it.  Who knew that a band was playing? Lots of folks actually as the stage area was full so we sat in the back enjoying the music and the rustic look.

Pouring rain outside, but very cozy inside. The whole band was super; the woman singer did an acoustic rendition of O Canada like she often does for the Vancouver Cannucks NHL team. If you are counting, that is the third time we'd heard it in less than a week, which is fine by me because it is a lovely song. The day ended in front of college football and the fireplace.

Sunday already??  While waiting for the walk sign to cross the street, I put my umbrella down and asked B to take a photo of me in the COAT. Ignore more wet spots!

As I am the most non-photogenic person you know, this isn't too horrible for a quick shot. I was wearing a dress and a light scarf with my coat, and I was comfy as could be. Instead of our usual wandering and lunch out after the service, we came home instead because I had a plan. After eating and a nice long nap for Bruce, we braved the weather again, heading back to church for something they call Jazz Vespers. We'd heard of it for the last few months so now was a good time to find out what it is all about. In this instance, it was about a group playing songs from the war years, and were they ever great.

I wish the above were better, but I take what I can get. Following the service our plan was to go to Bin 914 on Davie Street, a small tapas bar Bruce had passed on several occasions. Before we got there though, I was delighted to see the Burrard Hotel sign lit up as I've admired it in daylight.

Plenty rainy for sure. This taking photographs is going to get a lot trickier in the upcoming days! The place was super cozy, and small, seating only about thirty people.

I think you must have to get there when they open at 5 to get one of the two window booths. Brussel sprouts to die for. Oh my!

Bruce left this morning for some days in Seattle during which time I am planning to stay busy so I don't miss him too much. Doing what you ask? Who knows?

yours truly,

Gail

The Garment Sewing Continues

A headline I read online, from one of the local news outlets, caught my attention: "2017 Homicides in Vancouver on the Rise", or something to that effect. Thinking it might be worth reading, I checked it out learning that there have been 17 homicides here in 2017. No wonder a local homicide gets plenty of attention! Contrast that to the 84 so far this year in Orlando, and you'll get a notion why I feel so safe here.

For the record, there are still beautiful leaves to be seen, they have not all fallen, but lots of them sure have. The Japanese Maple trees are outstanding with such intense color it is hard to imagine.

The park workers, on the other hand, are working mighty hard to keep the lawns mostly leaf free.

In spite of the dire weather prediction for the week, we've had no rain until today, and what we are having is very minimal; good news for me as I'm taking Baxter to the vet in about 45 minutes. I'm not wishing it to be true, however, there must be some explanation as to why he is peeing all of the time and sometimes on the floor. Tuesday morning, waking up to his yapping, I began to walk onto the kitchen tile, only to put my bare foot into a puddle.  Then when I did take him down in the dark, I stepped in some other dog's poop wearing my Uggs with the ridged soles. Not the best way to start a day! It matters not how often we take him down, he still manages to wet his pad continually. In other words, this is not much fun, to say the least.

Because I thought I'd only have one day of good weather, Monday I took the train out to Richmond to Fabricana. Plenty of red trees there to ogle.

Along the ride we passed this place, River Rock Casino.

Which begs the question, why should you care? And most of you won't, but for those amongst my readers who want to know more about this place we are calling home for a year, the River Rock Casino is a hot bed of money laundering, and I do mean big time. There is a lot more to this story but for a primer, here's a link to the Vancouver Sun. Part of the whole, hiding Chinese money from their government, turning it into Canadian dollars to purchase wildly expensive real estate. (think all the towers here) Very complicated, but no city that looks like this one seems to come by it honestly.

Instead of walking only through the parking lot of the mall in Richmond, this time I walked through the mall. Now here is quite the Chinese gift shop for you.

That is some serious red for you!! This leaf from downstairs would fit right in, wouldn't it?

So, I've been making a coat, and most of it went pretty well, however, the lining sleeves about kicked my butt. I was going crazy trying to make them fit. I spent almost all of Tuesday working on it until I remembered Bruce was coming home from Seattle, so I probably should think about dinner. Heading along Homer Street on my way to Urban Fare, the fancy nearby grocery store, I was put on hold for a few moments because, well, just another day in Vancouver.

Looking at the photo now, call me a liar, looks like we had rain on Tuesday after all. You are asked to stop while the scene is filmed, then when they call CUT,  you just mosey on through, and if you are like most folks, take a photo or two.

The cab, by the way, had all of the windows broken out and on my return trip towards home, one of the "assistants" was sweeping it all up. I saw Kate near our building, mentioned something about it, and she said it was for a television show called, The Flash, and that they were supposed to be blowing up cars that day. I did notice some smoke in the air, so perhaps while I was shopping? What she also mentioned was that they are moving back to Toronto, her husband having quit his job in Vancouver. She is stressed about the weather there, but is happy to be returning to their old neighborhood, presumably with more room for their two toddlers. I'm a wee bit bummed as she is one of only a few folks that I've talked to more than once. That is, aside from the ladies at DressSew, who are somewhat amused at how often I've been there. Including yesterday trying to solve a little problem with the coat. Along the way, well, you guessed it, another production!

They use those fluorescent signs with fake names on them to guide workers to the set. You may recall that the ones used for Dead Pool II said Caribbean Beach. That was a stretch, to say the least.

So, it all came down to the buttonholes. I spent all of yesterday morning, hemming the coat, lining, and lining sleeves by hand. I'd made several sample buttonholes on some scrap fabric, both to check the thickness of the fabric, and get the size right. Well, not so fast Gail. I marked them all, sat down to sew, and that is when things fell apart. Not any amount of coaxing could make the buttonholer sew through all of the layers at the top spot. Gingerly, I ripped it all out, wondering what to do next. At DressSew I bought a large snap that is in the shape of a flower, very cute, but at six dollars each, I decided that wasn't going to work, times five. So, I came home with the notion to fake the first buttonhole, sew the button on the front side and the snap behind it. Now, onto the next four buttonholes which should have been a breeze, but was not. More like a tornado. I made two horrible ones, changed the machine settings, and finally made two good ones. Channeling my inner Bruce, the most diligent worker I've ever known, I patiently ripped the first two out and tried again. Success at last!

Ignore the wet spot on the bottom left, the iron here leaks like mad. In what I'm becoming accustomed to, the Kwik Sew pattern fits perfectly. I think it looks better in person, but perhaps I'm biased after spending some serious time with it. :)

Unrelated, I finally got a shot of the black squirrels I see now and again.

Also unrelated to anything else, they love protesting here, there are walks and protests against something most weekends. So much so, the Vancouver Museum has an exhibit on the history of protesting during the last 100 years!  This boat owner seems to be in keeping with tradition with his sign saying, No Tankers No Pipelines.

Well, we made it to and fro from the vet office. Carrying Baxter in my arms, as he would never be able/want to walk about six blocks or so, I made it uphill and back just fine. The vet was super sympathetic and nice, ordering blood work and urine tests. She noticed another fatty tumor on his leg, aside from the growing one in his groin, however, she doesn't think those have anything to do with the mess we are in. No pun intended. Although I should know by now that things aren't cheap here, I still was shocked when the bill was $430 without any medicine. They will call in the next two days with the results, and we'll go from there. Clearly, peeing 10 or so times a day is not normal, not to mention it is a huge pain for us.

Okay, so it is dark now, the sunset was at 4:38, with the sunrise at 7:15. Orlando has 1 1/2 more hours of daylight at this time of year. Wow! I do remember Matt saying it gets dark really early in London so being situated at nearly the same latitude I am now experiencing something our son has been doing for the last 11 years. Hard to imagine he's lived abroad for so many years.

Garments made to date:

4 blouses
2 skirts
1 pair of pants
3 knit turtlenecks
1 overcoat

It feels really good to be improving my skills, while at the same time having clothes that are unique.

More to come, for sure.

yours truly,

Gail

The First Snowfall

By all accounts, it was a very early snowfall for this part of the country. Friday morning, after the day of rain on Thursday, I was shocked when from the balcony, I saw this sight.

Oh my goodness, can that really be? Well, of course it could, silly. Sadly, Bruce was in Seattle so I had no one to share my excitement with, however, he was seeing his own snow in Seattle, and truth be told, he'd probably not have been nearly as impressed as I was.

Thinking to myself, I've got to see this closer, I dressed in an all homemade outfit, aside from my coat; blouse, turtleneck, pants, socks, shoes, coat. That should do it, right? Not!

Walking along the sidewalk on Beach, I eventually made my way to the seawalk path, rustling through the Autumn leaves as I went down this hill.

The chill was beginning to set in, but I persevered, stopping at Sunset Beach for this shot of the beautiful snow capped mountains without a building in the way!

With the lovely blue sky and sunshine, it appeared magical to me. Not so many folks out walking because, well, they've probably seen it before, and then again, who volunteers to walk in freezing weather anyway? Me, that's who! I thought I was in love with the surrounding mountains before, but now..wow! The longer we are here, the more I understand why people love this city so much. More so, I suspect, if you have enough money!

The far off mountains in picture number one may be from the Squamish area, I'm not clear on that. I do know the one pictured above is one of what they call the North Shore Mountains. This aerial shot is somewhat helpful, or so I think, to understand the topography better. We are adjacent to the second major bridge shown.

Talking briefly with a woman visiting from Minnesota, she told me she was here for the mountains. She also asked me if I were getting a more appropriate coat? I assured her I was, because darn was I ever cold by then. Gawking over with, I walked towards home as quickly as I could to put on some tights under my pants, however, I heard, and then saw, some little birdies in the trees above my head and had to see if I could get a shot of them. Not so much the little ones because they flitted here and there, but I do kind of like this photograph.

The tights proved to be enough when later in the day I decided I had to walk to the other side of the city to see those North Shore Mountains for myself. Along the way, on Granville Street, I came across another Japanese store that was full of super cute and somewhat silly things.

I don't know what I was thinking when I bought a large umbrella in that store because I looked kind of silly carrying it around with me on a perfectly nice day, not to mention it was cumbersome, but I suspect it will prove handy in the upcoming days that are full of rain predictions.

As you've seen countless times before, English Bay generally has at least ten cargo ships waiting for, well, cargo. As one of the busiest ports in the world, it happens here in Coal Harbor. The North Shore in the distance.

Meanwhile Bruce was driving home through some snow flurries, at some points along the road, it was already looking a bit like a winter wonderland. God Bless that man, he pulled off the side of the road to take a photograph for me so I might see it as well.

Saturday, as is our custom, Bruce went to the office, and I actually got some things done around the condo. You know, laundry, clean sheets, clean floors, that sort of thing. Naturally I had to keep my eyes on the outdoors, as I am prone to do, and what a difference a day makes...

Not a mountain to be found. Briefly I wondered if it were snowing that way. Well, by golly, that must have been the case and it moved our way because all of a sudden I looked out the windows and it was snowing!!

Not a lot, mind you, and at first it stopped as quickly as it started. Then, an hour or so later it began again, lasting for several hours. So, here's something you'll get a kick out of...I got this notion that wouldn't it be neat to take a photograph of one of the fallen leaves with snow on it. I went downstairs to do that very thing and noticed, just outside the doors, what looked to me like fertilizer on the ground. That's weird, was my thought. No luck on the leaf photo because once it fell the twenty stories it melted instantly.

Baxter, by the way, was having no part of this snow stuff; he peed and then fairly ran back to the door! It wasn't until later, when we were out for longer, crunching on all that "fertilizer," that some fellows began talking a moment and told me it was SALT. Well, duh! This Florida gal has a lot to learn about being in the North!

We spent the evening in front of the gas fireplace, watching football and having some chili. Oh yeah...daylight savings time change which I've been dreading for weeks. This photo, with the pink tinge to the sky, under a mostly full moon, taken Sunday morning around 7:15 AM, would have been in the pitch dark the previous day.

So, that is good. But, get this, the sun will set tonight at 4:42 PM!!! I'm trying not to think of the long dark nights, and short days in our future, at least until the Winter Solstice. Once again it was a sunny day, so following a tremendous church service, I convinced Bruce to walk to Canada Place to see the mountains.

Having spent many, many years, building restaurants in Northern climates, his reaction to all this is a bit subdued. Me, on the other hand, I can't get enough. In fact, today is another sunny day, followed by, if my phone weather app can be trusted, 10 days of gloom and rain, so I've got to get outside soon.

I've been keeping busy working on a coat,

using a super cute Kwik Sew pattern. I generally take up a lot of space with this sort of operation.

Taking Nancy's advice on keeping things colorful, I did not choose gray or black.

yours truly,

Gail

It's Downright Chilly!

Now that I've dried the front of my soaking wet jeans in front of the fireplace, I'm ready to talk about the week, both the lovely, and the not so much. As was true with finding someone to cut my hair, finding a dentist was overwhelming until I received a tip from Carol Ann at Bruce's office. Again, there are dentists everywhere, but I was gun shy having gone to the same dentist for the last 30 years. Unfortunately my appointment time was for this morning at 10:30 during which time it was meant to be raining and raining it was. I now have solid evidence that my rain jacket works beautifully, as does my backpack and waterproof shoes, however, walking a mile and a quarter there and back was not my idea of fun. While bemoaning this to Bruce over the phone on his way to Seattle, he said, "honey, you can always take a cab." Why didn't I think of that?

The rain here is no match for a Florida rainstorm, instead it is steady and when combined with temperatures in the 40's, not much fun to be out in. The dentist visit was what you might call interesting. The view from the waiting room.

As a new patient they insisted on photographing me, as well as my teeth, not to mention using some sort of ultrasound type wand to make a mold of my teeth. The later I am not describing well, but let's just say all of that took about 45 minutes before I went into the hygienist who was both chatty and  remarkably skilled. One of the first things she chatted about was the Vancouver real estate market, speaking of which, Catherine suggested we buy a second home here to which I replied, "we could never afford it", and this chart will explain why and leave you wondering who could? That is a story for another day.

Let's back up some days, shall we? Just when I think I've seen everything out the windows, what should appear on Sunday evening but a mini hot air balloon in the sky. Cool clouds as well.

Monday was a busy day in the condo what with the dryer vent cleaning and the installation by these guys of the new heating/cooling unit which has been out of service ever since we arrived. Long story short, it is a blessing. Xavier and Aman...

In typical fashion they were in no hurry which killed me as it was a beautiful sunny day and I had to stay home. Arriving at 9AM, they never left, aside from lunch, until nearly three in the afternoon. Yikes! I went out walking along the seawall, all the while chatting with Nancy.

This is "our" park and it was the first time I noticed that I could see the mountain between the buildings. When it is sunny in Vancouver, there are few clouds, when it is not, there is nothing but clouds. Nancy was saying that if she were me, she would never stay indoors when the leaves are looking so wonderful. I don't like to, that's for sure, and neither do lots of other folks.

I mean seriously, who, if they have the time, would want to miss all this glorious color?

Cheryle is all dying now to get back to a climate where autumn is the rule, rather than the exception, after seeing how beautiful it has been here, however, the hygienist reminded me again today that this has been one of the best than anyone can remember. Aren't I the lucky one?

Keeping that get outdoors sentiment in mind, Tuesday I took the train out to Central Park in Burnaby, the site where I photographed those cool owl sculptures. This was my first time on the Expo line and it reminded me more of the London train stations that are further underground.

In Vancouver the train system is called Skytrain because much of it is above ground as it was when I got off at the Patterson stop.

Immediately greeted by more gorgeous trees along Patterson Street.

An entrance to the park is just across the street, making that easy and immediately I traded skyscrapers made of steel and glass for ones made of wood.

What a lovely park and I would have stayed longer, however, it was colder than I expected, so my time was what you might term, short and sweet. The sun tried to break through the tree canopy.

But it wasn't enough for me, so retracing my steps, I started walking along the street adjacent to the park. Not my best move because by the time I finally got to a traffic light, I realized I had gone way further than necessary to get to Metrotown, the huge mall in Burnaby, where I wanted, since I was out there, to visit Uniqlo which recently opened in the mall with 400 stores.

Along the route, I came across this amusing sight.

I am here to tell you that they take Halloween very seriously here, even, get this, shooting off fireworks as if it were the 4th of July. Oh wait, make that Canada Day. Beginning, on like Friday night, we kept hearing them go off, but on Tuesday night, someone was even setting them off in the park, presumably a no-no.

Trick or treating does not happen in high rises because, although there are a few kids in the building, residents have no access to other floors aside from their own. Our old neighborhood had few children and our count was usually less than ten so it was not a big loss for me. Bruce was in Dallas attending to a few details there.

More seawall walking near the condo. The pictured restaurant is one featured in the "36 Hours in Vancouver" story in the NYT. Eating there will set you back a pretty penny.

Oh these trees behind the building were so lovely, now leaving a trail of shades of reds.

We are in the Icon I building, there is an Icon II, that I believe has about 12 floors behind us, and then there is the pictured Silver Sea, right along the water. Should you care to purchase a condo in Silver Sea, be prepared to pay $3 million for a two bedroom, tacking on another cool million for a three bedroom. Insanity!

I suspect the only people who don't appreciate the leaves are those folks who clean it all up.

Baxie got a haircut yesterday afternoon while I went to DressSew to purchase the fabric for a coat. Along the way I came across this display in the Telus building window, reminding folks of the upcoming Remembrance Day, sort of like our Veterans Day, but I suspect way more intense as I've seen quite a number of people wearing the poppies already.

From bright and sunny to cold and rainy. How cold is it right now? How does 37 degrees sound to my Florida readers?

Bruce may have had a point when he said the fall display is nearing the end. Below, this afternoon.

Hard to find the ground with so many fallen wet leaves.

yours truly,

Gail