After the first week of July, the sun came out and has basically been shining since then with a few odd days of dullness and rain. I actually bought the bathing suit that I was looking at, at the Bay...on sale for once!! I have only worn it a few times this summer because it is like a one-piece even though it's two pieces, and I've been trying to get an all-over tan...well, as all-over as I can without tanning in the nude and giving my neighbours a show!
Mom, Bob (my brother), and I went out to our cabin at Stuart Lake on July 12th for six days, and the sun shone the whole time. Considering that we haven't had that much sun, the lake water was surprisingly warm. I sat in the sun and swam every day, and my tan took a huge leap forward. Bob built us an outdoor shower with hot water in abundance (The water comes from the lake and is warmed by a small heater.), and we all had a turn by the end of the week. Although I was swimming every day, it was nice to have a hot shower and really lather up.
The day after I returned from the lake (July 18), I played bridge with the girls at Beth Quesnel's place. Beth has taken Sarah Cunningham's place since Sarah and her husband moved to Victoria. He is Deputy Minister of something or other, so they needed to be in Victoria full-time. They kept their beautiful home in PG for now and are renting it out. Anyway, Beth, Louise (my sister-in-law) and Marina Tobin and I played bridge and had a lot of fun. I am not the most confident player, but Louise gave me a pep talk and said that I was just as good as Beth and just needed to quit running myself down. I don't usually run myself down - I think the problem is that I don't like letting someone else down, and in bridge, you have a partner who is depending on you to play well. At any rate, it was a good reminder to buck up and stop feeling inadequate. Subsequently, I have stopped my negative talk during bridge (although a few sorries did slip out now and again), and my playing has improved immensely! A good lesson for me.
I watched a fabulous movie with Mom on the Friday after bridge (July 20) called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. What a great movie with so many great actors. I was laughing from the get-go. Such a good story and so neat to see the landscapes of India. I would highly recommend seeing this movie.
On Saturday, July 21st, Mom and I went to Mavis Bartell's place for coffee. She had her daughter, Jane, and two other friends, Lil Evanoff and Ann Decker. I went to high school with both Lil and Anne's daughters, so it was great to catch up and hear what they are doing these days. Jane is six or seven years younger than me, and Mavis reminded us of the time that I helped out at Jane's birthday party when they lived on the same street as us. Good memories.
On Sunday, Niels came by with his son-in-law's luxurious BMW motorcycle, and we drove out to his son Mark's place. Mark and Shawna were digging out a new garden in their front lawn, so we offered our opinions while sipping lemonade in the sun and watching Mark sweat it out with the shovel!
After our visit, we drove to Craig and Tanya's, and Niels switched back to his regular motorcycle. After I got home, I spent the evening washing and ironing clothes in preparation for my trip to Vancouver to visit my daughter Melanie.
On July 24th I drove to Vancouver and stayed at Melanie's place - a three bedroom basement suite off of Main St. that she shares with three other guys. Apparently she scrubbed and cleaned for days so that I would feel comfortable. I felt like I was back in my university days having to share the bathroom with four others. Surprisingly, it worked out just fine.
Melanie and I spent the first day shopping on Main St. I bought her a dress and some hair accessories for her birthday and managed to buy a bracelet and earrings for myself. I met Colm, Melanie's boyfriend, when we went for dinner at The Cray. He is a super nice guy with super good taste - he's dating my daughter after all! But also, as it happened, I bought the exact same sunglasses that day that he had bought a few weeks before - too funny.
Melanie and I trying on hats:
How to eat crayfish:
On Thursday, July 26th, Melanie and I had brunch at a place on Main. The waitress was very nice but very clumsy. First of all, she dumped the coffee cream on top of my lap - thankfully, I was wearing shorts and the cream mainly hit my bare legs. Melanie asked the manager if we could have the coffee for free and he agreed. Then after I had finished my lunch and Melanie was still finishing hers, I went to the washroom. When I came back, the waitress was sweeping up two broken plates that she had dropped while trying to clear the table. I know it was kind of harsh of me, but I burst out laughing. The couple at the next table who had watched all this from the beginning were laughing as well - the poor waitress. I gave her a good tip to make up for her bad experience with us. After lunch, Melanie and I hit Kits beach. The first place we sat on the beach, we had three university students start to throw a frisbee around in front of us. It was bad enough that we had to watch that we weren't bonked by the frisbee, but then we had to listen to their inane talk and watch their silly flirting. When I couldn't stand it anymore, we packed our things and found another spot, which turned out to be even nicer and much closer to the water. After I had a swim, Melanie waded out to a raft to cool down. She didn't want to swim because she thought the water wasn't clean enough with all the ships. Didn't bother me though. That evening we met up with my niece and Melanie's cousin, Emilie. We went to a really cool little pizza place, and the pizza was the best I've tasted since Melanie and I went to Italy. It was so great to catch up with Emilie, and she even showed us her workspace and studio.
On Friday, Melanie went to work, and Janice Clements picked me up to go visit Karen Houg at her house in Delta. Janice, Karen and I, along with Joyce (Reid) Douglas used to hang out together in high school. After a quick (sort of ) visit to Ikea, we arrived just in time for drinks and appies at Karen and Brian's place.
Janice, Karen and I:
They have the most beautiful back yard and garden, and the sun came out again just for us. After a wonderful meal and visit, Janice and I stayed overnight in the guest rooms. In the morning, I had some of the blueberry cobbler that Karen had made for dessert the previous night - with ice cream and coffee, I was set for the day! :) When I got back to Melanie's, I found out that she had agreed to take on an extra shift and would be working until 11 pm. I quickly decided to head to Gibsons that day rather than the next, so I took the bus down to M's work, bought some chocolate and flowers for Gail and took my car. I packed up and headed to Horshoe Bay and caught the 4:30pm ferry to the Sunshine Coast. I arrived at Gail's in time for dinner with her and Glenn. We had a delicious pasta dish and salad with a lovely glass of wine.
On Sunday (29th), Glenn was working, so Gail took me around to the beaches and sights of Gibsons. There was some kind of sea festival happening in town when we arrived, so the main street was closed to traffic. We managed to catch an airshow in between our shopping. I found a really cool picture of egrets that I bought for my brother Bob (for looking after my dog) and a sterling silver and turquoise ring for me. Gail and I ended up trying on the same pair of pants in red and because they looked great on both of us, we bought them. Twins for sure! After we replenished our strength with a double gelato cone, we headed to Seachelt to visit Gail's mom. Then it was home again to have a drink before dinner on Gail's lovely back deck. After a greaaat chicken dinner, we relaxed by the TV with cookies and tea and watched the Olympics (diving). Jane, Gail's eldest daughter, arrived around 9:30 that evening. After a quick visit, it was off to bed.
Gail:
Me on Gospel Rock:
Happy hour at Gail's (After seeing her plastic chairs that she painted red, I have decided to paint my chairs at home red too!):
On Monday, Glenn, Gail, Jane and I toured some more beaches and then hiked up Soames Hill. At the top, there is a gorgeous view of Gibsons and the ocean - well worth the hike. After the hike, we headed to the marina in Gibsons and had a great lunch of fish and chips. Then we headed home to sit in the sun, have a coffee and to prep for dinner. Dinner was delicious hamburgers and potato salad, and corn, and leftover salad, and wine...and...we were stuffed! As a result, Glenn, Gail and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and checked out all the houses for sale. I can't believe how many there were!
On the beach:
Hike up Soames Hill:
Tuesday we toured Roberts Creek and Seachelt and had another great lunch overlooking the ocean in Seachelt. When we got back home, I slowly packed up and helped Gail water her neighbour's flowers. I took some final pictures of Gail's house and then after a few hugs and tears, I left to catch the afternoon ferry back to Vancouver. Melanie was with Colm when I arrived home, so I bought some takeout sushi to eat for dinner. When I arrived at the house, I had put sheets in the dryer and make the bed! sheeesh My sweet daughter didn't come home until the next morning.
Artwork on concrete at Roberts Creek:
Beach combing:
On Wednesday, August 1st, we had coffee and a muffin and then headed out downtown for some serious shopping. I ended up buying a couple of tops at different shops and some cute boyfriend jeans at the Gap. Then at my favorite shop, Club Monaco, I bought a pair of brown skinny jeans, a creamy-white, soft shirt, a belt, and a lovely, loose, golden brown sweater.....so nice! We had dinner at an East Indian restaurant on Davie St., which was closed to traffic because of the Celebration of Light that was happening that evening. After much debate, Melanie and I decided to fight the crowds and head down to English Bay to watch the fireworks. I'm so glad we did. The fireworks show put on by Brazil was FANTASTIC! Well worth jostling people on the streets, in lineups and on the bus home.
Thursday morning we had brunch at Sophie's on 4th Ave. Melanie's friend Kat (originally from Russia) joined us, and we had a great meal. We did a little shopping and then M. and I had to go because M had an appointment at 3pm. While she was at her appointment, I checked out the shops on Granville. When I picked Melanie up, we went back to Granville and I bought a cute pair of polka dot skinny jeans and a gold top in Anthropologie. Definitely done shopping at that point 'cause I'd spent way too much. Hahahahah, did I say I was done? Naaaaah I found a beautiful wicker basket for magazines at Pottery Barn that I knew would be just perfect for Mom's bathroom, sooooo I had to buy it. Forced into it, yes I was. We met Colm at his work, Cafe Crepe, and after watching him make some crepes and waiting for him to finish his shift, we headed down to Melanie's workplace, Urban Fare in Olympic Village. We had decided to have dinner at the Tap and Barrel nearby because Colm wanted to try out their potato beer, and I needed to buy some Rogers chocolates for Mom and Bob. We had a great dinner and even saw some celebrities - Jensen Ackles (from the TV series Supernatural) and Jared Padalecki (from Gilmore Girls series). We laughed about going over to their table and bugging them, but as we were leaving, Jensen went by us into the washroom. I decided that I would be brave and wait for him to come out and ask for a picture. Well, he came out and I asked if he would "humour a crazy, old lady." Well, he graciously said that I only looked 26 (choke, choke...but, hey I figure, if he was going 10-20 years younger to be on the safe side, that's still at least 10 years younger than my actual age, so I must look pretty good for my age!) and agreed to a picture.
