Home Again

First day home was invited to SR's house for dinner.  I haven't seen the little ones for over a week and missed them.  I picked them up from Daycare and we played at home until Mamma and Daddy arrived.  They were being very silly.

Difficult to get a good picture when they are being silly, but they don't care.  As long as there is laughter, either do I.

They have fun together.  Great to see.

After dinner Alanna tried on the dress I bought her from my friend Linda.  I was afraid it wouldn't fit her, but as it turns out, it fits perfectly.  The flair is a little flat from being in my suitcase, but it looks great on her.

Of course, she doesn't stay very lady-like as she hops on her favourite steed, Dad, and rides around the house a bit.  It is a good trial for the dress.  Holds up to horsey rides.

August 28

Time to go home.  I met Joan at the airport where we dined and shopped.  No stopping us!

I had with me a purchase I made from Linda.  I am hoping that it fits Alanna!

Steveston

I was not the only guest at Bev's B&B!  Teri, another CP Air friend stayed as well.  I haven't seen Teri for so many years I do not wish to divulge,  but it was fun to meet up with her.

It also happened to be Bev's birthday, so we all went out to Steveston to have a celebratory lunch.  The calamari was soooo soooo soooo tender and the Ceasars were soooo soooo soooo tasty.  (It is 5:00 somewhere!)

We had lovely weather so ate out on the deck.

The view was so sea-sidy (is that a word?).  And the gulls were flying overhead.

I was pleased to find that Teri was shorter than me.  I am very seldom the tallest person in a picture.

CP Air was a great place to work and I made the best friends there!

Visiting White Rock

CP Air will never die.  These are my work partners with CP Air in 1972 - 76.  And we are still in contact and still visit each other when we can.  Although it looks like they are wearing almost the same blouses, they are not.  It is just a pleasant coincidence.  

On Sunday, we drove to White Rock to visit and lunch with Linda.  For a while she was the Herb Lady as she sold health food supplements (and herbs).  She now sews.  

Vintage Baby Clothing.

I can see little Prince George in this outfit.

She hand smocks all items, french seams everything (so it won't rub against baby's delicate skin) and makes each one  little bit different.

She does sell the clothing and if you wish to see what kinds of items she makes, here is her website:

http://modernvintagebabywear.ca

My mother, the ex-seamstress, would love to see such excellent quality work.

The Meth Lab

Went to visit my friend Bev in Richmond.  

The first day I was there, I went for a walk.  Below is what I was met with right across the road from her house!

An officer approached me, asked where I lived and told me there was a gas leak and they were clearing the area.

 The police tape went up.  No Entrance.

On my way home about 45 minutes later, I again spoke to an officer who told advised me that it was now a crime scene and they were in the process of getting warrants.

It was a meth lab that they had discovered.

We watched men in hazmat suits working away.  There were barrels of something coming out of the house and carefully being removed from the area as well as dozens and dozens of five-gallon pails.
Bev thinks that I brought the excitement as usually this is just a quiet residential neighbourhood.

China Town; Gas Town

It was hot.  It was smoky.  And we were traipsing through China Town, not the cleanest nor did it always look the friendliest, part of town.  As if that wasn't enough, we strode through East Hastings, well known for its homeless and street drugs, to get to Gastown.  We really had to laugh as it was the worst part of Vancouver for two women to be walking though.  By the time we reached our destination we were pooped. Joan, who doesn't drink said "lets find a seat at a sidewalk cafe and order a beer"!!!!  We did just that.  

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

We entered and strolled through the first part of the garden which was beautiful and tranquil.  This was actually the larger public park and Chinese Cultural Centre.  The paths led you through bamboo forests, lots of greenery, through to pagodas and quiet jade green ponds.

This view faces the Classical Chinese Garden.  We later took a tour of that.

The water lilies were beautiful sitting in the jade coloured water.

We then entered the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

This is the FIRST classical garden constructed outside of China.  Its financing and construction represent a unique cooperative effort between Canada, the People's Republic of China and Vancouver's Chinese & non-Chinese communities.  It is modelled after the highest standards of private classical gardens in the city of Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty.

It was a lovely way to spend an hour in a big bustling city.  A step outside the hectic world.

Operation Day

Had my eye operation in the morning.  They couldn't have used a larger patch on my eye!  But they did an excellent job.  No pain (even though I thought an operation on the eye would be quite yucky).  The patch had to stay on until my Post-Op the next morning.  My "escort" picked me up and we went to the Sylvia Hotel for lunch.  I was the weirdest looking person in the restaurant, needless to say.  Then we went shopping along Denman St.  That was very interesting.  Visited Victoria's Secret.  Then back to the hotel and just took it easy that evening.

YVR Day 2 - Part 3

In the late afternoon we took the Sky Train down to the waterfront.  We had a beer and appy and people watched.

With the sun low in the sky eerily shinning through the forest fire smoke, we took the ferry over to Lonsdale Quay.  We were hoping to grab a meal there, but the shops were closing up by the time we arrived.

We strolled along the wharf.

We met a couple from Arizona (he was born and raised in Fairbanks) as we were all viewing the monster of a yacht that was docked there.  It was the Attessa IV.  After a bit of investigation we found that this super yacht is owned by Dennis Washington and is 328 feet long, valued at $250 million USD.   It was so long I couldn't get the whole of the ship in my view to take a phone without backing way way back so below is a photo I scooped from the internet.

Then home again.  Still pretty smoky on the way home.

YVR Day 2 - Part 2

Then it was time for my appointment.  I thought, as I had a 1:00 slot that I would be the first in after lunch and there would be no (or at the least very little) waiting.  

I walked into a FULL waiting room.  I counted 23 people waiting and that was not including the ones that were in the individual little rooms having eye tests done.  Pre-op took three hours.  I was not expecting that.

YVR Day 2 - Part 1

 Joan once lived in Vancouver, so as my Pre-Op Appointment wasn't until 1:00 PM we took a walk around her old stomping grounds, which also happened to be around Vancouver City Hall.
At the foot of City Hall are these wonderful sculptures.  I love seeing art displayed in cities.

And then there was City Hall. We didn't go in though,  as we had a bit more exploring to do.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this!

B.C. is Burning Up

August 19 I flew out of Whitehorse to Vancouver for a medical procedure.  As they wouldn't perform the operation without my having an escort, my friend Joan came with me.  Of course, as it is now allowed, we flew Air North, and on the  way south I enjoyed a magazine and wine.  A very pleasant flight.

We were warned that we would be flying over the forest fires which are ravaging British Columbia and above is my first sight of the fires.  We were also warned that the cabin would smell like a campfire, although the odour was not too bad.

As we flew on, the view of the forest fire filled my window.  Those are not clouds you see above.  It is the smoke from a large part of a province burning up.

We arrived at the hotel on West Broadway.  I had a "view" room, not that I requested one but that is what they gave me.  Above is my view.  The smoke from the forest fires had settled on the city.  I could barely see the skyline and after looking at this view for four days, Joan told me that the view is actually the mountains, which I never did see.  I didn't even know we were facing the mountains!  The smoke didn't seem to bother me, but after four days, Joan had a sore throat and felt a bit ill.  

August 11, 2018

Another weekend at Gramma's.  I rented The Gruffalo for them to watch.  They told me that they had "read the book" and were excited to see what the movie was like.  They both crawled into the same chair, side by side, blanket and all and settled in to watch the movie.  It WAS good although Alanna thought there were a few scary parts and had to cover her eyes with the blanket. And there were a few parts that were different than the book, I was told.

Saturday morning I went to a few garage sales and picked up these costumes -- a witch for Alanna, but she wanted to be called a princess as it was very full and meshy, and Spider Man for Emerson.  They both tried on the clothes as soon as they were in the house and didn't take them off until park time in the evening. They were the most colourful people about town that day.

Flowers Brighten the Day

Received flowers from a friend and every time I walk passed them I admire and smile.  Thanks Joan!

Still Summer

Although it is not as hot as it was a few days ago, we went to the park this afternoon.  After about 15 minutes of play Emerson's face was red and his hair was stuck to his forehead.  I asked if they wanted to go for a cooking ice cream cone.  Above is their answer.