Beautiful weather, wonderful friends, super food....

Can it get any better than this?  Thanks,  Dick and Susan,  for such a lovely time last night and delicious food.  It was great fun!

I thought this was a pretty good photo....thanks, Donna!

Donna took this photo of me for the local Jane Austen Society newsletter.

Our first swim....the latest ever

We got our first swim in the ocean yesterday.  It was a very warm day and the ocean was pretty warm although not quite as warm as we thought it would be.   It was wonderful to sit in the sun,  swim,  and chat with our beach friends.  We realized just how much we've missed that!

I was talking about the fact that we had recently turned 70 and that had been a bit of a shock to me...the only age that seemed to bother me.  Also,  it gave me a bit of a turn when I realized when I renewed my 10 year passport I would be 77 years.  Boni commented that she just renewed her passport for 10 years and that means she'll be 100 years old when she next needs to renew!

Fireworks...wow!

Japan did them tonight and they were pretty amazing.  Of course I really don't know how to set my camera to get a decent photo and then I have problems uploading.  I will have to get this sorted out!  Here's one at least.

Strolling Beach Ave on the first Celebration of Light this year

It's nice to just walk about and enjoy the sights and then to be able to come back to our peaceful sanctuary.  We will probably go up to the observation deck to see the fireworks...perhaps for 20 minutes just after they start and just before they end.  The elevators are pretty crowded.

We heard the clopping of the horses.  They stopped for a while just in front of our building.  Quite a night for them.

I don't remember seeing a fireboat quite as big.

Now,  I really like this one!

These "sofas" look great but Mike at the Bar-b-q said they are murder to get inflated.

The police boat telling people not to be swimming.

There seemed to be an especially large fire boat this year.

One of the small fireboats doing its thing.

Social life....wildlife

Since Jim's been so sick this month we haven't taken much advantage of the Stanley Park Lawn Bowling Club but we went with Maureen last night to the Bar-b-q and we all had a great time and met some neat people.  It was just a beautiful evening and we saw seagulls chasing an eagle away.  It seems the eagles have got more of the heron chicks than usual.  Maureen mentioned there were just a few chicks that hadn't fledged yet and amazingly she returned home to an email about an update on the 2017 heron season from the Stanley Park Ecology Society.  That may make another post.

In the months when the bowling links are closed,  the clubhouse has card sessions of bridge and euchre and also majong.   Maybe I'll finally get into these things.  People seem to have a lot of fun doing these things.

The other day we had a bunch of geese come up Haro Street from Lost Lagoon.  We had never seen this before...were they lost?

Photos taken from the balcony.

Lunch with Donna and a wonderful basket of goodies!

Donna and I had lunch in her "hood" yesterday...a super Japanese restaurant in Kerrisdale and I picked up the Jane Austen basket that I won.  I had completely forgotten about it so it was a wonderful surprise.  What a load of goodies...wow!

A very interesting looking book "Jane Austen's England",  a beautiful colouring books with quotes,  a journal,  notecards with quotes,  a coaster, playing cards,  luggage tag,  button,  and I just love this...."22 Temporary Tattoos"....I'll be using these with great pleasure...photos to come!

It's always great to talk to an old friend.

Guess I was taking a break from blogging...

Well,  these warm summer days.  We've been going for evening walks around dusk these last few nights and enjoying the views and action and glad we're not hearing the buskers at our new home.  It is great to just pass by.  There was a wonderful smell of the ocean last night.  We don't get this as much in Vancouver these days so it becomes a real treat.

Monday we went to Ciao Bella and I took home half my Carbonara pasta and we had it with steak Tuesday.   I couldn't possibly eat more so that's a good deal with half price pasta and their special $20 bottle of wine that they offer Monday and Tuesday.

Pizza from Olympia last night and probably tonight.  Lawn bowling Bar-b-q tomorrow.  One day I'll start cooking again...

Well,  another reason I haven't posted is my photo upload is all weird.  I at least  figured out that I could mail them to myself,  then download them to downloads folder and post from there.  Now,  I can't even mail them but have to post them to Facebook,  then download, etc.  What a hassle!  I'll have to get this fixed.  Anyway,  a photo of the sunset last night from our balcony after our walk  to the beach.

Same old, same old and fabulous new!

We saw Richard and Grace tonight and Richard fixed up my computer problems (same old, same old, poor guy...thanks so much!) and we went to this wonderful Japanese Bar-b-q restaurant which is really close to us just on Denman.  They love this place and I had an eye out for it myself but so great to go with them because the menu is huge and they ordered.  We absolutely loved everything and this will be a spot to go to for us for sure.  Wow...thanks,  it was a wonderful evening.

We love The Sylvia and the Cactus Club but one thing I really loved about this place (in addition to all the fabulous food) was there was a real mix of ages.  The Sylvia tends to be more our age and the Cactus Club tends to be the young crowd.  Well,  we're not complaining.  We know we can always get into The Sylvia because it isn't so popular and the Cactus Club is pretty amazing for food and in the off season we get in there with no problem either.  We are situated in a wonderful area.

Ah well,  some weird thing.  Photos don't seem to be uploading.

  This is the restaurant.

http://www.zakkushi.com

I can at least mail myself a photo and then download it.  Richard will sort it out I'm sure.

 Pondering the menu...

We had so many things I probably forget half of them but I do love the presentation on these little skewers so you can lots of different things like chicken hearts,  chicken livers,  beef,  pork,  smelt, chicken, something like a tourtiere, some nice salad...and more.

Grace "won" these two packets of Pocky.  Kind of a nice idea to have a raffle.  I think you could win something substantial.

These two not my photos.

Richard brought us these very cool sunglasses from his company.  We're 100% in terms of free sunglasses with the Celebration of Light,  Car to Go,  etc.   and now these which are very special.  Thanks, kid!

Mounted Unit in Vancouver

Interesting article and of course the horses will be out in force come the Celebration of Light beginning next weekend.  We saw the barge for the fireworks is there already when we were at The Sylvia yesterday.

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-police-departments-mounted-unit-is-a-psy-ops-success-story

A wonderful day with Linda and Cec and Carol and Dave

We do so enjoy our times together and particularly special since we're not next door now.  Carol and Linda and I grew up in the same neighbourhood so we've known each other for 66 plus years.   Linda is wonderful in organizing coming in on transit.  We started here with a drink then went to The Sylvia. for lunch  I just got a few photos at our place but I'm hoping Linda will post some of her photos on her blog.  We had great laughs over the "Naked Bike Ride" which went by and also the geese were going crazy going back and forth across the street.  Lots of laughs and remembering old times.  Love you guys!

"the boys"

"the girls"

"Almost all of us"

The crazy geese (photo courtesy of Linda).  They have recently had traffic control at this crosswalk on the weekend to keep the cars moving and the tourists safe.   But it seems the geese are finding this quite a game and are also always crossing back and forth now.  While we were having lunch we noticed the traffic control left...and so did the geese!

New cool place in Palm Springs

Susan and Chris,  you might want to stay there!

Dusty Palm Springs is in the midst of a major revitalization, with a flux of new restaurants, boutiques, and luxurious hotel opening in the heart of the resort town. Leading the charge of city’s modern transformation is Kimpton The Rowan Palm Springs, which will be downtown Palm Spring’s first new build hotel to open in decades when it welcomes its inaugural set of guests in October.

The Rowan marks Kimpton’s first venture into the region, and the brand—which is largely known for luxurious urban oases—has artfully mixed its city-slicker style with the midcentury modern high-desert design that has come to define Palm Springs. The resulting sleek seven-story building is filled with natural light—making the most of the dramatic San Jacinto Mountains and Coachella Valley vistas by employing windows at every turn. For an even better way to take in the sweeping views, guests of the hotel can head to the rooftop—which is the highest rooftop in the city, and the only one to feature a sparklingly blue pool.

I have decided this painting is now complete.

I think I started this one a couple of years ago and I did have some idea of adding something and then I stopped because I really rather liked it as it was.  It was just supposed to be a background to something...something that I have forgotten.  Possibly the bright colours of parasails?

"Looking towards West Point Grey"

14 x 18 acrylic on canvas

July/17

Monet exhibit at The Vancouver Art Gallery

John mentioned he was somewhat disappointed because the paintings he had seen in a book he had were much better.  Yes,  I would have to agree with that and especially if you've seen the absolutely magnificent panels of water lilies at the Orangerie Musee in Paris.  I guess the Vancouver exhibit was very interesting to me because I hadn't seen these ones before and some were moving to an abstract quality and since my abstract experiments which were quite fun I found that aspect intriguing.

Linda,  you might want to try to take in the Orangerie but I know you're pretty booked in Paris.  You can get quite a good idea of the room and the paintings on the link.  I couldn't pick much up for images but these few will give you an idea of the size of the paintings and how wonderful they are.

http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/article/set-orangerie

Yummy chicken pot pie....who knew?

It never occurred to me to order the chicken pot pie at The Sylvia.  I guess I have too many memories of soggy bottoms and tasteless fillings in the chicken pot pies I've had.  The other day when we were having dinner at The Sylvia (Jim needed a treat and steak-frites did the trick) I noticed something rather delicious looking going by.  It could have been a very large French onion soup but I know they don't have that. It turns out it was a chicken pot pie with a wonderful looking flaky top and in a pot so no soggy bottom and the server said it got rave reviews.  I had already ordered but we took a young UBC prof out to lunch Thursday and I just had to order it....chicken,  bacon, pearl onions,  and mushrooms.  It was fabulous and Judith noted it for herself for another time.  It seems her mother made a wonderful one and this looked like it might live up to it.

We had a really nice chat with Judith and it was great to meet someone so enthusiastic about teaching and her research projects.  She is certainly one busy lady!  There is some possibility  the next Aldous Huxley Symposium in four years time will be in Vancouver and she expressed interest in organizing it at UBC.  From what we saw of her today she would do a wonderful job and Jim would help of course.  Vancouver is a backup at the moment as they do hope to have it in Sanary (the actual conference would be at the university Jim taught at there) in the south of France where Huxley lived and wrote Brave New World.

Judith gave me her blog with the courses she teaches,  conferences,  projects.  I'm always on the lookout for new and different things to read so was curious about her course readings.    You can see she has her finger in a lot of pies.   I've read quite a few of the reading selections and an amazing coincidence is that one of the readings is "The Man in the High Castle" which is being filmed on Lost Lagoon!  Now,  how likely would it be that I meet someone who teaches this novel in the afternoon after I took photos of some of the set up for the filming!

Update: Jim tells me they were filming "The Man in the High Castle" last year at UBC so perhaps not so much a coincidence as she probably chose it if they were doing the filming when the course was going on.

Judith's blog.
http://blogs.ubc.ca/jpaltin/

Filming in our front yard

We noticed they painted the tennis courts a nice blue and then we saw the notice of filming so figured that had something to do with it but talking to a flagman today I think the Parks Board is redoing the courts.  The filming is taking place on the lagoon.  I was curious and took some photos.  There are lots of geese there so I imagine they'll be curious as well!

They're filming the TV series "The Man in the High Castle"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_High_Castle_(TV_series)