A super evening at The Sylvia

We really enjoyed the band tonight....just two guys playing country,  blues,  bluegrass stuff.

Ah...Red Truck Ale.  Heather,  our favourite server,  greeted us and knew exactly what we wanted.

On our walk home,  we passed this house we really like but usually see it during the day.  We took a little different route today and saw it wonderfully lit up...wow!

Home Sweet Home

Arrived back safely and we had a very nice flight.  It was nice to stretch out in Plus and get served first.  It was also really great to have a good view.   I must remember to book the A,B,C side coming back as we had a wonderful view of the San Juans,  the Victoria ferry coming in,  and the Gulf Islands....and my freighters....I counted 12 of them but I'm sure there are more.   It actually seems quite warm and it wasn't raining so that was a bonus.  It's always a pleasure to drive in from the airport and it was "snowing"  cherry blossoms all the way in!

Thanks Marvin for driving us to the airport.  We're going to miss you guys!  Erna,  our morning swims just won't be the same.

All unpacked and will head out to Safeway to pick up a few things for tomorrow morning.  I think it will be a night splitting a fish and chips and having a Red Truck Ale while listening to the music.

From our balcony.

Au revoir Palm Springs!

This post on FB from Benjamin seemed perfect.  I didn't know they were called this.

Pipe Organ cactus and the blooms are large only last one evening and early morning. Good morning todos

* And they sometimes appear in paintings by crazy ladies as purple in colour.

Stewart Galleries....finally!

We always pass these and are always intrigued but we are usually passing on a Monday to go to Bill's Pizza and they are closed.  Today we were at Fisherman's Market for a final lunch out in Palm Springs and we decided to go have a look.  Prices are high since we do so much thrift store purchases these days,  but they have a really interesting stock and it is really quite beautifully laid out.  I even got a few ideas for things I might make myself.

I could fashion this golf golf club lamp.

These are architect models of NYC buildings.

I think I will definitely make some palette end tables!

And this is a vintage palette.

Now,  if it could just get these old disks I had back again....ah well.   They meant a lot since my first computer was a Macintosh which took these disks.  I think most of mine were a rather dull beige.  It does inspire me to look around at what just might be art.

And I had lots of old fishing tackle and that also would have made nice memories since all the fishing I did was up at my parent's summer place on Gabriola Island.

Did Jim ever tell you about the time he and his friends just had one boxing glove....

A beautiful sunny day to end our stay

We leave tomorrow and it has been a wonderful stay in our little paradise in Palm Springs.  And the day was brightened even further by Carol's blog with her photo shoot of Linda's delightful and funny little knitted animals.  Linda,  you are amazing!  Here are a few photos and the link for more.

http://mountdunbar.blogspot.ca/2017/04/green-lion.html

Wow....two movies in one day!

La La Land was only on at the cheap theatre complex here...$1.50 Sunday matinee.  The seats were actually better than I remembered and the audience was very well behaved.  We really enjoyed it and I was wondering how it would end since Richard recommended it so I knew it wouldn't be typical Hollywood.   It would have ruined it if it was!

And then we decided to watch Manchester by the Sea on iTunes....really enjoyed that it as it was much better than we expected.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Alan and Susan posted this from Yorkshire and it was great fun to see the tray I painted especially for them in the photo with their  newly made marmalade.  My inspiration was from a visit in the summer one year and they were making marmalade.  The whole process did seem very cheerful,  colourful,  and in the end....yummy!

Alan's post today:

What does one do on a cold wet Easter Sunday afternoon? Simple, eat chocolate,drink wine and make marmalade! A belated Happy Easter 🙂🐣to one and all.

And it's hard to believe that 10 years ago Susan and Alan joined us in Palm Springs while we were renting the condo we have now purchased!  A few photos from that time and this bit of commentary which I got a laugh out of since I had completely forgotten the incident....great reason to keep a blog!

"Last Friday night we had a good laugh with Susan and Alan as we were trying to find the Camelot Movie Theatre where "The Lives of Others" was playing. We arrived too late but it reminded us of our wild tour of Dublin with the "best taxi driver in Dublin" (according to our hotel owner) trying to find the car that went along with our exchange. Jim ended up going into a post office and got directions since the driver seemed incapable of doing anything but going around in circles. I think he was headed to the pub for the rest of the day after he dropped us off."

Susan and Alan are really into Scottish Country dancing so of course Alan has a kilt....all surprised to see this kilt maker in PS....no longer here.

Susan and Alan love all kinds of dancing so we were rocking it up at Las Casualas.

Our back patio walls had some cool decorations which are no longer here but do live on in a painting I did which is in Vancouver now.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Doors Open"

"Doors Open" by Ian Rankin

I have started reading a couple of Ian Rankin's novels and really enjoyed the Edinburgh setting but could never really get into the Detective Rebus character.  This is a stand alone mystery   I was intrigued by the idea of the "perfect crime" being committed in the art world by respectable people.
It was lots of fun and really kept my interest.  Rankin really does make Edinburgh also a character and it brought back many happy memories of our time in this great city.

Ah, Susan, the gourmet cook!

Susan cooked a wonderful dinner last night of beef tenderloin and yummy everything else.  We were also treated to wonderful wines and lemon tart from Peninsula Bakery.  We had a super time and were very impressed with their suite at The Biarritz....on the small side but very nicely decorated and a great deal.  And they can walk into Palm Springs.

Thanks,  Guys!

Jim and Susan having a good laugh over the frypan getting stuck to a plastic mat....well,  always a few glitches in an unfamiliar kitchen.

Wonderful cacti!

I loved these cacti that were in full bloom by Trader Joe's today.

A memory on Facebook four years ago....

Celebrating at Wang's with our new neighbours...

Out and about....

We are on the lookout for things for our newly landscaped patio...no luck today.

These first two are of a display at an Italian restaurant...thought the reflections in the first one were rather cool.

The owner of this bookstore likes to keep things in alphabetical order....guess some people do need a reminder.