Funnies

I loved this since I am "directionallly challenged".
I sometimes wonder how we actually managed to drive over all the UK and Ireland and France, Spain, and Italy with me as the navigator and no GPS.

Well, we are often in this situation even though we usually view life as the glass half full...

The Murals of Invergorden

From Linda's blog while cruising around the UK.

Today we are in Invergordon.  The seas last night were very calm.  I know it can be rough sometimes, but we never even noticed any motion.  Not that it ever bothers us.  Inverness is the northernmost city in the UK.

While researching Invergordon, I found this interesting article on Wikipedia:

Invergordon is now the premiere mural town of the Highlands and hopes to emulate the success of her mentor in Chemainus, British Columbia. Currently the town is adorned with a series of 17 murals. The paintwork created by a selection of artists tells the stories of the local community and the area. This trail is a result of a community project which was initially designed to integrate local community groups (17 in total took part). The trail, which was opened by the Princess Royal, now acts as a major tourist draw. Now Invergordon Off The Wall, the group who facilitated the project, have just completed their latest project creating three new pieces with the assistance of inspirational artists,  Al Macinnes & Fin Macrae, The Mobile Foundry, Kevin Blackwell & Roddy Mathieson and Del Whitticase. 

I'm very interested in mural art and found this site with lots of photos of the murals and also links to other places with murals. I was surprised Chemainus wasn't mentioned. I look forward to exploring more of these places with murals on this site.

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/10/the-murals-of-invergordon.html

A sunset at least tonight

And good to see Vancouver Island and the North Shore mountains again. Apparently, things will get worse again. We can only feel very lucky we're not in the midst of it all like so many. Our thoughts are with them for sure.

Mary Pratt March 15, 1935 – August 14, 2018)

From the Globe and Mail:

"Six decades ago, someone told Mary Pratt that she couldn’t be an artist – but that her husband could. “Now you have to understand in a family of painters, there can only be one painter, and in your family, it’s Christopher,” Lawren P. Harris told her.

These words carried weight; Mr. Harris was the son of the Group of Seven’s Lawren Harris, and taught Ms. Pratt art at Mount Allison University. “I went home and I cried,” she recalled later. “I had two children at that point. I thought: ‘I have just enough time. I intend to have children and to have food the table, and I intend to do the ironing, but I will have time to paint.’ ”

In the end, Mary Pratt, who died on Tuesday at the age of 83, did have time to paint, and paint extraordinarily well. Her luminous canvases shifted photorealism into a deep engagement with everyday life, into what Ms. Pratt called “these tiny little truths” embedded in light and fruit, line and meat."

I had seen some of Mary Pratt's work but looked a little more at it.  It really is quite appealing to the eye you certainly have to admire her ability.  

Itty Bitty Book Review: "A Gentleman's Murder"

"A Gentleman's Murder" by Christopher Huang

I really enjoyed this mystery set in London in 1924. I read a review of it in The Sun but it wasn't available in the library so bought a Kindle edition on Amazon. I loved the setting and the WW I background and it is a well developed plot.  Good summer reading for my friends who enjoy mysteries.

It seems it is published by  a company called Inkshares and it looks like it's going to be developed into a TV series.

https://deadline.com/2018/07/a-gentlemans-murder-endeavor-content-inshares-tv-series-christopher-huang-1202433196/

I wish the author the best of luck and look forward to reading more.

About the author:

My name is Christopher Huang. I grew up in Singapore and moved to Canada when I was 17. I returned to Singapore the following year for two years of military service, before going to McGill University in Montreal to study Architecture. I still live in Montreal; these days, I’m pursuing the dream of writing full-time.

I’m a longtime fan of the "golden age" of detective fiction, and the principles of fair play governing the genre, as described by Ronald Knox in his decalogue. As Ellery Queen observed, the primary attraction of detective fiction is that the reader should be able to solve the mystery themselves from the given clues, prior to the grand denouement.

Wildfire haze in Victoria

This photo was in the online TC today...probably an exaggerated photo as well.

John A. Macdonald creating quite a stir

"Victoria city council voted to remove the statue as a gesture of reconciliation last week. It noted Macdonald's role in establishing the residential school system, which tore some 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Métis children away from their communities and families. "

Perhaps the best thing about this controversy is the interest it has created on a topic that needs to be talked about. Loads of people have weighed in for and against but I think Kate Sole's letter says it the best...and not just because I know her. Thanks, Fern, for sending me this letter to the editor in the Times Colonist.

"By love, you conquer the world"

Reading Friday's front page, I was struck dumb by Mayor Lisa Helps' justification for removing the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald  from city hall: "It is about rewriting history, but it is not about erasing history."
   First, these two actions are not mutually exclusive. In order to rewrite history, one would first have to erase the current version.
   Second, Helps demonstrates naivety in even suggesting such a notion. No one has the power to rewrite history. No authoritative political speech, no heartfelt apology, no generous monetary compensation and certainly no relocation of any statue, can undo atrocities committed against the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
   So instead of futilely attempting to compensate for the past, let us look to the future with Holocaust survivor Philip Riteman (whose obituary also appeared in Friday's paper) as an inspiration. Let the leaders of every culture embrace and become involved in public education, as Riteman did, so that no community will ever again have to suffer because of its beliefs.
   Let our law enforcers effectively combat discrimination. And let us all spread Riteman's message that: "By love, you conquer the world. By hate, you'll only destroy the world and you destroy yourself."

Kate Soles
Victoria

Well said, Kate!

Wildfire smoke

Well, I guess this is the new normal but I was amazed to see the news today (I guess we haven't been watching it lately) to see the photos they are showing of Vancouver and the haze. Well, maybe we're in a bit of a bubble out here at UBC...not that we aren't complaining about not having completely clear air and being able to see all of Vancouver Island as normal. But this is what we're seeing at the moment at 5:23pm...nothing like the incredible smoke being shown for Vancouver on TV...fake news!

Lunch with Maureen yesterday at Breka Cafe and Bakery

We met at the one at 4th and Alma and each chose an "Italian Pocket"...very tasty!  Their espresso machine was broken so just had water.  We commented that a 24 hour cafe just might have two espresso machines in case of breakdown.

I wandered around the area a bit and was a little surprised that it still had a bit of that hippie vibe of the 60's with the funny little shops that I guess make a living. The old hippie area in the 60's was closer to Kit's Beach area and that is now pretty upscale.

70th Year Celebration of the Trolley Bus in Vancouver

Ah...the old trolley buses. I wonder how many trips I made on these buses over the years...hundreds I guess. It was a cosy place to be looking out at the rain. Maybe that's why I still love watching the rain come down in Vancouver. I was often going downtown to go to the main branch of the public library (now Victoria's Secret).  I was fascinated by all the newspapers from all over the world. Perhaps that's where I got my desire to be an international journalist.

From Global News:

"Angus McIntyre has been driving buses since 1969.

Through the years, he has seen four generations of public transit vehicles come and go.

And on Sunday, he got a chance to drive a retro trolley that roamed the streets of Vancouver in 1954.

Metro Vancouver is celebrating 125 years of public transit and to celebrate passengers were given a chance to take a trip back in time.

Canadian Car-Brill trolley bus was brought out of retirement to give passengers a free ride in downtown Vancouver Sunday afternoon. The bus still has a BC Hydro logo on it, back from when the power authority was in charge of the transit system."

Rain, wonderful rain...

We did have a lovely swim Friday evening and looked at the tides for today and thought we just might go down arond 8pm but not a perfect evening and now it is perfect to be in and have this wonderful rain coming down.  It is quite a downpour and so welcome after the heat and dryness. I'm not sure it will be enough to help the wildfire situation but it will be good for the local gardens at least.

Mr. Mike's Steakhouse

I had forgotten all about Mr. Mike's but I was reading an article on Barkerville and the drive up and the Mr. Mike's in Quesnel was mentioned.  I'm surprised they are such a big chain and have such an extensive menu. They do seem mainly to be in the suburbs and smaller towns.

This looks sort of like their old $1.49 special but I don't recall onion rings or mushrooms. I think it was served with a Caesar rather than just a green salad and of course the baked potato.

When we were going to UBC, a treat was going to Mr. Mike's although the steak wasn't quite so good sometimes. Jim actually complained once and got a whole new dinner. This was after the manager commented that "he had eaten most of it" which he had.  Jim's reply was that he thought it was going to get better.  The manager actually gnawed on a bit of it...this is a true story!  We thought we'd hit the jackpot when he was given a whole new dinner with all the trimmings...ah, those poor student days.

Another treat was buying 50 cent steaks at Paul's Meats in Kits. They weren't too bad really. Good on Paul for having something poor students could afford.

Avocado toast run and Stong's yesterday.

Another avocado toast experience with Carol and then Stong's.

Maui marinated NY Strip Loin....very yummy and Jim cooked it to perfection  We always just split one.  It's the perfect amount for us and a good deal at $8.99 a steak on sale.

Tonight, burgers from Stong's.

And I also picked up a partial rack of lamb that I thought was a pretty good price.  This is enough meat for the both of us.

And I finally got some horseradish that wasn't past the expiry date.  I've been looking everywhere for this as we really enjoy making a coctail sauce with it to have with shrimp.  Stong's had a big selection of horseradish.  Now I know where I can get it.

Love this work of art

Moving and beautiful.
Via: CBC Victoria
"Gus Modeste is an artist and carver from Chemainus and the Salish Nation Penelakut who has done his own powerful interpretation of J35 and her offspring.
It's called Mother's Love."
Image: Guy Modeste  https://www.mymondotrading.com/gallery/category/modeste-gus-217

Bouillabaisse at La Brass

We had a great lunch yesterday.  It was one of the finest "North American" bouillabaisse we've had.  We like these so much better than the real "French" ones that are mainly white fish and potatoes and a very thin tasteless broth. Salmon, cod, prawns, mussels, clams in a wonderful broth.

And of course, rouille, crostini, and gruyere.

Well, it's interesting what you forget and I guess the "shellfish" in the French bouillabaisse was very forgettable to the point I didn't think they served any.I knew I had a photo of the bouillabaisse we had in Marseilles with Don and Elaine in 2005...the worst ever probably because we went to a place right on the port rather than hitting the back streets like we usually did when we were on our own and just speaking French.

It looks better than it actually was. The fish and broth were tasteless and I was surprised to see three mussels so I guess I better stop saying there aren't shellfish in the real bouillabaisse.  So, three mussels and I think there were just the shells for four people. The little crab things you see weren't edible. Just for the broth I guess but given the taste of the broth I expect they were just for show and probably had been recycled and served up to many unsuspecting tourists. This was an expensive bouillabaisse even in 2005!

Photos of photos from 2005