Wednesday, August 05, 2020

More photography by David N. Phipps

Some old houses probably mainly in the West End....and one of the Sylvia Hotel.










Tuesday, August 04, 2020

Richard came for dinner last night......




We had a pastis out on the deck in the afternoon....so south of France.  Our first time this year.

We enjoy our view so much.



Grace wasn't feeling well so couldn't come but she cooked these absolutely wonderful ribs for us...wow.thank you, Grace! And Richard helped Jim with all sorts of computer problems. Merci beaucoup, mon tres cher fils!


Sunday, August 02, 2020

And even more of these wonderful Palm Springs benches...

More downtown benches! 10 total completed, and working on the next location uptown! Thanks to a grant from the
Palm Springs Public Arts Commission
Main Street was able to pay 10 local artists to create these vibrant and exciting works of art downtown!





Saturday, August 01, 2020

Lots of curve balls in the current MLB season

We've been enjoying watching the Blue Jays but this is the latest news.  Well, we'll watch the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox games over the weekend. Glad we took advantage of seeing some games...the whole thing might be over before we know it.

Blue Jays manager Montoyo says weekend series against Phillies is postponed


In a regular season that has had its share of uncertainty, hurdles and challenges, the Toronto Blue Jays were dealt another curveball Thursday when their weekend series in Philadelphia was postponed after the Phillies reported that two staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo confirmed the postponement on a video call before Thursday afternoon's game in Washington. Montoyo said the team plans to stay in the U.S. capital until new travel plans can be finalized. 
"We've got to deal with it, it is what it is," Montoyo said. "Hopefully MLB works through this. We've got games coming up. But that's all I know right now."


Friday, July 31, 2020

First ocean swim of the year!


Not my photo but pretty close to the view we had....minus the clouds and the logs (they've taken the logs off most of the beach areas).

We generally get into the ocean early July but the cooler weather and inconvenient high tides put everything back this summer.  It was absolutely wonderful and the water was around 80 F. It was so great to actually swim again.  I guess it was about mid March when our pool closed down for safety reasons.


Thursday, July 30, 2020

We certainly do have colourful money in Canada....




The Royal Canadian Mint launched commemorative coins Tuesday to honour Haida artist Bill Reid. (The Royal Canadian Mint)

The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a new toonie to commemorate the legacy of B.C. Haida artist Bill Reid, more than 20 years after his death.
The new $2 coin enters circulation Tuesday, on the 100th anniversary of Reid's birth.
"The mint is delighted to add the story of Bill Reid's pivotal role in raising awareness of Haida art, and the traditions and culture it represents to the long list of circulation coins celebrating what makes us proud to be Canadian," said Marie Lemay, president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint in a written statement. 



The commemorative coin was set to be launched in B.C. earlier this year, but its release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trailblazer of Northwest Coast art 

Reid's work is widely acknowledged for helping to bring global recognition and respect to Northwest Coast art.
Born in Victoria, B.C., in 1920 to a Haida mother and American father with Scottish-German roots, he began exploring his Haida heritage in his early 20s. Reid eventually became renowned for his detailed carvings, like Raven and the First Men — a cedar sculpture at the UBC Museum of Anthropology.

Linda posted this video recently on our imaginative banknotes....worth looking at:

https://lindaandcec.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-canadian-dollar.html

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Fern's begonias are amazing!

Might have been a cold start to the year but the begonias loved it.
Fern MN




Sunday, July 26, 2020

Play ball!



It's great to see baseball again and Blue Jays won the opener Friday against Tampa Bay. A great start! Jim could even watch some of the game. He's been just so super busy with these three online courses he is teaching for RMC. It was nice to see him being able to relaz a little.

 It seems almost like a normal game other than for the masks and empty stadiums but they do have crowd noise so it almost makes it normal...well, normal weird.

One positive thing is that the fake crowd noise isn't as loud as the real crowd noise so it's easier for the player to hear one of their team mates calling to catch the fly ball.

We have high hopes for them as they are a young and enthusiastic team. Go Jays!


Saturday, July 25, 2020

The Desert Sun no longer printing in Palm Springs



I'm so glad we toured this printing press and really sorry to see this happening. Like all newspapers, The Desert Sun is losing ad revenue and even more so during the pandemic. Last November, we noticed that there were a lot fewer flyers.

About three dozen people will lose their jobs. The papers will now be printed in Phoenix. A sad day for Palm Springs.

https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2020/07/22/desert-sun-move-printing-operations-september-julie-makinen-letter-from-the-editor/5490840002/?utm_source=desertsun-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb

Thursday, July 23, 2020

Sunset on Spanish Banks Tuesday night

Photo by John Denniston

John took this photo just for me as he knows how much I love sunsets. We tease each other about this as he usually feels "just a sunset" isn't worth taking.  But, of course, this is a lot more than just a sunset...love it!

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Reading Alice Munro again...

This collection is in the middle of her writing career. I chose it because I think it is my favourite bookjacket of all the first editions we have of hers. We're not really into first editions but we ended up with them because she was a writer I always bought as soon as a new book came out. I'm a little surprised her first editions don't seem to have a lot of value given that she is the only Canadian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

 Now, Harry Potter first editions seem to be worth a lot especially ones that have Joanne Rowling instead of J.K. Rowling....like up to $70,000.00 CDN. It's quite a fascinating world...the value of some books.


But, of course, it is the words inside and how they are put together that counts. I think everytime I go back to Alice Munro, I can barely believe how brilliant her stories are. I do keep trying to read Robert Thacker's biography "Alice Munro: Writing Her Lives" and maybe I'll get into it during the pandemic.  "There is always a starting point in reality," Alice Munro once replied to a question about how her stories occur to her. And the biography is very much about how events in her own life are the beginning points. It sounds pretty interesting but so far I'm always drawn back to the stories.

I wonder if she just might write one more story with a beginning point in the current pandemic. What a gift that would be to  us all. But, I know she isn't very well and she has given us so much.

Just out of interest I looked up the value of Louise Penny first editions. They don't seem to be worth much either. This is more understandable as I'm sure the print runs are very high numbers. I did buy quite a few but always gave them away and told the recipients to pass them along to people who wanted to read them.

Monday, July 20, 2020

And the newer Vancouver from David N. Phipps

Nothing much to post. Cloudy, cool and clouds of mosquitoes if you try and do anything. So a walk from 2019 with
Toni Williams Morrison
from Olympic Village to Davie and Pacific.












Sunday, July 19, 2020

Paella in Palm Spings

We've had their paella and it's pretty good.

Guess they wouldn't deliver here :)


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Starting Thursday 7-16
Dine outside, to-go or DELIVERY!
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1 person $30
2 people $55
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Shrimp, fish, clams, mussels, calamari, chicken, merguez sausage with saffron rice
Order in advance to guarantee availability
760-325-9464
Inquire for delivery charges
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Saturday, July 18, 2020

Had a nice walk on Jericho Beach yesterday afternoon

We parked in the Brock House parking spots in the Jericho lot. You can only park until 3:30 weekdays but free and lots of spaces available.