Some baseball at last!

Richard sent us a post to old Montreal Expos games on YouTube. This should be fun as you'll see the actual game rather than just listening to it. I wasn't a baseball fan then although I played scrub softball every day after school for years. The games were broadcast in French on radio and we could pick them up since we had a satellite dish in the backyard. Richard and Jim were ardent fans and this really kept Richard's French up. Jim got the dish to pick up Mexican TV and BBC radio and we got lots of other interesting stuff. Ah...how things have changed with the Internet.

We did see the Expos playing in Montreal, San Francisco, and Seattle. It was quite exciting to be at the live game with the crowds.

Richard had quite a collection of Expos hats and shirts. I think I recognise some of these.

A wonderful afternoon chez Donna...

It was so nice being together having a wonderful social distancing lunch on this rather dreary Junuary day. Yummy food, elegant presentation, and great conversation.

Thank you so much, Donna!

Rancho Mirage Library opens...

I guess these protocols might be in place if our Vancouver libraries open.

https://ranchomiragelibrary.org

It seems the "Takeout" service at VPL  couldn't accept any more requests due to demand after two days.

Your love for VPL Takeout is (literally) overwhelming

Due to overwhelming demand, we are unable to accept new VPL Takeout orders at this time. As we work to fill existing VPL Takeout orders, we will be exploring more options to meet your library needs.

If you have an appointment confirmed, we look forward to seeing you at your scheduled pickup time!

If you have submitted a request and haven’t heard from us yet, thank you for your patience. We will call you soon to schedule a pickup appointment.

Please continue to check back for updates as we work to reopen some VPL locations with limited service over the summer.

Some humour

Cookbooks

Carol's post reminded me that I bought the new Joy of Cooking although I haven’t really looked at it. I got my original Joy of Cooking  in 1971 as a gift from my staff at a school in Delta where I did my first year teaching. Jim got the job at Camosun College so we moved to Victoria. There were very few teaching jobs especially in Victoria so the thinking of my colleagues was that I would have the time to do a lot of cooking. Well, I got a job after all although it was teaching a lot of subjects I knew very little about!

I sent Carol this photo and she commented that the new one looked very pristine. I was motivated to buy it because of the fascinating history behind how the series got started. It's now even more inspiring I think now that we are in these pandemic times.

Link to the history:
https://www.history.com/news/the-personal-tragedy-behind-the-joy-of-cooking

Richard and Grace came for dinner last night. We just had pizza but maybe I'll next time I'll cook a classic from this classic:)

Carol's post: Don't throw out the cookbooks.

http://mountdunbar.blogspot.com/2020/06/dont-throw-out-cookbooks.html

The Galley at Jericho Sailing Club

This is one of our favourite places to go in Vancouver and we were so glad to see it open. They have a lot of retrictions in place and it's only outdoor seating so pretty safe I think. It was nice to get out and to support them and they all seemed pretty pleased to see us. They had a big staff on so great to see them supporting their employees who probably haven't been working lately.

Great view as always.

This was a very tasty brew...Parkside Pale Ale. The Parkside Brew Pub took over when the Stanley Park Fish House went out of business. So sad to see it go as we had many wonderful meals there.

And we always split a two piece cod and chips...wonderful as always. I think the sea air makes it better!

Cafés and restaurants open now in Paris

From "My Part-Time Paris Life"

I have so enjoyed reading her blog during this time. The idea of different rules for different zones makes sense to me.

"It was the day Parisians had been waiting for. Cafés had been touting their reopening all week. “Ready to see us again Tuesday?” asked my local café on Instagram. Another café posted a photo of waiting terrace tables. “We’re ready for tomorrow.” I would feel a rush with each one that cropped up in my feed. Paris cafés are probably what I love most about living here—la vie de flaneur—and they are the center of Parisian social life. Their closure due to Covid-19 was a hard blow to café owners—and to customers who’d lost their usual refuge just when they needed it most. 

But after three long months, restaurants and cafés in France were finally allowed to reopen this Tuesday—full service in “Green Zones” (areas with a low number of cases), terrace service only in “Orange Zones,” like Paris, where beds in intensive care units are still close to capacity. For all restaurants in both zones, social distancing rules need to be adhered to—but unlike the six-foot limit in the States, here, they are enforcing only a scant one meter (approx. 39 inches) between tables."

Read the full post here:
https://myparttimeparislife.com/2020/06/05/life-after-lockdown-nous-sommes-en-terrasse-once-again/

Lunch at The Sylvia yesterday with Maureen!

It was great to be back at The Sylvia having lunch while viewing English Bay and my freighters. A limited menu but I got salt and pepper chicken wings since I've been so missing those from our University Golf Club happy hour. And a real treat...a Red Truck Pale Ale. We just can't seem to get that anywhere except The Sylvia.

All photos taken from inside the Sylvia's dining area. I took these photos just before noon when I arrived. They had pretty much a full house in about an hour...well, as full as it could be. It felt about the same as normal dining here as on a weekday afternoon not in the summer, it usually wouldn't be full.  Good idea not to take the tables out that weren't in use.

Normally, the English Bay slide would be in view now.

This is our favourite table but it had a "not in use" sign.

Hot off the press....VPL is doing takeout!

VPL Takeout

You can now order takeout from select VPL locations across the city. Tell us your interests and library staff will select books and movies for you to enjoy at home.

Thanks, Susan K. for passing this along.

https://www.vpl.ca/takeout

Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory reopening....

Now, how cool is this! It's such an amazing library and to figure out a way of reopening...wow!

I googled "what libraries are open" and only picked up these little free libraries that are in neighbourhoods around the world. Well, these are pretty cool too. I wondered if any public library in the world is open now. I checked on the New York Public Library and it's closed.

But I did notice that some metro Vancouver libraries like New Westminster and North Vancouver have been open for "take-out" services. Our Vancouver Public Library is rather slow to do this but apparently it is coming. In fairness, there are a lot of branches in the VPL system so probably more complicated.

“I was made for the library, not the classroom.The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.” 

-- Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

Since we can't drive around Stanley Park anymore....

I hope they will change this soon so all the people of Vancouver can take advantage of this wonderful park.

Thanks to David N. Phipp and the photos he posted to FB group "I grew up in Vancouver, B.C."At leastI  got a virtual journey round the park. He took these while walking around the park. That's something Jim and I used to do too and then have lunch at Ferguson Point Teahouse. Not possible now with our knee situations. We were often staying at The Bayshore since we were living in Victoria.

Well, they didn't come up in the order you see them as you walk around but no matter. I know exactly where they all are.

Ah...I love NYC. So sad what's happening in the US but not surprised this positive thing happened in NYC.

(CNN)In the midst of protests and destruction around the nation, a moving scene unfolded Sunday in New York when some of the city's police officers knelt with protesters.

Aleeia Abraham shot a video of the officers taking a knee during a march in Queens calling for justice for George Floyd, who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, and in protest of the senseless killings of other black people.

In the video, the protesters are kneeling and you can hear the crowd's surprise when some of the officers take a knee as well.

From the Palm Springs police:

Once again we’d like to thank our community for respecting the peace and complying with the countywide curfew tonight. Nothing but quiet empty streets on this warm June day. 
Stay home and stay safe.

Riverside County which includes Palm Springs city had a curfew imposed from 6pm Monday to 6am Tuesday. They seem to have respected it.

Just when restaurants were able to open and now this. 

And it looks like Vancouver wasn't unaffected with protesters downtown and not social distancing. It's a mad, mad world everywhere.

Some humour