Looks like Vancouverites have their park back....

Stanley Park has meant so much to us and so glad it's back for everyone.

NEWSTRANSPORTATIONURBANIZED

Stanley Park to fully reopen to cars next weekend, with bike lane abolished

Kenneth Chan

|

Sep 18 2020, 2:27 pm

Stanley Park Drive southwest of the Information Booth. (Kenneth Chan / Daily Hive)

The temporary bike lane along Stanley Park Drive is set to be erased, as the Vancouver Park Board has made a decision to allow full vehicle access onto the roadway, with cyclists returning to the Stanley Park seawall.

This change will come into effect on Saturday, September 26. The configuration from traffic cones, equipment, and signage will be dismantled starting at 8 pm the previous day, which will necessitate the temporary overnight closure of Stanley Park.

I just may get inspired to paint again one of these days....

You've got to hand it to Winston Churchill

 

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILLLake Near Breccles in Autumn, c. 1930
oil on canvas, 22 x 29 in.

Churchill was age 40 when he began to paint. It was June 1915, shortly after his forced resignation as First Lord of the Admiralty following the disastrous Dardanelles campaign. One Sunday afternoon, his sister-in-law Lady Gwendoline handed him a paintbrush belonging to his young nephew. In his 1921 essay “Painting as a Pastime” Churchill recalled, “And then it was that the Muse of Painting came to my rescue.” Painting provided a refuge from the stresses of politics and journalism, and from what Churchill called “the black dog” of depression. Moreover, he saw painting as a testing ground for leadership strengths such as audacity, humility, foresight, and strength of memory. It became both a solace and a fascination, prompting Churchill to remark, "When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject..."

Taking a break from drilling and hammering....

 They are replacing the elevators in our building so quite a bit of noise these days. Bad timing with all the bad air outside and COVID etc. but it will be good to have two new elevators. It will go on until mid-Dec so Christmas will definitely be Peace on Earth. I just may put up my tree and decorations especially early this year. Someone in our Palm Springs bookclub put hers up Oct 1. Well, maybe not that early:) 

One thing we learned today is that they are also doing the installation of Telus fibre optics along with everything else so that won't be another round of drilling and hammering. Richard says it's going to be really worthwhile having so I guess we have to look at all these things as the upgrades they are and be glad they're doing it. 

We went to Las Margaritas for lunch and it was great as always. We'll go there more often now we know they have everything figured out....one-use paper menus or going online for the menu, very spaced out tables indoors, all employees wearing masks. I think the mask wearing for employees really should be a standard but it wasn't the case at The Sylvia.  

Lots of people sitting outside but we thought it best to avoid the smoke. We were the only people inside. 

My tortilla soup...best in the world

My chili rellano? or however you spell it.

Jim's usual enchiladas, refriend beans, and rice... and he gets half of my chili r.  We won't need much dinner so no distraction from the baseball game. 

You can see they have the spacing very well done.

Susan K. is creating some bright colourful artwork....

 Something to brighten up these dull grey days...

Canada Post suspends deliveries due to wildfire smoke

This surprised me when I first read about it but it does make perfect sense and I'm glad they aren't putting their employees at risk. I was a little surprised to see schools open yesterday.  I hope they close if conditions don't get better.

VANCOUVER -- Smoke wafting north from wildfires on the U.S. West Coast has impacted the air quality so much that mail isn't being delivered in parts of B.C.

Canada Post made the announcement in a series of posts on Twitter Monday afternoon.

"We are suspending delivery for the day and not sending our delivery agents out as conditions have made it unsafe," the federal agency wrote.

Saturday's game was a lot of fun....

 Bo Bichette was back and did well and a new catcher was brought up and did really well. Quite an amazing story.

The Toronto Blue Jays successfully launched their 21-year old rookie backstop, Alejandro Kirk, into the baseball universe.

It is not every day that a major league team promotes a catcher who has never played above Single-A during a pennant race, however, that is exactly what the Blue Jays have pulled out of their bag of tricks during this shortened pandemic season.

The aforementioned 21-year old made his MLB debut last night behind the dish and let me tell you, Alejandro Kirk did not look out of place. The kid was cool as a cucumber and on the same page with starter Robbie Ray for most of the night.

Kirk also contributed with the lumber notching his first MLB hit, walk and run scored during the Blue Jays 3-2 victory over the New York Mets. 

A first time for everything I guess....

SMOKE

I don't think I've ever seen a weather forecast that just said that. Looks like the end of the world out there but so much worse where the fires are burning and many people are missing. My heart goes out to all.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "All the Devils are Here"

 "All the Devils are Here" by Louise Penny

She does it again!  It was a pretty complex plot and some might say unbelievable but not for me.  She really works hard at creating these complex scenarios. And of course, taking place in Paris was a special bonus. And all the stuff about archives and history and libraries. I'm a sucker for all that. And lots of strong women. 

The Seven Seas Restaurant in North Vancouver...loved dining here!

 The Seven Seas Restaurant, with its distinctive neon signage, was a popular destination for North Shore residents and visitors alike.

Moored at the foot of Lonsdale for more than 40 years, the former Ferry No. 5 was converted into a restaurant by Diamond Almas in 1959.

Built in 1941, the ship was the last of five ferries used to carry passengers and vehicles across Burrard Inlet. Ferry No. 5 operated until discontinuation of the ferry service in 1958. The restaurant shut in January 2001 and in 2002 the old No. 5 Ferry was removed and broken apart for scrap.

Ah...wish we could be there in November...

Vintage Market in Palm Springs

 But in the meantime, my beloved San Francisco looks like this.

Tour de France

This went ahead about a month late and so glad to see it happen since it's such an amazing French tradition. We were in Paris one year when the riders came in...pretty amazing experience.

Riders coming into Paris.

(CNN)It's set to be a Tour de France like no other.

Watched on television by millions across the world, the annual race is deeply embedded in French culture as it weaves its way across stunning countryside and vertiginous mountains, as well as through picturesque towns and cities before concluding on Paris' Champs-Elysées.

The Tour is normally held during July, but the global pandemic put paid to that idea, hence the August 29 start. The pandemic and a recent spike in new infections in France has also left organizers with a real logistical challenge in how best to stage the 23-day race.

Adding to organizers' worries, the Alpes-Maritimes region -- the site of the opening stages of the race -- has been declared a red zone because of a recent rise in Covid-19 cases.

In red zones, the authorities are able to make masks compulsory outdoors and close bar. But with the French government ready for worse case scenarios with plans for local or national lockdown in place, questions are being asked as to whether the Tour will even reach Paris.

"The Tour de France will not stop if there's a positive case, even if nobody knows whether it will be completed or not," International Cycling Union (UCI) president David Lappartient told Reuters.

To ensure the race is completed, teams will be expelled from the 2020 event if at least two riders or members of staff show strong symptoms or test positive for Covid-19.

Documents obtained by cycling website VeloNews -- which were confirmed to CNN as accurate by race organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) -- state that team members will have to pass two coronavirus tests before being able enter the Tour's mandatory "bubble" three days before Saturday's start in Nice.

"If two persons or more from the same team present strongly suspect symptoms or have tested positive for Covid-19, the team in question will be expelled from the Tour de France," the document reads. 

"Its riders will not be authorized to start the Tour de France (or the next stage) and the team's personnel will have their accreditation withdrawn."

All team members will again be tested on both of the Tour's rest days -- September 7 and 14 -- but team doctors and race medical staff will also decide whether or not a rider showing milder symptoms can participate in a stage.

There will also be a mobile Covid-19 facility at every stage to perform any additional testing if needed. The testing process has been an expensive ones for the teams -- Groupama-FDJ doctor Jacky Maillot told Reuters it has cost the team $154,000 (€130,000) for the season.

Rest of the article here:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/28/sport/tour-de-france-coronavirus-protocols-spt-intl/index.html?utm_term=15987906951102949e8fdf4b2&utm_source=Five+Things+for+Sunday%2C+August+30%2C+2020&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=239711_1598790695112&bt_ee=1086RA7SU1efKaDAijfX6SMNhDYlGNj8rpKBOGqHwRbMJ%2F%2FK%2B7%2F6Mkiz4BDxTGs4&bt_ts=1598790695112

Scotia Bank Giller Long List

 

Kits pool makes it into CNN Travel's "20 Best Swimming Places in the World"

 That's quite something I think and well deserved!

Better known as Kits Pool, at 137 meters this Vancouver institution is the longest saltwater pool in North America. Just 12 lengths are required to complete a mile. 

Located right on the bay, the pool, which is open from May through September, has views back across to the heart of the city, with mountains in the distance. 

Those swimming with their heads up can catch a glimpse of seaplanes coming into land.

Smoke in the air from US wildfires

 This photo from Dallas Road in Victoria. They seem particularly hit.

It's not too bad yet in Vancouver and hope it stays that way. Jim has a golf game tomorrow. We actually went for an ocean swim at 11:30 this morning. Good tide but cool water and very breezy.

VICTORIA -- Greater Victoria residents woke up to smoky skies and the worst air quality conditions in the country Tuesday morning.

The smoky haze is due to shifting overnight winds that carried a blanket of smoke into the region from wildfires in eastern and central Washington state.

The Victoria-Saanich air quality health index on Tuesday morning was rated at 9, or high health risk, just before 8 a.m., according to Environment Canada. 

Related Stories

• Noticing smoke or haze in Metro Vancouver? You're not alone.
• B.C. weather: Heat heading for southern, coastal parts of the province

By 9 a.m., the severity was increased to 10, and then increased again to 10+, the highest possible risk.

The B.C. government is advising Victoria-Saanich residents to keep strenuous outdoor activity to a minimum, especially for children and the elderly.

Carol and Dave's new dog....looks like a real sweetheart!

50 years of marriage and starting off a new adventure with Miss Sheila. Sheila will arrive on Oct. 7. In this picture she is 3 weeks old. She is a tricolour, mini Aussie Shepherd!

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine"

 "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

This seems to be her first and only novel. It was very successful in terms of money apparently and short-listed for the Lucy Cavendish  College Fiction Prize.  It was this month's choice for my "Young Bookclub". I really liked it and it certainly was very polished in terms of writing. It primarily revolves around the main character "Eleanor" who is lonely and has experienced a great trauma. It would be a very sad tale but Eleanor is very amusing and her reflections on many aspects of society are spot on. 

Down at Spanish Banks the other day....

Must be a lot of ships waiting given the position of these one

We got talking to this fellow. He makes these sculptures and sets them up for people to enjoy He's from Delta.

 

Nothing quite like young people who are family...

 I'm not really posting social things these days but we had so much fun with Richard and Grace last night...thanks, guys!

Glad to see Catfé is still going strong

Good on them in these difficult times for businesses.

Thank mew for your continued support during these strange times... Adoptions have been through the roof — we're about to surpass adoption #900! (The super silly JB was #899.)We are so happy to have a chance to bring love to so many people and cats alike by matching all these cuties with their purrfect homes. We are working extra hard to keep everyone safe while staying open — click here to learn more about our COVID-19 precautions. We hope to see mew soon! Book your visit at catfe.ca/reservations today!

 — Love, Catfe and all of the fur babes

Interesting mail boxes...

I saw a lot of different mail boxes in the Palm Springs area but I think people are being less creative since mail boxes are being stolen and perhaps even more importantly the contents in them. Guess it was the end of an era a while ago.

Carol posted this one on her blog from Saltspring....love it!  I think this might be one of a kind in the world.

Update: It's actually not a mailbox just an address marker.

Sunset the other night...

Well,  it looks like I have to use the new blogger...very annoying since I can't seem to do what I like to do. Perhaps Richard can sort if out for me this week-end. I wanted this to post Friday morning.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Swamp Angel"

"Swamp Angel" by Ethel Wilson

This was a Brock House Bookclub choice. I read it when I was 20 years old at UBC. I remember it being ok but I was much more interested in the D.H. Lawrence and other modern Briish writers I was also reading in another course. At the time the wonderful descriptions of B.C. scenery were rather lost on me. It seemed very ordinary....I wanted to go to London and Paris where there was real life and not dull boring Vancouver.  I certainly got a lot more out of the novel this time round.

Loved these street photos from Europe 50 years ago....

When in 2014, Dylan Scalet inherited a sizable collection of photos captured by his grandfather Jack Sharp, he didn’t expect much. It actually took him 6 years—and COVID-19 lockdown happening—to finally begin to digitize the film. What he discovered was a treasure trove of incredible photographs depicting street life in Europe more than half a century ago. Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with Scalet!

More here:
https://www.boredpanda.com/man-inherits-his-grandfathers-photos-photography-jack-sharp/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter

It was a great getaway that November in 2010

We started in London as Jim had some research to do at the British Library then flew to Almeria. Jesuias picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Almeria. He has a place in Almeria where he teaches and also in Granada. The weather was just gorgeous in Spain and after the conference we spent a few days in Nerja. We were tempted to go swimming in the ocean but it was a bit too chilly even for us.

We packed a lot into two weeks. We had never been to Europe before less than two months. Jim gave a talk to the Architecture Club in London, we visited Regent Street with all the Christmas lights and decorations, went to Huxley's private club in London (The Atheneum), saw the Bradshaws in Oxford and the Horne family in London. Susan made a trip from Otley to join us!

It was really fun looking at my blog posts beginning Nov 6, 20010 when we arrived. I've posted a few photos but if you're yearning for travel, you might want to take a look :)

Katey, Susan, me, Madsie, David (Vicky was in St. Andrews at university)

Regent Street

We had some great meals on that trip.

Suckling pig

Paella

We then went to Malaga for a couple of days then flew to Vancouver via London and didn't have to get to Victoria since we had our one bedroom apartment on Beach Avenue so stayed overnight. What a treat not to have to do that final painful leg after a transatlantic flight.

This is what awaited us in Victoria...our sundeck covered in snow. That was a lot of snow for Victoria!