Off to McCleery Golf Course to get "martini tees"

 Jim likes to tee his golf ball up quite high and is always breaking the high wooden tees he uses. His golf partner on Wednesay introduced him to this high tee made of hard plastic and gave him one to keep. It lasted the 18 holes and looks like it could be good for a number of rounds. The University Golf Club doesn't stock them so that's why we went to MCleery. They are two bucks a pop but if they last they will seem cheap at the price.

The Clubhouse and outdoor patio. 

I was curious about this sign. Is it pre or post Dr. Bonnie Henry?  Jim recounted an anecdote I hadn't heard before. He was playing at McCleery with his brother, Ian, and some other people and luckily Ian stooped to pick up a ball just as a drive went whizzing by him. That should never have happened but Ian got lucky.  And the guy didn't even yell "fore".

And then we went for a walk at Jericho Beach and chatted with a fellow who just came out of the ocean. He goes swimming every day. His wife doesn't join him. We talked a bit of French with them as she was from Montreal. And then Jim talked a bit of Spanish with a fellow from Mexico City. 

Ice Cream trucks

 Susan K.'s great sketch of an ice cream truck she did for her sister got me thinking about whether they still go around neighbourhoods. We see them at the beaches and parks, of course. As kids we loved hearing the ice cream truck and left playing softball, kick the can, cowboys and Indians, etc. to get money from our parents to buy ice cream. 

This answer came up on Quora from Caroline Zelonka. Makes sense.

"They tend not to patrol the neighborhoods anymore, probably because kids are no longer allowed to roam the streets unsupervised, like they were a few decades ago.

Swing by a park or beach, however, and you’re likely to see a steady parade of ice cream trucks, as well as regular cars outfitted with coolers and aftermarket systems to project the familiar “ice cream truck” music.

When I was in college, I had a few friends who drove ice cream trucks. They all preferred the poor or working class neighborhoods. “The rich families have Haagen Dasz bars in their freezer,” they claimed. Plus, the lower-income areas tended to be more densely populated, and likely to draw more customers per block. (Ice cream trucks use up a lot of fuel, so the product sold/miles travel ratio needs to be high to make a profit.)"

Small cars...blast from the past

From Dec, 2010

 Smart cars always make me smile and so does the Deux Chevaux. Both suit interesting treatments. I love the red check tablecloth idea! Very appropriate since apparently the seats could be easily removed for a picnic. And I love the simple convertible concept where you just rolled back the canvas. Bill Vance had an article on them in the TC recently and concluded with:

" Over more than 42 years almost seven milliion of these fascinating little French flivvers were built. With nicknames like "rolling garden shed" and "tin snail" they were loved by millions for their basic simplicity, toughness, versatility and economy, all leavened by a lovely air of French whimsicality."

The Deux Chevaux was one of the first things I drew when I began doing artwork in in 2001.

8 x 10 felt pens on paper

From Wiki:

The Citroën 2CV (French: deux chevaux or deux chevaux-vapeur, pronounced [dø ʃ(ə)vo (vapœʁ)], lit. "two steam horses", "two tax horsepower") is an air-cooled front-engine, front-wheel-drive economy car introduced at the 1948 Paris Mondial de l'Automobile and manufactured by Citroën for model years 1948–1990.^[1]

Conceived by Citroën Vice-President Pierre Boulanger^[4] to help motorise the large number of farmers still using horses and carts in 1930s France, the 2CV has a combination of innovative engineering and utilitarian, straightforward metal bodywork—initially corrugated for added strength without added weight.^[5][6][7] The 2CV featured low cost, simplicity of overall maintenance, an easily serviced air-cooled engine (originally offering 9 hp), low fuel consumption, and an extremely long-travel suspension^[8] offering a soft ride and light off-road capability.

Often called "an umbrella on wheels",^[9][10] the fixed-profile convertible bodywork featured a full-width, canvas, roll-back sunroof, which accommodated oversized loads and until 1955 reached almost to the car's rear bumper.

Opening of cruising from the US

It looks like a pretty complex process and there will need to be trial cruises with volunteers who aren't paid or promised a future reward. Someone on FB questioned why the airlines didn't have to go through such a process and someone answered that airlines are "Tier 1" transportation.  I couldn't find any backup information on the "tiers" of transportation. 

"Cruising could restart in midsummer in American waters, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late Wednesday in a letter to the cruise industry that USA TODAY obtained. 

"We acknowledge that cruising will never be a zero-risk activity and that the goal of the CSO’s phased approach is to resume passenger operations in a way that mitigates the risk of COVID-19 transmission onboard cruise ships and across port communities," wrote Aimee Treffiletti, head of the Maritime Unit for CDC’s COVID-19 response within its Global Mitigation Task Force. ." 

I'm glad the industry is being given a chance but I'm hoping Vancouver and Victoria won't allow cruise ships to dock until all this mess is over.

 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/05/05/cdc-announces-new-instructions-cruise-lines-be-able-restart-cruises-united-states?fbclid=IwAR2YfpCnhQiZmSGLjvrXX2N-9pASxgCHop0Q3uVX0UgCUg4o7rqLzsiuJM4

Familiar scene

 Wendy Cox posted this on FB:

"I just watched "3000 Miles to Graceland" and one scene had Courtney Cox and Kurt Russell at the 2400 Motel."

We haven't passed by there in a long time and I wondered it it was still standing as I'm sure the property is pretty valuable. It is! My parents used to stay there quite a bit when they came into Vancouver after retiring full time on Gabriola Island. It seems very retro cool now. I see you can get a standard double room at the moment of $108 CDN.

WE ARE STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

WELCOME to the……. Nostalgic Normal!

The 2400 Motel is Vancouver’s Urban Resort getaway, featuring a variety of guest suites with spacious grounds so Social Distancing is easy!

• Drive-up free parking in front of your suite…walk straight into your room;
• Family friendly 3.5-acre site within Metro Vancouver, perfect as a home base to Vancouver’s many activities;
• Exterior access to all guest rooms – no congested corridors or elevators and generous personal space to enjoy lawn sports and family activities;
• Our accommodations include a variety of guest suites, some with kitchens and multiple bedrooms;
• Daily, weekly and monthly rates;
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols are in place for your safety and comfort.

At the 2400, you can make escaping to the city feel like a camping adventure…with some of the comforts of home.

You and your family can feel safe with us because we take care of our employees and our guests as if you are part of our family.

My blog: Sunday, May 22, 2011

I was wondering what we were doing 10 years ago in May. I chose this to re-post as we were at Donna's Sunday for dinner. We always have a lovely time with her and so glad we can see her under the current rules.  It seems Donna and Neil were in Salt Lake City and I guess Richard was visiting friends in Arizona. 

I hope this is a photo I picked up on their website of their "feast" and not the "light lunch" I mentioned in my blogpost.

 Thank goodness we took advantage of the nice weather Friday since we're back to rain and clouds. Friday we went to Commercial Drive for lunch and picked a restaurant where you could sit outside in the sun...Memphis Blues Barbeque House. It was great and we must go back and try their "feast" one day. Since we were going out for dinner we had something light.

I see Richard is getting great weather in Arizona...sunny and low 30's. Donna and Neil are getting rain and possible thunderstorms in Salt Lake City where they start their tour of the National Parks. Hope things improve for them. I found her blog posting on the Mormon buildings, choir, search for her ancestors, etc. very interesting.

Just loved everything about these two recent photos from John!

Well, he is a professional. 

Photos by John Denniston 

http://miscellaneousphotographs.com

Protests against the Marilyn statue in Palm Springs

 It was great fun seeing this statue when it was temporarily in PS. Kerry and Roger were in PS at the same time so we all enjoyed it. I'm glad it's coming back but I do understand the concerns about placement.

From The Mercury News:

A pink-clad crowd of protesters gathered Friday at the Palm Springs site designated for a 26-foot-tall statue of Marilyn Monroe — an installation approved earlier this month over objections to its placement as well as its content.

Under the ruling of a Riverside County judge, “Forever Marilyn” will be set up in the middle of a street leading to the Palm Springs Museum of Art.

The statue by Seward Johnson depicts the famous scene from the movie “The Seven-Year Itch” in which Monroe stands on a sidewalk grate with the updraft lifting her skirt.

The Committee to Relocate Marilyn, which organized Friday’s protest, has focused its criticism on the midstreet location, which it says blocks “important sight lines” and goes against the objective of integrating the museum into downtown Palm Springs.

A separate online petition brings up the nature of the depiction, calling it misogynist, hypersexualized and disrespectful of Monroe.

The museum also opposes the installation, saying the location would suggest to the general public that the statue is part of the museum’s collection.  “We feel that it does not represent our values as a fine arts organization nor is it appropriate for the community,” communications director Scott Slaven told the Hollywood Reporter.

The statue was purchased for $1 million by a consortium of resort owners and others in the tourism business. They won city approval for its placement on Museum Way for at least three years.

Seward Johnson, who died last year, is known for his oversize sculptures, including several based on the famous photograph of a sailor kissing a woman on V-J Day.

Update on Catfé

I was wondering if Catfé was open and it seems they are and are very busy with adoptions.  I know they've been doing well with their cat themed merchandise. Well, of course, you could guess there would be lots of facemarks. Here are a few just for fun.

 

https://www.catfe.ca

And it seems that the "Bunny Café" is going ahead with opening. 

We’re far enough along that what’s left of the timeline fits in one Instagram image! Not close enough to set an official date as we’re waiting to see what the City says about the timing for permits and licensing... but it’s inspiring to come into work each day and see how we’ve progressed! We passed our final plumbing inspection today, thanks to @4pointmechanical

Ghost signs

 I hadn't heard this term before until a recent article in the Vancouver Sun. It looks like they are going to save this one. These advertisements on buildings were a part of the landscape as much as the mountains when we were growing up.

"Many businesses advertised by painting signs on buildings in the 1800s and early 1900s, but few survive. They have been dubbed “ghost signs” because of their faded beauty and/or because they advertise long-dead businesses.

Until recently, Vancouver’s oldest ghost sign was for the Louvre Saloon, which operated at 325 Carrall in Gastown between 1898 and 1904. It read “The Louvre Saloon” on top, and “bath house up the hall and beds, 20¢” on the bottom.

But the city has no policy to save old signs, and it was taken down during a redevelopment at the site. The city also did nothing to save a painted sign for a 1922 Harold Lloyd movie, Grandma’s Boy, that reappeared when a building was torn down at Robson and Granville in 2012."

Another one I picked up on an image search for "ghost signs".

Is this the skeleton of a cousin of Nessie?

"A Scot who took to Twitter for answers after her sister discovered part of a large skeleton on a remote beach on South Uist has been astounded by the sheer volume of replies she's received in response to the post.

Theories about what animal could have left behind the mysterious bones have ranged from the fantastic, with a cousin of Nessie or even a dinosaur being suggested, to the more mundane (and much more likely), with them being attributed to being the remains of a beached sperm whale."

The answer:  It was a sperm whale skeleton.

I've seen a lot of whales in my lifetime beginning when I was around 10 years old fishing off my parents' place at Gabriola Island and many times on the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria. And then for years Richard and I went to Sealand in Victoria hundreds of times. They used to sell season passes for a dollar around Christmas for locals. He insisted on being in the "wet zone". I feel very bad about those whales being captive now. 

From Heather James Fine Art in Palm Springs

It's a pretty small painting but I expect it has a very big price.

FERNAND LÉGER

Le Vase Bleu, 1936 oil on canvas, 15 x 18 in.

Le Vase Bleu explores the language of Cubism through the casual playfulness of a lighthearted artist of mid-career maturity. The subjects of this still life are ordinary objects commonly found in daily life, perhaps chosen for their contrasting shapes. Still, the suggestion of familiar forms like an electrical plug and wire alongside the blue vase invites us to engage with the painting through curiosity and delight. 

Léger explained what he did in this way: “I took the object, I blew up the table, I put the object in the air, without perspective, without support. I scattered my objects in space and made them hold together by making them shine forward on the canvas.

A Place to Call Home

We've been getting this on DVD's from the library...lots of fun to watch. Jim and I usually don't find a lot that we like but this is keeping our interest and Marta Dusseldorp is an amazing actress.

From Wiki:

A Place to Call Home is an Australian television drama series created by Bevan Lee for the Seven Network. It premiered on 28 April 2013.^[1] Set in rural New South Wales in the period following the Second World War, it follows Sarah Adams (Marta Dusseldorp), who has returned to Australia after twenty years abroad to start a new life and ends up clashing with wealthy matriarch Elizabeth Bligh (Noni Hazlehurst). The main cast also includes Brett Climo (George Bligh), Craig Hall (Dr. Jack Duncan), David Berry (James Bligh), Abby Earl (Anna Poletti), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Olivia Bligh), Aldo Mignone (Gino Poletti), Sara Wiseman (Carolyn Bligh), Jenni Baird(Regina Standish), Tim Draxl (Henry Fox), Dominic Allburn (Harry Polson), and Frankie J. Holden (Roy Briggs).

It has been described as a "compelling melodrama about love and loss set against the social change of the 1950s".^[2] The show was cancelled after its second season, but obtained further funding and concluded successfully after a total of six seasons in 2018.

A change of pace in reading

 

The Right Honourable The Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office  27 July 1992 Life peerage
Member of Parliament for Louth (Lincolnshire)
In office 4 December 1969 – 20 September 1974
Preceded by	Cyril Osborne
Succeeded by	Michael Brotherton
Personal details
Born	Jeffrey Howard Archer 15 April 1940 (age 81) Holloway, London, England
Political party	Non-affiliated (since 2001)
Other political affiliations	Conservative (prior to 2001)
Spouse(s)	Mary Doreen Weeden (m. 1966)
Children	2
Residence	London, England
Occupation	Politician, author
Website	www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk
Writing career
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, playwright
Period	1976–present
Genre	Thriller, Drama

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940)^[1] is an English novelist, former politician, convicted perjurer, and peer of the realm. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not seek re-election after a financial scandal that left him almost bankrupt.^[2] He revived his fortunes as a best-selling novelist; his books have sold more than 320 million copies worldwide.^[3]

Archer became deputy chairman of the Conservative Party (1985–86), before resigning after a newspaper accused him of paying money to a prostitute. In 1987, he won a court case and was awarded large damages because of this claim.^[4] He was made a life peerin 1992 and subsequently became Conservative candidate to be the first elected Mayor of London. He had to resign his candidacy in 1999 after it emerged that he had lied in his 1987 libel case. He was imprisoned (2001–2003) for perjury and perverting the course of justice, ending his elected political career.^[3]

Hug an Australian Day

 This came up on Days of the Year and seems perfect as we are so enjoying the series "A Place to Call Home" which is set in Australia and features all the top Australian actors and actresses.

"In hindsight, Men at Work’s Down Under was a pretty average song. Thankfully, the country has provided so much more over the years. Hug an Australian Day is a perfect time to show gratitude and appreciation while simultaneously spreading a little love across the world. In a world where people are often made to feel more divided than ever, the simple gesture can make a huge impact.

Like throwing a boomerang, the good vibes will return very quickly. Aside from participants living or vacationing in Perth, Melbourne et al. Hug an Australian Day needn’t impact the entire day either. It’s fun, simple, and an event that everyone can join regardless of where they are."

Good on Thomas King and really hoping he wins!

 I loved this novel....funny but serious too about Indigenous issues.

Indians on Vacation by Thomas King among 10 books longlisted for $15K Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

And now for something completely different

 I also love pretty much everything Susan K. sketches and colours.  Now that Urban Sketchers are rather restricted, they are doing sketches from Instagram photos.

Cologne, Germany

 

In the eye of the beholder....

 I'm always interested in unusual artwork. I was surprised at the price especially since there seems to be 999 of them made but then I saw an entry(below) in Wiki so perhaps it's cheap at the price.

JEFF KOONS Balloon Rabbit (Red) Item No: JKOONSBRR17

Retail$25,000.00

Was$23,692.99

$22,500.0010% off

Description

Technique: Porcelain with chromatic coating, Year: 2017, Edition Size: 999, Dimensions: 29.2 x 13.9 x 21.0 cm (11.5 x 5.4 x 8.2 in), Signature: Signed and numbered.

From Wiki:

Jeffrey L. Koons (/kuːnz/; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces. He lives and works in both New York City and his hometown of York, Pennsylvania. His works have sold for substantial sums, including at least two record auction prices for a work by a living artist: $58.4 million for Balloon Dog (Orange) in 2013^[1] and $91.1 million for Rabbit in 2019.^[2][3]

There is a long list of exhibitions. He must be pretty well considered to get an exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

PAST SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2020  Jeff Koons: Absolute Value. Selected works from the Collection of Marie and Jose Mugrabi. Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
          [March 10, 2020 - April 3, 2021]

2019    Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom [February 7 - June 9, 2019]

Balloon Dog 

mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating
121 x 143 x 45 inches 
307.3 x 363.2 x 114.3 cm 
© Jeff Koons
5 unique versions (Blue, Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red)
1994-2000