Tuesday 19 May 2015

More Bridge Blues: Tuesday, May 19th!

Red roses for young lovers. French beans for longstanding relationships. -Ruskin Bond, author (b. 19 May 1934) 


Hi Pat, Have enjoyed access to your blog and catching up with the goings on at the Islay Inn and the impending move to Penticton.

I was concerned to read a reply you made to Greg which implied that he had a serious health problem; can you fill me in on whether it is true and just what his problem might be? Tina has had a Facebook discussion with Ayn about Greg but I would rather get the facts from ‘the horse’s mouth’ so to speak.
 

[Noreen hitting a dive bar!!! Noreen is cooler than her kids and her grandkids ...just sayin'.]

Hello Winston and Goils! Wonderful shot of Noreen! With all that has been going on I haven't had a moment to send along a few snaps of the lovely bouquet that Winston sent to his Canadian Nana for Mother's Day! Snapped these pics this morning and only a few petals had dropped in over a week!

Trust all goes well in Tinsel Town. Hello to Los Horridos. Must away as I've been charged with collecting more bike boxes from West Point Cycles as Cruella wants to pack remaining large pictures. These containers are absolutely poifect for them, given height/width/depth. Even have handles to make for easier moving. Off to Carters this evening, for bridge, with Elaine and Ted so should be fun. Last gathering of this sort before we move so a bit sad at the same time. Fondestos, Love and Cheers, Dad/Patrizzio!
Ayn: I inadvertently sent this to Crown, first time around, only to be rejected, once again!

[Happiest of Happy Birthday's, Flamin'!/For She's a Jolly Good Fellow!!/Hip Hip Hooray!!/Love and Best Wishes, Cora Lee, Ayn, Chloë and Patrizzio! (Present this card for one Free Weekend Stay at The Burns Street Social House in beautiful, downtown, Penticton, but 10 minutes stroll from Okanagan Lake and countless wineries!)
Michele Darrow-Sutherland
Thank you all so much for the wonderful BD greetings!! Feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in my life !!! I am a lucky girl !!]

Snapolas: Friday, when we arrived at Little Shuswap; Saturday at Scotch Creek Marina, all the new Wake Boarding gear! One drives the boat at fairly low speed and using the wake created, you "surf" alongside or behind, using the waves created! Always something new on the activity horizon.]


Please join us for a special Sneak Preview Event for the 2015 Vancouver Writers Fest (October 20-25). Thursday, June 18, 5:30 - 7:00 pm Dockside Pub at the Granville Island Hotel Enjoy a glass of wine and appetizers as Artistic Director Hal Wake shares some exciting details about the upcoming Festival. You will have a chance to meet some of the Festival writers, and, for your summer reading, we will give you a sneak preview reading list for the 2015 Festival.
 
Hi all, I recall that some of us went to this event last year. Anyone interested in attending and having dinner afterwards? Cheers, Brenda sadly out of town... enjoy Lynn Hi Brenda et al: Love to join gang but must echo Lynn's response, although not sad, sort of, to be out of town, so to speak, for foreseeable future, at least as far as many VWF events, and others, of course, go! Cheers, Packing Fiend Patrizzio!

We'll be up for this Brenda. ‎This reminds me - Patrick - did Corinne's parents escape unscathed when they tried to use the dubious Keg coupon? (I think it was destined for them.) Cheers...Paul

Hi Penticton Paolo! As far as I recall, the Keg coupon was not valid. Most embarrassing for Corinne's folks as they didn't take along any cash or credit cards as they assumed gift certificate would pay for everything. We had to bail them out of jail the next day as we were out when the paddy wagon came to collect them and Lady Mary hadn't bothered to take her iPhone along for the evening! I told them that you would probably treat them to dinner and expensive wine at Gotham Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar for having inflicted this nasty ordeal upon them! They insist that we accompany them as well just so you can reserve a table for six! Let us know how Burns Street Social House is doing! Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: It is my understanding that the RV next door houses the local chapter of Hell's Angels. Please confirm!
 
Tina has no doubt filled you in on our movements for Jan/Feb of next year; we are both really looking forward to hosting them all at Sun peaks for a couple of weeks – even Kirsty and Chris will join us for a week!

Hope the packing is going well – it must be something of a wrench to be leaving the Islay Inn but I guess another chapter of life opens up with a whole raft of new experiences. I guess at some time Tina and I will face the same decision especially as the garden doesn’t get any smaller and we don’t get any younger! Hope that’s a way off though!  We have just had our wettest May day in 15 years with half the monthly fall in 12 hours; more to come over the next few days!

Love to Corinne and Chloe. Ooroo for now Trevor PS: speaking of Chloe – did I see something in your blog about a baby shower – am I missing something?


Hi Trevor! Lovely to hear from you. Glad you have managed to find the blog. (On this matter I plan to start a new one on June 1st, after we have moved in. So not sure what that will do to access. I hope/know I can figure out what to tell those interested but will cross that bridge when the dust settles, so to speak!)

Interesting that you should inquire about Gregg as had a message, (see below), from him on Sunday. This is the latest up-date that I'm aware of so trust this explains the situation as he describes it. Only thing that I'm not quite clear about is whether he will be slated for more surgery once chemo has run a certain course. My reading is that the two surgical operations, to date, have been more exploratory in nature than being geared towards the radical removal of targeted malignant/potentially malignant tissue.

On a much brighter note, Chloë is hoping to become pregnant via artificial insemination. She has chosen the sperm donor and the frozen sperm is already in a clinic here in Vancouver. She was going to spend this past weekend in Seattle with close friends but since she knew she was ovulating she wanted to be home in case the daily self-administered tests, at this critical time, indicated she was fertile. If this scenario evolved she would need to rush to the clinic for appropriate procedure. We had not spoken to her, (or at least not that I know of, having returned after Cora Lee was asleep), since we came back, so I suspect that conditions were not right. Anyway, exciting times on all fronts!

Ironic that you are having such rainfall when it looks like Vancouver, and many other places across the province/country, as well, (Not to mention Washington and California, in particular. Situation is dire in latter as you may know.), will be suffering a drought this summer. Water, of course, is a constant issue in The Okanagan. Lack of snow pack here seems to be the main cause.

That being said, really looking forward to seeing all the Adelatians this coming ski trip. Will have to figure out what might be best timing to see everyone. We have a number of friends in Kamloops so think perhaps a day-trip to Sun Peaks, from there, might work, in terms of us driving up and staying. Anyway, lots of water under the bridge before then. Fondestos from Lady Mary, still abed after her exhausting weekend in the countryside, without her usual compliment of attentive servants! Hello and best wishes to one and all. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: Copper Island when bringing boat back from Scotch Creek, Saturday; Eagle perched on Ponderosa Pine, just off patio, Sunday morning; bbq gang, Sunday evening; fire-pit, Sunday night; Monday morning at Little Shuswap; saying goodbye, Monday morning; Bridge Lads and Lass, Clive's wife, Caroline; view from their deck.

Received very, very precise, nay authoritarian packing orders from Cruella even before I finished my java. I was to collect more bicycle boxes form West Point in order that we could pack remaining pictures. While I beetled-off to carry out her wishes she took down any that were not already waiting to be packed.

Nancy Halpern was coming over at noon to have lunch with Mme Coriandre so after I unloaded large boxes I parked car in our downstairs space where I replaced the seats I'd taken out last Wednesday night in order to make more space for the items we'd hauled to Naramata, as well as the recycling bins for bottles and cans I store in the vehicle. Was in the process of taping the bottom of the boxes when Nancy arrived so enjoyed a brief visit with her before The Sisterhood decamped for the Granville Island Hotel to partake of luncheon on the patio. Finished the taping job and then suited/lubed up for my ride. 

'Twas a sunny day so I was looking forward to being outside, enjoying the wonderful weather instead of inhaling dust and having my fingers stuck together with packing tape. Didn't leave until close to 2:00 pm so I knew I could only entertain a basic 51 km ride. To do this I decided I'd do the tried and true, Place de La Concorde, Gerbil Merry-Go-Round-and-Around-and-Around-and-Around, almost ad infinitum, or so it seemed. Worked out nicely as when I took a break from the Hamster Treadmill to go add a bit of variety, making for the Granville Bridge turnaround, the Seawall was starting to fill up with the dratted, pesky recreationalists, of one sort or another, clogging my runways and polluting the choke points as they consulted maps of iPhones or simply had the audacity to chat to one another and relish the gorgeous day, when I had places to go and promises to keep!

We were off to the Carters for bridge at 5:30 pm so I had quite a tight schedule. Nevertheless, with PdlC as my Peopleage-Free-Zone I was able to achieve the distance I wanted and be home at The Heartbreak Terrace by shortly after 4:00 pm. Stats for ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/779876828#.VVyv_KMy2ow.email
 
Once I'd logged my ride, I had a quick java and then headed for the shower when Cora Lee returned to get her fix of The Young and the Rest of Us, switching off poor Rich Terfry without bothering to ask if I was listening or not! 
Changed and smelling almost impossibly irresistible we chose the wine we wanted to take and made for Titanium Green.

Short drive to 14th and Vine and we were at the Carters. Hugs and kisses and then we were introduced to good friends, Nick and Jody, couple we'd not met before. Elaine and Ted arrived shortly thereafter and we repaired outside to the lovely garden patio for appetizers and drinks. Discovered that J/N had lived in Winnipeg for 35 years. They moved to Vancouver about 8 years ago but, funnily enough, lived longer in Winnipeg than we "true" Winnipeggers, all four of us having been born there! Nick is originally from New Zealand and so rugby was his game and it turned out that he coached Ted's brother, Bob, at one point!

Inside to play a number of rounds of bridge before a delicious dinner, outside, again, on the patio. Lively, fun-filled discussions so loads of jibes and laughs. Back inside, after we had eaten more than our fill of the tasty chicken, new potatoes and kale/beet salad, to play a few hands of bridge until fantastic dessert, mini-meringues topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Needed a snort or two of malt to quell the disappointment of having one of the lowest scores for the night! Do not think it is right or fair when the hosts manage to have the two top scores! At any rate, I was awarded a rather fancy under-seat bicycle bag, stuffed with $1,000 US bills so I suppose I shouldn't whinge! A wonderful night with wonderful, wonderful friends, old and new.

Thanked our marvellous hosts, bade everyone goodnight and then a quick drive home on almost deserted, quiet streets. Too, too sleepy to read any Leaving Berlin so it was Land of Nod as soon as I'd brushed and flossed. Lady Mary was already asleep by the time my head hit the pillow as we were both pretty tired after a full day of packing and socializing. 

Hi Patrick, Mums burns are now healing quite nicely and she is out of pain most of the time, thank goodness. Mya told me that she was disappointed that I was thinking of going without her, so she spat on them and threw them away!!

We would love for you to catch up with Kirsty and Chris and of course Mark and Bree and girls, Kirsty will only be there for the first week as she and Chris are then flying to Vancouver, Seattle and Las Vegas.

We have only just got Netflix in Australia but we have 73 free to air channels so are content to watch them. Enjoyed reading your email with visits to Okanagan and Shuswap, a much loved part of the wonderful countryside of BC, spent a few holidays there with Rae and LloydJ

Please keep us in the loop with Gregg, do you know how he discovered the cancer in the first place?

Had a wonderful bushwalk around the Goldfields of the Barossa this morning so I am going to take my book and have a nice long soak in the bath. Love to all Tina

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