Wednesday 16 September 2015

Master Bathroom/Crock Pot Blues: Wednesday, September 16th!

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. -Jean Arp, artist and poet (16 Sep 1887-1948) 


Hi Patrick, Thanks for the invitation.  We have to decline as the Artisan
Winemakers barrel group has scheduled a crush for that day. Cheers from Quebec. Peter

Great! See you then. Cheers, Virginia Weber Owner             Hi Virginia! Just a quick update for this coming Saturday's pick-up party. Turns out that Lynne and Peter can't join us so we have invited Jos and Aart, friends from a hiking group. Just wanted to let you know in case you read Peter's message, (I believe you were cc'd.), and were only expecting Corinne and I in our party. Thanks. Cheers, Patrizzio! Thank you. See you Saturday! Virginia

Bonjour Québécois! Sorry you can't join us but your AW crush sounds pretty exciting. Very busy day yesterday as we, Ragin' Bull and I, finished the installation of the window which opens into the spare bedroom wall. Once nail holes are filled and trim is painted, etc., it should look pretty good. Today we hope to put in the first section of shelving, under the window and towards the patio door.

Also bought  a new printer yesterday and we managed, after much fuss and bother, to get it to work so now we can print out out visas, (after a million tries!), for India!
Hope to put up the cabinet in our bathroom, as well, since Cora Lee has almost finished painting it. Will be much easier to install with the three of us here, since you are lollygagging elsewhere! Frida was off, earlier this morning, to an all day painting workshop, taught by Nel, of Lloyd Gallery, so I'm in charge of the crock pot, which I can't, given chaos from contents of decanted garage into Rumpus Room, for the life of me, find! Our friend, The Great White Hunter, Henning, stayed with us last week, en route to McBride, to kill more wildlife and left frozen moose meat!

Tailgate Bash, last Saturday was simply wonderful. Setting, at Red Rooster, as you probably know, was spectacular. Weather couldn't have been better. We took the free shuttle from Wine Centre and that worked out well. Just a big, rollicking cocktail party and had loads of fun meeting all sorts of people, from folks from elsewhere, (Kelowna, Clagary, Vancouver), to locals at various wineries, etc. A case in point was Elise Martin, the daughter of Niva and Jeff, owners of La Frenz, as you probably know. Elise is working as an Assistant Winemaker there and is intending to take-over business, at some point, I gather. Met Niva, who was pouring, and had a blast talking to her about Australia. Two family friends, from Oz, were over for harvest. Young winemakers there, as well, so it was fun chatting about various wineries and wine regions we knew in common. Peter, one of lads in question, has a close friend working at one of our favourite wineries, Warrabilla, in Rutherglen.

Saw Dustin, from Quidni, as well. He had been in the Tasting Room when we visited a week or so ago and had had a great time with him. Same again at Tailgate so plenty of joshing and laughs, with extra large pours! Funnily enough, on our trip to Rona, yesterday, for more trim, etc., we bumped into him in lumber section! He said that he didn't think he would get as many hours at winery as happened so when he first started he felt he should keep his hand in at Rona. He only works there one day a week now. He and his girlfriend will be off to Mexico, after harvest, I presume, for two months, so quite an interesting life.

 

At any rate, food was delish as well so nothing but a great good time all around. Shuttle back to parking lot. No drunk, spewing stagettes so more pleasant return from The Naramata than from Orofino! Was rather pleased, given amount of hootch we consumed with how much we managed to accomplish on Sunday! After Cora Lee bade us goodnight,  Ragin' and I polished off almost half a bottle of Croatian Sliiovica, Eau-de-Vie de Prunes, (Rum Brandy, on label as well!), a house-warming present from Branko!He will drive home on Thursday and friends, Penny and Mike, from London, are to arrive sometime that afternoon, from Banff. They flew into Calgary on the 12th and have been exploring The Rockies since then. Will stay until Sunday and then continue on to Vancouver. Must away as we need to have shelving in garage finished in order to repatriate everything in Rumpus Room d before the Brits knock on our front door!  Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: Tailgate Bash, Yanti was working rather than performing. Saw her on Friday evening as she was singing at Richard Canning's Campaign Kickoff, at Linden Gardens in Kaleden, as well as at Saturday Market, where she was performing, together
with a number of young women from Get Bent Bollywood Bellydancing, I believe; Elise Martin; DIY home improvements!


Fellow Bridgers! I’ve updated the 2015 cumulative spreadsheet up to and including the Hardy Is Classic (which I’ve included as three days of 60 hands each - each played 48), and the points per hand results are....

Clive 152.8 (23 appearances); Winston 142.3 (8); Les 142.1 (8);David T 139.0 (24); Byron 134.2 (24); Robert 133.3 (26); David Mc 129.4 (14); Roger 120.0 (14); Patrick 120.0 (14) John and Wayne all have 2 appearances so statistically too low to count! John 156.0; Wayne 154.4 Details attached!
 

Hi D, Sounds like you all are quite busy with building and tailgating!, glad to hear you are getting so much done!!! I charged your card the $150 for the Trivia Lotto hat, that you will get a tax receipt for!!! I also used your cc # for a VIFF film, sorry had so many numbers in front of me, got confused. The niece of my Australian friend Rachel is in a film called The Daughter and we are going to see it, this is also the niece of the Rectify main character so must run in the family!! Check out the online description of the film when you have a moment. xx love you 

Hello! Just thought I'd let you know that, around 9 or so on Tuesday
morning, my father died. I am respecting his wishes in saying died, because he never could stand the expressions "passed on" or "passed away". I am glad he was able to be at home for his last days and that we were able to bring him home from the hospital for this. As I walked later that morning in the sunshine, I finally felt free to remember my Dad as he was when he was younger and healthier. These are the memories I will keep, rather than thinking about the last year or so. Deborah 


Hello Deborah! Heartfelt sympathy from both Corinne and I on the death of your father. A most difficult time of course, but I'm sure it was a godsend that he was able to die at home. Wish I had had the opportunity to meet him. From what you mentioned about his dislike, (In my case, extreme dislike!), of the use of "passed on" or "passed away", worse yet, in my opinion, simply "passed", I think we might well have shared much in common. Again, sincere condolences.

Sorry to have to hear from you with such sad news but glad to know that a burden of sorts has been lifted from your psyche. I apologize for not being in touch sooner.
Anyway, take care of yourself, Deborah. Fondestos from Lady Mary, in absentia, to you. All the best, Patrizzio!

Pics:
Ragin' Bull, friend from Vancouver, (He drove up for a few days to help me with various projects and his knowledge and experience and craftsmanship were certainly appreciated, let me tell you!), standing beside work-bench we, (He really!), built, in front of window we replaced and the start of the planned new shelving. 

Hello Calamity and Giggster! Trust you are both well, going hammer and tongs, hammer for the roof, tongs for horse-shoeing! Have been meaning to send along greetings for some time and when we chatted with Chloë, last night, I was reminded that we once lived on the Lower Mainland and had completely forgotten that we did so. She told us that she thought that she'd broken her big toe at work yesterday. She was dashing to answer a phone and caught her toe on a desk leg, I believe. At ant rate, I told her, rather flippantly, that she should catch lift with you folks when you drive up, if she can't drive by then!

Cora Lee is just back from spending about five days in Vancouver.
Grogg and Lurch, stayed overnight, this past Thursday. They were wine-tasting south of here and then visited other friends in Kelowna before staying with us. As Cora Lee had planned to go into Vancouver this past weekend, (She had a number of events she wanted to take in, [Talk by Chris Hedges on Friday night and her Book Club on Monday.], they dropped her in town en route to Parksville. Grogg's surgery is to take place on October 19th now. Tough hand to be dealt but he seems to be dealing with it well, or as well as can be expected, under circumstances.

On a brighter note we are expecting more visitors, Nancy and David, from Vancouver, this weekend. Nancy and Cora Lee were in Library School together, (back in the '70's!), so good friends. Looking forward to doing a bit of wine-tasting with them. Ironically, have been so busy since moving here that we only have time to visit wineries with visitors! Not complaining but just reporting the facts.

"Nothing but the facts, Ma'am!" Please identify quotation to win a free case of Orofino wine. We are off, on Saturday, to collect our Fall release from this wonderful winery in Keremeos. The owners put on a pizza-pick-up-party for Wine Club members. Went earlier this Spring and it was loads of fun. They even have gluten-free crust and Cora Lee had two pizzas of her own, much more than anyone else! You can sample the new releases while chatting and nibbling so a fun affair. Have invited Jos and Aart, lovely couple from hiking group. (She plays bridge so hope to arrange a bridge evening at some point. They live in Summerland and will come to our place to take our car to Keremeos. Corinne will drive as I plan to ride there, (only about 55 km), so I'll leave a couple of hours ahead of time to meet around noon. After event I will put my bike on rack and drive back together. Jos and Aart are very active and ride themselves but are uncomfortable with cycling on highway. I'd rather ride on less busy thoroughfares, obviously, but shoulders on 3A are wide and clean so I don't mind. Almost better than dealing with Lexus Polizei on UBC Foreshore Hill!


This being said, enjoyed another magnificent outing yesterday. Left Burns Street Base Camp at just after 10:00 am as I had arranged to meet the Phantom at his place at about 10:30 am. The wind was at my back so I sailed along and managed an AVG of 25.5 kph by the time I was near Blasted Church. John was actually at the bottom of the hill, atop which his house sits, and he suggested we take McLean Creek Road. I had thought to mention this possibility when we chatted on the phone earlier, but decided I had enough hills waiting for me, given the route we were planning to take. However, in for a penny, in for a pound, and we set off to conquer the first hill of the day!

From there were rode through OK Falls to take the road to See Ya Later. Cyclists here call this route, The Wall, as it is a pretty steep climb up to the winery. Still, we had the wind at our backs and the route is relatively flat on this part of Green Lake Road until one starts to corkscrew up. Pleased that I was able to keep up with The Phantom although I was huffing and puffing, unlike John, like the Little Engine that Could, by the time we'd crested this demanding ascent. That being said, it wasn't quite as daunting as I had thought it might be.

Once past Nighthawk, (New winery discovery as place has only been open for about six weeks! Tasted there last weekend with friends, Penny and Mike, from London. They did a bit of the same trip to Banff as you, this September, before visiting us. They also visited us in Cornwall, although they stayed at a hotel in Truro.), road flattens out, more or less, and we whizzed along, passing Mahoney Lake, which I'd seen, from above, on Monday's hike. On through Willowbrook and then right onto Fairview/White Lake Road to follow it north, eventually passing the parking area where we left our vehicles, yesterday, just south of the Dominion Observatory, to begin the hike mentioned above. At White Lake Road we turned left and followed it all thew way to 3A. I'd ridden this route before but never in reverse so the climbs were not quite as easy as the descents! Once at 3A we whizzed downhill, (I was quite surprised at the distance one travels on this stretch as coming from the other direction, uphill all the time, it had never seemed quite as far.), at exhilarating speed to rejoin Green Mountain Road. Again, I knew we had about 14 km of uphill to negotiate but the road ascends in a series of stages and the climbs between the level parts are not overly punishing.

I caught glimpses of The Phantom, at times, but once the road started to twist I didn't see him again until we reached the turnoff to Apex. He was waiting there, putting on more sunscreen, so I kept going, knowing that he would soon be flying by me on the long downhill stretches to come. We'd certainly paid our dues on the hills we'd already climbed, so we enjoyed this last stretch, roughly 10 km, even though the head wind was quite strong and acted as a considerable brake when we really didn't want it to slow us down!

The Phantom was waiting for me, just across 97, on Fairview, and I invited him to our place for java. However, I wanted to return via Lakefront, to give me the 7 km I "needed' for the day's distance, 101 km. Since he wasn't interested in any dipsy-doodles, I thanked him for introducing me to The Wall and we said goodbye. He headed back to OK Falls and I threaded my way to Lakeshore and was back at Base Camp just before 3:00 pm. What a ride! What a day!! Simply delighted about becoming reasonably familiar with these truly incredible cycling routes right on my doorstep.  Stats for ride:



https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/913926227#.VgsPRU2qAOs.email


As you might recall/remember, we leave for India, for six weeks, on October 27th but will be driving into Vancouver on October 16th as Chloë has a fund raiser on the 17th. Then from 20th -25th we are volunteering at the Vancouver Writers Festival. Back on December 10th. Have a couple staying here while we are away. They are good friends of Corinne's sister, Pam, and when they learned that we were going to be on holiday they wanted to rent our place. They are looking for a spot in the Okanagan and so wanted to stay here beforehand to get a better idea of where they might wish to buy a home. Henryk, husband, is quite "handy" so I suggested that he do some of the work we wanted done on the place instead of paying rent.


In this vein, must away as I plan to rearrange the garage today. Made a start, a few weeks ago when Ragi' drove up from Vancouver to help build a work-bench, storage shelves and replace a window, (It opens so guest bedroom will be cooler and you can stay for weeks, instead of just the weekend!), so things are starting to fall into place. Want/need to make room for more shelving I'd like Henryk to build. Also hope he will be able to install the in-house vacuum system we brought back from Winnipeg. Piping will go in the crawl space but power unit will be mounted in garage. On and on and on! Have included album from latest hike. Fondestos from Mme Coriandre to you both. Cheers, Il Conduttore/Patrizzio!

PS: Burns Street Watering Hole is pet friendly so Morita is more than welcome.



Pics: Our very first fire, this past Thursday night! We replaced an electric fireplace with a very efficient, air-tight, wood-burning unit. Unfortunately we needed to use a "fake" log as haven't yet managed, with all the hiking and cycling, putting up shelving, of one sort or another, and moving in activity, to find suitably dry firewood. (Not really a priority in the summer heat!) Still, we love to have a "real" fire to sip malt in front of, reading a book, during a cold winter's night!  My spiffy new Specialized helmet! Latest "muleage" from London, brought by friends, Penny and Madcap. Ragin' Bull standing beside work-bench we, (really He), built, in front of window we replaced and shelving we erected. Lady Mary is there in a strictly supervisory capacity! Rocky Racoon waiting to play with Morita! Bumped into him on an evening walk along Penticton Creek. Kokanee spawn here and we have seen them, a few weeks ago. Will serve some to you on Thanksgiving while we eat turkey!

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