The Reports of my Death have been greatly Exaggerated!

She's baaack!  Finally.  This delay we can blame on technology.  Apparently Blogspot, in trying to keep its 27 year old programmers busy, tweeked the site.  An unexpected consequence was that one could no longer upload pictures to a blog.  Of course, none of these sites has a telephone number so one can call and say, You stupid fools, fix your site!  Someone managed to get through to them, however, because the problem seems to be solved.  Well, we will see!

Where were we?  Oh yes, New Years day, and friend Carol and I were invited to a 70th birthday party for Joanne, thrown by Husband Craig - yes, the very same one who was driving around on Christmas day with a carving knife, waiting for a turkey to carve (see previous post...).  Craig and Joanne spend two months here in a lovely mobile home park somewhat to the East of Palm Springs.  Anyway, the party was great - a bunch of people from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia also escaping the rain, and some of whom we knew.

And a good time was had by all - after Joanne got over the candles which wouldn't extinguish!

And on the ground, the road runner made a new years' appearance.....

.......and I took Carol downtown to see Lucille Ball, who hasn't changed a bit in all these years.....

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...and to have dinner at Las Casuelas, a downtown Mexican restaurant, a bit touristy, but fun nonetheless.

Carol is a great guest, always up for anything, and I think she enjoyed her stay!

I even had a chance to see friends Robin and Grant before I had to leave Palm Springs.  I drove out to see them in La Quinta (rumour has it that it was formerly a stagecoach stop, but I like my story better - it is the fifth town going east from Palm Springs).  Robin and I did our shopping thing (most of you know that I am not really a shopper, but robin brings it out in me), and then the three of us went out to their favourite watering hole, Stuft Pizza.

I must say I agree with them - the food is great and the drinks are strong - and cheap cheap cheap!  So, once again, a good time was had by all!

But now, it was time to leave Palm Springs for the cold, cold north.  And Vancouver did feel very, very cold to me.  I don't think there was a day in the last three weeks when I haven't had my boots on and the fireplace roaring.  There were a few cold, clear days, but mostly, just wet - the reason why I have a place in Palm Springs to begin with.

But I came to Vancouver to work - to pay for my very expensive and ever growing bucket list - so work I did, every day since I came back on January 7. 

I did get to visit friend Pellham in the hospital the day after his knee replacement...

Looks happy, doesn't he, between Donna to look after him and the morphine!

And before you start feeling too sorry for me, though, I did build in some play time.  I had bridge with the boys three times.  I went to the National Theater Live in HD (Simulcasts of the live performances from London) with friends Heather and Jack (The Magistrate with John Lithgow, and we left at intermission.  It was very well done, but it was a farce, and we all decided we hate farce), with whom I shared dinner and lots of talk before hand.  I saw Maria Stuarda, the Donizetti opera live in HD from the Met (now that wassublime!), also with Jack and Heather.  I found time to sneak out and see a few movies, L'Amour and Late Quartet, both wonderful, adult movies, but sufficiently depressing for me to want to go home and slit my wrists (which I obviously haven't done, don't everybody get their knickers in a knot).  I went out to dinner with friend Lesley (who is about to become a grandmother of twins) and Lori (a realtor who hasn't been able to sell a house since August, that is how badly the Vancouver housing market has died)

 And I went to the theater as well, to see Barefoot in the Park.  A friend of mine directed, and he did a wonderful job, with actorsd, costumes, sets, etc. but couldn't do anything about the fact that it is a really silly, silly play.

Not to mention all the lunches with colleagues, taking advantage, of course, of all the great Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Vietnamese food that I don't eat in Palm Springs.

And finally, I went down to Seattle last weekend, to see friend Mariah (although she will be with me in Palm Springs in just 10 days) and friend Arlene, with whom I spent a lovely day and a half, going on two lovely walks, having a lovely belated 70th birthday dinner for her at Nell's (a great restaurant near Green Lake, lovely food and atmosphere but not pretentious, just perfect!), and theater - a play called The Understudy, in a small, neighborhood theater of the sort that they have in Seattle, very well done - what theater should be, something to think about and talk about aterwards.
And here I am on the home stretch in Vancouver, finishing up the last of my files, the last of my bridge evenings, the last of my dinners with friends, and on the way to Palm Springs by way of San Francisco on Thursday.  Once again, stay tuned.  And I will be better about taking pictures regularly and posting too.  And I will try to keep you up with the reading list too - it has been extensive.

But not now....
Finally,