I left you, a number of weeks ago, I'll admit, going out for the Sunday New York Times and pouring another cup of coffee.
Actually, "pouring"a cup of coffee has gone the way of "dialing" a phone number for me. I got myself one of those Keurig coffee pots (actually, not being one that goes by halves, I got two, one for the office and one for home), which lets you put in a little puck-like thing and make one cup at a time. I know all you purists in cyber-space are all turning up your noses, but I was just tired of drinking stale coffee (a common complaint of parties of one), and I love being able to chose my coffee - in the afternoon, I have rasberry white chocolate truffle coffee for a treat (Careful with those noses, you purists) - and am pleased with my purrchase(s).
When I left you, I had taken friend Jean off to her conference. I picked her up from there, all wired for sound, as one gets from those conferences, and talked her down with another long walk on the dike in Steveston...
.....and with a lovely dinner at The Blue Canoe, my new favorite sea food place in Steveston. It's very trendy, and you can't get within a foot of the place on the weekends. You can sometimes get in if you get there early enough on a week day though. Generally, I am not big on "trendy" as a rule, but in this case, there is a beautiful outlook on the water, the service is great, the fod is great, what's not to like?
And off Jean went to the ferry the next morning. She'll be back - look how happy she looks!
The rest of the week was work, work, work. Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing. Working in the summer in Vancouver and playing in the winter in Palm Springs - well, it couldn't be any better. And the weather has been glorious - in the 20's (the 70's, for those of you not metrically inclined), sunny, a few wispy clouds, and a breeze off the water. We have a bit of a green space behind the office, I keep one of those portable chairs in my car, and if I am not napping on the sofa in my office at lunch, I am knitting outside. Not too bad, eh?
Saturday (the 13th, if you are keeping track, and no I could do this without my -old fashioned, paper and pen- calender in front of me), I went out to White Rock to see friend Robin and to "do" the art show with her and her sister in law Bev.
..that's Bev, the tall one on the left...
It is held in a lovely wooded area, privately owned (in one of those "only in Vancouver stories, owned by the god-mother of one of my colleagues, and steps from friend Robin's front door), a juried show, with good quality art, jewelry, pottery and sculpture. A perfect thing to do on a glorious afternoon!
I rounded out the weekend on Sunday with (in addition to the New York Times) dim sum with the usual cast of characters at our favourite place, Fisherman's Terraace. I won't bore you with any more pictures; suffice it to say, dim sum has got to be one of my favourite meals - Stay tuned, it makes another showing on this post.
Colleague Lois from Victoria was staying over in Vancouver this week, so we took the opportunity to have dinner (imagine it - me, eating again1) at the Yokahama, one of four (and, of course, my favourite) Japanese restaurants in Steveston. This one has been around since the Japanese fisherman were fishing in Steveston and working in the canneries,, and you should put it one your list for when you come.
Finally got to Bard on the Beach on Wednesay, the 17th. If I have not explained before, this is our answer to Strafford on Avon, or perhaps the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They put on 4 plays every year. But first, dinner....
The restaurant wasn't memorable (so unmemorarable that I don't even remember its name), but the theater was great! The setting of course, is magnificent, in tents, open to the air, mountains and water the backdrop for the theater (no photographs permitted, sorry). They do a good job with the plays, too. Of course, I would never go to the comedies if Bea didn't drag me to one every year (she goes to the theater to be entertained, I - generally - go to the theater to be moved). This one was Twelfth Night, one of the better ones anyway, and it was lovely. I won't tell you the story - look it up if you need to - but they set it in a spa in Europe just before the First World War. They don't do much scenery besides nature, of course, but the costumes were gorgeous, the staging was brilliant, the songs (and singing) were extremely well done, and the acting there is always great. Bea, who lives on Bowen Island, stayed over at my house, so we had the whole trip back to me house to just be dazzled!
( Interesting aside. I thought it would be a wonderful night to come home from the theater with the top down, but Bea insisted in going in her car. Apparently, she feels too "exposed" in a convertible. I have known Bea for almost 20 years, and I never knew that! It just never came up in conversation, and apparently, whenever we went to lunch, it had been raining, so the top was up!)
And now we are up to Thursday, July 18th. For those of you who don't recognize the date, put it on your calendars for next year. It's my birthday!! Happy birthday to me! And yes, you get to hear the line again: If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself! Actually, I am in pretty good shape for an old (67!) broad, if I do say so myself! Anyway, had a great time on my b'day, going to dinner and Bard (different play, Timothy Findlay's Elizabeth Rex) with friend Tom.
Tom agreed that the play was staged well, and well acted, of course, as things always are at Bard, but doesn't like the play. I loved the play. The premise is that it is the night before the Queen's lover (Essex?) is to be hanged. There is a curfew, Shakespeare and his troop and caught in town, in a barn, and Elizabeth wants to be amused. So it is a conversation between actors and the Queen, made even more poignant because (some say) Essex was the one to whom Shakespeare wrote the sonnets. Anyway, I loved the premise and the play. It was a wonderful evening, and on that night, I was able to decompress on the way home with the top down, albeit by myself (Tom lives the other direction).
And the celebrations of my birthday continue. Friday, I had lunch with Richard, an old friend from law school. We do this twice a year, for his birthday in October and mine in July, always in the same place, the The Victoria Restaurant in downtown Vancouver, one of the oldest dim sum places - certainly outside of Chinatown - in Vancouver. The food is great, although I think that some of the charm is lost when they don't have the illiterate Chinese ladies pushing the carts around the restaurant! Oh, well, progress. Anyway, between travels (he is quite the traveler too) and work, and politics and economics, to which we are both addicted - well, we never seem to run out of things to say! And, seeing as it was my birthday, it was his turn to treat!
And even moe celebration on the weekend. Friend Mar and Mariah came up from Seattle. Art, my neighbor in Palm Springs, is escaping the heat in Washington State, so they picked him up too, so there was a full house at Nora's B & B last weekend. First on the agenda (Mar insists on it every time) were a walk on the boardwalk, but only as far as Pajo's, the infamous fish and chips place (previously mention in this space I am sure!)
As always, it didn't disappoint. As you can see, the weather was, still, glorious, and they are all convertible people (of course, until talking to Bea last week, I thought everyone was - more or less - a convertible person!), we drove down to White Rock to revisit the show, and actually, before the weekend was out, revisited the Yokahama as well. I know, I know, a failure of imagination! But you know, I am not very good at just "hanging out", and it was good being with old friends, not worrying about discovering trendy new places, just hanging out. I really don't do that very much, except when I visit Hank in San Francisco, about which more later), and it was lovely. Apparently, or so I'm told, a great weekend was had by all. Certainly by me!
(That's us, at Yokahama)
I did have a chance to glance at the local newspaper on Sunday, after they all trundled in their car to head south, and discovered, by sheer accident, that on Monday at the local cinema they were showing a documentary called Springsteen and I (don't blame the grammar on me - I didn't name it!), and of course I had to see it on Monday evening. It was actually quite good - for a Springsteen fan, at least. A little hokey, of course, but a lot of old footage from concerts at the Stone Pony and beyond which I had never seen before, as well as from new concerts, and, as a bonus, a melange from the Hyde Park concert last year, at which Paul McCartney joined Bruce and the E Street Band on stage in Hyde Park, London, in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans. (I hav seen that whole concert - catch it if you can, it is on video). It always makes me weepy, something about the history of rock and roll, or maybe just me getting old (althugh some of the fans in the movie were older than I am!)
Anyway, it was great, although it provided yet another illustration of why I like the USA. In the USA, leaving an event like that, everyone would be talking to their neighbors, about the concerts, the songs, their personal adventures with Bruce. In Canada, I tried - as I always do -to talk to my fellow movie goers. They answered me, all right, because they are polite Canadians, but you could almost hear them thinking, who is this strange woman and why is she talking to us? Never mind, I didn't let it spoil the evening, although I did wish I had some Springsteen CD's to listen to on the way home with the top down, instead of having put them all in the juke box in Palm Springs!
More partying on Tuesday. Colleagues Lois, Deirdre and Susan invited themselves over for dinner. I cooked (yes, folks, I can actually do it, although I don't very often any more, since David died) some rib eye steaks and fixings (If you must know, perfect baked potatoes -there is a trick, ask me some time - and candied carrots, the girls brought dessert and 5 - count 'em - 5 bottles of wine, we sat out on the deck and got sloshed (for the morals police out there, everyone was sleeping over), and, once again, a good time was had by all.
Whch brings us back to real life on Wednesday, work and having dinner and bridge with the boys. (Although maybe there was a bit of a treat there - I did come in second at bridge, and, even more important, got some very interesting hands!)
And Thursday morning, I left bright and early for Bellingham, Washington and my flight out to San Francisco, where I am now, hanging out with Hank. But enough of this for the moment. I'll get back to you with the San Francisco adventure, I promise.
Actually, "pouring"a cup of coffee has gone the way of "dialing" a phone number for me. I got myself one of those Keurig coffee pots (actually, not being one that goes by halves, I got two, one for the office and one for home), which lets you put in a little puck-like thing and make one cup at a time. I know all you purists in cyber-space are all turning up your noses, but I was just tired of drinking stale coffee (a common complaint of parties of one), and I love being able to chose my coffee - in the afternoon, I have rasberry white chocolate truffle coffee for a treat (Careful with those noses, you purists) - and am pleased with my purrchase(s).
When I left you, I had taken friend Jean off to her conference. I picked her up from there, all wired for sound, as one gets from those conferences, and talked her down with another long walk on the dike in Steveston...
.....and with a lovely dinner at The Blue Canoe, my new favorite sea food place in Steveston. It's very trendy, and you can't get within a foot of the place on the weekends. You can sometimes get in if you get there early enough on a week day though. Generally, I am not big on "trendy" as a rule, but in this case, there is a beautiful outlook on the water, the service is great, the fod is great, what's not to like?
And off Jean went to the ferry the next morning. She'll be back - look how happy she looks!
The rest of the week was work, work, work. Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing. Working in the summer in Vancouver and playing in the winter in Palm Springs - well, it couldn't be any better. And the weather has been glorious - in the 20's (the 70's, for those of you not metrically inclined), sunny, a few wispy clouds, and a breeze off the water. We have a bit of a green space behind the office, I keep one of those portable chairs in my car, and if I am not napping on the sofa in my office at lunch, I am knitting outside. Not too bad, eh?
Saturday (the 13th, if you are keeping track, and no I could do this without my -old fashioned, paper and pen- calender in front of me), I went out to White Rock to see friend Robin and to "do" the art show with her and her sister in law Bev.
..that's Bev, the tall one on the left...
It is held in a lovely wooded area, privately owned (in one of those "only in Vancouver stories, owned by the god-mother of one of my colleagues, and steps from friend Robin's front door), a juried show, with good quality art, jewelry, pottery and sculpture. A perfect thing to do on a glorious afternoon!
I rounded out the weekend on Sunday with (in addition to the New York Times) dim sum with the usual cast of characters at our favourite place, Fisherman's Terraace. I won't bore you with any more pictures; suffice it to say, dim sum has got to be one of my favourite meals - Stay tuned, it makes another showing on this post.
Colleague Lois from Victoria was staying over in Vancouver this week, so we took the opportunity to have dinner (imagine it - me, eating again1) at the Yokahama, one of four (and, of course, my favourite) Japanese restaurants in Steveston. This one has been around since the Japanese fisherman were fishing in Steveston and working in the canneries,, and you should put it one your list for when you come.
Finally got to Bard on the Beach on Wednesay, the 17th. If I have not explained before, this is our answer to Strafford on Avon, or perhaps the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They put on 4 plays every year. But first, dinner....
The restaurant wasn't memorable (so unmemorarable that I don't even remember its name), but the theater was great! The setting of course, is magnificent, in tents, open to the air, mountains and water the backdrop for the theater (no photographs permitted, sorry). They do a good job with the plays, too. Of course, I would never go to the comedies if Bea didn't drag me to one every year (she goes to the theater to be entertained, I - generally - go to the theater to be moved). This one was Twelfth Night, one of the better ones anyway, and it was lovely. I won't tell you the story - look it up if you need to - but they set it in a spa in Europe just before the First World War. They don't do much scenery besides nature, of course, but the costumes were gorgeous, the staging was brilliant, the songs (and singing) were extremely well done, and the acting there is always great. Bea, who lives on Bowen Island, stayed over at my house, so we had the whole trip back to me house to just be dazzled!
( Interesting aside. I thought it would be a wonderful night to come home from the theater with the top down, but Bea insisted in going in her car. Apparently, she feels too "exposed" in a convertible. I have known Bea for almost 20 years, and I never knew that! It just never came up in conversation, and apparently, whenever we went to lunch, it had been raining, so the top was up!)
And now we are up to Thursday, July 18th. For those of you who don't recognize the date, put it on your calendars for next year. It's my birthday!! Happy birthday to me! And yes, you get to hear the line again: If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself! Actually, I am in pretty good shape for an old (67!) broad, if I do say so myself! Anyway, had a great time on my b'day, going to dinner and Bard (different play, Timothy Findlay's Elizabeth Rex) with friend Tom.
Tom agreed that the play was staged well, and well acted, of course, as things always are at Bard, but doesn't like the play. I loved the play. The premise is that it is the night before the Queen's lover (Essex?) is to be hanged. There is a curfew, Shakespeare and his troop and caught in town, in a barn, and Elizabeth wants to be amused. So it is a conversation between actors and the Queen, made even more poignant because (some say) Essex was the one to whom Shakespeare wrote the sonnets. Anyway, I loved the premise and the play. It was a wonderful evening, and on that night, I was able to decompress on the way home with the top down, albeit by myself (Tom lives the other direction).
And the celebrations of my birthday continue. Friday, I had lunch with Richard, an old friend from law school. We do this twice a year, for his birthday in October and mine in July, always in the same place, the The Victoria Restaurant in downtown Vancouver, one of the oldest dim sum places - certainly outside of Chinatown - in Vancouver. The food is great, although I think that some of the charm is lost when they don't have the illiterate Chinese ladies pushing the carts around the restaurant! Oh, well, progress. Anyway, between travels (he is quite the traveler too) and work, and politics and economics, to which we are both addicted - well, we never seem to run out of things to say! And, seeing as it was my birthday, it was his turn to treat!
And even moe celebration on the weekend. Friend Mar and Mariah came up from Seattle. Art, my neighbor in Palm Springs, is escaping the heat in Washington State, so they picked him up too, so there was a full house at Nora's B & B last weekend. First on the agenda (Mar insists on it every time) were a walk on the boardwalk, but only as far as Pajo's, the infamous fish and chips place (previously mention in this space I am sure!)
As always, it didn't disappoint. As you can see, the weather was, still, glorious, and they are all convertible people (of course, until talking to Bea last week, I thought everyone was - more or less - a convertible person!), we drove down to White Rock to revisit the show, and actually, before the weekend was out, revisited the Yokahama as well. I know, I know, a failure of imagination! But you know, I am not very good at just "hanging out", and it was good being with old friends, not worrying about discovering trendy new places, just hanging out. I really don't do that very much, except when I visit Hank in San Francisco, about which more later), and it was lovely. Apparently, or so I'm told, a great weekend was had by all. Certainly by me!
(That's us, at Yokahama)I did have a chance to glance at the local newspaper on Sunday, after they all trundled in their car to head south, and discovered, by sheer accident, that on Monday at the local cinema they were showing a documentary called Springsteen and I (don't blame the grammar on me - I didn't name it!), and of course I had to see it on Monday evening. It was actually quite good - for a Springsteen fan, at least. A little hokey, of course, but a lot of old footage from concerts at the Stone Pony and beyond which I had never seen before, as well as from new concerts, and, as a bonus, a melange from the Hyde Park concert last year, at which Paul McCartney joined Bruce and the E Street Band on stage in Hyde Park, London, in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans. (I hav seen that whole concert - catch it if you can, it is on video). It always makes me weepy, something about the history of rock and roll, or maybe just me getting old (althugh some of the fans in the movie were older than I am!)
Anyway, it was great, although it provided yet another illustration of why I like the USA. In the USA, leaving an event like that, everyone would be talking to their neighbors, about the concerts, the songs, their personal adventures with Bruce. In Canada, I tried - as I always do -to talk to my fellow movie goers. They answered me, all right, because they are polite Canadians, but you could almost hear them thinking, who is this strange woman and why is she talking to us? Never mind, I didn't let it spoil the evening, although I did wish I had some Springsteen CD's to listen to on the way home with the top down, instead of having put them all in the juke box in Palm Springs!
More partying on Tuesday. Colleagues Lois, Deirdre and Susan invited themselves over for dinner. I cooked (yes, folks, I can actually do it, although I don't very often any more, since David died) some rib eye steaks and fixings (If you must know, perfect baked potatoes -there is a trick, ask me some time - and candied carrots, the girls brought dessert and 5 - count 'em - 5 bottles of wine, we sat out on the deck and got sloshed (for the morals police out there, everyone was sleeping over), and, once again, a good time was had by all.
Whch brings us back to real life on Wednesday, work and having dinner and bridge with the boys. (Although maybe there was a bit of a treat there - I did come in second at bridge, and, even more important, got some very interesting hands!)
And Thursday morning, I left bright and early for Bellingham, Washington and my flight out to San Francisco, where I am now, hanging out with Hank. But enough of this for the moment. I'll get back to you with the San Francisco adventure, I promise.
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