Yes, it is really true. I have reached the advanced age of 68, and it is indeed true: if I would have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!!! In any event, I was duly feted for my birthday. But more on that in due course. Meanwhile, where were we?
Well, there is the usual round of lunches and dinners, of course, but with a bit of a twist. On the 10th, our club had a Swiss Teams event. The bridge players among you will know what that means;those who don't know won't care. Suffice it to say that the theme was Cowboys; the idea was, of course, to dress up. I don't usually do that sort of thing - too silly, don't you know - but the day after it was announced, there was an advertisement in the local paper for a cowboy store. I took it for a sign. (see below for the resulting costume).
Pretty good looking bunch, huh? In addition to some fun bridge, lunch was served, and a good time was had by all. (...and points too!!! what more could one ask for?)
Since the bridge club is about 5 minutes away from the border, and I had some business down in Seattle, I decided to head down, having called to make sure that the Hotel Mariah was open and that Mariah and partner Mar were available for dinner.
(You might have noticed that I didn't even bother to change. The border guard, to his credit, didn't blink, and didn't ask me where my gun was!!!) Mariah was craving Cuban food. I had never had it. Frankly, I don't need to have it again either, although I am sure it was no fault of the restaurant's.
The next day, I went to Seattle City Hall to fight my ticket (and resulting tow, which I might have mentioned happened in May when I came down to the opera). What do you know, I got it knocked back from $190 to $5 - not too bad - and got the benefit of a nice visit with Mariah and Mar and saving $20 on my fill-up of gas to boot!!!
I was no sooner back in Vancouver than I turned around and took the ferry to Victoria.
It really is a beautiful trip, and I had glorious weather for it. This was the first time since David died that I have sailed past Salt Spring Island, though. Eight years since his death, and it is still hard.
Below, colleague and friend Susan picking me up from the ferry.
So far so good. We stopped at the grocery for supplies, and then headed off to see a mutual colleague and friend Deidre, who is recuperating from the aftermath of breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
She's looking pretty good, I think, for a sicky, even with her gorgeous waist length blond hair gone, but she's very tired. Our 2 hour visit apparently required a three hour nap for her to recover - but I think she was glad to see us.
And so the birthday week begins. On Monday, my colleagues and I went out for pho (as we do every Monday that we can, with an ever changing cast of characters, but I chose to consider this the start of the birthday festivities...
That evening, Robin, Debbie and I (the three terrors of our law school class lo these forty years ago) had drinks in Debbie's garden...
(that's Ken, Debbie's husband joining us for a toast!)
....and then had our traditional birthday dinner, this time at Pied A Terre, a French bistro in Debbie's neighborhood (which has a name - the neighborhood, that it - but I can't remember it.
The food was fabulous (I actually had venison chops!), and we giggled and reminisced and generally had a good time.
Tuesday, Lois was in town from Victoria; her birthday treat for me was a dinner at my favourite local Japanese joint, Yokahama (lucky you, no pictures!), and a toast to the birthday girl with some Sapporo.
Wednesday. was the usual "bridge with the boys", preceded by a lovely dinner at Bellagio's (previously reviewed in these pages.
....and no, they did not let me win in honour of my birthday!!!!
On Thursday, friend Bea and I did our now traditional birthday (hers and mine) celebration - we went out for dinner and then to Bard on the Beach. This year, the play of choice (hers, not mine) was the Tempest.
Those of you who are paying attention might remember that I saw the Tempest two weeks ago. It was lovely then, better this time because we had better seats, much closer to the action, and I had time to soak in the language, the costumes, the acting - it was all grand!
Which brings us to July 18th, my actual birthday. Friend Arlene joined me for the weekend. After a harrowing trip from Seattle (5 hours for what should be a 2 1/2 hour trip) she was in amazingly good humour, and we went to the Steveston Seafood House, the oldest and most venerable sea food establishment in Steveston, and, in my humble opinion, the best. As always, we had a wonderful meal, made even better because the chef (who has been there for 35 years) re-created an old favourite that was no longer on the menu.
On Saturday, more Bard....
....this time, Cymbaline. When I saw it in Ashland I remember thinking that it was a terribly silly play. This time, perhaps because it was played in the smaller tent, perhaps because it was better acted, I really liked it, as did Arlene. As we did last year, we followed the theater experience with a lovely Indian meal at Raja, a restaurant I started patronizing soon after it opened in 1981.
And, to end the week, on Sunday, we went for dim sum on Sunday at the Pink Pearl, another old Vancouver standby that had been closed for a few years due to fire but has now reopened, better than ever and (surprisingly) just as cheap And, best of all, the last theater experience at Bard. We went to see the Bill Cain play, Equivocation. That too might seem familiar - it premiered at Ashland a few years ago, where I first saw it, and then saw it again the following year in Seattle. If you guys ever get a chance to see it, do. It is a fabulous piece of theatre, smart and funny and historical and tragic, and, most important, magical. It is one of the best plays (modern, I should say), that I have ever seen. They did it wonderfully here, with Bob Frazer, one of my favourite local actors playing Shakespeare. I tell you, I live for theatre experiences like that.
(and yes, I will be seeing it again, with Tom, in a few weeks).
Still full from dim sum, we passed on dinner and came right home. Arlene packed and hit the road, and I poured a glass of wine and sat down to think about how lucky I am to have good health, good fortune, and, most important, good friends. By the way, I should say thank you to all of you who remembered my birthday. It really was much appreciated.
And now, back to the real (quiet) world. Hope you guys are having a good summer, as I am. Back at you soon....
Well, there is the usual round of lunches and dinners, of course, but with a bit of a twist. On the 10th, our club had a Swiss Teams event. The bridge players among you will know what that means;those who don't know won't care. Suffice it to say that the theme was Cowboys; the idea was, of course, to dress up. I don't usually do that sort of thing - too silly, don't you know - but the day after it was announced, there was an advertisement in the local paper for a cowboy store. I took it for a sign. (see below for the resulting costume).
Pretty good looking bunch, huh? In addition to some fun bridge, lunch was served, and a good time was had by all. (...and points too!!! what more could one ask for?)
Since the bridge club is about 5 minutes away from the border, and I had some business down in Seattle, I decided to head down, having called to make sure that the Hotel Mariah was open and that Mariah and partner Mar were available for dinner.
(You might have noticed that I didn't even bother to change. The border guard, to his credit, didn't blink, and didn't ask me where my gun was!!!) Mariah was craving Cuban food. I had never had it. Frankly, I don't need to have it again either, although I am sure it was no fault of the restaurant's.
The next day, I went to Seattle City Hall to fight my ticket (and resulting tow, which I might have mentioned happened in May when I came down to the opera). What do you know, I got it knocked back from $190 to $5 - not too bad - and got the benefit of a nice visit with Mariah and Mar and saving $20 on my fill-up of gas to boot!!!
I was no sooner back in Vancouver than I turned around and took the ferry to Victoria.
It really is a beautiful trip, and I had glorious weather for it. This was the first time since David died that I have sailed past Salt Spring Island, though. Eight years since his death, and it is still hard.
Below, colleague and friend Susan picking me up from the ferry.
So far so good. We stopped at the grocery for supplies, and then headed off to see a mutual colleague and friend Deidre, who is recuperating from the aftermath of breast cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
She's looking pretty good, I think, for a sicky, even with her gorgeous waist length blond hair gone, but she's very tired. Our 2 hour visit apparently required a three hour nap for her to recover - but I think she was glad to see us.
And so the birthday week begins. On Monday, my colleagues and I went out for pho (as we do every Monday that we can, with an ever changing cast of characters, but I chose to consider this the start of the birthday festivities...
That evening, Robin, Debbie and I (the three terrors of our law school class lo these forty years ago) had drinks in Debbie's garden...
(that's Ken, Debbie's husband joining us for a toast!)
The food was fabulous (I actually had venison chops!), and we giggled and reminisced and generally had a good time.
Tuesday, Lois was in town from Victoria; her birthday treat for me was a dinner at my favourite local Japanese joint, Yokahama (lucky you, no pictures!), and a toast to the birthday girl with some Sapporo.
Wednesday. was the usual "bridge with the boys", preceded by a lovely dinner at Bellagio's (previously reviewed in these pages.
....and no, they did not let me win in honour of my birthday!!!!
On Thursday, friend Bea and I did our now traditional birthday (hers and mine) celebration - we went out for dinner and then to Bard on the Beach. This year, the play of choice (hers, not mine) was the Tempest.
Those of you who are paying attention might remember that I saw the Tempest two weeks ago. It was lovely then, better this time because we had better seats, much closer to the action, and I had time to soak in the language, the costumes, the acting - it was all grand!
Which brings us to July 18th, my actual birthday. Friend Arlene joined me for the weekend. After a harrowing trip from Seattle (5 hours for what should be a 2 1/2 hour trip) she was in amazingly good humour, and we went to the Steveston Seafood House, the oldest and most venerable sea food establishment in Steveston, and, in my humble opinion, the best. As always, we had a wonderful meal, made even better because the chef (who has been there for 35 years) re-created an old favourite that was no longer on the menu.
On Saturday, more Bard....
....this time, Cymbaline. When I saw it in Ashland I remember thinking that it was a terribly silly play. This time, perhaps because it was played in the smaller tent, perhaps because it was better acted, I really liked it, as did Arlene. As we did last year, we followed the theater experience with a lovely Indian meal at Raja, a restaurant I started patronizing soon after it opened in 1981.
And, to end the week, on Sunday, we went for dim sum on Sunday at the Pink Pearl, another old Vancouver standby that had been closed for a few years due to fire but has now reopened, better than ever and (surprisingly) just as cheap And, best of all, the last theater experience at Bard. We went to see the Bill Cain play, Equivocation. That too might seem familiar - it premiered at Ashland a few years ago, where I first saw it, and then saw it again the following year in Seattle. If you guys ever get a chance to see it, do. It is a fabulous piece of theatre, smart and funny and historical and tragic, and, most important, magical. It is one of the best plays (modern, I should say), that I have ever seen. They did it wonderfully here, with Bob Frazer, one of my favourite local actors playing Shakespeare. I tell you, I live for theatre experiences like that.
(and yes, I will be seeing it again, with Tom, in a few weeks).
Still full from dim sum, we passed on dinner and came right home. Arlene packed and hit the road, and I poured a glass of wine and sat down to think about how lucky I am to have good health, good fortune, and, most important, good friends. By the way, I should say thank you to all of you who remembered my birthday. It really was much appreciated.
And now, back to the real (quiet) world. Hope you guys are having a good summer, as I am. Back at you soon....
