Everything is proceeding apace.....

Exciting news - my stuff is arriving from Canada on June 6.  That is sooner than I expected, and cheaper than I expected to (thank you, John)  In anticipation, I have had some work done to expand the capacity of my closets, and ordered bookshelves for the arriving library.  So, everything is falling into place, and the goal is that by July 18, my 75th birthday, I will be unpacked and settled in. The clothes should just be a matter of hanging up in the newly expanded closets, and I already have volunteers - my reading friends, of course - to help me sort and shelve books.  Then, the pictures, and, voila, ready for my new life.

So far, no regrets.  It just feels right.  I don't believe in regrets anyway - I have had a few in my life, but not many - and my nature is such that I am not tormented by them.

Part of the reason for moving down here is my much more fulsome social life down here, a lot of which is opening up now.  Opera in the movies will be back soon, restaurant dining is back in swing (3 dinners with 3 different sets of friends this week alone), and, wonder of wonder miracle of miracles, a Memorial Day party next weekend.  I will try to get the camera in gear to memorialize the post-COVID start up of my social life.

And in the midst of all this, quite a bit of reading as well... really, some reading and some listening, as mostly I listen to books when I am doing my 5 mile a day walk (that's give of take 12,000 steps, but who's counting except my tyrannical phone).  Reading includes mostly mysteries.  I was introduced to Susan Hill (The Various Haunts of Men) by friend Nan, and since some of my old favorite authors are dying off, new additions are always welcome; this one was a good read.  Another author new to me (but around for a while) is Stuart Woods.  The one I read (again courtesy of Nan) was called Double Jeopardy.  A complete piece of fluff, but not objectionable; I would read another if it came my way (although I wouldn't seek it out, and I certainly wouldn't spend money for it).  Next up was The Wedding Guest by Joseph Kellerman.  As mystery fans know, Kellerman has been around for a while as well, but I have someone managed to avoid reading him till now.  A good read, though, and I will certainly read more - and there are many!

In cleaning out my current bookshelves, in anticipation of the new arrivals, discovered Ruth Rendell's No Man's Nightengale.  I have read any number of her books, but not this one.  It may be her last, as she died not too many years after this one was published.  Inspector Wexford, her sleuth, solves this one from retirement.  Not her best outing, but good nonetheless.  

In a more serious vein ( I would go so far as to say depressing) was Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, which explores the relationship between modern medicine and aging.  He is a doctor, and his thesis, with which I heartily agree, is just because medicine can do something doesn't mean it should, and that we should all take control of our medical fate.  And god bless hospice.....

The final contribution in the "physical books" department is The Mapmaker's Wife, by Robert Whitaker.  It is a true story of French scientists in the Amazon in the 17th century. or, as the subtitle has it "A True Tale of Love, Murder and Survival in the Amazon".  As most of you know, science doesn't interest me much - I skipped over the heavier bits - but it was interesting to me because it was in Equador and the Amazon, which I have visited - and was amazingly well written for the type of book it is.  

And now the listening bits....I am currently listening to Surrender, New York, by Caleb Carr.  I previously listened to Angel of Darkness, by the same author, and I do love his writing....Elizabeth George is an old favourite, and I just listed to The Punishment She Deserves. I think I have now "read" all of hers.  Sigh.

Well, I will keep you posted...

  

Bid Changes

 So once again, it has been a month since I spoke to you, but for a change there is an excuse.  Big changes are happening.

I have decided to stay down in the Desert.  When we last spoke, I said that without work to draw me, I was feeling precious little pull to go back to Vancouver.  And, of course, Canada has made it very difficult for citizens to come home, requiring 3 COVID tests, a mandatory stay at a government-chosen hotel at a cost to me of $2000.00 plus, followed by a 14 day quarantine.  All of this in spite of the fact that I have had both shots of the vaccine.  

Meanwhile, a friend's son and his bride would like to house-sit  my apartment, my friend Paul has made my kitchen goods disappear, friend John and his moving and storage company have packed my books and clothes and whisked them into storage, my car in Vancouver has found a new home, and bob's your uncle, I can stay in the Desert.

Yes, the summers here are hot.  But that is why god created air conditioners, I am assuming.  And several other friends are spending their first summer here (one having moved from Michigan, the other from Brooklyn), and we are looking at sharing a house in Idyllwilde for a few months this summer.  It is an hour's drive from Palm Spring, but is in the surrounding mountain, and is about 30-35 degrees cooler than it is in Palm Springs in the summer.  We drove to Idyllwile today, and it is really a sweet town, with lots of restaurants, book stores and other little shops.  So we will see.

Meanwhile,  back in Palm Springs, almost everyone (and certainly every one I know) has been vaccinated - twice - and pretty nearly everything is open here in Palm Springs, with limitations - masking, hand washing, and distancing, so life is wonderful.  I have had several Scrabble "dates" with friend Michael, several dinners out - a new (to me) Vietnamese restaurant - called 533 - with friends John and Tom, a new (to me) Mexican restaurant - Las Casuelas -  with friend Sue, and dinner with a group - yes, you read that right - a group - of friends at the venerable Thunderbird Club.  Oh my god, how much fun was that.  

I know I am leaving my friends up North in the lurch, but I am hopeful that next year the borders will be open, and I will certainly be receiving guests.  

I know some of you are worried about the state of my health - having read my last post, I am not surprised.  I will no doubt not live forever  - nor do I want to - but I am feeling much better, and among my other accomplishments this last month, I have organized my pills on this side of the border, and generally, my ongoing health care is in place.  So, worry not, my friends.

Wish me well, folks, and I will keep you posted...