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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Thu
15
Dec '11

Vancouver, Part II

Dinner With Helene, Tom, Hummingbird & BamBam.

Slept in this morning. Wonderful.

That meant “breakfast” at noon:

Yum.

A lazy afternoon reading my first issue of the New Yorker on the Kindle Fire. There are a couple of problems with the New Yorker app on the Fire. Problem Number One: you can’t read it in Landscape Mode which I’d like to try, and Problem Number Two: you can’t make the typeface bigger. Other than that, you get everything that is in the physical magazine except the blow in cards.

Company started showing up a little after six for a dinner of squash (yes, two days in a row), salad, and turkey breast wrapped in prosciutto. Here is the crew after dinner:

Yet another late evening, but well worth it.

[? ? ?]

Mon
9
Mar '09

Working Vancouver, i.e. Day Two.

A lazy day in the morning — breakfast was a hash made from last night’s pork roast and potatoes — Wonderful added a nuked egg to his.

BamBam showed up about noon and off we went to explore Kitsilano, Yaletown, and Gas Town for possible office locations. Seems I want to travel to all the places my clients want to open branches!

As luck would have it BamBam’s paintings are hanging in a coffee shop in Yaletown (my first choice for office location) that is owned by a real estate broker (who’s office is next door), and suddenly we are talking turn-key offices, what’s on the market, what they handle (what we want is what they handle). I love the whimsy of the timing of that visit.

Besides being a painter, BamBam is also a videographer — and here are a couple of links to video’s that he has done:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8Imk2r5ap4
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuiWeCLgr4g

and my favorite off the Downtown Vancouver website:
http://www.downtownvancouver.com/index.html?v=axle

BamBam is the blond (at that moment), and the woman is his boyfriend’s secretary. How odd is that.

Dinner tonight was chicken seasoned with this lovely Meixcan spice mix called Tajin Classico which is basically Molido chilies, salt, and dehydrated lemon juice. Salad, green beans with garlic and onion, wine, a couple of different desserts and it was a meal for six people and we were only four.

And after dinner, the movie that BamBam and Wonderul picked out was Across the Universe which I hadn’t seen, but had heard the sound track while I was in Mexico the boys. What can I say, maybe it was the wine, but it made me cry.

[? ? ?]

Sat
10
Jan '09

Settling Into Life, Yelapa Style.

It’s all about food. Or so it sometimes seems. We are quickly settling into a routine of getting up in the morning, whenever, coffee and fresh squeezed jugo (juice). I’m so far the last one up, and am hoping to train them to bring me coffee in bed to get me moving.

Sleep last night was odd… with everybody stacked on top of each other in the pueblo, sound travels everywhere. Add the almost full moon and the roosters not know the time, throw in some mongrel dogs, and it’s a symphony at night. Hummingbird has provided earplugs for tonight.

I’ve been checking email twice a day. Morning and afternoon, and dealing with anything truly important or just amusing. There is an internet café down the path, maybe I’ll check it out, or not. Too bad I can’t figure out how to, or remember how to upload from the phone. It certainly wouldn’t take a video feed!

Breakfast is sautéed bacon, mushrooms – scrambled up with eggs. Isabelle is here to join us again for our family meals – she is the local friend of the boys. Actually the boys probably shouldn’t be called boys since one is 54 and the other mid-thirties – but all my male friends to me are “boys”.

After breakfast was our day of beauty – new hair color for Hummingbird and Isabelle, fresh toenail polish for me…. BamBam, not so much.

P1060893

 

Mid-day we head (again) for the beach —- further down this time… different ceviche (mixed, and excellent), a Caesar salad (I need my greens), and some amazing muscles on the half shells steamed/braised in a hot roasted chili oil. Just another day swimming at the beach. Damn, life is hard.

The routine has developed that we do the shopping for dinner on the way back from the beach. Tonight it is pollo (chicken, a whole one) stuffed with limon (limes) and garlic, on a bed of roasted potatoes, onions, and red bell peppers. For greens tonight it’s an appetizer of cubed avocado, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro. Add some tostados (whole corn tortillas flash fried) and you have a lovely, but spicy, snack.

And dessert? Fresh strawberries marinated in a couple of tablespoons of honey and a wee dram of this odd Kentucky Bourbon/Honey mixture that came with the bottle of Wild Turkey – that somehow ended up in my toiletries kit. Handy. And the end result was damn fine.

Tonight is the full moon – stunning. We even got fireworks across the small bay from a wedding party that we accidentally crashed this afternoon on our lunch/swimming time at the beach. Isabelle rearranged the place (again, the boys did it yesterday) to make it feel more like home. With Hummingbird and BamBam here for seven weeks – you might as well get it feeling like home away from home.

By ten, Isabelle is headed off to Disco Night at the bar in the pueblo, and there are rumors of a drumming circle on the beach, but all the boys, me included, are staying in, with Hummingbird in bed, and BamBam and I burning the midnight (maybe) oil.

Mon
9
Nov '15

Trip Report: Sunshine Coast of British Columbia

Friends of mine (Hummingbird & BamBam) bought a Greek Orthodox Church & Hermitage on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

But first I have to get there – and with the ferry on the tail end, decided to stop at the WorldMark Blaine. After dinner I have a Friend from Bellingham stopping by for a bit – student, so it’s a quick visit. Hopefully he’ll like the place:

The view – earlier and later.

And the interior:

Not bad for $56 for the night – 2-bedroom condo with a fireplace and a view – made myself a nice steak dinner, and breakfast for the boy since he was famished from studying all day.

Had the offer to do “The Owner Re-education” for breakfast and some money – passed – made breakfast for myself and headed north.

Stopped at duty-free and got a really good deal – my punch card from Pac-Can Duty Free was full – meaning $10 off on my $22 Jack Daniels 1.14 liter bottle. No THAT’S a deal. And even better – NO ONE in line, either NEXUS or regular – it was like the zombie apocalypse had passed through.

Another hour and I was in line at the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale – and the boys.

And the Indian Vegetarian Snack Stand in the parking lot.

Welcome to the jumping off point to hippy land. And the view is nice….

And a little snack that is NOT on the diet plan – wanted the soft drink, came with fries:

The approach to the island….

The boys are pretty close to the harbour (since I’m now in CanadaLand, I’ll use the Canadian spelling)…this is the Hermitage where I’m staying (4-bedrooms, full kitchen):

The church is down the hill, which, oddly, I didn’t get any pictures – complete with chapel and monastic “cells”, though the boys sleep in a more standard size bedroom. Here is the view from my deck:

This is why they call it the Sunshine Coast:

I had the Hermitage to myself except during the days for meals – which we ate together in the cat-free Hermitage. There was Tobias (Toby) that followed the boys everywhere:

Yep, that’s a whippet – strangely a whippet that has never raced which is a rarity – most are rescue dogs, a lot from Spain.

Good meals, good times:

 

In the morning (late) it was off to town on an errand run… and lunch! Off to Gibbons we go through the fog:

Lunch is in the old part of Gibsons….

Cute little town, complete with a sushi restaurant (our choice after checking out the menus of the places that were open). That would be Sushi Bar Nagomi.

We both got the “box set lunch special” for $10 CAD – with BamBam getting the noodle salad option, and me getting the gyoza option – both came with Miso Soup and a California Roll. $9 for the large Saké. I love their FaceBook review sign in the window: “No Tempura, No [Something Else], Just Fresh Seafood.” True it was.

Back to the house for dinner – just staying the two nights. But not before a little Jinga:

Yep – open floor plan!

Lamb Roast on a bed of potatoes, salad, blood of Christ.

And before you knew it, I was on the road back to Seattle, straight through so I can get ready for dinner with friends on Friday.

[219.8]

Tue
13
Jan '09

Two Pumps And A Quiver.

I wish that was how I could describe my time in Yelapa, but that would not be correct. Two pumps and a quiver is how BamBam describes the stallion’s portion of horse sex. I’m not sure why I like that phrase so much, but I wanted to remember it here today.

Today’s shot is a pantographic shot that I stitched together this afternoon while BamBam was doing watercolors and HummingBird was on the couch reading:

YelapaPanographLowRes

The shot is from our deck. To get to the beach you walk down the hill into town, then walk up the hill to the right, then back down the other side, and then ford a river to the beach.

I’m getting my exercise – we have been doing the beach every other day. Today’s exercise was a walk to the waterfalls closest to town – and definitely the town tourist trap – with all the day boats from Puerto Vallarta unloading their charges and marching them up the hill lined with booths selling this, that, and any other thing. Most of the stuff is traditional tourist stuff that was brought over from Puerto Vallarta – though there was a nice rosewood carver that was offering a shot of the local moonshine with any purchase.

On this, my last full day in Yelapa, my impressions …

  • Noisy – not a quiet life any time of the day or night. Roosters & ranchera (ranch music) bouncing off concrete buildings at all hours
  • Everything comes in my small boat – no roads at all – groceries, bags of concrete, beer, everything but some of the fruits from the jungle
  • There is now power here, and internet access, unlike when Hummingbird started coming here twenty years ago
  • Like any small town, everyone knows everyone’s business (like Lopez Island)
  • Many hills, many steps, much donkey poo to dodge – but I’m getting a workout
  • Ethnically, I think Yelapa is Mexican, Canadian, and then followed by the Americans – at least in the winter
  • Whereas it’s nice to visit, I still like Seattle better
  • Trash everywhere – but that is getting better with collection bags hung on all the major trails
  • Compost tends to go out the window or over the ledge to feed all the feral beasts
  • I’m not the type to go someplace for months at a time
  • Huge amounts of feral dogs and cats – PLUS those that are kept as pets. One of the locals was recommending just scooping up all the cats and drowning them
  • And finally, my general ambivalence about Mexico in general – just the sketchy nature of life down here

That said, I can’t think of a nicer place to visit if you don’t mind everybody living on top of one another on the hillside. For me, it hasn’t been about the destino (destination) but the company. The boys have a very nice life down here, and are generous to make the space available. Though I have to say, rereading the bullet list above doesn’t make it sound that it’s a great place to visit. The food is great, the people that I’ve met are great, I just don’t think I’ve got that snowbird mentality.

Who knows – the boys are here until March 2nd, so I might return if they’d have me.

Last night was taco night at one of the restaurant so we actually ate out. Tonight is camarones (shrimp) and pasta with a side of Cole Slaw… and if I have the energy, fire dancing and flan down the hill at the Eclipse.

Tomorrow is the 10 or 11am boat to back to Puerto Vallarta to wing my way home.

Thu
25
Sep '14

Trip Report: Birthday Ramble – YVR

Got to the condo around 10AM – and check-in as at 4PM.Been there, done that. Left my name and number at the desk, went down the hall to the lounge, gathered a couple of pillows and took a 3-hour nap.

The nap done, it was off to find some lunch…and a coupon from WorldMark to make it cheaper. The choice? Relish, a European Gastropub just around the corner. The deal? 15% off food.

Got there to find the house wine, a Naked Shiraz on offer for $4 a glass, VERY cheap by Canadian standards and not a bad glass pour. I paired it with the Duck Confit tacos ($11) for a wonderful little lunch:

That put me back at the WorldMark around 2PM – room still not ready, so it’s off to the IGA Marketplace with a 10% off coupon to get the rest of the stuff we need for dinner.

Tonight’s dinner guests are Solus+ and Helene. The dinner menu is:

  • Fish that Helene is bringing
  • Sourdough bread
  • Caesar salad
  • Red and White wine
  • Croatian cookies for dessert

But before that can happen, I have to get checked in, which turns out to be around 2:30 – after declining to have them fix a broken light in the kitchen. I think I can suffer.

And oh how I suffer at The Canadian…

Helene arrived around 5, Solus+ around six…alas, none of the dinner picture turned out…might have been the wine…

A late night, and a late morning of sleeping in…did a 3-egg fish scramble with cheese for my breakfast this morning, before settling into getting caught up on the blog… and by 3 it was time for another run to Relish for their oyster happy hour from 3-6PM with oysters at a “buck-a-shuck” – paired nicely with a Beefeater slightly dirty martini in honor of Pucci:

I ended up having a dozen of those “buck-a-shucks”.

Back to the IGA for a little more fish – Helene brought more than enough, but not quite enough for two meals – more salad and a little more for the pupu platter that BamBam always devours….

Croatian chocolate cookies on the left, sliced up heirloom sweet peppers that were on sale at the IGA for .99 a pound.

The boys (Hummingbird and BamBam) got there a little after 6, and with no word from Epick since I emailed him yesterday, finally a text response that he wasn’t coming….would have been nice to know, might not have bought more fish.

But a good dinner it was:

With leftovers for the boys to take home.

Their big news is that they finally, after seven years, have settled with the insurance company over their house fire. The money is in the bank, and they’ve found a place that they want to put an offer on in the city, in a neighborhood that I really like (as does Helene), so I’m wishing them the best of luck.

Another relaxing morning capped with another 3-egg omelet (no fish this time – sent it home with the boys for the cats). Checked out a little after 10:30AM, waited a few minutes trying to flag down a cab and finally just decided to save the $10+ and walk back down the hill to the cruise terminal – at least it wasn’t raining!

This is one of my favorite oddities on Hornby – it’s actually the bottom floor of what is now the Vancouver Art Gallery, but obviously in the past it was a police station…

Showing up at 11am seems to be the thing to do…unless you are on the Holland America boat that isn’t boarding until 1PM since they had a little norovirus outbreak. The downside of the Vancouver Cruise Terminal is that everyone, no matter how many boats are in dock, are all shoved through the same security line….meaning to Elite Line. At least past security – where they always notice my bottle of wine and direct me to the registration table – which I’ve started ignoring since no one seems to notice – there were dedicated lines for Preferred Passengers.

And a waiting area with coffee and pastries — too bad my Cruise Card is still showing Platinum (Silver) rather than Elite (Black) …I hate to start my cruise by bitching someone out, but I want my free mini-bar setup and I’ve got shirts that need laundered and starched.

[? ? ?]

Sun
19
Apr '09

A Day In The City.

Got out of Birch Bay a little before noon and by 12:30 I was across the border with a bottle of scotch on the front seat.

A quick call to Tom and Stephen and a lunch date it set for Red Burrito — yummy, quick, but no Visa/Mastercard so Tom had to pay with his Canadian dollars.

After lunch I took a tour around Hummingbird and BamBam’s burnt out house that has finally started to be worked on:

Got checked into the WorldMark at The Canadian a little after three:

A quick trip to the wine store across the street and to the IGA for salad stuff and I’m ready for dinner company.

BamBam arrived at 6 for a wonderful steak dinner on TV trays since the unit doesn’t have a dining room. Much conversation before he had to catch the last bus home. I offered him the other bedroom (or mine) but with a pile of cats at home if was more important to not return to a disaster.

Oh well.

[? ? ?]

Tue
15
Jun '10

Dinner With Helene and the Boyz.

Had a little time with Devon and Maggie before hitting the road for Canadaland a little after noon.

Twenty-five minute wait at the truck crossing for non-Nexus members, no wait at all for those of us with Nexus cards. Picked up a bottle of Knob Creek ($21 a liter) for cocktails tonight, though I’m sure it will only be myself and BamBam drinking the hard stuff – Helene is bringing wine, Hummingbird, dessert.

After the border, it was off to a different Safeway – my old stand-by has been closed for a new condo development. It turns out that this one is even more convenient as its just off Oak on King Edward, which then I can take to Granville. No provincial liquor store in the parking lot, but a private one.

Dinner tonight? Wild salmon steaks with herbed butter, a big salad, a loaf of bread (with crackers and spread for appetizers). There were only three steaks in the display case, so the butcher cut me four fresh ones.

Here is a shot from the condo before Helene arrived:

That would be BamBam on the left, and Hummingbird on the right.

A lovely evening all around.

[226.6]

Thu
19
Nov '09

Quiet Night In The Condo.

A quite morning around the condo — a couple of over easy eggs before the one o’clock meet and greet with the Vancouver office.

Well, meet and greet was what I had planned — with no appointments scheduled for the sales staff it turned into more of a “bull-pen” session on how to get more people through the door. Two long trip reports later leaves me with just one more meeting tomorrow on my way out of town.

I was hoping that Hummingbird and BamBam would be coming back for dinner tonight — they were the major reason I came up for a couple of days. Alas, not to be. Hummingbird was in the hospital today to get his kidney stone laser blasted. It’s now smaller, but there are pieces that still need to work there way down Mr. Urethra. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

So, no dinner guests — surgery ran two hours longer than they thought it would. Hummingbird is on painkillers, and BamBam will swing by in the morning for the hoodie he left behind and the gift I forgot to give them last night.

For me, dinner tonight is the rest of the salad fixings from last night, a marinated steak from the IGA, this last bit of wine, the last bit of scotch.

And here is the nighttime view from the condo window. It really is a pretty view — though the video doesn’t show all the trees lit up across the street at the Sheraton Wall Centre.

 

Since it’s just me — used one of my (many) WorldMark Video Coupons to get unrated version of Role Models. Yes, my guilty pleasure — crappy teen movies and pulp fiction.

[? ? ?]

Thu
22
Apr '10

Of Scholarships and Irises.

First, a little update on yesterday: trip to Vancouver took an hour longer than usual due to Highway 99 (what I-5 turns into in Canada) being shut down in both directions from a multiple fatality accident. Didn’t get to the condo until almost 5 with a stop for groceries and wine – luckily Helene was running late as well. And BamBam had to cancel as the wedding video he was editing was running way late. Just one of those yesterdays.

And on with today… three eggs over easy for breakfast (and again tomorrow), and then a stroll down to the Nexus office for an Iris Scan so that when I fly into Canada I can use the speed lane at the airport, cutting 45 minutes down to 5. It only took them half a dozen tries to get a decent scan. Thanks Helene for that tip – normally you do it at the airport after going through the line the regular way.

Sushi for lunch after getting a little work done.

Hummingbird and BamBam showed up at 5 for round two of the scholarship reading. Yesterday with Helene was round one. Twenty three scholarships to read this year. I got through about 2/3rds of then last night. It’s a fun task playing god.

Want to know the results?

 

It was a nicer looking graph before I sorted from high to low.

Back to Seattle tomorrow.

[? ? ?]

Tue
8
May '12

Day One – The Canadian.

Checking Out Of The Canadian, Boarding The Canadian.

The blog post sounds confusing… Checking out, checking in, boarding, all The Canadian?

The WorldMark is at The Canadian, across from Wall Centre (home of the Sheraton). The Canadian is also a beer slogan (Molsen?), which BamBam had four of while we were hanging out waiting for The Canadian, the train that runs from Vancouver to Toronto.

Apparently, the Canadians like to call everything “The Canadian”.

My day, after The Canadian, and before The Canadian.

Up at nine, packed and out of the condo at noon. Off to the train station (via SkyTrain, C$2.50) to drop off my bag so they could put it in my “stateroom”, a.ka. a “roomette” on “The Canadian”. Damn, I’m about to wear out the ” key.

After dropping the bag (C$3, which they didn’t charge for the last time, but still totally worth it), I still had time on my SkyTrain ticket – got back on the train to go to the end of the Zone One area, but realized that the first stop was Commercial Drive where I know has nice restaurants for lunch (breakfast was a Slim Jim basically). Basically I have until 8:30pm when the train leaves to amuse myself. Commercial Drive here I come.

My buddy Pucci would like all the old Italian espresso bars, not turned sports:

My favorite memory of this place 20 years ago was of a couple of old Italian guys eating sushi, drinking espresso, and chatting in Italian.

Got off the train and remembered my buddy TomTuma often works from home. Called, and he was home, at least for a glass of fizzy ice water on the rocks before his next appointment:

Damn. Lose 25 pounds and you still look fat next to the skinny one.

Lunch at the Memphis Blues BBQ place close to Toms:

That would be the pulled pork on greens. Where I’m from, those greens would have been mustard and sautéed in bacon fat, not drizzled in a BBQ vinaigrette.

On the way back to the station, stumbled across this lovely duo busking on the street corner… cello and accordion. Can’t wait to check out www.sidewalkcellist.com to see if the accordion player is listed. He’s HOT.

Had to buy another SkyTrain ticket so I started exploring Zone One which is as far as you can go in an hour and a half. Down to Chinatown, Waterfront Station, Marine Drive, and eventually, back where I started: the train station.

The boyz (Hummingbird and BamBam) showed up at 4:30 for one last get together – and off we go to the place across from the train station which is part:

  • Bar
  • Youth Hostel
  • Odd restaurant

Cheap it was. Jameson on the rocks for C$4.50, beers cheaper, and for less than C$20, dinner for the three of us. Not exactly “take a date place”, more of a “pick up some rough trade” place. After lunch I didn’t needtoo much to eat (expecting and receiving sparkling wine and canapés on boarding).

Parted with the boys so they could have an evening, and for me to deal with the excitement of the journey. It’s a long train we have…

We have a seriously LONG train – and I’m in Car 213 which is smack dab in the middle of the train. There are THREE Vista Dome cars, and all-glass Panorama car (we lose that in Edmonton for the west bound run) and bloody TEN sleepers. Now I really see where all the old cool pre-Amtrak equipment went… to Canada. Good thing I’ve got the knee brace on as it’s a long way from one end to the other. Hell, there are even TWO dining cars on this run. 23 pieces of equipment – three engines, a baggage car, two coach cars and all the stuff I mentioned before. We lose the other engine and the Panorama car in Jasper tomorrow at 4 (thought I think we are running late).

The train was so long that to get it into the yard they had to split it in two – the coach/baggage/engines on track 4 and all the rest of the cars on track 5 – it still made for a half mile walk for the folks in Sleeper Car 210.

First – a shot of the Panorama Car which I have never seen on ViaRail before:

Sorry for the crappy picture, but it’s still better than AmTrak’s just for the number of people who can actually sit there… not a bubble dome, but can hold three times the people.

And I’m flummoxed over the last picture of the night, of the room (after the champagne and several cocktails).


So I did both.

One of the most interesting conversations on the train was with the “Bullet Lounge” car attendant who repeatedly had to answer… “Is this where I get breakfast”… “No, that’s the dining car, ask your room attendant.” That the Express Fares have filled up the train with many people who haven’t done this before (I’m channeling Swanda to not be snarky – it took me three times to rewrite that sentence.) Considering that normally my fare would be C$1800 and I got it for C$575 – it’s opened up rail travel in a sleeper to a bunch more people, hence, TEN sleeping cars and TWO coach cars (those were on sale as well).

[? ? ?] The last Alli® pill was on Sunday with my noon meal. And now I’m on a trip with three meals a day, doubtful any carb free. Started this trip at 210 and hoping not to come back as a blimp.

Thu
18
Aug '11

The Gathering Is In Full Swing.

The boys (Hummingbird and BamBam) are up and out before I’m out of bed. Apparently they actually want breakfast though I hear the eggs were good, it’s usually just gruel, fruit and muesli in the morning. Not much in the way of protein, just carbs.

This morning I moved the propane coffee maker out onto the small front. No alarms went off. Whew!

Here’s the view from the front porch:

Actually, it’s from the path in front of the deck, but you get the idea.

Ran through the lunch line so I could get to Devil’s Hole before the sun shrank behind the trees. Here is a shot that I took years ago that we used for the publicity for this event:

The afternoon was spent in domestic bliss, i.e. sitting on the deck reading back issues of The New Yorker.

Usual cocktail party and protein load with the usual suspects before dinner salad. So far so good with staying on the low carb regimen.

Tonight is the Fashion/Auction Show, or would that be Fuction? One of the items being auctioned off is that stunning beaded red dress that I picked up in San Diego last year. It went for $75 which was a wonderful premium on the $7.80 cents that I paid for it. Unfortunately I succumbed to a little auction fever and ended paying $350 for several nights in a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house on the big island. I do need the miles and my guess is that Dancing Bear will split the cost with me. I left the auction before the all the items were sold, having spent my wad and more.

A little post-functioning back at the cabin and off to bed.

[? ? ?]

Sat
14
Aug '10

Vancouver Dinner In Seattle.

Usual Guests, Different City.

I made breakfast for the boys (Johnny and Curt) of scrambled eggs, ham and bacon – with toast from the loaf of bread I baked last night. Yum. And reasonably healthy.

Made a run to Safeway for coffee, gas, and yes, more meat for the freezer, but most importantly – for wine, since we pretty much blew through my “cellar” last night.

And let’s talk about the weather – windows open on all four sides of the house…. As the temperature climbed to 95 degrees today. We are not surprised that Swanda has backed out of dinner on the deck. Offered his place, but with the boys arrival variable, it just wasn’t going to work. Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner at the house tonight for four – BamBam, Helene, Hummingbird (below, in that order).

Tiny pictures for such a full evening. Went to the neighbors party – watched it get shut down by the ex-principal violist for the Seattle Symphony, had some beans, came home.

More chat, no hot tub. Maybe I shouldn’t have filled it.

Off to bed.

[2271]

Mon
22
Aug '11

Slowly Catching Up.

300 plus emails later, the inbox is mostly cleaned up just in time for company arriving tonight. Speaking of emails in my inbox, this one labeled “honourary canuck”:

It being Monday, it must be a wine tasting. Not sure why these happen on Monday’s but 40+ swirl, sips, dumps later, I need a serious drink rather than that damn French grape product. Southwest, Loire, Burgundy, Southern and Northern Rhone — Jimmie’s method is start with the whites running from region to region, then the rosè, then the reds, and finally the dessert wines. I have heard others say they like to alternate whites and reds within a region and then have a cracker or cheese between. Time to get a clipboard to keep in my briefcase.

Swung by the apartment to pick up the new wine shop computer, some stuff for hummingbird, and a copy of Quick Books, also for the shop.

Luckily my house guest, H2O Blanco, or maybe it’s Aqua Blanco, or maybe just Whitewater suffered the same traffic hell as I did yesterday. For Hummingbird and BamBam it was even worse on Sunday with an 11-hour trip that should have taken 8. He got to the house around 6:30 which actually gave me a little time to clean up the place for his three day visit.

Dinner was pan-fried lamb lollichops, with asparagus heads thrown in at the last minute. Yum. Add a salad, wine and conversation and voilè, it’s dinner.

After dinner amusement was AquaBlanco checking out my sauna heater (which he thinks works, but until their is power, not final) and having a cocktail above the house in the rain. Good thing I bought that market umbrella.

[219.2 Looks like I didn’t gain any weight on the road!]

Tue
7
Feb '12

Off To CanadaLand

Again.

Spent the morning babysitting the printer and packing for the trip to Vancouver.

Left the house a little before noon, hit the apartment to drop off Swanda’s car, and pick up the mail and drop off 3 dead toner cartridges (good thing I got more at UW last week) and then to the shop to drop off a 6×6 dishwasher rack to hold our champagne glasses, and then onto the highway with the top down all the way to CanadaLand.

So rare for an early February, reasonably warm and very sunny. Having pulled the temperature at Breitenbush Hot Springs for next week, I’m guessing no snow on the ground.

No line at the border, but it was past 3 when I hit the outskirts of the city, meaning northbound was down to one lane under the river (reversible lanes). I’ll remember that for the next time. Grabbed groceries at Safeway and was checked in with cocktail in hand at 4:20.

BamBam and Hummingbird for dinner tonight. Totally spaced getting a picture. Oh well.

After the PuPu platter, it was a Sunday Roast on Tuesday. Seasoned pork blade roast over a bed of potatoes and onions with a salad. Only a little of the pork left when all was said and done.

Nice to be back in Vancouver and seeing the boys who are just back from a month in Yelapa (just down the coast from Puerto Vallarta).

Helene for lunch tomorrow, Epick for dinner, and Marmot for drinks after.

And now to bed.

[211.2]

Wed
7
Mar '12

Two Big Men.

One Tiny Trunk.

Off to Vancouver today. Rich showed up at 11 and we were out the door at 11:30, with the trunk stuffed within an inch of its life:

And once we are in Vancouver and on the luggage trolley:

Only two of those bags were from grocery and booze shopping.

The condo was ready for us when we checked in at a little after 3, and by 5 when HummingBird and BamBam showed up the pupu platter was on the table. Pork loin, refried beans, salad, wine and much good conversation followed.

Later in the evening DTAW (Darlene, the Ambassadors wife) showed up to pick up copies of the Sign of the Times that she was featured in 24 years ago. Still makes me laugh that our lives intersected long before we knew each other.

[206.1]

Mon
13
Aug '12

Canadian Invasion

Errands during the day, Canadians by night.

NeonBender, Hummingbird, and BamBam arrived a little after 4 and promptly set to work folding and binding all the directories for the faerie gathering. Light work with many hands while I worked on prepping an evening meal and getting the artwork together for towelettes to be handed out at the gathering. Here is the basic jist of what they look like:

While the other side has the phrases:

  • Better Than Bacon
  • Bordeauxing On The Insane
  • Whine A Little
  • Liquid Pleasure

Jillar and Murphy showed up a little after six and they were quickly added to the dinner table. Two roast chickens, a big salad, and some baguettes that looked more like Klingon weapons than bread.

A fun evening, but again, the packing fell a little short.

So much for a 10am departure in the morning.

[209.4]

Thu
29
Nov '12

Dinner Party Day.

A lazy morning after last night’s rambunctiousness. The big goals for the afternoon are a little thrift shopping (didn’t find anything – was looking for some new shorts for the Hawaii trip next week) and a lemon to stuff into the cavity of the bird that Helene is bringing over (and grabbed a few more things for the pupu platter).

Folks started showing up around 5 – that would be the aforementioned Helene, along with Hummingbird and BamBam – and did I remember to get a portrait of all of us, no – just like last night. No documentation.

In addition to the contribution of a happy, organic bird, she also showed up with pre-prepped vegetables to go under the bird and chicken stock to make gravy. This from the woman who couldn’t boil water a couple of years ago. Add in a piece of flank steak on the griddle, a nice big salad and a huge loaf of bread and you have a damn fine meal when accompanied by the requisite white and red wines.

A lovely evening of laughter and conversation – we must be in the midst of the booze and buffet season.

To bed by midnight tonight!

[? ? ?]

Fri
10
May '13

Off The Boat, Onto The Train.

Up at 6, out of the cabin at 7:30, off the boat at 9:30, lunch with Hummingbird and BamBam at noon, onto the train at 5, home by 11:30. Long day.

The Vancouver train station.

An interesting train set, private. Wow. Can’t seem to find any information on it though.

And I was awestruck at the redo of King Street Station in Seattle. I’m just hoping they are going to do some fancy accented paint work since that’s a whole lot of white.

Off to bed for me.

[? ? ? – should be interesting to see what tomorrow’s number is]

Sun
11
Aug '13

Another Day, Another Dinner Party.

The boys from BC (Hummingbird and Cyndi/BamBam) showed up a day early – and way before I got off work so I had to talk them into how to get into the house in my absence (combo for gate lock, combo for key box by the back door.

Meanwhile back at work it was a pretty good day for a Sunday – helps make up for the lackluster week.

Rushed home (again) to start work on the bread. Tonight’s menu is the bread, a big salad, and a bacon-wrapped pork loin – after the remains of last night’s pupu platter.

One additional guest showed up – Mountainé, formerly of Asheville, NC, now of Short Mountain, TN spitting distance from the faerie sanctuary. He’s headed to the coast on Tuesday and is planning on borrowing my station wagon for the trip.

Today’s lovely photo – a stunning sunset. Not bad for a camera phone pic:

Another late evening – at least this one I get to sleep in!

[205.2]