It's 8:38pm and still bright outside. The sun won't set until 8:54. It shone down on Victoria all day today. After coffee, Barbara and Terry treated me to a visit to the Royal BC Museum's special exhibit from Guatemala, 'Maya: The Great Jaguar Rises'. I had never before seen examples of Mayan languages, which were a feature of this exhibit as this is UNESCO'S Year of Indigenous Languages. I had lunch with them and shortly after walked back to the museum to meet Liz and Ross to watch the 3D IMAX documentary,  "Great Bear Rainforest". It put you right into the grandeur of the old growth forest, its rivers and the creatures that live on the land and in the ocean off its shore. So I had two rainforest experiences on a very sunny day. I walked home slowly enjoying the warmth and watching all the activity along the inner harbour and gorge. 

I finally launched my inflatable kayak at Willows Beach this week. What a procedure. I think I entertained an old couple sitting on a bench near me. I call them old because they looked older than I and I heard a story on the news this week in which the reporter referred to an "elderly" man who later in the story was revealed to be 71. That's younger than I am, so I think that reporter would call them old. 🤣 I tried to be methodical as I blew everything up, so it took time, but it worked perfectly. The tide was very low so even though I inflated it on the beach, I had to pull it a long way out before I could get into it. A seal dove right beside me as I paddled along the breakwater of the Oak Bay Marina. It was fun to be back on the ocean on a sunny, calm day. 

I have had some good bike rides, visiting all the bays around Victoria and on the Galloping Goose but not yet on the new bike lanes that run through the city. 

Liz and Ross invited me again this year to their Indian dinner with Jill's family and in-laws. It was delicious and fun, an entertaining assortment of talented adults and kids. 

A page from a Mayan text from the classic period

Barbara, Terry and I went to the Victoria Day Parade again this year. This is part of the Chinese section. I think these boys are extra legs for one of the dragons, but I thought they were cute because they looked so lost. 

A beached whale near the Oak Bay Marina

My favorite piece of driftwood art

Me with Ross in the driveway at their house. 

Yesterday I biked again along the coast fromVic West to Cadboro Bay to meet Liz and Ross for a walk to FinnertyGardens. It’s a pleasant climb and the flowers are gorgeous, especially the rhododendrons. After we drove to meet Jill for lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish in the Inner Harbour. It’s just a couple of containers made into a food truck but it has become very popular. The line was long but the wait worth it. I had the best crispy oysters I have ever eaten. 

A beautiful garden on the walk up to Finnerty Gardens

Liz and Ross on the path up to the gardens. 

Victoria

I just woke up in the line of cars waiting for the Tsawwassen Ferry to Victoria. I arrived about 45 minutes ago, went to the bathroom, returned to the car, got as comfortable as I could, given that my inflatable kayak is pushed up against the back of the driver's seat and fell right off to sleep. I've been hepped up for a while, being more nervous than usual about leading the VOC Mother's Day hike up Sugarloaf because my breathing continues to deteriorate and then preparing to drive to Victoria. Messaging with Jay on Kakaotalk before the hike helped a lot.

He sent me a meme that was perfect. It gave me a real laugh. The hike went well; it was a fun activity. I spent Monday getting ready for the trip. 

Blossoms on one of the crab apple trees at city hall in Vernon

All went well until I discovered this morning that the garbage can I had filled with water last night so that Ama, the teenager who lives on the street and looks after the house when I'm away, could water some of the new plants was empty. I hadn't seen the hole in it as I filled it. I replaced it with  the other garbage can and started packing the car. With the inflatable kayak, which I haven't used since the last time I visited Barbara and Terry, my relatively new ebike and all the other gear, the Mazda 3 is fully loaded. The drive went well until Hope. From there to here it rained, very heavily. In fact sometimes it was hard to see so I had to turn off the wonderful CD of Barchester Towers that I was listening to and really concentrate on the road. But it's stopped now and there are even patches of blue in the sky. 

Now I'm at Barbara and Terry's. We've had our first morning coffee and chat and I feel much better than I did at 4:30am when I was wakened from an already fitful sleep by the beep of my iPhone announcing a message from my brother who's in TBay where it was a civilized 7:30am. But there's an up side to the story. I couldn't get back to sleep so turned on the radio where some time after 6:00am I heard an interview with a man who, along with his son, built a floating house. I learned that they were having it pulled by tug to Fisherman's Wharf today. So I walked there after coffee and arrived in time to see the whole move. It was an impressive feat because the house was large and the berth a small one. Also the boat that did the final tugging was a small motor boat. 

The builder, his son and the manager of the wharf

The big house and the little tug

The house snuggled in with its neighbours

Barbara and Terry have invited me for dinner tonight, and I look forward to a good sleep because I walked over 10k today. 

Book club and weed whackers

Miriam and Jane are two women whose friendship has helped me and made me realize how unused I am to including others in what I'm doing. Starting alone and from zero here in Vernon has taught me a lot, and these two women, Mo and John and a few others have been my teachers. Without them I would be a hermit. 

However, being included is not always perfect. I have now been part of Miriam and Jane's bookclub for over three years. It has not been a total success. Our meetings are once a month. Each year we each host one meeting at which we discuss a book of our choice. All of the book choices and dates are decided upon in January. Each year I have chosen a book I thought was wonderful only to be surprised to discover not many of them shared my opinion. Aside from one or two members each time, the reception of:

Who Do You Think You Are, by Alice Munro,

Swing Time,by Zadie Smith and 

burial rites, by Hannah Kent, has not been enthusiastic. 

But then I haven't liked all their choices either, including the one I'm flipping through and skipping much of for May's meeting, Poland by James Michener. I thought it might be interesting because I've been reading books by and about Joseph Conrad lately, but it's too long and rambling. 

The leaves are almost fully out. I smelled my first lilac yesterday and my electric lawnmower has died, or at least it's too ill for me to repair. I used it for the first time about two weeks ago, and, aside from the fact that the battery was weak after spending the winter in the garage with the mower because I can no longer pull it out, the blade was so dull it didn't bite the grass, it gummed it. Jay left me the last time with a few bits of advice about using tools, among which was the expression, righty tighty / lefty loosey. I tried this out in an attempt to remove the blade to get it sharpened but I couldn't budge the nut. John then tried but to no avail. In fact turning against the rule did loosen the nut a bit, but not completely, so, after six years of service, the electric lawn mower rests in pieces in the garage. I bought a weed whacker on sale for fifty percent off at Canadian Tire. I have been working since I moved into this house to get rid of the front lawn by enlarging the garden and now I am motivated to finish the job this spring. I have been transplanting sage and lavender. I love them and they do well in this area. And yesterday I bought and planted an elderberry, so in a few years I will be able to make wine and put some old men out of their misery.  

Shooting Stars on Middleton Mountain