Trying to find a balance

Schools have opened again in S. Korea!  I was happy to get a Seoul subway report last night as Jay headed back after two weeks off. That's good to hear; although, as is always the case in these uncertain Covid days, there might be another shut down if the government decides to take precautions in a couple of weeks during the Chuseok and Hangulnal holiday periods. Here in BC the main preoccupations are school openings, possible provincial elections and smoke from horrendous fires in Oregon, Washington State and California. Schools are open, but not without some snags, the New Democrats are high in the poles so may want to run for a majority and B.C. still isn't burning but is shrouded in smoke from the USA. 

The Monday bike, which was supposed to be an 80km rehearsal for Lynne's 80th birthday ride on October 18 was cancelled because of dense smoke in the air, so I am sitting in my sunless sunroom surrounded by haze. It is a fitting setting for these Covid days of uncertainty. A vague smell of smoke is entering the house and it's cool in here for the first time in months. Will I have to turn on the heat? Have I made it through another Okanagan summer without turning on the air conditioning? Is that really anything to celebrate? Perhaps, if you're desperate for an upside. 

The better news is that I had a wonderful kayak breakfast on Gardom Lake with Mo on Sunday and yesterday I picked all the Italian plums on my tree. They are delicious. I froze some in heavy freezer bags and boiled others into compote for winter. And I am reading a wonderful book, Utopia for Realists , by Rutger Bregman. He's a young Dutch writer I first heard of on PBS', 'Amanpour and Company', a programme I really like. He is well known for this book and for his TED Talk, ' Poverty isn't a Lack of Character, it's a Lack of Cash'. All is not lost. 

I thought this was a really small island on Gardom Lake but it turned out to be a very old raft with a diving board on it that probably hadn't been used in many years. 

This is a picture of Jay taken last week. He has been working out for years, sometimes at gyms but mostly at home doing weights, calisthenics and yoga with a minimum of equipment. It is paying off.