Numerology

My knee and the house are still not totally restored, but I'm convinced that the fact that I turned 71 on June 17, 2017 is auspicious;so many ones and sevens must add up to luck.

I had early birthday dinners with Jay, May and the girls and also with Mo and John, so I have spent a quiet day today,walking to Tai Chi, buying 2 new pairs of shoes at the downtown Vernon Summer Sun Sidewalk Sale on the way home and finally choosing a rug to replace the one that got soaked in the flood. I'm also very lucky to have received birthday cards, emails, FaceTime calls and Kakao Talks from family and friends. I sometimes think of myself as a solitary mollusk and minimalist, but I am frequently reminded of how much I appreciate the love and company of my family and friends. As for being a minimalist, I'm more lazy and cheap. A couple of years ago I stayed in a room with 2 other women on a VOC hiking holiday. At first I felt silently superior as I watched them unpack all their gear. It took up so much space in the room, my stuff very little. But as the days passed and I borrowed more and more things from them we laughed at how a minimalist has to travel with two maximalists.

The water level is receding in the lakes and rivers. We've had some real sun and heat but the last few days have been a bit cloudy and windy, just what I like. It's Ramadan, so Alla lacks the energy for evening English classes and Alex has entered the busy summer construction season, so I haven't had any classes in two weeks. Hiking and biking carry on at a less vigorous pace. There are only a few iris and peonies left in the yard. The roses are blooming. We are approaching the longest day of the year, when I can almost make it through the night without having to get up for a pee.

The picture Colin from the VOC took of me at the Vernon Summer Sidewalk Sale

Walking on the Anderson Ranch above Swan Lake

The last iris of summer 

Avoiding hyperbole

It's hard not to be drawn into hyperbolic argument in these days when superlatives pepper every sentence uttered by the man who considers himself to be the most maligned president in the history of the USA. Should he not instead be thanked by its citizens for generously including them within the walls of his narcissism, protecting them from the threats presented by all manner of foreign degeneracy, evil and failure to meet debt payments? Don't try to argue otherwise. Words will only bounce back; little's ever penetrated that badly thatched head. So abandon rebuttal; just refuse to accept and carry on. Let us not exaggerate. We're not the first to live through a 'post truth', would-be tyrant's time. In the sixteenth century,Michel de Montaigne wrote:
" Truth for us nowadays is not what is, but what others can be brought to accept."

In the Okanagan, we have gone from winter to summer with a cool, wet intervening spring that caused flooding and dropped even more snow on the higher elevations. The water levels are at record heights and are not predicted to stop rising until late June. It's been in the 30s for a few days now. I'm in summer mode, outside until about noon, indoors until around 4 and then out again in the lovely evenings. I inflated the kayak on Sunday morning and paddled with Jane from her place on Lake Okanagan across to the other side and back along the north shore looking at the flooding. Most of the houses are back far and high up enough to be unthreatened but the water's close to some and it hasn't peaked yet. We kayaked among the trees on the shore at Kin Beach.

May and the girls are in Korea. Therein lies a tale that I won't even begin to relate in this blog. I might be accused of exaggeration. Jay came over for dinner last evening. We sat out for quite a while and then repaired to the kitchen counter to eat lasagna and salad, an old family favorite. The dining room table is still covered with plants because the sun room is still full of stuff that doesn't belong there, as is the second bedroom. The tile is great and the baseboards are back and better than ever. The basement is the only holdup, and I'm hoping it will make it onto Brad's to-do list soon. Restoration is a mixed blessing. House cleaning would be futile, so I don't do any, which is great, until you get sick of dodging around things that aren't where they should be, not being able to find stuff and feeling drywall dust, etc. on your fingers every time you touch a surface.

Today I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. O'Brien, the same one I saw when I dislocated my shoulder in 2012. That time he was going to operate but as it took 21/2 years before I was called to get a date for surgery, I didn't bother. I can move the arm well and although I have very little strength in it, I have no pain. Today he advised waiting for a couple of months to see if the knee heals itself as the shoulder did. I'm game for that; it is improving.




Horse Chestnut flowers on the tree in the back yard



Kal Lake as seen from the rail trail




Jane on Lake Okanagan

Just Jen

I'm sitting in Kelowna Motors' waiting room, waiting for the front breaks to be replaced on the car. This last trip to Victoria brought the mileage to almost 92,000 km. The other ongoing waits are the house and the knee. The tile work is done and the knee works on stairs now but not without a noticeable limp. I'm learning to keep laughing through muddles that are beyond my control without expecting much since what's asked of me isn't much either.








This is the promotional poster for Jen's book. Jen is the daughter of Mo's friend. She is currently on a tour promoting her book. As a bonus, she's visiting friends she hasn't been with in a while and some places in Canada she's always wanted to see. I read and really enjoyed her book. It is a well written presentation of herself and the tenacity and humour that have been required to enable her to not just survive but thrive through Multiple Sclerosis. As Mo was her host in Vernon, I was in her company a few times. She has the most lively and expressive eyes and refuses to let a conversation be boring. In spite of the fact that she can hardly make herself heard and is a quadriplegic, she continues to work and look for laughs and love. She has a boyfriend,Tom. In one of the last sections of the book she writes:
" Tom hugged me harder.
He continues to hug me.
I know I don't want to ask a doctor to kill me. There is always the possibility of another kiss."

Sunday, May 7, 2017

I didn't realize when I drove off from Barbara and Terry's that today was the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. I soon discovered it was. The drive from Vic West to Ogden Point took me around the cordoned-off marching zone on to streets I'd never driven. I followed the other displaced persons and eventually saw the ocean and headed for it. I spent the day by the water: walking, reading and eating. I hadn't had any oysters since I arrived, so for lunch I went to Fisherman's Wharf and ordered three fried oysters with fries and coleslaw. Now I'm sitting, bloated, on a rock in the sun and out of the wind near the Oak Bay Marina. It's a beautiful day but the wind is cool.

On the subject of weather, it's flooding in many parts of Canada. Jay is working right through the weekend. There's flooding in many places in the North Okanagan and the water level is not expected to peak until late May. Flooding in Montreal and the area around Ottawa is making the news too. With climate change and an aging population, restoration and elder care are two growth industries. Some people may deny the former but the latter is a true fact ( not a redundancy in this age of fake facts).

After a long wait for tiles, there was finally action at the house last Thursday. They began laying the underlay. The tiles were on their way from Edmonton. On Friday morning Jay had to take over a generator to keep the work going because my house was one of 4,000 in Vernon without electricity. I'm now going to drive home on Wednesday.

My visit in Victoria continues to be a wonderful way to recuperate and wait for restoration. I went with Barbara and Terry and their friends to the Belfry Theatre to see two plays based on two stories by Alice Munro. Reviews were mixed, mine being the most positive but not without reservations. I've been walking with Jenny and Ross and Elizabeth. Barbara and Terry and I have had some delicious dinners together. Tuesday will be our last lunch.

I will drive home on Wednesday unless there are slides, snow or torrential rains on the Coquihalla. At least I was able to vote from here, so I don't feel the urgency I did about getting back. Some of the house plants may be a bit wilted, but at least I've done my bit to perk up the BC Legislature.













The view from where I'm sitting now











A tug turning the Seattle Ferry in the Inner Harbour








Sitting Lady Falls at Witty's Lagoon (Her legs are not in the most ladylike position, and it's spring. One shudders to think of the fall)

Victoria

I'm happy to say that the docks at the Oak Bay Marina are still open to the public for walking along, looking at the boats and seals and listening to the whir and clang of rigging in the wind. A couple of days have been very windy. I often think of finding new walks but so far have been drawn back to the ones I know and love along the ocean. When the wind is wild and the water rough even a stroll along the shore with a bad knee feels like an adventure.

After so many years together, Barbara, Terry and I settle easily into our rhythm of morning coffee every day, some meals together and lots of long talks. Last night I joined them for a really good dinner, a recipe Terry had found on line, followed by the last episode of the new tv version of "Anne of Green Gables." They have watched the whole series, but I had been avoiding it because I didn't like the trailers and I object to all the ads. on CBC. But I liked what I saw last night. The acting is very good. I will watch more.

I've had some good visits with Liz and Ross: an excellent Thai dinner, a rousing game of Crazy Eights with their grandkids and a walk this morning in an area I've never been before. It was quite a long walk and my knee felt mostly fine.

Jay sent me a message on Thursday saying that the tile had not yet come in, but I hope it is there by now and that the restoration will be advanced enough for me to move back in by next Monday evening. I want to be home to vote on May 9 even though I know that my support for the NDP will not guarantee their win.




Barbara and Terry at our lunch at The Penny Farthing







On the walk mom and dad called the Turkey Trot near The Oak Bay Marina




This might be the last time I see the old Blue Bridge opening for a boat

On the road again

The young plumber arrived before I was even dressed, and the rest of the day maintained that buoyant pace. Fortunately, I had gone to the bathroom before he burst into my solitary shell because the first thing he did was dismantle the toilet in preparation for the laying of tiles that will take place while I am gone. I shut my bedroom door and dressed, resigning myself to the fact that I would be driving to Victoria without even brushing my teeth or washing my face. As I took out the garbage and compost, two more vans pulled into my parking spot. Jay and his crew had arrived. Four young men carrying tools and getting down to work is more excitement than I've had come into my house in the early morning in ages. So began my day and it has continued buoyant until this moment when I sit in the Marina coffee shop in Victoria typing this blog as I drink a light but tasty ale, which I will finish before they close at 6:00pm, in three minutes.
More anon.

The women cleaned up without interrupting me. I finished my beer in peace and left as pleased as Jim was when we had dinner in a little trattoria in Rome and the waiter topped up our wine for free because he saw we needed a bit more to finish our dinner with. It's the little things that make us and break us.

It was sunny from Vernon to Victoria, except for some cold icey rain at the summits, where the snow still overhangs the rocks and goes right to the edge of the road. Once CBC radio began to crackle as I approached The Connector, I put in a Billy Joel cd that I hadn't listened to in ages and felt as young again as the men I had left behind at the house. It's amazing how six weeks with a knee that won't let you walk up and down stairs without pain can be wiped out by having nothing to do but put the peddle to the metal and listen to some good music.

After beer at the Oak Bay Marine, I went for a walk around mom and dad's old neighbourhood. The first sad note of the day hit me when I tried to walk out on the docks where the boats are moored. The entrance to the ramp was locked. I don't want to jump to conclusions as I used to do in my youth. I haven't been able to jump to anything in the last six weeks. Maybe a sharp pain in the knee jolts one into wisdom. Perhaps it was later than when dad and I used to go for our walks to look at the boats. Maybe they've always locked up at night. I will not yet add that to the list of upscale developments that struck me as I walked around Oak Bay and drove through downtown Victoria after my beer.

How lucky I am to have a home to return to in this beautiful city. I am happily sitting at the little table in Barbara and Terry's basement suite, drinking Terry's beer, which is as good as the one I had at the Marina, and finishing the huge lunch I'd packed.

Last time I came here with a new inflatable kayak and my bike. This time I have my yoga mat and ball to do the exercises the physiotherapist gave me and a cane my dad made for himself one year when they visited us in Wakefield.
And so it goes.







Starting the trip as I always do since Mela, Don and the Pollocks gave me a Tim's card in their farewell gift basket when I headed west in September, 2010.








On the ferry to Victoria














Flowers that greeted me in Barbara and Terry's yard

Restoration

As we approach the Easter weekend, I have high hopes for restoration, if not resurrection. Rob, the drywall man with Okanagan Restoration, finished his work in the basement today, and I made it through a set at Tai Chi this morning without feeling too much pain, not that I've memorized the set, but I can do it as long as the people in the corners, on whose every move I focus, do it correctly. The house will be restored by the time I return to it from two weeks in Victoria at the end of April and beginning of May. My knee is not such a sure thing, but I'm resting it and doing the exercises the physiotherapist gave me, so there's hope.

There are so many violets in the yard that I can smell them, especially when it's warm, which it rarely has been recently. But we are supposed to get sun and heat tomorrow, so their perfume might fill the air and the blooms on the forsythia may fully open in a blinding splash of yellow at the corner of the house.

This weekend was mostly grey but warm enough to give May and me the same idea, put away the winter clothes and bring out the light, bright summer things. I went to Jay and May's for dinner last night and we had our usual feast. I brought some of the food, May made the rest, Jay had worked on Saturday so was enjoying a Sunday of rest, the girls were in good moods and the sun came out around five. Their deck faces the setting sun as it shines on the north end of Lake Okanagan and over the rolling hills that form one side of the valley that Vernon sits in. What more could one ask for?

Happy Easter.

The forsythia starting to bloom in the front yard

Hyacinth and violets in the back yard