I realized as I lay in bed that the pavers were coming today and that I was staying over with the grandkids the next three nights as R&R went to Mazatlan, so I got my butt out of bed to pack and load my car.
It was mid afternoon when I got a text from Tracey that the pavers were at my place. I raced over there in time to show them where I needed the fence post holders hammered in. I really enjoyed watching the whole process of the bathing and had some great chats with the guys. Even Rick the owner of power paving stop by laughed and called me Foreman. It’s perfect timing since I’m staying at the kids as I can’t drive on it for three days. They promised to come back next week early and put my carport back in place. I flipped the loony into the middle of the driveway and it landed heads up and they paved over it for good luck.
Back at the office I got a lot done before meeting Rosie and Mom at Ella’s for dinner where Rosie uncle Bryan & Auntie Lynne bought mom (& me) dinner for her birthday. it was a lovely visit and a delicious dinner.
I then came to the house and laughed because I had so many texts from the boys or the last couple hours checking in and asking for friends to stay over and places to go, etc. It actually was pretty great. Once I got there, Sawyer and his friend Jacob and Will and I all played Mario party on the switch. It used to be Jake and my favourite game. We had a lot of fun and then came downstairs to settle the three of them in the living room where they desperately want to sleep. I sat at the dining room table, reading my book and waiting for Paul one of the Homestay student and his friend Max to come home. Everyone has been very respectful and I am heading off to bed because I am exhausted.
Got a lot done at work, enjoyed Rotary lunch. It was special that Rick acknowledged the crib board I made and how much it earned at convention he also told the story of spilling his beer on me to much amusement. I told about my visit to the Vancouver meeting and we all sang happy birthday to Ashley.
After work I stopped to put things in Gene’s freezer and had a good hug from Will. I met Sawyer in the street and we had a good snuggle. We are all looking forward to me staying there for the next three nights as R&R leave for Mazatlan tomorrow.
I had a short visit with Rae-Anne at Encore before Brett and then Ashley showed up for trivia. We had fun and came in second winning tickets to a show that we agreed the birthday girl should have.
Up and off to Home Depot for fence post holders that can be put in and paved in.
Worked all day with a client’s auditors. Had a nice lunch at Firehall with Rae-Anne to catch up.
After work I headed for dinner at Dave and Deb’s to plan the details of our Rome portion of the trip. A search of many spots led us to a condo with two bedrooms and two bathrooms in the Trevere area where we wanted to be at a reasonable price. It was a lovely evening and another part taken care of made us more comfortable.
At o e point in the afternoon a couple arrived at my office door to drop off the painting that Dan Riordan did for me. I had bought the painting and was going to pay for it to be shipped but his sister and her husband were coming through on the way to Alberta and brought it. Very kind.
I had a decent sleep last night and woke up at a decent time, thank goodness. I was enjoying my first coffee when I got a call and power paving was in my neighbourhood and ready to come prep. I asked for half an hour so I could jump in the shower and be ready and suddenly there was a whole crew at my door. They were absolutely amazing because I was not at all ready for them. They even dug up my bulbs and put them into pots moved to all of my things very nicely, unscrewed all the fence and things that needed to be and started removing the pavement in my three car parking area and the walkway to my steps. Thank goodness the landscapers came yesterday lol
At the office, I managed to get a great deal done on an audit for one of my main clients as well as some other things before the day was suddenly over. I swung by Encore for a bevvy and a catch up with Rae-Anne. She didn’t have much time so we are going to try to get together for lunch tomorrow. I was so thrilled when I got home to see the prep work. I hope they can pay it soon because my carport is against my neighbor’s fence on the road.
I do need to go get a couple of fence post holders put in place so that they can be paved in and solid. I should probably do that tomorrow.
After the call from Sawyer last night, I could not get to sleep so I crashed once I finally fell asleep and got out of bed at 11:30. I really needed that. The family made a beautiful final resting place for Obi and Rae shared what Sawyer wrote in the book out at the cabin. So so very touching.
I went to the office and ran one of my payroll before Ashlée came and picked me up to go for lunch at Quesada. We had a nice visit and I was happy to hear it was just a visit. There was no bad news to share. She had come down from Edmonton since she has a dentist appointment in Calgary tomorrow and thought it would be great to see the family. I am happy that she wanted to spend time with me.
She dropped me back at the office and I got another big payroll done and a bunch of data entry before coming home to find the Weed Warriors had been here and done an amazing job on my yard. They left the hose draped over the fence and didn’t put up my lights in a nicer way in the tree as they had promised, but I was so happy with the results it didn’t matter. I spent some time putting my hoses back down where they belong and just enjoying how beautiful it all was. A little later I received a message that they had to hurry to get to the transfer station and we come back tomorrow to deal with the hoses and the lights. I highly recommend them and think I will use them more often.
I was very happy to find that my Fluevogs came with treats and a card. This whole experience restored my faith in the brand and I can’t wait to wear my new shoes tomorrow if it’s not raining. 
I had a day of unpacking and resting and then I just received a very sad call
Sawyer called to tell me that Obi had died. My poor sweet grandson was beside himself with grief. Devastated that he couldn’t say goodbye because he was already dead. Hearing the pain in his voice was so hard. It happened out of the cabin and they will find him a proper resting place. It will take Sawyer the longest probably because he has never known a world without Obi. Here are a few of the pictures that I have.
I got up and ready, had coffee with uncle Bryan and aunt Lynne, breakfast with Rosie, and then loaded stuff and Mark into the car and off we went. Thankfully, it is a nice day. We only went in and out of a couple of little cloudbursts, otherwise it was sunny and pretty. In spite of it being Saturday of a long weekend, there weren’t as many idiots on the road as my mother calls them.
We listen to Daisy Jones and the six on Audible, chatted a bit, and made it to Kaslo. Town is very busy as it is May days there. I drop Mark with assurances that he would be fine before finding a parking spot and wandering down town to the market to pick up some food to eat before going to see Daphne and meet her partner Dean. They have a wonderful kayaking/adventure store. We had a nice talk before I left. She called me an angel, but I think she is as she really spends a lot of her time looking out for Mark because he has no one else. I did the perceived hero thing by driving him there and being at the hospital and getting him back, but that was a short term thing. He is very grateful and he is making a plan to pay me back for gas and parking which I would really appreciate. And if he does, we can claim it on his taxes next year so win win.
While I was sitting waiting at the ferry at Balfour I noticed a ghost car and I marked RCMP vehicle show up. When the ferry arrive from the other side, the ghost car parked, waiting for the cars to begin unloading. It looked like crew must’ve reported people drinking in a car or errant behaviour as a car was pulled over and a guy very amiably seemed to get out of his car in front of everyone in the parking lot before being breathalyzed, patted down, etc. I don’t think he was going anywhere in a car unless it was the backseat of the cruiser.
I made it home just after 8:30 mountain time and unloaded the car before settling down to have the last of the food that I had purchased in a beverage and relax in my La-Z-Boy with my foot up which really needed it. And I say my biggest disappointment was that the landscapers didn’t come when I was gone like they promised and now it’s even more work than before. It is nice to see how much my trees filled in while I was gone though.
I don’t know how to sum up the last two weeks that started with Rotary convention, involved so many good visits and Vancouver experiences, and included the stress of all things related to my friend having surgery. I like to think that I was a good friend to him, but I also know that I was a little short as I was also grieving the loss of my Jackie. I think the best part of the whole thing though was the time that I got to spend with my Jake. We haven’t spent that much time together since we lived together and it was just easy and good for my soul. I love him so and now he is in Taipei for a bit of a vacation and a trade fair . I look forward to hearing about it almost as much as I look forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight 
I had a decent sleep. Ran to payroll first thing and then enjoyed a delicious Rosie prepared poached steaks on toast with the most perfect bacon ever. She cooked it on parchment in the oven and it comes out to the perfect crunchiness. I didn’t mind playing server to mark over the course of the day, bringing him meals and beverages, etc., as he seems to be doing better. I am really glad that we took this day to relax here though. I love hanging out with Rosie. We went to get some groceries for dinner and I paid 129.99 for gas rather than the 169.99 in Chilliwack.
Uncle Bryan took me to meet a neighbour who is a serious collector. Mark was kind enough to let me take a couple pictures of what was only part of his massive collection. He also owns one of two produced mad Max vehicles!
Auntie Lynn, Rosie, and I hung out and chatted before a delicious barbeque pork dinner. After dinner, we watched Albert Nobbs, starring Glenn Close. It is odd and amazing in the same breath.
I laughed when I saw the sticker on the side of their microwave
It was a very nice day and I’m very glad we stayed
 I was awoken by a text for 730 this morning. It seems that the plans for 10 AM. Were shifted to noon. I proceeded as planned originally and got myself ready and Jake helped me pack my car before he was ready to leave for work. As it happens the extra time I had available allowed me to take him to drop off the vehicle. He was driving for work and we stopped at his favourite coffee shop, which I love the name of. Well there I bought a travel version of the coffee maker that I have been using at his house for the last week now. It is truly the best coffee I’ve had in a long time.
I realize that he was going to have to take a skytrain and help to get to the office where his car was and I had the time so I drove him to work and had our last little visit. I have truly enjoyed this time spent sharing a space with him again. We haven’t had opportunity to spend good quality time together for a long time, and I treasure it deeply.
Then I drove back to make it to the hospital by 11:30 only defined that my friend was in no way ready to leave yet, and it was several hours before we could. This caused me a little bit of stress as now we were going to be leaving the lower mainland during rush-hour. I offered to get him a wheelchair as the exit was a long way away, but he was sure he could walk When we made it out of the street I told him to take a time and go sit on the bench and I will go get the car. I came out of the underground parking lot to go where he was supposed to be sitting only to find a meal on the ground with someone near him in the safety vest as he had had his legs give out under him and was kneeling in the rain. I was horribly distraught, but he was OK and we got him into the car and on our way. I can’t say I wasn’t annoyed by the whole situation as a wheelchair would’ve avoided that problem. It took me a while to calm down.
The freeway was very crowded and at one point I was amused to see collectors plates on a Honda Accord. Many years ago, I wondered what would be the collector cars of an era where many things were made out of plastic. Question answered.
 it took a very long time just to get to Chilliwack to fill up with gas and I was getting Hangry as it was already 5 o’clock and I have had a muffin and a small yoghurt all day. There were three hours left to go, however, so we continued on and God bless auntie Lynn for making dinner and keeping it for us when we arrived finally just after eight.
I got him settled and then I had something to eat and talked to him so that we agreed to stay for another night in order for us to relax tomorrow and allow me to get my payroll done that needs to be done. My ankle needs the break from the driving and so does his body. I felt much better after making that decision.
Rosie and I watched the Greta Garbo documentary, which was very interestingly done and a fascinating look at a complicated life. I think she would’ve been great being a theatre actress and avoiding the publicity of the machine of Hollywood.
I got a good chunk of work done today and then I went to visit Mark to bring him his bag of clothes as it seems they are going to let them out around 10 AM tomorrow. He sent me home with a couple of bags of supplies that he will need at home. It is good to see him progressing.
On the way to see him I did stop at two of the stores that I walked past the other day. That each appeal to a different part of my personality. The corset museum was beautiful, and I loved the smell of leather in the Re-rides store.
Next, I headed to Richmond centre mall as they have the Lego store. It was is nice to wander a mall and I wish that I had gone sooner because the Hudsons Bay was still open and there was some great deals on really nice clothing, but I didn’t have time to try anything on. I did, however buy a mannequin head. It was $50. Everything else was 200 and up. And there was only one of it left. I wish I could’ve brought the Moose home. It would’ve made a great lawn ornament.
I did drop a little bit at the Lego store and even got a gift for Jake. They gave me my own Lego passport with a whole bunch of stamps from today’s visit. Fun, fun.
I also managed to find two different pairs of hiking sandals, so to speak, as mine were so worn out I left them behind in Ecuador. That’s enough for the shoe shopping this trip lol OK really for a while.
Other than that, I just bought a comfy pair of pants on sale at Old Navy and I’m looking forward to wearing them on the trip home.
I ended the day with happy hour appys at White spot, which were delicious and then I was getting tired and came home to organize and sort my things and have everything ready to load the car and go in the morning.
Not sure where Jake is I thought he was home, but I think he used his app to turn the lights on for me before he even got here It has been funny to have the lights suddenly go on or off during my day. Of course I love automation and technology.
I almost bought one of these adorable items but I refrained
It’s time to go home because I like it here too much. The sites and smells and shapes and colours of the city fill me up
My brother woke me out of a dead sleep at 6:30 this morning and caused me great concern because I didn’t have my glasses on to see that it was him and I was afraid it was the hospital and something had gone wrong.
I did get a good deal of work done which was satisfying and then I went to visit Mark and strongly. Encourage him to push himself harder and get moving so that he would be released as I have promised Jake that I will leave his apartment Thursday if possible, or at the very latest early Friday morning as he needs to get ready to head to Taipei. To his credit, Martin did get himself out of bed and go for a short walk down the hall and back with intention to sit for a while afterwards these are good things which should help get the system working again so that they feel he is good to go.
From there it took me 55 minutes to go 26 km across the city directly east from the hospital for dinner with my cousin Michael, Shanna and Parker in Port Coquitlam. We had such a nice visit and a delicious meal. Unfortunately Shanna has been having problems with her ear and need to go lie down. I felt bad for. Parker spent time explaining to me about his geology courses that he’s taking showing me rocks and his notebook from his field trip. It is so great to see a nearly 20-year-old light up about the studies he is taking. And my clothes always it’s just so lovely. Their whole family is just so real and kind and lovely. Michael gave me the stuffy that he bought at the llama and alpaca rescue place that We went to see. I can’t believe their cats are from the same litter! It was only 20 minutes back as it was no longer rush-hour.
Had a little hangout and a dram of scotch with Jake as I had missed doing that on the anniversary of my dad‘s crash last Thursday.
I admit that each day longer that I am here I less want to go home. I love the city so much.
I woke up with one of my nails beginning to damage and I couldn’t ignore it any longer, so I looked up reviews on nail salons near me that do acrylics. I used their contact on their website and got ready just in case and then started working. It didn’t take long to hear back. I spent a lovely time at the crafty nail bar getting a deluxe pedicure, the beautiful manicure with what they call mermaid polish.
My nail technician had one of the most delightful tattoos I have ever seen. It just brought me joy seeing it.
Next, I took my car for a pampering service
I parked back at the apartment and walked the neighborhood. The name of the park nearby amuses me. Eventually I ended up a Burgoo again for happy hour. It is a beautiful day and I sat and read my book for a while before stopping for snacks at Save-On and heading back to my temporary office.
Got quite a bit done and am relaxing watching my shows. I love my app that let’s me watch on my iPad what I have recorded on my pvr
I woke up at 9:30 having had the best sleep since I arrived in town. It might’ve been the prescription antihistamine before bed, but in any case I really needed that. Jake went for a haircut. I answered messages and talked to Ashlée and sent Mother’s Day messages to my friends and of course my mom. I’ve been jumped in the shower and got ready. Jake came back and did the same and he drove us to ANZA club wear Jackie’s celebration of life was to be held.
It really was beautiful, even if it got started very very late because her brother and his wife had some kind of issue with their flight and got here late. Reid did an amazing job putting together a slideshow which he went through slide by slide telling little stories. There was a delicious table of food and a cash bar. they had brought in Molson Canadian and Jaeger Meister in Jackie’s honour. There were speeches and tears. Mostly family were there and I was a little sad not to see more of her friends, but that made me even more glad that Jake and I were there. I did get up and talk about her and that was good because it made it more real and this part of the letting go.  it was nice to see Derek and Tyler there to support Reid.
Jake, Candace, Reid, Me
We left went separate ways at the apartment as I was a little bit beside myself. Jake reminded me that Stanley park is my place of healing. I stopped for an hour long visit with Mark and when I talked to the nurses discovered that he is behind in his recovery and I told him that they should feel free to be stern with him and get him to do the things because he will opt out and I need him to get ready to go home. He tried to tell me he can get someone to volunteer to drive him home. I dare say that’s a pipe dream
I decided to head downtown and see if I could find a good seafood meal but there is no parking near where I want to go so I just auto pilot at two Stanley Park and ended up doing the drive around before stopping at Stanley Park brewing. I was able to get a seat right away at the bar and they put down the list of the daily tap to see that the first one on the list was Anzac. Now, that did make me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I had a bucket of prawns and the most delicious edamame I have ever had. I enjoyed my bartender, Sabrina and the entertainment of Josh, who introduced himself to me and said it was just all about being happy. I bought the cutest little glass as my souvenir of this entire trip and wrote a note to leave it for Sabrina and Josh to let them know that they’re smiling and being kind without even knowing what was going on made a difference. I do find that why most important moments of internal pain are easier to handle when I am alone in a crowd, just soaking up the energy of those around me and reminding myself to breathe.
I had a nice relaxing morning and then got ready as Julie picked me up right around noon. Well actually, I pulled up my car, She parked and I drove. Found a Parkade down in Gastown right across from where I had bought my Blundstone clogs. They just didn’t fit well enough and cause blisters and were too much money to only wear once in a while. They took them back, no problem as there was no wear on the soles. We then headed down the street to Leo to pick up my first pair that they re-soled for me. I was nervous to try them on as I haven’t worn them in years, but they were so comfortable like older friends and I am so happy. Here are the before and after pictures.
Bennett
I did still want a pair of flat comfortable stylish shoes so I asked to try on the gorgeous pair. I had my eyes on. Chad, who had helped me for all three of the times that I have gone there said he would bring a pair over from their Granville store, which is where I got my original ones and would hold them until Thursday when he would refund them to my credit card and charge them out at 25% off as it would be Fluevog Day and I will likely not be in town and then he will ship them to me for free. Honestly, it was the best experience and I can’t wait to wear them at home.
As I went to take my card out of my wallet, my wallet completely fell apart. Of course, that was also a good excuse to take advantage of being there and I bought a beautiful leather wallet, but I will try to remember to take a picture of tomorrow.
We next headed down to the Black frog and had a delicious meal and a good chat. The board advertised a kidney wash which made me chuckle as it was a cranberry vodka and soda
We headed over to the eight McMillan planetarium where we started our time in the Museum of Vancouver. It has really updated since I was there last, but many of my favourite things were still there, especially the neon from around the city. The addition of the aboriginal display just added so much.
Next, it was upstairs to the actual planetarium where we watched a 15 minute show called me, Mesmerica. It was really very good and I can only imagine that it would’ve been even better had I been enhanced.
I was so happy that I mentioned to Julie. I had wanted to go on the flyover Vancouver. She has never been on one of those rides and was happy to agree so we headed down to Canada Place. I had bought the tickets on the app so we were there early enough to wander around and take some pictures and cruise the gift shop which I as soon as the show was over I went back and bought a beautiful candle and a place mask because I only need one and I love it.
We decided by now it’s time for dinner so we walked over to Jack Poole Plaza to eat at the cactus club. We had a lovely spot out on the heated patio and a great server. He was very engaging when he found out about my trip to London where he lived and the fact I went to Theatre school, which is what he did there . all these things came up naturally in conversation and it turned out, as he put it, he lurked around us as he was enjoying the conversation so much. Julie and I had a very big giggle and he got a laugh when he came over to our table and I showed him that I had brought my own place mat.
It was a lovely stroll back to the parking lot and then back to swap out parking spots again as Julie has an hour drive home still. Another great day and texting with Mark and sending him pictures seems to be helping him as well.
I was awake at 630 again so I lounged a little and watched a few of my shows before taking a shower and settling down to get some work done. I laughed that Jay gave me I told to use that was a shower gift just after he was born. I have the matching one with my name on it. Those were good quality towels that have stood up for 30 years. I offered to buy him new towels for his birthday, but he says he has good ones. They’re just in the wash right now.
I got a good amount of work done and then went to visit Mark who has had a tough day. He was sleeping when I got there so I waited for an hour to have a very short visit and talk with his nurse. Still no estimated time of departure. I do need to have that talk with Mark that it would mean a lot to me if he listens to everything they’re telling him so as to no longer complicate things and hopefully get us home sooner than later. his friend Daphne from Kaslo and I had a good textorama about his aftercare. We are both worried about him, but also acknowledge that it is up to him. She said suggested I bring him mittens so that he can’t pick up and put things in his mouth that he’s not supposed to lol the nurse thought it was a very good idea.
I was surprised to find Jake at home as I thought he was going out this evening, but we got to hang out and that was lovely. I had my leftover steak from the other night. He made himself some chicken and then we hopped in his car and went down the hill for what must be the best ice cream I’ve had in a very long time. there was a big lineup just to get in the door as if it was a fancy nightclub. The flavours to choose from were amazing and I ended up getting a scoop of whiskey, hazelnut and one of mini egg. I was not disappointed.
It’s been nice to have regular chats with my son. I miss him. I think he liked the magnet I left on his fridge.
I didn’t sleep well. Seems neither Jake nor Mark did either. I went to visit Mark around 10 and picked him up a card and magnet at the hospital gift shop. Turns out he miraculously ended up in a private room with a view. I laughed that it was 420
We had a decent visit and I was able to tell him what the Dr told me. Some things he was unaware of and I was there when the internist came. I told her I was grateful that she was asking g lots of questions and requested that she see the big picture so that he would only be on necessary meds etc. I told Mark that I was going to leave him to rest and that I would see him tomorrow unless he needed me.
I made it back to park at Jake’s just before Kelly arrived. We walked over to Burgoo and had an amazing 3 hour lunch and catch up. The food was delicious comfort food just as Jake had suggested.
I came back to the apartment and rested as I’d made plans s with Julie Porter. She drove an hour to pick me up and we wandered David Street as we waited an hour and a half to get into Tom Sushi. It was worth it. Again, I was grateful for the time to hang out and catch up. Back in 2010 or 2011, I was sent by the firm that I worked at to help her with her books out in Delta. That began a lovely friendship and I have missed our chats. After dinner we wandered down the block and sat enjoying Turmeric Chai Latte’s before she dropped me off and said we should try to get together ext week if I am still here.
This was an anniversary of my Dad’s death and is usually sad, but instead it was full of love and great memories. And I think I will sleep well as my soul has been tucked in with a kiss on the forehead.
I will originally at 4:14 and then in time to go get Mark but I haven’t checked my phone because for some reason it didn’t actually vibrate enough to wake me up or ring and I couldn’t give him comfort that I was on my way so he took a cab and I met him at the hospital. I was still there in time to have picked up and brought him, but I understand that I caused a bit of stress and I felt bad. We got him checked into the surgical ward and all the history taken in the tests given. What I was left with is knowing that it was a very complicated surgery coming up and that it would be at least five hours before I would get a call from the surgeon to tell me how it went and then another four hours in recovery before I will be able to talk to him.
I came back to Jake’s had a nap on the couch and then decided to get a bunch of work done to distract my brain. As it happened, it was seven hours later that the surgeon finally called apologizing that he had been called aside and this surgery had completed successfully an hour before. There had been complications, but all in all the results were good he would however, maybe take longer in recovery.
I was very relieved and Jake came home from work and took me out to the Keg on Granville island for Mother’s Day early We we have a delicious meal and a nice wander around before coming back to the apartment
As soon as we arrived, I called to the hospital to find out what room Mark was in only to discover that he was only just being moved from recovery. I asked the person who answered to please give him a message that I would be there to see him in the morning.
I am very grateful that things seem to have gone OK in spite of all of the issues. I tried to explain to Mark this morning that I may have seemed a little aloof or walled off, even snarky about things, but it was because I was protecting myself from finding out that he wasn’t going to make it. My gift is mostly challenging in these situations, especially when it kept coming to mind to remind him to make a will, etc. I was worried that those were signs that my psyche already knew he wasn’t going to make it, fortunately, that is not the case.
I don’t even know how to tell you how much today meant to me. I let myself drift in out of sleep from 5:30 AM onward when the sun woke me up and then Jake was up and off to work and I watched the president and Prime Minister meeting where I was most impressed with our Prime Minister as he kept addressing Donald Trump as Mr. President, where Mr. President referred to our Prime Minister as Mark, so disrespectful
It’s suddenly occurred to me to see if there was a Rotary meeting that I could catch and much my surprise in just over an hour there was the Vancouver club meeting at the terminal city. I got myself ready and rushed down there and then as I was about to find parking and figure out how to find where the meeting was I started to have a minor panic attack, but decided to go forward. I am so glad I did as I put on my name tag from Cranbrook and represented well. The whole experience cost me $57 for the meal and $21 for the parking so they are clearly in a different echelon than I am. It was worth it, though just to see how big city clubs are compared to our small one. Interestingly, we have more members though.
From there, I found a parking space close to where my friend Julia lives as we would be going out together later. By by comparison, the parking was $2.15 for two hours. I walked to gastown, stopping first at the Fluevog store. There I was assisted extraordinarily by Bennett and Chad. Chad was able to identify my ‘ Judy Jetsons’ as I call them by their actual name, he says is orbits. I dropped off my first pair of shoes and arranged to have them re-soled and mailed to me. It was probably good that I’m still not sure what size my feet will be when my ankle is totally healed so I didn’t purchase anything, but I did enter into the 10 years of shoes draw which they will be doing on Monday I think or Tuesday. Wouldn’t that be something? I was encouraged to buy a runner type shoe that’s on for 100 bucks but decided I didn’t love it enough yay me.
Next stop was the Blundstone store where I asked to have my boots maintained. They were impressed that I had a vintage colour. Well I was waiting. I was asking a few questions and felt like I wasn’t being taken seriously as a customer. I guess that was a Julia Roberts moment. ha ha. In the end, I did purchase a new pair of clogs. Just because I am struggling to wear heels and fit into my shoe collection. Doesn’t mean that I have to buy from Walmart.
Although I wasn’t especially impressed with the treatment, I did ask where a single woman could go comfortably sit and have a beverage and was directed to the black frog. It turned out to be a great place where I met a delightful server named Michelle and we had a goosebumps producing connection. Sometimes in the most random places, you meet someone who needs to hear your story and you need to hear theirs. This was one of those moments. I ended up giving her the button that I got at convention and promptly put it on the wall and was thrilled. To the point that when I went to pay my tab, my server had paid for one of my drinks. How cool is that?
I am loving being a tourist in my old town. I can’t help but take pictures along the way and eventually I met up with Julia and she brought me to park in her building Parkade so I didn’t have to worry about any of the stuff in my car and then we walked over to the banksy exhibit.
It was as amazing as I hope it would be. I took the time to read every single sign and story behind the art and just hope it all to be true.
 From there, Julia was equally happy to head back to the black frog where we sat at the bar. (She is my kind of people) Michelle was happy to see us and I was off for the night, but we had an incredible visit and good food before the noise of an Edmonton game got to be too much for us. It was funny to see bleachers set up in a bar this is clearly the spot where the Edmonton fans come.
We took our leave and head up to the Alma for a quiet beverage has very few people were there before it was time for me to head out. We did take a shortcut through the Woodward’s building and it really is quite extraordinary.
I was so grateful to catch up with a friend from the past because sometimes the people who knew you when are the people who you get to the most be just you now. Does that make sense? I hope so.
Once I got home, I had a nice little visit with Jake and we made a plan for spending time together tomorrow night. I have to get up at five to take Mark to his surgery. He said he would take a cab, but that is not going to happen and I was glad that he didn’t argue. I didn’t bring him all this way to abandoned him now.
Woke up decently arrested, and got everything ready before I was presented with a delicious Rosie breakfast of poached eggs and ham on English muffin. It is honestly my favourite part of staying there next visiting with Brian, Lynne and Rosie of course. My ankle was amazingly un swollen this morning compared to usual.
We got away at a decent time and it is a stunningly beautiful day. It was nice to see Mark enjoying the countryside so much. At one point, I urgently requested that he grab my camera and start taking pictures. we were on the Coquihalla Highway and I saw signs that said ‘accident scene ahead’ and knew in a flash that this would involve Jamie Davis towing who are the heroes in my guilty pleasure, Highway thru hell.
We stopped in Chilliwack and got gas and had a bite to eat before quickly getting back on the road. Next stop was Linus Media Group to grab the house keys from Jake. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a tour as they are not allowed during business hours so I had a fun spoof on their unboxing videos
Next, we headed for the Canadian Cancer Society lodge to settle Mark in on the way we were held up on the connecter in Richmond due to a four car pileup where one last car actually raised the rear end of a huge lifted pick up truck. They hit it with such impact. The light was incredible. I actually got a little teary thinking that for several decades now I have been donating a little bit each month towards that society and now know that’s where at least some of the money went. The gentleman they’re giving us the tour said that they actually have a person who has been there for over a year receiving treatment as they live too far away.
The next stop was Jake’s apartment where Mark helped me haul all my stuff up to the third floor and then I took him for a tour of all the most amazing parts of Vancouver that we could hit up in the next few hours, which included two circles around the Stanley Park Drive, a walk to the pool on second beach, looping around in Kitsilano, passed the planetarium and maritime Museum, then all the way out fourth Avenue to a loop around and through the UBC endowment lands and back out along 41st and through parts of Point Grey and Shaughnessy before delivering him back home to the lodge for the night. He was thrilled with what we saw and I so was I. It had been a long time and I was mostly amazed by how big the trees had grown.
I dropped him off with plans to pick him up Wednesday morning and be there until he goes into operation. Back at the apartment, I was able to relax. I do dig the vibe Jake has. We had a very short visit when he got home as he is exhausted from officiating his best friend, Loren’s wedding in Tofino.
I’ve been slowly making plans to visit with friends and I think I will spend some time in gas town tomorrow afternoon
triumphgal 