Insider joke

Remember I said that Joe and I share a love of science fiction? 

Me to Joe: Know what this is?

Me to Joe:  It's a Klingon Bird of Prey tattoo!

Joe to me: I thought it was a Romulan Warbird.

Hahahahahaha ...

Walking for pleasure

I love to walk.

This morning I walked 5 1/2 km around Vancouver's West End.  I didn't have a destination in mind.  I didn't buy anything.  I didn't talk to anyone.  I didn't ponder world problems, or even problems on a more appropriate scale.  I just looked and watched and enjoyed the walk. 

I find walking to be ... meditative ... I guess. 

Maybe it's learned behaviour or genetics.  See, when I was a kid, my dad would often go for a walk after dinner, by himself.  Sometimes ... sometimes ... I went with him. 

I don't think he ever had a particular destination in mind either, and I don't remember that we even talked.  We just walked.  A long way.  And at his speed. 

I wondered then if he was pondering some weighty matter. 

Now I wonder if Dad just enjoyed the walk.

"Oh, what a night!"

I'm in Vancouver for a few days to see a show and get some shopping in. 

Flew over on HeliJet, which provided spectacular views of the fog that has been wreaking havoc with air travel this week.

As luck would have it, my nephew, Joseph, from Ontario, was at a conference in Vancouver at the same time, so we managed to fit in a dinner together before he flies to (wait for it) Victoria to visit the rest of the westcoasters! 

Always great to get together with Joe.  We have remarkably similar interests (especially when it comes to science fiction) and, after talking with him, I always come away with new books or shows to check out.

And then ... off to the theatre to see "Jersey Boys".  

Great music, great acting, GREAT SHOW!  I was singing and dancing in my head all the way back to the hotel.  I do so love musical theatre!

Tomorrow it's off to the Ecco store to see what new shoes I just have to have.

Oh, and just a side note ... Here are the pillows that the hotel puts on my bed, compared with the pillow I bring from home and actually use to sleep on.  "Oh, what a night!"

Intermission

I've been thinking about those 4 plus years missing from my blog, so I thought I'd give you a quick update as to what happened during that period.

2020: 

I took a course at UVic in Philosophy and Science Fiction and wrote a paper asserting that Cylons had moral standing.  The course was disrupted before the final class because of ...

... Covid.

Tom had a socially-distant 95th birthday celebration.

I underwent treatment for breast cancer.

2021:

Our condo building was remediated, and Tom had 96th birthday wishes from the crew.

2022:

I took my first flight - from Victoria to Vancouver - with HeliJet and got a picture of our place on the way out of town.  I am now a frequent flyer.

And I apparently didn't take pictures of Tom's 97th birthday celebration.  However, I did take a picture of the Santa's elf who made us Moose Milk cocktails.

2023:

Tom had two (!!) cakes to celebrate his 98th birthday - one from Chuck and Jacquie ...

  ... and another at The Collective.

Sadly, The Collective closed for good in July.  We were so sorry to see them go; they had become part of our family.

2024: 

The BIG NEWS of early 2024 is that Tom celebrated his 99th birthday!!  A number that big required two birthday parties:

One with family ...

  ... and one with as many people as we could fit into our condo!

 And that's a quick summary of the last four years.

 

A foggy day

 I love Fall.

And one of the things I love about Fall is the fog.

I remember walking home one night in Napanee in fog so thick that I felt like a character in a Victorian-era horror story.

I remember driving to work in the mornings and seeing ground fog blanketing the farmers' fields on either side of the highway. 

And here in Victoria, the fog drifts in across the park, smelling of the ocean and accompanied by the haunting sounds of the fog horns.

I love Fall.