McClean Creek OK Falls Blue Mountain Blues: Saturday, April 1st!

If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot. -John Bunyan, preacher and author (1628-1688)

Hi Pattrick, I can play on Wednesday if needed and if so would like to book a spot on the marriage-mobile!!!! Judy Hello Queens and Kings, and a few Knaves! Burns Street will be voting for Wednesday evening for the coming week's bridge gathering. Justicia, Coramandel and I can play that night. Naramata Goil is not available either Tuesday or Wednesday, Lady Dar and I cannot play on Tuesday, so three confirmed for the 5th as of this writing. For the rest of you, please let me know which evening is best so that Josinta knows how many bridge prizes to rustle up! We still have room for two in The MarriageMobile so we can car-pool to Summeria if group opts for Wednesday! Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: Latest exhibition, #Grassland, at PAG is worth a visit!
Hi Jos, I am planning on coming to Bridge on Wednesday night. I will let you know if anything changes. Thanks and hugs, Olly

Patrick, Well here it is Saturday morning and I hope you have recovered from your very strenuous day of labour. I also hope Corinne is happy with the results. We thought you were very funny - when will you be publishing a book of Patrick’s anecdotes? Cheers, Dawn
 
Hi all, We are sitting outside in the cold watching the Tokyo Swallows play Yokohama Baystars with Hatsumi and Atsushi. Tokyo is down 6 -1 in the bottom of the 8th. It feels like it might snow- it may well be! Hope you are all well. Love G&J Hello Tokyo! Come in Tokyo!!! No snow here but plenty of wild, wild wind! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Once I'd consulted AccuWeather I decided it was OK Falls for me as the wind was a mere 16-13 kph out of the SSE, so that I would have it pushing me along on homeward bound leg. Left the house at about 10:15 am and made a quick, basic PTC/Lakeshore/Riverside Loop before hitting Government. When on South Main, I took a right at Green Ave as this route to Skaha Lake Park is a bit more sheltered. By the time I was at the Marina there I had logged 18 km so figured I was up for at least a 61 km outing, given I was planning to take McClean Creek Road to drop down into OK Falls. Wind along Eastside wasn't as ferocious as I thought it might be so I was actually clocking sllghtly over 21 kph by the time I reached the turnoff to MCR. This dropped to 19. 4 kph by the time I had made the climb so I was pretty confident that I'd be back over 20 kph by the time I was swooping down into OK Falls. 

Such was the case so I took a side dipsy-doodle along 7 Ave before making for Oliver Ranch Road. By the time I had done the Stag's Hollow Loop the odometre was reading just over 40 km and the wind was now at my back so I had high hopes for pushing the AVG to over 21 kph. Unfortunately, for me, at least, the dratted wind has switched direction and it wa snow out of the N at 3 kph. Not all that much of a head wind, I grant you, Dear Reader, but enough resistance to prevent me from going much beyond 20.3 kph on Eastside. Once on South Main the slight uphill grade made me drop a tad but I was able to reach 20.5 kph by the time I was on the last few flat stretches of Government and was bale to hold that until I was back home. Annoyed at Aeolus for making my cycling life difficult both ways but certainly enjoyed the wonderful, relatively warm day and the brilliant sunshine. Should soon be able to shed my leggings for shorts. Hip Hip Hooray! Cheers! Map and Stats for ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1652604563#.WOANO7mTsCk.email

Lady Dar was busy moving some of the planters we had in the garage, over the winter, onto the back patio so I had a quick shower. She left, shortly thereafter, to take our car into Huber for an oil change and to have snow tires changed over to regular. We were to meet at Tarik Sayeed's campaign office around 2:00 pm. He is our NDP candidate in the coming provincial election and there was a kick-off reception that afternoon. Lady Dar was going to sign up to help with campaign. Before making for the gathering I stopped at Freedom to ask whether they might be able to take a look at the stationary bike I've been using, for rehab purposes, since I had my left hip replaced, this past September. My neighbour, Stormin' Norman, took a look at it a few weeks ago and he thinks a bearing has gone in one of the arms as it makes a horrible squeak when I use it.

At any rate, Nikolevitch, one of lads I've dealt with in the past said to bring it in and they would take a look to see what they might be able to do.While I was there I bumped into Susan and Bill Valley, friends here in Penticton. Had a good chat with them before making for campaign office, just a few doors down. I was there before Lady Dar so helped myself to a java and a few tasty nibbles. When she arrived we visited with a number of other supporters. Dick Cannings, our MP, and Margaret Holm, (his wife), were both there so we chatted briefly before a number of short speeches, by Tarik and Dick. Once these were over we said our goodbyes and walked home.  

Gorgeous afternoon with sun smiling down upon us as we waked the few short blocks home. While I sat down to digitate Lady Dar read in the living room and around 4:15 pm Huber called to say our car was ready and that a driver was coming to collect one of us. I was "elected" so that Lady Dar wouldn't have to move off her divan! Courtes car arrived a few minutes later and we were soon back at GM dealership. Once I'd paid I decided to roll by Poplar Grove to return the shipping box our latest release had been packed in. Since we pick up our wine we don't really need the moulded bottle inserts which prevent breakage during shipping. I really don't want to recyle such packaging, ever, but especially when it has really not been used.

At any rate, once there, I bumped into Grady Peat, [Thanks for the recollection photos, Patrickio. See you out our way if you're on a ride sometime.], a chap we'd met last Tuesday at Legend Distillery when we had attended a cooking class. He grows grapes for Poplar Grove and had stopped by to talk to someone there, I gather. We had a brief conversation before I left to make my way to Township 7 as I wanted to collect our latest release. Had fun chatting with a couple from Kelowna while I tasted the line-up of the day. Then back home to find Lady Dar making ready some hors d'oeuvres, bison pate and rice crackers with Mendocino Honey Mustard, paired with a bottle of the Reserve Pinot Gris I'd just collected. We sat outside, under the louvres, enjoying the still warm, slanting rays of the setting, late afternoon sun, while Etta and Duke gamboled, chasing each other around the patio or the oak leaves that the wind blew from next door.

With the sun down, it became a tad coolish so Her Ladyship instructed me to light the fire I'd laid, earlier in the day, and we repaired inside to make our dinner: broccoli with Parmesano and two wonderful pork chops, more like slabs of ham, she'd found at A & K Grimm's Sausage, a terrific shop just a few blocks down Eckhardt from us. I made a mixed green salad and when everything else was ready we watched the last tow episodes of Wallender we had left. Was close to 9:00 pm by the time we said goodbye to Kurt and then we watched the introductory special for the next season of Call the Midwife, set in a mission hospital/clinic in South Africa. We've come to know all the central characters and have become quite attached to them so it is rewarding to see their on-going development.

Once the ever reviled scullion had done the dishes he put another log on the fire and then repaired to bed to read a tattered manuscript. Lady Dar was already snuggled up with her book, and two purring felines, leaving the distasteful help to deal with all the nightly chores, of course, Dear Reader! Such is life in service in a royal household!

Thanks Patrick for the lovely photos, yes it was nice to see you, even if it was short. hopefully will see you in the late summer. Every thing is OK here, I am busy with Roman's little boy Sebastian 19 month and a rascal. Take care my friend always Gisela Hi Nanny Gisella! Glad you enjoyed the snaps and life goes well! How has your weather been? I gather rain, rain and more rain! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Trump is an agent for.....China. Good and quick read from NY Times Cheers, R.

Hi Robert! Thanks for link to fascinating NY Times article! Trust you and family are well. Busy here and had a lovely evening with Lynne and Peter, a week or so ago. Of late, have been able to muster enough players for two tables of bridge so pleased about that, of course. Plenty of cycling now that weather has become more Spring-like. Hello and best to lads. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: The Naramatians; This afternoon, on our patio. First time we've used it this year!

Hello Trump Supporters, or Detractors, as might be the case! Not sure if you have seen this or not!  Cheers, Patrizzio! From NY Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/opinion/trump-is-a-chinese-agent.html 

Hello Family & Friends, I finally managed to get my Patagonia Photo series completed. The photos were selected months ago, but it always takes time to sort through the itinerary, place names, tour maps, etc, then name the photos accordingly. Just did not get to it earlier.

It was a great trip with incredible weather. We had half a day of rain in Buenos Aires and the rest was sun & clouds or no clouds at all. This meant that the hikes were stunning and all peaks were out of the clouds! November turned out to be the perfect time.  

Argentina & Chili are far away places with a clearly noticeable Spanish cultural heritage. Patagonia alone is vast and of enormous scale. We have at times traveled for most of a day through a wilderness of nothingness, steppes with here or there a flock of sheep and some Guanacos (the Patagonia lama). Very impressive and isolated. Then a motor cycle passes you by (maybe 1/day) and you inevitably think of the Motorcycle Diaries & Che Guevara. He must have been here, leaving the world behind him in a cloud of dust. 

Suddenly the mountains rise before you, rugged peaks with snow and ice. That's the Patagonia I remember from photos in books and the internet. On this trip we have mainly focused on the stunning national parks: Los Glaciares National Park, Torres Del Paine National Park and Tierra Del Fuego National Park. Why go to Patagonia when you live in British Columbia? There are similarities, indeed, but every wilderness has its own merits and in Patagonia it is the enormous scale of the icefields/glaciers and mountain ranges. You'd have to travel to Alaska and compare it to let's say the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains. 

Also Patagonia is quite accessible. In Canada you have to be pretty fit to see similar scenery. Buenos Aires is a fantastic city, full of life, music and tango dancing in the streets, little and not so little cafes, great restaurants with full bodied Malbec wine, impressive architecture ... and then there is of course Eva (Duarte) Peron! To round up our trip we took an excursion from Buenos Aires to Uruguay, to the old city Colonia Del Sacramento, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Beautiful, well worth a visit.

Here is the link: A photographic Journey - Patagonia - November 2016:  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99264714@N02/albums/72157680318382920

Not sure whether you are familiar with FLICKR, but you will have no problem navigating! Click on the various icons on the screen to see what you can do. Beauty of FLICKR is that the photos are uploaded full resolution and thus if you down load one or several you can choose to down load full resolution or less. Best way to look at the photos is in Slide Show mode, you can then still browse through them by clicking for or backward. Alternatively you can also click on the first photo and go into full screen mode (click the 2 opposing arrows). If you do not use Slide-Show or full screen mode, you may get an advertisement here or there, because that is the way the free version of Flickr makes its money! ENJOY! from your correspondents in British Columbia Aart & Jos 

Hello Patagonian Correspondents! Just a quick note to say how much I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed your simply incredible album! Brought back many, many fond memories of our time there in 2008. Not the fabulous hiking portions as we were on a cruise but some of the same/similar street scenes, cityscapes, etc. Bravo! Cheers, Patrizzio! Hello 2008 People! This album is from Josinta and Aarturo, friends from hiking group, who were in South America last November. Thought you might enjoy revisiting some of the places we saw, almost nine years ago now! Cheers, Patrizzio! Coffaro 2017 Pre-Harvest Futures offer: Patrizzio's Shopping Cart!

2@ $19.0		2017 Aca Modot (aged 16 months)		$38.00
2 @ $19.00		2017 Block 4 (aged 16 months)		$38.00
2 @ $19.00		2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (aged 16 months)		$38.00
4 @ $11.00		2017 Dave's Cuvee (aged 10 months)		$44.00
2 @ $18.00		2017 Italiano Style (aged 16 months)		$36.00
4 @ $19.00		2017 Lagrein (aged 16 months)		$76.00
4 @ $14.00		2017 Luminaire (aged 10 months)		$56.00
2 @ $19.00		2017 The Ultimate Cuvee (aged 16 months)		$38.00
4 @ $14.00		2017 ZP2C (aged 10 months)		$56.00
2 @ $18.00		2017 Zinfandel (aged 16 months)		$36.00

                                                        Wine Total: $456.00