Flamin' and Sarge and the Back to Burns Blues: Thursday, August 9th!

What magical trick makes us intelligent? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not from any single, perfect principle. -Marvin Minsky, scientist and author (9 Aug 1927-2016) 

Time to have a bite of breakfast, yogurt with fresh blackberries. Lady Dar just finished watering front yard, armed with another zucchini from our raised vegetable planter. After watering everything on back patio she finished last seat cover and when she was done, we drove back to Sendero, in separate cars. 

I screwed seats back onto chairs and then returned, to continue clean-up/unpacking, at Burns Street, while Lady Dar stayed to help Chloë with rest of her unpacking. Freeloaders better book soon as reservation calendar is already filling up at Burns Street but if you want to stay in Luxury, Sheer Luxury, try Sendero Canyon! I imagine Lady Dar and Chloë are still busy unpacking and waiting for her King bed to be delivered as well as the young woman, Shruti, [Recently arrived form India and now working as Marketing Manager at Culmina. We are making plans for heavily discounted, otherwise expensive wine and lamb curry!], who will rent downstairs room and share kitchen.

Back home I spent most of the rest of the morning and afternoon clearing up back patio and garage as both areas had all sorts of things we had to move out of the way for yesterday's decant. Lady Dar was back around 5:00 pm and she started on guest bedroom to ready it for Clan Sutherland while I continued reorganizing garage and Rumpus Room. By the time I'd just about finished vacuuming it was close to 7:00 pm and I helped Molly Maid make the bed and then she returned to continue preparations for dinner. While I was showering she used this morning's zucchini, and its other siblings, to make "vegetarian spaghetti" on the Spiralator, nifty kitchen gadget which does a superbly efficient job! With Pesto tossed into mixture and sprinkled with Parmesano it is a fabulous dish!

Flamin' and Sarge hit town just a bit after 7:30 pm, while I was still in shower. I joined gang for appetizers on the back patio and we caught up on Flamin's recent trip back to Halifax and then enjoyed Lady Dar's simply delish zucchini, topped with Farmer's sausage, so strictly speaking, not vegetarian. Had been a long day for everyone, un-packing/cleaning for us, long, slow heavy, heavy traffic out of Vancouver, to Chilliwack, for Sarge/Flamin' so we headed to bed by 10:30 pm.
 

Dear Patrick: We had the briefest conversation about pipeline politics. Of course we both know that there is so much more to be said. Let me inflict a couple of observations. I drove past all the Southern Alberta wind farms yesterday. It was a lazy breezy--perfect winds for those generators. Of course they generate straight to the grid. They don't have attached storage capacity. Of course we need a new energy revolution. The power for the first industrial revolution came from coal and then oil. It was dirty and messy but it sure did the job. And it had built-in available storage.
 

Eventually we will figure out some storage system for solar power! Probably as Artificial Intelligence gets smarter than we mere humans those computer robots will find solutions to stuff we can't. But in the meantime, what should we do? In terms of coal--thank goodness we are almost done with it. I did stop by to take a gander at an old shack in OK Falls to see the place where Janet Campbell's mother lived with Bill Orser. Bill was a coal miner. Specifically a blaster. He loved talking dynamite. He hated that curve in the road south of OK Falls. He sure wanted that blown to smithereens so the road didn't have to wind around it. Quite the old bird!. I think coal dust must have affected his brain as well as his disposition.

In terms of oil, we still need it until we get some other energy source which is store-able . And yes it is dirty and messy and bad for the environment--and unfortunately in Canada at least, all the cleaner, easier to access oil has already been harvested. We are stuck with the dirtier and harder to reach stuff. The sooner we get off that the better. But that day is still somewhere in the distance. So I will argue for pipelines for now, and for Fort McMurray, etc . End of sermon. 

[Starting Marnie’s landscape project.] Take care friend. Thanks for staying alive and not succumbing to the pneumonia in Poland. The world isn't quite ready to stand around your remains and recite Earth To Earth, Ashes To Ashes, Dust to Dust. PS You might appreciate this article from Foreign Affairs. It begins with the suggestion that it is a lot easier to explain the past then it is to predict the future!

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=6b608e883e&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1608128998477507962&th=165138cdcb41ad7a&view=att&disp=inline

Hi Pipeline Apologist! For my part I do apologize for not replying sooner but last week was a whirlwind of kitchen renovation and social activity, speeding up as we twirled and spun towards the weekend. In fact I started my response on August 8th, date you sent the link to Foreign Affairs article. Unfortunately, I cannot open it!
 

[Almost finished landscape project.] At any rate, I did enjoy your sermon on The History of Coal and Alternative Energy: Saskatchewan Wind-farms and the Pressing Need for Solar Power Storage Systems. I acknowledge many of your observation BUT I disagree, and strongly so, with your closing argument:  "...pipelines for now, and for Fort McMurray, etc." However, with over 600 wild-fires in BC as of this writing the long-term prospect is very disturbing, frightening, to say the least, especially since the phenomenon is world-wide.

[Gayle and Tris at dinner celebrating Marnie becoming a Phd.] My point is that we cannot afford not to wean ourselves from oil, whether clean or dirty and messy, NOW! The issue is far more complex than I have either time or expertise to debate, at least in this message, so I will counter your link with a number of my own. Again, as it happened, when I received your oil sermon, I was listening to The Current and Robyn Allen was being interviewed about the Trans Mountain Pipeline purchase. [Perhaps you heard the same program!] Her analysis speaks more to the financial/economic aspects of the purchase but it only provides more ammunition for investing in solar and other alternative energy sources instead of pouring tax dollars into the bottomless pit of the petroleum companies' obscene profit pockets.

[Marnie, Tris and friends canoeing in the New Forest.] Robyn Allan: 

<https://www.nationalobserver.com/u/robyn-allan>

Robyn Allan in Analysis, Energy | May 29th 2018:

<https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/05/29/analysis/kinder-morgan-bailout-cost-north-15-billion>

The lesson just beginneth!

This being said, thank you for your on-going concern about my health and for sending along all the bridge links. Will start on my "homework"as soon as I possible can, knowing that, like your oil argument, I continue to procrastinate, using the excuse that I have had and will have other things on my available time plate. Funnily enough, the morning of the day after you left the reno merry-go-round truly revved up.  
 

[Tristan proud new owner of prescription sunglasses.] Well, dear bridge promoter, I trust the above, detailed, massed evidence will help you understand that my intended bridge improvement is vying with many other powerful forces clamoring for my limited time. Speaking of which, we are hosting the game next week. Must away as I have been charged with more chores by Lady Dar, all the while watching The Young and The Useless! Fondestos from Gluten-Free Mama to you, Zircon. Stay well! Bid ferociously!!  Cheers, Patrizzio! Pic: Lady Dar shows off her latest upholstery project at Sendero Canyon.

[Limewood House Hotel New Forest.] Trust the move went well, you won’t know what to do with all the space!!!! What is the benefit of feeding the cats pumpkin? Rebekah & Mike are here now came on Saturday around five after a bit of sight seeing in the city & visiting with Ryan & Mar. Mike sprained his ankle very badly helping a friend move ,so he has a boot for walking. They are going to Pam’s tomorrow for 2 nites, it is very hot here, air conditioner running up stairs & down.

[Marnie and friends at afternoon tea.] We went to Kenora to market & for lunch, had to wait to get into pub, then waited over hour & half to get any food. Pam told the waiter that we we’re not happy!!!! Tomorrow George & I are going into the city, I need my hair cut & some meds, not a good day to go as it will be in the 30 ‘s. Is a date booked for your hernia op yet? Take care of yourself. Love Clara. Forgot to mention Cody got a kitten, that’s why I asked about the pumpkin. Clara 

[Tris meeting  donkeys in New Forest.] Patrick, So very sad to here about your falls and pneumonia. What a terrible ending to your bike trip. It sounds like your life has been in upheaval since arriving home. Lots of changes at your home which I am anxious to see the end results of. Chloe’s place looks lovely - lots of room so I am sure she will have lots of friends come for s visit. How is she enjoying her job? Hopefully she is not dealing with too many unreasonable people or strata.

[Gayle Tris and dog on a walk in the forest.] We seem to have been very busy lately. We went up to Tuktoyaktuk with our trailer and our friends from Calgary. So glad we did the trip, fascinating never ending countryside and independent pioneer people who love these isolated spots. And the best cinnamon buns in the world at Breyburn Lodge in the middle of nowhere - they sell between 150 - 200 a day and they are the size of a dinner plate. We were gone for nearly 3 weeks then got home and had s social whirl it seemed plus lots of business, paperwork and catch up to do. Mag’s oldest grandchild graduated from high school and so we were part of several affairs put on by her parents. I don’t recall putting on any dinners etc. for Jeff and Stacee - poor neglected children.
 

[Day out with Gudrun and Steve at...] Next off to Vancouver with our trailer for some warranty repairs - a long story. Then over to my brother Terry’s home at Merville (Courtenay) for a family reunion. The reunion was excellent and Terry and Jennifer did a super job hosting us (16 in total). They have a gorgeous home right on the ocean so we spent most of the time sitting out on the shoreline. So many things happening out on the water. We also visited a few friends - Gerry got a golf game in and we were able to visit with two friends who had lost a mom and a husband. Now we are packed up to head home tomorrow - another long drive. We will give you a call once we are home. Take care and hugs to everyone. Cheers, Dawn

[...Agatha Christie's summer house in Devon.] Hi Patrick good to hear from you! Burns Street seems like a revolving door of comings and goings. I feel exhausted just reading about it! In the middle of construction too. How old did you say you are! :) Just returned from Southampton where I have been helping Marnie with her new landscape project. Lugging around very large and heavy oak beams in 34 degree temperatures is not my idea of fun but we managed to almost finish the project in the two days of my time I had allowed her. She now has to get the massive planter filled with soil and buy her new Clematis plants to climb the trellis. 
 

Returned home to start our own kitchen project. Not quite as grand as your complete rebuild but have just bought a new stove and need to re tile and replace the worktops. After which will install new flooring. All getting a little tired looking. After that will attempt to update the reception/library area. I'm not quite as enthusiastic with all this stuff as I was in my younger days! 

We were building dens yesterday with the kids in the woods at Trelissick. Some impressive dens were built by very enthusiastic children. Back to Trelissick again later this morning. We have arranged to go to York next month with Maur and Bill. Staying at Middlethorpe Hall which is a hotel belonging to the National Trust. When we get back Jean and Paul from Stoke on Trent will be staying here for a week. We have known Jean since our Bank of Montreal days when she worked for Gayle at Place de Ville in downtown Ottawa. Paul is her second marriage her first husband Mick still lives in Kingston Ontario. Not a very pleasant chap and caused her all sorts of anguish. 

Looks like Krissy may be going to Costa Rica for 6 months to help her friend Russell with his new hotel venture. If so then we will head there this winter for a couple of weeks. Loretta and Alan, our friends from the Delta who we did the Alaska cruise with, spend their winters in Palm Dessert Ca and have suggested we extend our trip to stay with them for a couple of weeks. It will depend whether our Spuddy is still around then. He still soldiers on. Almost totally deaf now with arthritis but still has an acceptable quality of life so we are delaying the inevitable for as long as possible.  

Our summer has been quite hot and hardly any rain. It is the first time in years that my grass is no longer green but an ugly pale brown colour. Because water is so expensive here I only water those plants that show signs of wilting. Grass will recover. I have had a bumper crop of glasshouse sweet peppers and tomatoes this year as well as cucumbers. Not sure why I grow cucumbers really since I don’t particularly like them! Marnie, Ant, Tris and Whistler will be arriving on Sunday for a few days. Always fun trying to keep cat and dog separated! Chloe’s townhouse looks very luxurious. Will look forward to staying there in the not too distant future! Best wishes to all Derek 

Hello Landscape Architect/Ceramic Tile Specialist! Feel exactly as "unenthusiastic" as you, regarding seemingly endless "projects", of one sort or another, both large and small. How old are you? I'm not doing much but lugging boxes not unwieldy oak beams in 34ºC, although last few weeks we have been blanketed in heavy, wild-fire smoke. Thick as pea soup here, as you might know, and no relief in sight. That being said, the landscaping looks fabulous! Bravo!!! With respect to your place I'm sure results will be fantastic, given your remarkable track record.

Do hope you are able to visit Costa Rica while Krissy is there. Be curious to hear what you think about food. We never had an uninteresting, more than delectable meal. Plenty of interesting hikes around Palm Desert, into the hills. I love biking there as most of the dedicated bike paths are for golf carts as well so quite wide. If you do visit, try to go to Joshua Tree National Park. An easy day trip. Poor Spuddy! What a lovely chap. Hard for me to even think of his on-going difficulties so I understand your anguish. Parcel up your cukes and send them over with more Hicks Rum! Our own peppers, both sweet and hot, are doing quite well so very pleased about that. Also proud of our tomatoes but I don't think we have nearly the same yield as your hydroponic operation! Fondestos from Lady Dar to you and Gayle. Stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Patrick, So very sad to here about your falls and pneumonia. What a terrible ending to your bike trip. It sounds like your life has been in upheaval since arriving home. Lots of changes at your home which I am anxious to see the end results of. Chloe’s place looks lovely - lots of room so I am sure she will have lots of friends come for a visit. How is she enjoying her job? Hopefully she is not dealing with too many unreasonable people or strata. 

We seem to have been very busy lately. We went up to Tuktoyaktuk with our trailer and our friends from Calgary. So glad we did the trip, fascinating never ending countryside and independent pioneer people who love these isolated spots. And the best cinnamon buns in the world at Breyburn Lodge in the middle of nowhere - they sell between 150 - 200 a day and they are the size of a dinner plate. We were gone for nearly 3 weeks then got home and had s social whirl it seemed plus lots of business, paperwork and catch up to do. Mag’s oldest grandchild graduated from high school and so we were part of several affairs put on by her parents. I don’t recall putting on any dinners etc. for Jeff and Stacee - poor neglected children. 

Next off to Vancouver with our trailer for some warranty repairs - a long story. Then over to my brother Terry’s home at Merville (Courtenay) for a family reunion. The reunion was excellent and Terry and Jennifer did a super job hosting us (16 in total). They have a gorgeous home right on the ocean so we spent most of the time sitting out on the shoreline. So many things happening out on the water. We also visited a few friends - Gerry got a golf game in and we were able to visit with two friends who had lost a mom and a husband. Now we are packed up to head home tomorrow - another long drive. We will give you a call once we are home. Take care and hugs to everyone. Cheers, Dawn 
 
Hi Cinnamon Bun Baby-Cakes! Terrific to hear from you! Thanks for sympathy regarding my falls/pneumonia but am well on road to full recovery so nasty ending to bike trip almost seems like a dream now. What a wonderful junket to Tuktoyaktuk. Too, too bad about warranty repairs. Will be curious to hear the long backstory! Family reunion sounded wonderful. For our part, Ayn will fly up on September 4th so we will celebrate her birthday when she is here. Chloë is really enjoying her job although I have never seen her work so hard. She is almost a workaholic but am pleased she is taking things so seriously. Looks like she may well be made Manager of office here in Penticton so I think that is a measure of how well she has done in the little less than a year that she has been with Pacific Quorum. Loads of opportunity as strata management is simply going through the roof, so to speak!

Well, must away as I'm still hoping to make more inroads on organizing my "office". Every time I think I have a stretch of time something seems to come up and take priority. Maybe I'll work on my malt cabinet instead! Fondestos from Lady Dar, to you, Donna Maria, and Heraldo. Stay well. Take care of each other. Cheers, Patrizzio!