Enamel Dental Care/Mark The Barber Blues: Wednesday, November 15th!

Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads. -Marianne Moore, poet (15 Nov 1887-1972) 

This Newsletter is in Loving Memory of our Travel Guy, Charles Pitchford.

Charlie passed away peacefully at the Cottage Hospice in the morning of November 6. Charlie loved to travel and to plan travel for our dear clients and friends. He was very pleased that daughter Marnie and wife Susan will be continuing on with our Meet and Go Travel Club that he lovingly created over these past many years. Bon Voyage Charlie, you will be missed! 

 

The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (detail), 1617

Art: Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens

Dearest Susan! It simply goes without saying how deeply saddened we were to learn of Charlie's death. Our hearts go out to you and Marnie, and family, to let you know we grieve with you and for you. Champagne Charlie was one of our dearest friends and perhaps our only regret, moving to the Okanagan, was that it meant we would see far less of you both. His irrepressible, gentle wit, his kindness and his love of life made him such an incredible person, never mind just a dear, close friend. 

Another regret I have is that we were never able to play duplicate together. Of course, he was never happy with my erratic bidding but he always, somehow, managed to wriggle his way out of the unrealistic contracts I often put him in. Playing, since his death, I can still see the wry, bemused look on his face, after I overbid. It is reassuring to know that his powerful presence remains and always will.

Both Corinne and I are comforted that we were able to have a brief visit with him when at VWF. I had hoped to see him again, when I was back in Vancouver during the second week of November, until you sent notice of his death. Again, our sincerest, deepest condolences. Much love and affection, Corinne, Chloë and Patrick. Pics: October 20th. So sad. Thank you for sharing Pat! Janet

Hello Lower Mainland Millionaires, Island Folk Billionaires, Salish Sea Weasels and Fjord People, Where Life is Easy, Traffic is Congested, Prices are Hyper-Inflated and ferries might as well not exist! Trust everyone is well. Buona Fortuna to one and all from your former friends, The Impoverished of the South Okanagan! I just sold Etta and Duke, to a high-end, local restaurant, and consequently my travel plans for next Spring/Summer are starting to come together. Earlier today I booked my flight to Europe! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!  Attachment: Invitation to Open House. Please find enclosed, First Class, return tickets for everyone! If you would rather travel in steerage, Ragin' Bull is almost certainly coming for the Open House so hitch a ride with the Wild Croat and take your precious lives in your hands and live on the Edge, teetering over the precipices in and around Manning Park! Snapolas: Lady Dar's choice of painting which reflects her personality, at PAG Soup Bowls fund raiser. Christmas cactus readying itself for Open House!

 

Catastrophe, in bed, this morning! El Diablo was making such a fuss that Lady Dar released the felines into the wild at 4:45 am. Duke returned, his coat slick with rain, around 6:45 am, to proceed to suckle on Lady Dar's forearm. After this "bonding" had gone on for a few minutes, I knew I needed to get up so I stretched and exhaled. Duke took this deep breath as a prohibition, [We have taken to blowing in his face when he insists on climbing onto kitchen counters and this measure seems to work, exceedingly well!], and his body exploded, like a Jack-in-the-Box, and he slammed into Lady Dar's face, on his escape trajectory. Poor wet nurse, Mme Coriandre, really took one on the chin, so to speak, and such was the force of his compact body on the bridge of her nose that she was worried that it might even have been broken. A headache started almost immediately and I have to keep watch on her to make sure she isn't concussed. Not really joking even if I don't think that the blunt-force trauma was so bad as to rattle her brain. Nevertheless, she is in a fair bit of discomfort and instead of barking out orders, she is whispering them! At any rate, Lady Dar will probably look pretty attractive with two black eyes so she needs to look on the positive side of things! 

Hello Long Lost Bidders! Sorry I've not sent out a message earlier. If anyone is still interested and available, Lady Dar and I are willing to host tomorrow, after 7:00 pm as we are off to the Kitchen Stove film series at 4:00 pm. Or else Friday evening. Let me know and we'll plan accordingly. Cheers, Patrizzio!

I had a appointment, at the dentist, for a cleaning at 9:10 am. Lady Dar dropped me off as she was meeting the Flatlanders for their weekly outing. After the dental hygienist was finished, I walked back home, stopping at Knight's Drugstore to cash in my lottery tickets and actually won $20! Noticed that flu shots were available so I had that and then made my way home for a bit to eat before returning to Main to see Mark the Barber to have my ears lowered. Then home again to start working on a box of the apples I picked a week or so ago. I cored and sliced about two thirds of a wine-box and all the slices filled all the trays of the dehydrator. Had a large bowl of end pieces left over so Lady Dar will make a gluten-free crumble.  

Once back from her walk, Lady Dar started pulling out tubs filled with Christmas ornaments. We have them stored in the Rumpus Room and while she was at it she spent a fair bit of time re-arranging things and putting aside what she wants to get rid of. Chloë returned from Vancouver around 12:30 pm and went straight to work. She came home just before 5:00 pm and, unfortunately, she failed her exam by 4 points so she will have to re-take it mid-February. She has already booked a spot. Too bad, of course, but I hope this will help provide her with more focus between now and then. To be quite frank, I don' think she put in as much time reviewing everything as she might well have done. I told her to start studying as soon as she moved here, at the end of September, but she kept putting things off, thinking as we all probably do, that she had plenty of time!

At any rate, must away to put another log or two on the fire and then I'm charged with making a salad. Will probably watch the last few episodes of Marseille, quite an interesting political drama, set in this city. The series is the first French original production for Netflix. Gérard Depardieu is the mayor, Robert Taro, who has been in power for 25 years, and is now opposed by his young, ambitious former protégé. Pics: Saying goodbye to Rosemary and Andre; Christmas cactus and Amaryllis.

 
Good to hear all your news. Great you are still biking. I have a high performance mountain bike now and doing some really hard single track, bolder hopping routes!! I presume you did not get any costs from Katarina re you doing your own accommodation and using her services which is something we would consider?? bye again and hugs to Corinne and you from Gill  Hi again, Jack Rabbit and Phillipo! Trust all is well, wherever you are. For the trips with Katarina, it isn't possible to book one's own accommodation so I'm simply going with her services and trip as outlined.

My bike is in Chabeuill and I've asked my friend, Andre if he could find out about a general tune-up, (brakes, tires/inner tubes, chain, etc.), and what that might cost. It has not been ridden since early October, 2013! Not quite sure, with folding bike, unlike Brodies I own, what is best rack for a Montague configuration. In fact, I'm not sure if I will actually need to fold the bike, for transportation, as in 2013, when I traveled by train, other riders simply walked their bikes into commuting carriages, (Mill Hill, London, to EuroStar, in London, to Paris and then to a baggage car, (where one hangs it, upright, on a hook, for longer travel stints. Far, far easier that carrying it folded, over my shoulder, in carrying bag while pulling a suitcase! I have a fairly large suitcase, on wheels, that also doubles as a backpack so I plan to use this option, leaving my hands free to handle wheeling the bike. I intend to pack my panniers in this bag, along with clothing, or other items, I might need, when not actually cycling on the two-week long trips. Cheers, Patrizzio!