Quiet Day With a Book Club Book Blues: Thursday, November 30th!

Although the connections are not always obvious, personal change is inseparable from social and political change. -Harriet Lerner, psychologist (b. 30 Nov 1944)




Hi Grey Cup Goil! Unfortunately, you have become too, too famous for your own good and all the other bridge players are far too intimidated to play this evening. I'm doubly disappointed as not only have I not played for a bit but also was looking forward to a blow-by-blow of Ottawa weekend. Will have to wait until later, I suppose. Lady Dar and Chloë are off to see Jerry Seinfeld this evening while Patrizziello has to stay home and do chores! See you at Book Club on Monday, if not before. Stop pinching yourselves! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Patrick, Thank you for trying to herd the cats to play Bridge🐱See you Monday evening👍 Pam Good Evening, Cat Whisperer! You caught the feline by the tail with your description of the Bridge Rodeo! In fact, I think Duke and Etta are easier to corral than our far-flung, life on the open range, two footed bridge friends! At any rate, I'll keep my lariat at the ready for next week. Git Along and Cheers, Patrizzio! 👍😀 Dear Book Club Chefs! Just a quick note to go over the menu for this coming Monday. Luigi is providing the main course, Lady Dar a rice dish, Pam dessert but my memory fails me after that, so others please remind everyone, host in particular. Should we plan to arrive between 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm, on Gammon Road? Michelle Dunn will be joining the group and has a very, very delicate, not to say, fragile personality so please be gentle with her, all you hard-hearted, thick-skinned wimmins! PS: I expect to sit at a White Males Only Table, by the way! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Hello Patrick:So good to hear from you. It’s been a pretty busy week for me. Was in Kelowna twice……….driving a friend to the hospital. All good now.Just got back from concert at our beautiful Frank Venables Theatre. I am bringing a salad and some white wine. And will be coming to your place to catch a ride. Let me know what time I should be there ok. Cheereo from Hildegard Von Bingen……..😊😊 Hi Theatre Going Gal!Lovely to hear from you and that you had a grand time at concert. Lady Dar and Chloë are now back from SOEC where they saw Jerry Seinfeld. Said it was a wonderful, wonderful show!

Thanks for speedy reply and reminding me that you are bringing a salad and white wine. At this point, I think if you plan to arrive around 5:30 pm that should be fine. I'm going to ask Michelle Dunn to be here then so that we can all go together. If Luigi would like us there earlier I'll certainly be in touch about new rendezvous time. Looking forward to seeing you. Cheers, Patrizzio!😊

Hello Patrick Does Chloe have a gmail account? Please send it to gmail as a large file will not be a problem. I really need your video clip by Wednesday of next week. Thanks heaps and heaps. They have hired a new head for the Education Library--Peggy Lunn who is currently at Thompson Rivers University. She will start in March. Then they will hire for my position. Cheers for now Jo-Anne Please try to send by email. Is it an mp3 file?? Cheers Jo-Anne Hi Patrick
If Chloe or Corinne have a gmail account try sending it to my gmail account.
Thanks heaps and heaps. Jo-Anne.

Hi Marps! I think I've figured things out! Had to hack into Lady Dar's account! Let me know if this goes through! I eventually loaded file, on memory stick I was going to send in card, onto Lady Dar's desktop and then using her account, sent you file. I eventually figured out what my gmail password was as I've not used it for aeons. From now on I will be able to send large files that way so thanks for forcing me to hone my computer skills! Cheers, Patrizzio! Hello Patrick Thanks heaps and heaps it came through just fine!!! Cheers Jo-Anne

Hi again, Miss Marpole! Glad it worked! Should I send Chris' card to The "Curric Lab" or to your house? I'm off to watch an episode of Outlander to catch up with Lady Dar and Chloë! Do you follow it?  Quite enjoy seeing Claire and Jamie and all the "scrapes" they find themselves in. One of the most interesting "time travel" series, either in book or screen form that I've encountered. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Patrick Thanks again--your video is perfect. Please send the card to the Education Library--Chris' last day is Dec. 13. I actually will be away when he leaves as i have some unused vacation. Have heard about Outlander but don't have the cable station required to watch it. Enjoy. Again many thanks Jo-Anne

Hi Unending Vacation Woman! I'll send card to Education Library, thanks. Just talked to Chloë, from Kelowna. It was her staff Christmas Party today so company pays for a hotel so people don't have to drive afterwards. She said it was a very pleasant all day affair, starting with a breakfast, a few short speeches and business presentations and then lunch, silly games and exchange of gifts from Secret Santas. She enjoyed meeting some of the people from both the Kelowna and Sicamous offices she'd not met since she started. 

Unfortunately, she had some devastating news, at her own office, before she drove to Kelowna. A young woman, Jen, in her 40's, she worked with at Aunt Leah's was diagnosed with terminal cancer two months ago and she died this morning. Poor Chloë was weeping all day. Her gift was a lovely selection of bath salts and other unguents so she was planning to go for a long soak in her jacuzzi-tub with a bottle of wine. Anyway, take care of yourselves, Dunbarites. All the best, Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello! Thanks for the update on your riding adventures they sound wonderful but I prefer my stationary bike it is so safe. John dropped me off at the hairstylists today as it was a blustery day and I did not want to drive. We are snuggling up with the hounds downstairs, fireplace on and listening once again to Anderson Cooper’s latest.

Tomorrow we are going with four other friends to the Yacht Club for dinner to view the Sea of Lights. The harbor will be ablaze with festive Christmas lighting. We are going with Ludmilla (Ukrainian born in Kiev) & John Weaver (born in UK. and Andrew Weavers parents) and Natalee (a fifties prof. in counselling) and Michele (a retired doc. recovering from a stroke). We have shared dinners with them for years. This time dining out. Well a busy week is coming up so will talk soon. Girlfriend luncheons, memorial for a friends wife, dinners out, etc. Love to your pack. Jean

Hi Stationary Bike Woman! I'll soon be joining you as I plan to set up my Elite Volare Mag Speed Alu Roller Turbo Indoor Trainer, almost brand new, given to me by a friend last Fall! I will set it up in our Rumpus Room so that I can watch Netflix while exercising! Can hardly wait for next snowfall to drive me indoors! Your social calendar sounds most enjoyable. I'm sure Sea of Lights will be wonderful. My pack left a couple of hours ago so I'm going to figure out my monthly expenses, ready for financial reckoning with Lady Dar tomorrow!

Cheers, Patrizzio! Oh! You will love your bike and yes Outlander my God I could watch it over and over it is awesome, what a love story, I was so taken by it. xx

Hi Time Travel Love Story Girl! I must say I, as well, thoroughly enjoy the passion of their relationship! Lady Dar and Chloë are now back from SOEC. Said Jerry put on a wonderful, wonderful, show! Lady Dar is already asleep as she has her volunteer shift at PGH tomorrow and then May Jong in the afternoon. From a quick perusal of tomorrow's forecast looks like i might be able to squeeze in a ride between showers! Time for bed and first few chapters of The Late Show! Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Hello Dallas! Trust you are well. Sorry I've not been in touch sooner but it has been a very, very busy Fall and now Christmas is almost here! Lady Dar has already started to prepare for Christmas, putting up decorations and doing a bit of baking. For my part, I was charged with preparing the invitation for our Open House, on December 9th! Will attach three first class, return air tickets, so hope you, Miranda and Adrian can make bash!!! Will you be in LA for Christmas? IN early February we intend to drive to Palm Desert, Sun City, Sedona, visiting/staying with friends there, and then Dallas, if you will be around! Let me know what you are up to, both with regard to Christmas as well as Dallas. Hope things work out so that we can arrange to connect, either in LA or Dallas, Ruth, Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Pics: Wheelbarrow full, but of firewood. Friends, who winter in Sedona, have more than they can use so want me take as much as possible as they want to reduce fuel load around their house which is quite a way, into hills above Penticton, amidst forest. View from the deck of their house, out across Okanagan Lake to Summerland. 

Hello WWW, aka Wild and Wonderful Wole! Trust you are well. In the first instance, I have to apologize for not being in touch, this past July. No excuses but plenty of reasons. Life was so hectic with wedding and after we moved to house in Oxnard getting together was well nigh impossible. Again, sorry I has taken me so long to pen this message. We will be in LA for New Year's. If you will be around the following week, perhaps we can get together for a ride, or more.  Anyway, let me know what you are up to. It would be great to be able to see you again. Fondestos from Lady Dar, in absentia, already asleep  Take care of yourself, Wole. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Grizzly Peak Gord! You probably understand the reference but just in case you don't, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Grizzly Peak is a summit in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California. The peak is located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, within the boundaries of Tilden Regional Park, and directly behind the University of California, Berkeley campus.The peak was named for the California grizzly bear which inhabited the local area until the late 1800s. 

Reason I mention this is that we will be staying with friends who live on Vincente, in the Berkeley Hills, on our coming trip to LA. In the good old days, early '80's and '90's, when I was still jogging, I'd "run" from their place to the top of Grizzly Peak or at least as far as the roads thereabouts would take me. I've always found the state flag to be most attractive although I bemoan the despoiled habitat and vanished grizzlies. 

Three years ago, now, I took a trip, with two other friends, as far south as SF and on the return leg we stopped in South Tahoe to cycle on some of the trails bordering the lake shore, at times. It was in late October, 2014, and after my friends decided they'd had enough, I continued on, exploring some of the high end developments with water front. To my surprise and alarm, in one cul de sac, I came across two brown/golden bears, (I leave it to the expert to decide!), and turned around, rather quickly, after I managed to capture a shot or two! 

More recently, when riding along the Adams River, near Little Shuswap, this past July, [Corinne is now a Marriage Officiant and performed the wedding for the daughter of very close friends who live in Squamish. They have black bears in their yard all the time!], I came across what I considered to be a rather large black/brown bear, (I'm ashamed to say I don't really know the difference!), ahead of me, on the road by about 150 metres. [No camera so no evidence!] I rang my bell, hoping the creature would run away. Instead it looked at me with what I took to be a sizing-up stare. I was just about to turn around and go back from whence I came but the bear lumbered off the road and disappeared into the surrounding forest. I stood up in the saddle and pedalled like fury, let me tell you!

I know the you are probably laughing your head off but for amateurs like me, these wonderful creatures are no laughing matter. Well, there you have two of my bear stories and the rest can wait until we meet and you can out-yarn me, I'm sure! Anyway, simply wonderful to chat this morning, Gord, and find out a bit about each other. Thanks for calling. I guess I have a slight advantage, given your fairly "public" profile but it was lovely to hear a bit about your family. Given where we both live I do hope we'll be able to cross paths in the not too, too distant future. We probably won't be heading to Winnipeg, until the late summer, if then, this year. Lady Dar, short for "Darjeeling", her nickname since we travelled in India in 2015, sends her very best wishes. Take care of yourself, Gord and keep in touch. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Tahoe bears!