I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose
and poetry; that is, prose, - words in their best order; poetry, - the best
words in their best order. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic (1772-1834)
The expert came and cemented a brick over the nest on the lovely rafter. The wasps are still swarming around. Love the Mexican solution. Brick looks ridiculous. Bruno and Carol arrive tonight around 6. Off to the Thursday market to shop. Will buy a roast chicken for tonight. Give my love to Gregg and Francesca. Lady Dar
Happy New Year, Elaine! Trust
you are well. I certainly must apologize for not being in touch sooner,
especially after receiving your fabulously hilarious Xmas card! We've
never danced so vigorously or laughed so uproariously! Must away as I need to lay a fire
before heading out, ready for when I'm back. Fondestos and Cheers,
Patrizzio!
Hello Arizonians! Trust
you are both well, although I have heard that you are both suffering
from one thing or another. Very sorry to hear that this is so if this is
the case. I certainly must
apologize for not being in touch sooner but seem to have been very busy
here. Must away as I need to ready my gear. David will collect me after dropping Margaret off at HH. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Pics: Cartwright, AaC2, David and I. Had a great chat with Margaret after Cartwright hike as she came to The
Beanery to collect David. Was pleased to talk to her as I knew about
both of them but had never met until a few weeks ago, on Campbell hike,
close to Firewood Central! I do hope I'll be able to cycle with her at
some point.
Good Afternoon, Bridge Sisterhood! Absentee votes are all in and we have enough for two tables this coming Monday. Hip Hip Hooray! Judy Blue, please be so kind as to bring your bridge table or else I could pop by over the weekend and collect it, if that is easier for you. Let me know and I'll plan accordingly. Look forward to seeing everyone at 6:30 pm at 611 Burns Street. Thanks and Cheers, Patrizzio! Sasquatch Dave and Snow-Plow Polga! Trust you are both showered and changed, by now, and sipping on a hot drink of some kind. Many, many thanks, it goes without saying, to Unstoppable New Knee Man for introducing Rolly Polly and I to this wonderful snowshoeing landscape, almost in our own back yards.
While the day was quite overcast, the sky dull, the snowshoeing was anything but! The almost knee-deep snow, when bushwhacking, over dead fall aplenty, would have made T Rex jump for joy, knowing that whenever an easy path presented itself, you always directed us to take the one less or never travelled! The silence was divine, almost completely unbroken, except for the crunch of our shoes and the occasional distant sound of Pearly Whites' voice carrying all the way from Green Mountain! Your knowledge of the topography of area and its animal inhabitants, so freely and generously shared, made the outing even more enjoyable. I for one could not have been more delighted to have been introduced to yet another pearl in the snowshoe necklace which adorns our hills and dales.
Finally, by virtue of my self-appointed authority, I hereby induct you into the Dinosaur Leader Hall of Fame, forever after to be known as Diplodocus Dave, much to the annoyance of Tyrannosaurus Tinka, I'm sure! Thanks again, for all your chauffeuring. Stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Idleback and More: David
said he was really tired when we finally returned to car. He is only
lately managing to exercise without taking pain killers for his knee
surgery. Olga Polga was really terrific, in terms of taking the brunt of
trail blazing. Being in the lead was really a workout, given how deep
the was the snow for a goodly part of bushwhacking. Particularly
impressive given her relative lack of such activity while in Mexico.
Most of the time, when I was in front, [same for others as well, of
course, when leading], my shoes were "swimming" under the snow as it was
easier to plough below the crust than to lift one's feet up to the
surface. In the trees there was often much dead-fall so one had to be
careful going over logs, etc., but when crossing a number of small,
frozen lakes, one would sink almost below one's knees with each step, in
spite of one's snowshoes.
However, while it was reasonably difficult
passage we took things slowly so it was most enjoyable exercise. [I
could really feel it in my thighs and upper legs last night. Not really
sore but certainly a decent workout!] Walking back to the car, on the
service road, from where we exited the forest, was so easy I said I was
going to trek all the way home!
I had invited my companions in
to have a java, or something stronger, when we were back at Burns but
David had to collect Margaret at HH and Rolly Polly felt chilled. Both
wanted to shower and change so we said goodbye.
I had a steaming mug of
java myself and once I'd finished editing photo album I set about making
a turnip puff and Shepherd's Pie. Can do former from memory, [although I
forgot to add an egg!], and only looked at recipe, for latter, to see
which herbs I needed. The Boy was very helpful, hopping from one counter
to the the other as I prepared things. Had everything finished by close
to 8:30 pm so had a quick shower and then ate my dinner, tomatoe/Feta
salad and small container of ingredientes, (potatoe/meat/veg filling),
which didn't fit into the two Pyrex casseroles I'd used. I started Black Earth Rising, [Same director, Hugo Blick, of The Honourable Woman],
a couple of nights ago and am enthralled. You must watch it. John
Goodman, in particular, is terrific, as are rest of cast, most of whom I
don't know.
Dear Family and Friends -- My apologies for this mass email and for being incommunicado for the last while. I have some good excuses/reasons, though, which I will now share. Peter and I had (as some of you already know) a busy lead-up to the Christmas season with a great event-packed visit to Vancouver, Victoria, and Denman Island in early December. We flew down and back and made use of a car-rental "freebie" Peter had from a previously-cancelled business trip. We then had a bit of a hiatus with a quiet Christmas in Naramata shared with friends Carol and Gerry Kenyon.
At the 11th hour (almost literally) we decided to fly down to Vancouver for a New Year's party and overnight at Anne and Byron Stewart's. This is when some things started to go awry. The airplane did not seem to be properly heated on either of the flights and I came down (again!) with that god-awful cough, which has really laid me low. I'm still not over it. I just feel slightly "off" all the time, and I tire very easily. Of course, that could be due to my advanced age ... but we will not go there.
And just to add to my stress level, Peter and I decided to list our Naramata property for sale. We reasoned that sooner was better than later in a market that was definitely cooling off. To our great surprise (and our agent's) and relief we got an offer after the first showing! With minimal to-ing and fro-ing over the price and completion date, we made a deal. The buyers are also going to take the tractor and other vineyard equipment (yeah!) and are also interested in taking some of the furniture (yeah!!) and artwork (more on this in a moment). This is the good news. The less-than-good news is the completion date is May 31st. According to the latest news, our condo in Victoria won't be ready for occupancy until July at the earliest. Our experience with our former condo purchase tells us that it may be even later that we can actually move there, and we will have to find a place to store our stuff until then.
This is the bad news. Or is it? We could put this "found" time to good use with a short-term rental somewhere exotic (or not so much) and/or a road trip, and/or a cruise, or ...? Hopefully, we will not have too much to put into storage. There is only a small number of items (furniture, art, etc.) that will find a home in the new condo. It is such a different size and type of space from the Naramata house. As I mentioned the new owners are interested in buying some of the furniture and artwork. I'd like to give friends and family first dibs, though. So, if there is anything you think you'd like to have and you can arrange some way to get it away before the end of May please speak up and let us know. We'd love to see everything go to another good home if it can't go to ours. The real estate agent had an incredible video made of the interior of the house and the property as a whole. Here is the link if you'd like to see it and to refresh your memory of what's there. <https://yourguide.com/3555_n_naramata_rd_naramata_bc?page=tour>
Once again, my apologies for this mass mailing and duplicate mailing for those who already know our big news. I'm still pretty much in a state of shock. I think Peter may be as well but he is dealing with it better than I. He is in Ecuador until tomorrow. Ann Curry and Gary Albach arrive next Wednesday for a week in the desert with us and the celebration of Gary's birthday. Ann and Byron are also due to visit in February. We're back in Naramata on March 10 and then the real work of getting ready to move starts. Wish us the best of luck with this. Cheers for now, Lynne P.S. Please note that for the duration of our stay in PD, my Shaw email account does not allow me to send messages nor to reply to messages sent to that account. This gmail account works tickety-boo, though. 😁 Strike while the iron is hot!
Monday it is then...not Wednesday? Hello
again Bridge Sisterhood! Green Gables Girl pointed out my error in date
assignation! Bridge will be on Wednesday, February 6th, not Monday,
February 4th. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks Anne. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hey Pat, We are going to swing by after my work tomorrow at 6pm to sip on a beer and say hi to Gregg and Fran. You do not need to worry about us for dinner. We don’t want to completely intrude C
Hello
Sendero Canyon Freeloaders! Great that we'll have a chance to see you
before you wing your way to sunnier climes! You are more than welcome to
stay for dinner in spite of your false protestations of non-intrusion!
I've plenty of overlefts from before Lady Dar went away so it would be
terrific if you could help me finish them! Lurch and Grogg said they
would arrive mid-to-late afternoon so we'll be fine until you, The
Terrible Twosome and Beckster darken our front door. Give me shout as to
your ETA so that I can put some antibiotic ointment on the overlefts
before you arrive! On the other hand, if you are serious about not
intruding you could all eat on the back patio. Dress warmly! Cheers,
Patrizzio! PS: Album is from today's outing. A great spot for you folks!
Hi everyone - Joan had her hip replacement surgery this morning and all appears to have gone well. She is out of the recovery room and in her private room (with no view) at UBC Hospital. She will be here one night at least. We'll find out tomorrow afternoon if she has recovered enough to be released or will need to stay over longer. She is refusing to let me take and share any photos which is unfortunate as there was one spectacular test where blue stuff was put up her nostrils and then this device emitting red laser like light was inserted. Dramatic and visually interesting to say the least. I'll let you know when she is back at home. Cheers...Paul
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