Wednesday 16 November 2011

IIDD, Nov 17th

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976) 

P,

I always thought you were saying ‘FINE’ when you reluctantly accepted the demands of the sisterhood. Now I realise the word you used was ‘KINE’. W

P,

Thanks for the invite to ride this morning – looks inviting out there. I have two matches tonight so I will pass.

We lost our first match in the Div 1 – all in over points games. We won our 50s match last night.

May be able to ride tomorrow if that is in the cards. Enjoy, W

 Hi No Knead!

Foist and foimoist, I have never been saying "Fine" or even "Kine", for that matter. Had you bothered to listen carefully, instead of paying lip-service to my scattered poils of wisdom, as does The Sisterhood, you would have realized that I'm actually saying, "Swine!" I gather that you can get a group rate for hearing aids with Cap'n Barnacle so please have yourself fitted out before next outing!

Speaking of outings, Recipe Ray and I had a a terrific ride this morn. We did an up 'n over and then I thought why not proceed, in a westerly direction, along the bike path towards Dundarave. Did just that and really discovered a fabulous "extension" to Stanley Park/Lions Gate circuit. We were able to go all the way, more or less parallel to Marine Drive, to 31st Ave, using a combo of bike path and little trafficked, gorgeous, lane-like streets, past Dundarave shopping area, a block or two, at times, from ocean front, hemmed in by railroad track. Really quite an adventure as neither of us had even traversed this route before. Obviously, it would be the way to make for Horseshoe Bay should we ever decide to attempt this ride. Few decent, small hills on route we covered so I can imagine what terrain must be like further west. Forgot to mention that a black Lexus seemed to be tailing us for part of ride and we garnered quite a few glowering looks from various West Van matrons walking their pampered pooches. Funnily enough, the few lycra clad, colour coordinated riders we passed or met seemed invisible to their vigilant eyes. We may well have to work on lengthy Christmas Wish Lists at MEC for designer togs, passing along present riff-raff outfits to The Kaz!

Back over bridge and down past Prospect Point. I was keen to do a complete circuit of Seawall again but Robo Ray nixed that idea so we made for home. Had 48K on clock by time we passed Heartbreak Terrace. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go all the way to UBC and beyond as I was feeling a tad sluggish. Decided I'd push myself to bottom of Foreshore Hill after I waved goodbye to Recalcitrant Ray. One of reasons I was reluctant to make for Spanish Banks myself was the threat of rain. Nevertheless, by time I had reached bottom of hill, I decided to continue with route regulare and did just that.

As I was wheeling down into Musqueam, felt a few first droplets of rain and wondered if I'd made a silly mistake. Back on MD once again, wind was following so I didn't actually notice light, steady drizzle until I was heading back down from Wesbrook Village. By then it was coming down harder but I was already committed so simply pushed on, alternating between being swept along and fighting a headwind laced with icy scorpions. Fortunately, I was dressed appropriately so was actually quite toasty for the last 20K of wet weather riding.

Pulled into Heartbreak Hotel with 101.33K on the clock and was more than pleased, primarily as I never thought I'd ride at all, let alone such distance. Left at 9:45am and put feed bag on my steed at 3:35pm so was a fairly lengthy outing. Given this, I'm up for a shorter ride tomorrow, if that still suits you. Put some anti-freeze in your water bottle as snow flurries are forecast! Let me know what time might suit. I'm pretty flexible for most of day but it might be reasonable to start around 9:30am-10:00am. I could show you the Northwest Passage if you've a mind. Anyway, let me know and we'll plan accordingly.

Sounds as if you are playing well. I trust tonight's results are even better! Buona Fortuna to you and The Jackal! Cheers, Il Conduttore!


Hi Patrice,

I hope you had a nice ride today. Too bad we couldn't have met up, I tried
Whirly gig and got no answer so I assume he was at the tournament as you
said.
I wound up leaving here right after I spoke with you and headed over to
Colleens' class at Champlain and worked out for an hour and then decided as
it still looked good outside to head over to North Van and meet Paul who
I've been doing work for. I didn't know for sure where a good north south
bike route was but I wound up heading back up Tyne and then left on 45th as
I figured I would run into something . I found "Sunrise" a couple of blocks
west of Kerr and headed North. Around 29th I figured I was a little too far
West to connect with the second narrows and headed back towards Boundary rd.
but couldn't see another north /south route. A bit frustrated, I headed
north again a couple blocks west of Boundary until I came to a T . I had
remembered seeing a route heading South when You and I and whirlygig were
together so somewhere west of Rupert so I headed west again and found myself
at Sunrise again.

I decide I would stick to this the rest of the way as I was tired of
blindly going back and forth. I followed this route all the way ,past
Lougheed and connected with Adanac for a couple of blocks and then headed
north again past Hastings and then Mcgill st. I knew i would have to think
about heading east towards the bridge but didn't like the prospect of going
on Mcgill st. I stayed on the North side odf Mcgill and eventually connected
with "Portside" which I was pleased to find to me in a round about way over
to the second narrows.

I carried on up and over the bridge and tried to take in the view but found
myself a little stressed about the minimal clearance to the railings on both
side and noticed that the slightest lack of attention to staying right in
the middle of the path would have resulted in absolute disaster as if my
handle even slightly brushed the railing bars I would have found myself
either flying out into the roadway or over the railing to the ocean and
honestly I don't know what would have been worse lined up perfectly .

Happy to be off the bridge I headed towards Deep cove along Dollarton , I
found this path to be nice and wide and quite a relief after the confines of
the sidewalk on the bridge. I only rode along for about a kilometer to where
Forrester and Old Dollarton hwy intersect and where Pauls shop is located.
I met with Paul for a while and had considered heading back home but by then
the weather had turned and it felt like the temperature had dropped about
ten degrees and the sky looked threatening. As Paul had business to do in
Burnaby I took him up on his offer of a ride and a stop at J.J. Bean for a
coffee. I felt pretty happy with having broken new riding ground for myself
and with the workout at Champlain figured I had done my quota for the day.

I'm quite pleased with having found another good bike rout in "Sunrise" and
will have to use it to hook up with you and the entourage sometime.

Take care, Al
 
Hi Big Al!

Really sorry that we couldn't connect but it sounds as if you did quite well on your own! Congrats on your outing!!!

Pulled into Heartbreak Hotel with 101.33K on the clock and was more than pleased, primarily as I never thought I'd ride at all, let alone such distance. Left at 9:45am and put feed bag on my steed at 3:35pm so was a fairly lengthy outing. Given this, I'm up for a shorter ride tomorrow. Not sure what you have in mind, if anything. If interested, put some anti-freeze in your water bottle as snow flurries are forecast! Let me know what time might suit. I'm pretty flexible for most of day but it might be reasonable to start around 9:30am-10:00am. I could show you the Northwest Passage if you've a mind. Anyway, let me know and we'll plan accordingly. Saturday is also a possibility but I won't be able to leave until about 1:30pm as I'm helping Cora Lee with a  Friends of VPL function until then. Otherwise, I'd really liked to have attempted Deep Cove. Don't think there will be enough time, for me at least, starting out then, even from downtown, with limited daylight hours now.

Cheers, Il Conduttore!


Hi Folks,

We want to set up a date with you two and the other Durstons, if we can before the mania starts over the holidays (and before the snow falls??!).

We are thinking Dec 2 or the following weekend (Dec 9,10,11) at our place. We’ll do the cooking.

Also I have the Penguin’s email (not Legs), so once I know you 4 are clear I’ll invite them or who would you suggest? Your thoughts? Thanks, CC

Dear Mr Champagne and Ms O Susannah!

Madame Coriandre has instructed her Social Secretary to inform Mr and Mrs Pitchford that she and her esteemed parents, Rosie The Riveter and Coat Hanger, would be more than delighted to journey, chauffeured by their trusty drive, Il Conduttore, to the farthest reaches of Vancouver to play gioco del ponte. She has likewise instructed the aforementioned Social Secretary to mention that she will be bringing along swag for prizes!

Please find enclosed the email address for Legs:

Karen Levine:    levinekbl@aol.com

I remain, Your ever Humble and Trusted Secretary, Oppressed Man Servant, Underpaid Sherpa and General Dogsbody, Il Conduttore!


Mary Carmen Graham posted on your Wall.
"Hello my friend, how's it going? I'm still waiting for Corinne to reply my email. Cheers!"


Hi Carmen Miranda!

Having consulted with Cora Lee, it would seem that the earliest and best date, for us, would be November 27th, if that is convenient for you and Southside Johnny. It would have to be for lunch as I am hosting my Book Club that evening.

Coriandre's parents arrived on Tuesday. I picked them up at YVR at 10:00am that morning and we had a pleasant meal that evening, fairly early on as Clarisse and Dusty were operating on Ottawa time and had had to be up at 5:00am there to catch their flight.

I curl with Flamin' and Sarge on Tuesday evenings and we had late draw last night. In fact, it was one of the best games we have had to date. Everyone, on both teams, curled well and we see-sawed back and forth, one point ahead and then one point down. Four all tie going into 7th end, (Clock had run out so when that happens you can only finish end you are playing.), opposition with hammer. They missed a few shots and we were able to protect two of our stones in the house. With his last shot their skip had an open draw or a tap to win. Bit of nail biting as he had made some similar clutch shots earlier. Few sighs of relief as his final delivery was quite a bit outside and well before it crossed the hog line we new we had stolen the end. However, even if we had lost, it really wouldn't have mattered as it was, as I mentioned, such a close, hard-fought but more than friendly encounter. Bit like some of our rides!

Last night, went to see Margin Call, with Flamin' and Sarge, (Cora Lee was volunteering at WISH. Apparently they served 114 meals this evening so it was a busy time at the women's shelter.), at Fifth Avenue, but a few blocks away, on Burrard. "Margin Call stars Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci. The film takes place over a 24-hour period at a large investment bank (loosely modeled on Lehman Brothers), and focuses on the financial crisis of 2007–2008, following the actions taken by a group of employees during the financial collapse." Found it really quite gripping inasmuch as it really tried to take the measure of the individual players, at various staff and management levels in the firm, in this incredible economic and social catastrophe. Must say that Jeremy Irons was a perfect "capitalist villain" while Kevin Spacey is remarkable as a man, always struggling to retain his moral and ethical integrity, who has given his life to an institution and is left, in the end, knowing that he has lost everything he has ever held dear, as a result. I'm reminded, in many ways, of Glengarry Glen Ross, in which, interestingly enough, Spacey also appears.

Again, thank you so much for invitation. Let us know how that date works. Cheers. Patrizio!



Hi Guys,

Just thought I would give you some thoughts I have had about your visit to Brisbane.  The options are something like this, If you are interested I could ask one of my cultural officers to put together a bit of  a highlights tour of Brisbane just to give you all a bit of a flavor of the important buildings etc a walking tour say about 4 hours.  A walking tour of the gardens and the South bank precinct including the Gallery of Modern Arts lunch and a swim in the city probably 4 hours. If you want more activity I could look at a Kayak trip along the Brisbane River and perhaps a lunch somewhere.  Cycle tour to the city and a ride along the river walk/cycle path 4 hours.  If YOU want I could try and book you all on the Story Bridge a walk.  Those that want to go on the ocean then yes this can be arranged.  Relaxation coffee one hundred yards from our front door and breakfast, we have  good Japanese and Mexican RestaurantS down the road.

There is of course opportunities to go for a drive to places like Bribie Island  and other places, Australia Zoo of Steve Irwin fame is about 90  minutes away, the off shore islands are a few hundred dollar to get to its up to you all how much you want to spend.

Bike rides are easy to do the distances are considerable to get away from our place to any where other than the city (about 4 km) .  We could do Mount Cootha for a lunch, “mount” is optimistic it’s a couple of hundred meters above sea level

Clearly the other options are centered on just lazing about and relaxing Claire and I are very good at this.

Cheers Greg and Clair 

Hi Greg and Claire!

Thanks so very much for such a wonderful list of suggestions! I'm quite keen on the walking tour. That sounds terrific. As far as cycling, I'm more than happy to do as much as possible, both in city and countryside. Cora Lee will probably not want to ride, much, if at all, but I'll let her speak for herself. A day or so of outings mixed with a day or so of just lolling seems rather attractive to me and I assume, for rest. Once again, I'll let them express their own thoughts. This is what Sarge sent to me:

"FYI I am open to anything. Wayne"

Unfortunately, I find kayaking, what little I've done, quite hard on my lower back so I'll probably not want to do any. Flamin' is quite an expert paddler, (having competed when she was an even more hot-blooded adolescent), and Sarge is pretty quick to pick up most sports so they might well wish to spend some time on Brisbane River outings.

Speaking of outings, friend Robo Ray and I had a a terrific ride this morn. We did an up 'n over on Lions Gate Bridge and then I thought why not proceed, in a westerly direction, along the bike path towards Dundarave. Did just that and really discovered a fabulous "extension" to Stanley Park/Lions Gate circuit. We were able to go all the way, more or less parallel to Marine Drive, to 31st Ave, using a combo of bike path and little trafficked, gorgeous, lane-like streets, past Dundarave shopping area, a block or two, at times, from ocean front, hemmed in by railroad track. Really quite an adventure as neither of us had even traversed this route before. Obviously, it would be the way to make for Horseshoe Bay, (a major BC Ferry terminal to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, [We have one as well!]), should we ever decide to attempt this ride. Few decent, small hills on route we covered so I can imagine what terrain must be like further west. Forgot to mention that a black Lexus seemed to be tailing us for part of ride and we garnered quite a few glowering looks from various West Van, (uppity neighbourhood), matrons walking their pampered pooches. Funnily enough, the few lycra-clad, colour-coordinated riders we passed or met seemed invisible to their vigilant eyes. We may well have to work on lengthy Christmas Wish Lists at Mountain Equipment Co-op for designer togs, passing along present riff-raff outfits to the ockers in Oz!

Back over bridge and down past Prospect Point. I was keen to do a complete circuit of Seawall again but Robo Ray nixed that idea so we made for home. Had 48K on clock by time we passed Heartbreak Terrace. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go all the way to UBC and beyond as I was feeling a tad sluggish. Decided I'd push myself to bottom of Foreshore Hill after I waved goodbye to Recalcitrant Ray. One of reasons I was reluctant to make for Spanish Banks myself was the threat of rain. Nevertheless, by time I had reached bottom of hill, I decided to continue with route regulare and did just that.

As I was wheeling down into Musqueam Indian Reservation, felt a few first droplets of rain and wondered if I'd made a silly mistake. Back on MD once again, wind was following so I didn't actually notice light, steady drizzle until I was heading back down from Wesbrook Village, part of UBC. By then it was coming down harder but I was already committed so simply pushed on, alternating between being swept along and fighting a headwind laced with icy scorpions. Fortunately, I was dressed appropriately so was actually quite toasty for the last 20K of wet weather riding.

Pulled into Heartbreak Hotel with 101.33K on the clock and was more than pleased, primarily as I never thought I'd ride at all, given earlier forecast, let alone such distance. Left at 9:45am and put feed bag on my steed at 3:35pm so was a fairly lengthy outing.

Again, thank you so much for working on activities to keep us out of the house and away from your stash of hootch! All the best to you both. Cheers, Patrizio!
Hello! Just wanted you to know about my next Wearable Art Show!

Full details are on my blog at:

http://inside-outstyleanddesign.blogspot.com

There will be several vendors waiting to show you what they have been making.

NB: There is an opening reception for the Hard Twist exhibit at the
same time. Do not be put off by a crowd in the lobby on the second
floor of the hotel. Barrel on through and come and see me! Deborah
Hi Wearable Woman!

Glad you seem to be getting more exposure with this latest Wearable Art Show! Buona Fortuna with show and opening reception! Wish we could attend. Cheers, Patrizio!



Dear friends at the West Coast,

It is great to read of all the news in a legendary email from Pat on a nice quiet evening as it happened to us this past Sunday. Sabine and I were just unwinding from a wonderful trip and slight jet lag - actually we got our jet lag being honeymooners in New York City!

But to start in the beginning: Sabine and I got married on the 4th of November 2011 at the registrar's office in Bern with a small ceremony. 10 years after our relationship started we chose the day to say "Yes" to each other. It was a moving moment for us and the close family attending. Sabine chose her best friend Julia as her maid of honor, I chose my brother Nicolas as my best man.
What followed was a wonderful celebration with family and friends in a near by restaurant. We were surprised by various small performances - even a choir of Sabine's pupils from 5th grade - and received plenty of gifts and good wishes. It was a great pleasure and a moment we will always remember.
As mentioned before, we chose to run away the next morning for a week of honeymoon in NYC. A city trip we were excited about for a long time, and actually traded in for Vancouver when we planned to come to the West Coast in 2010.
The stay started off with an hour long intermezzo, when Simon was detained by the Immigration officers at JFK for not properly entering the USA coming from Canada months before by train (apparently the stamp was not properly placed). Sabine waited at the empty baggage claim with tear filled eyes and mounting worries until things were finally sorted out.
But luck was on our side from then on: We always had sunny skies and warm weathers. We enjoyed ourselves while getting breakfast at 5o clock in the morning at Times Square, walking up and down the Village, China Town and Little Italy, shopping on Fifth Avenue, attending the Metropolitan Opera performing Verdi's Nabucco - just to name a few highlights ;-)

To see some pictures go to our web gallery: http://gallery.zzz
Username: XXX
password: YYY

So for now we are happily back at our home in Bern, settling back into everyday's life. Simon will work at the emergency Dept. until end of the year and go back to the University Eye Hospital in January 2012.

We read about your various visits at St. Paul's involving feet to shoulder and throat and hope things get more quiet soon. We hope Pat's gets a date for the procedure soon so you can travel well to Asia and Australia.

How is life in L.A. Ayn? We would love to hear how you and the tall men are doing?

Please send our warm regards to Daniel in Hong Kong. He was a great host on many evenings and quick as a weasel showing us remarkable spots throughout the city. And don't forget to have a drink at the 102th-floor bar of the Ritz Carlton with a view across Victoria Harbor (caution: no Crocs allowed)!

With warmest regards and best wishes to all of you, Sabine and Simon



Hello Young Married Couple!

First and foremost, I want to say thank you for sending along your stunning pictures of your honeymoon in New York! Given that the snaps capture the very essence of the city, we will no longer have to go there ourselves! This of course, is my opinion, but you can well imagine Cora Lee's response! Pictures will make her want to go even more now!

Your wedding reception sounded delightful and I'm glad everything went off so swimmingly. Especially since Simon is not a permanent inmate in Rikers Island!!! Thanks for fashion advice for the bar at the Ritz Carlton. Please don't tell me I can't wear shorts!!! Thanks for best wishes for the  positive resolution of all our medical issues. Buona Fortuna with work in Emergency, Simon. I take it that Sabine is still teaching.

Well, Newlyweds, Congratulations again. Take care of each other! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio!

Pic: This picture was forwarded to me by both MI-5 and Interpol. You will notice that Simon is the second from the back of the line!

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