IIDD, September 3rd

Greetings!

Does that mean Friday night here? You're more than welcome.. will put some chicken on the barbeque!

Hi Brenda Louise!

Thanks for having us but it would be for Thursday night, rather than Friday night, if that still works for you! Thought I had sent our "staged" drive across The Prairies, but in case I didn't, (Far more likely that you were too, too indolent to read entire message!), here it is:

Will be here until the Tuesday following Labour Day, when we will start our journey home. First night will be in Kenton, about 70K west of Brandon, where we will stay with Judy/Dallas, Mom's second cousins for the night. Wednesday we will drive to Calgary to spend the night with Betty Hughes, close friend of the Durstons from Falcon. Zircon, with whom we stayed on way east, will join us for dinner and bridge that evening, at Betty's place. We are planning to bring pickerel filets for dinner on Wednesday. Will buy them, frozen, in Winnipeg, from Gimli Fish Market, en route to Kenton and will let them thaw out on drive to Calgary. Hope to bring some potatoes, vegetables and other salad fixings from Dusty's garden so we have asked Zircon to bring a small/medium tub of ice cream from Cochrane's famous MacKay's! If not, we'll drown our sorrows with malt. Next day, Thursday, on to Kamloops where we "hope" to overnight with more close friends, Brenda Louise and Wally, and their wonderful pet parrot, Picasso, a super-intelligent Grey, currently teaching Film Studies at Berkeley with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese and Clint Eastwood, the sole African-Canadian!

Perhaps you need a vacation from your recent vacation to put your mind back in working, non-indolent, order:

"Vacation: a period of travel and relaxation when you take twice the clothes and half the money you need. " - Author Unknown
"Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated." - Mason Cooley
"Laughter is an instant vacation. "- Milton Berle
"Vacation: Two weeks on the sunny sands - and the rest of the year on the financial rocks." - Sam Ewing
"The rainy days a man saves for usually seem to arrive during his vacation. "- Author Unknown
"A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia." - Author Unknown
"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. "- Robert Orben
"Half the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness."- Ray Bradbury

What a riot!,

Thursday will also be fine as our indolent life style means a rigid schedule that day. After breakfast we sit in the sun at the back until coffee runs out . Then we take our books and a cool ice tea to the front door and watch the neighbors charge off to work. It is then time to school the bird in film techniques.. You can see how the day will go...

Love Cochran's ice cream too ( and a furniture shop close to it)

Hello again, I Indolentii!

Very pleased to learn that we will not interrupt your "rigid" latte/iced tea schedule! Probably a scam to lure us into staying so that you can dragoon us into helping to clean out your basement!!! Should we bring Windex and work clothes, along with hootch?

Buona Fortuna with next pitcher of iced tea. Thanks for having us even though we'll be in a high state of vacation stress. However, you'll probably be so relaxed you may not even notice we are visiting. Cheers, Patrizio! 


Hi Patrick & All:

Well as the saying goes "it's hard to hit a moving target" and you guys are certainly on the move! It definitely sounds like you're having a good time. We have been busy with company, we had 5 straight weeks of grandkids and "PARENTS"- love the kids as they are learning to play golf and are really fun but exhausting! Denise leaves for Arizona in about 6 weeks, don't know where the summer went! Your trip to Asia & Australia sounds terrific, Denise wanted me to do that trip as I have not been to either place, however I am tired of traveling and the thought of flying that long doesn't make me happy! But who knows as I gracefully age maybe she will convince me to do it!
Please say hello to everyone for us and be well.
Travel safe! Ken 


Hi Denise and Ken!

You sound very busy yourselves, what with uninterrupted house guests. You'll be glad school will be starting shortly!!! Gang here send along their best wishes. Clar and Dusty know exactly how you feel!

Hello Everyone,
Here are the photos from the recent visit with Chloe. I copied Henning on this too – so he has your new e-mail addresses as well.
Laura xoxox :)


Hi Laura and Henning and Chloë/Cora Lee!

Great snaps of the Two Babes! Where were you, at the time? Looks like a restaurant/coffee shop.

Henning, welcome back to Canada! We hope to connect, when you are in Vancouver.


Hi Champagne and O Susannah!

Really enjoyed browsing through link on amusement parks, abandoned or otherwise! More bridge last night, teaching Carly, our niece, and Ryan, her brother-in-law, how to play, with Clarisse and Dusty as coaches! 

Pat,

    Contacted my good friend, Jim Crowe, in Hong Kong. Asked if I could pass along his e-mail address to Pat and Corinne. He replied immediately and said 'Txs please do'. The address is jcrowe@sesasia.com I played rugby with Jim at UBC and we have kept in touch ever since. He has a home in Sydney but operates largely out of HK these days.

    I'm very flattered that Dusty enjoyed my garden pictures.

    Not sure about riding tomorrow. I know I have to paint at some stage but it can be later, so if Rod phones I'll give it  a go as I haven't done a ride all week. Congratulations on the distances you are covering. You seem to be having a wonderful time there. Great forecasts here for several days.

Ray

Hi Raymond!

Thanks very much for sending along Jim's email address. I will contact him once we are back in Vancouver and have settled upon our dates for Hong Kong. Need to nail down rest of our itinerary as we should book our flights fairly soon. Leave in a little more than six months but time seems to be whizzing past at an ever-increasing pace. Almost like riding down Lillooet!

After breakfast this morning, Dusty spent about half an hour or so, picking seeds out of Mr Big. After they dry he will put them in the freezer until next Spring when he will use then to start new plants. He brought in another one, (not quite as large as Mr Big but not all that much smaller, either), before breakfast. Have been using them in the salads, of an evening, and only need one even if I'm putting together a fairly large concoction.

As I had done my 100K+ ride on Thursday, I had planned a shorter ride for Friday. After breakfast, Giorgio and Dusty were working on putting up a new fold-out awning to cover most of the front patio of Barb's/George's cabin, immediately next door. They needed me to help lift/hold the large plank, to which the awning fixtures/fittings were attached, until George could screw/bolt, (with the aid of his efficient compressed air driven tools), the plank itself into place, under the eaves of the exterior wall.

Once the plank was secured, (Or, more correctly, over-secured! Giorgio had enough bolts anchoring it to the wall that the roof would blow off, should a twister happen through the neighbourhood, [Not unknown in these parts of the province and neighbouring regions in Ontario. Close friends we stayed with in Lake Chapala, this past March, lost their cabin, near Sioux Narrows, about ten years ago. Turned entire structure into matchsticks! Fortunately, not occupied at time.], before awning would collapse!), I went to work on my car. Had been feeling guilty ever since Sarge and prince Valiant had washed it shortly after they arrived, last Tuesday, so I used Windex on inside of windows, rinsed floor mats and vacuumed interior. Half finished when I was called back to help lift awning itself into place, together with Carly, our niece, and Cora Lee as unskilled labour.

That done, I finished putting car back together and was finished by just after 3:00pm. Suited up and made for South Shore. Cycled past the cabin belonging to Mavis/Garth Reimer, friends of close friends in Ottawa. We'd met a number of years ago and had enjoyed their company so hoped to connect on this trip. No sign of activity when I cruised past so didn't bother stopping. Many people don't come out till later, after work, or even on Saturday, to avoid the usually heavy Friday afternoon highway traffic. (Oak Street during rush hour!)

Continued on to end of tarmac, (Rest of road, about 3K, to small ski slope/hill, is fairly decent, hard packed gravel, but with my hybrid tires I didn't really care to negotiate it again, having done so, once already this past week.), with 11K+ on the odometer by time I turned around. Knew that I had enough time to ride to West Hawk so decided that I would do just that. Came upon the only deer of the ride close to Fire Ride 21, (Lake property is divided into Blocks and Lots with these unpaved, so-called Fire Roads, providing owners access to their cabins.), the turn-off to the Reimer's place, the doe completely unfazed as I rode by but an arm's length away.

Wind was at my back when I left Falcon so I shifted into 3rd/8th and hurtled along, managing hills by standing up to pedal. After a small dipsy doodle at West Hawk I made for home. Although wind was quite brisk, I soldiered on, in 3rd, having to gear down on a number of otherwise small hills, the wind so strong whenever I was not shielded, to some extent, by surrounding forest. Made it home by just after 6:00pm to find the gang outside, sipping wine and beer and rum 'n coke while Dusty was hard at work grilling sausages and bacon-wrapped perogies. Since I'd not been home to help with earlier food preparation I was "ordered" inside to make a salad. By time that was done, I didn't have time to take a shower before corn was ready. Needed one after delicious meal to remove all the kernels and butter from my chin!

More bridge after dinner, introducing Carly and Ryan, (her brother-in-law and father of Quinn, Cora Lee's three month old niece), to gme, with Clarisse and Dusty as coaches. Ryan had all of the cards, (Beginner's Luck), so I needed a few snorts of malt to quell my disgruntlement!

Plan to head back to South Shore in a few minutes. Will stay relatively close to home as a heavy thunderstorm is predicted. Unfortunately so as we were to have gone to War Eagle for a bbq at Pam's/Greg's cabin this afternoon. Their cabin is relatively small so there will not be enough room for the 16 or 17 guests to eat inside should rain come as forecast. Gathering has been re-located, (necessitating many phone calls, back and forth, between War Eagle and Falcon!), to Durston's place as they have a large enclosed picnic tent as well as a number of open, covered spaces. Rest of weekend is supposed to be glorious so am hoping to attempt my "Everest", my 130K ride to Ingolf and environs, either Sunday or Monday, depending on weather and other social activities.

Buona Fortuna with your painting, gardening and rides. Cheers, Patrizio!