Bad Boys Bridge Blues: Wednesday, February 5th

A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular. -Adlai Stevenson, governor, ambassador (1900-1965) 

Good to hear from you, Pat!

Seems like you people are having an outrageous lot of fun, as usual. Actually, I'm having a bit of fun myself. I'm not going to tell you about all of it, but Anna being re-patriated is part of it. We'll see for how long, but it'll have to be at least until summer. Her boyfriend Justin is also here, for three weeks, and is talking about coming back in March (don't ask me about his budget).
 

Otherwise, also as usual, pretty undramatic, seeing friends, going to concerts and other events, reading and writing. My knee is 80% well, no more. I was going to test it, playing tennis, today but Tomas fell ill, so it'll have to wait until next week. I won't conceal I'm a bit worried about the prospects.

We had winter, with snow, for three weeks or so, but now everything is thawing away. If it had lasted for another week I might have gone skiing. Starting to prepare mentally for the trip to Vancouver (25 February-12 May). Look forward to seeing a lot of you and Corinne. Fondestos, and bestestos, Kjell 

Hi Janet!

Trust all goes well with you! Sorry I've not been in touch in some time. You will learn, if you are persistent and diligent and continue to "wade" through this missive that Coriandre has started to outline our trip to India, in conjunction with Peter Lighthall. That being the case, once he and Lynne have discussed some of the "plans" put forward by Memsahib and reported their wants for trip we were wondering if we might arrange to meet again to run tentative itinerary by you to obtain your "expert" opinion. 

Be great to hear what you think about everything from sites, timing, efficient use of travel direction, etc. We know that we will only be "scratching" the surface of this wondrous country but as a first visit we'd like to try to make the best of our time, obviously.We will be in Mexico, attending Nicole Sutherland's wedding, end of April to until about May 10th. Until then will be pretty close to home, so let me know what might work for you in terms of getting together to see more of your fabulous pictures and hear your opinion of our proposed itinerary. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Eyob!

Trust all goes well with you and your family! Sorry I've not been in touch in some time. Reasonably busy of late. We will be in Mexico, attending a "destination" wedding, end of April to until about May 10th. Until then will be pretty close to home. I hope we can arrange another get-together some time before then so let me know what might work for you in terms of timing, etc.  Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hello Gudrun and Stefano! Trust all goes well with you and family! Sorry I've not been in touch in some time. Sorry to say that we've not seen Krissy and Mark for aeons. Chloë had a grand time with them in Big White over New Year's, however, as you may well have heard. When can we expect you back in Vancouver? Always welcome to stay with us! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Jou Ching!

Trust all goes well with you and family! Thank you so much for the wonderful New year's card, letter and best wishes! When can we expect you back in Vancouver? Always welcome to stay with us! Randy Nadeau will be back in Taiwan this year so perhaps you'll see him again. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Hi Grogg and Lurch!

Trust you are well back into Island rhythms by now. Just a quick note to ask if you want the House Instructions back? Inadvertently ended up in some of my papers and discovered them a day or so ago! I can either mail them to you, if you want, or wait until you are back in Vancouver.
 
Having one table of bridge tonight: Ted Keating, Whirlygig and Admiral 
Barnacle! Ragin' is coming for dinner beforehand. Should be fun. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Greetings! Beautiful morning out on the Bay.... We can pick up next trip. Hi to the bridge gang! Grogg
Hi Grogg!

Very frosty here! Will say hello to gang. Cheers, Il Conduttore!

Hi Iben! Trust all goes well with you and your daughter! Thank you, again, for the simply wonderful tasting. Sorry I've not been in touch sooner. No excuses but plenty of reasons! You may know some of this already but after we said goodbye we made our way back down hill. Since you had told us where your apartment was and said we should take a look at it from the street, we did just that. 

Once we were where we thought it was, across the street from an Épicerie, I asked a chap standing on the corner if he knew where Iben lived. He replied that of course he did as he was your boyfriend!  Extremely friendly, he immediately invited us upstairs to see the apartment. Quite a large place, indeed! Great good fun to see where you live.


Waving goodbye, we made for our car and following your directions we were soon parked outside Domaine de la Cote de L'Ange. As soon as three other tasters had made their purchases Corinne, (Quite a coincidence, in terms of names!), conducted our tasting. 

Really liked their white blend but was even more infatuated with the red from lunch. Funnily enough, there is a different label for the wine which is exported to the US, showing 14.5% as the alcohol level. I knew our bottle had been 15% but couldn't quite figure out why one we tasted, same year, showed lower level. To fool the taxman! Anyway, it was simply a delight to find such a tiny operation especially when we had no idea of where to even start out tasting experience. Bought two whites, for Rosemary, (Our host in Chabeuil only drinks white wine!), to thank her for stay, and four of the lunch reds and, as a treat, the Mourvèdre you told us about.
 

Anyway, just wanted to say hello, Iben, and thank you again fro making our short visit to Châteauneuf-du-Pape such a memorable experience. Please pass along best wishes to Corinne when next you see her. Fondestos and Cheers, Corinne and Patrizzio!

P,

thanks for the invite to ride in your slipsteam. I better pass. The job jar is full and I can only blame Ray for usurping all my time -- handing off all these salacious books -- with VPL deadlines to boot. I have gotten no guilty pleasure from reading them nonstop... You would enjoy Red Sparrow (Mathews). 

See you at 7:00 for candlelight brail bridge session and blind groping in the malt cupboard. W

 

Hi Giggster!

Just admit it, you are afeared of falling on ice again! Hiding under a cloak of Sisterhood imposed chores and another non-peloton, non-rider's deadlines! Fine! Let me brave polar winds all by my lonesome!

Will you be riding over this evening? If not, perhaps you should try to connect with Theodorakis. We'll have a parking spot availble, if needs be. Cheers, Il Vortice Polare!

P, if Ted is driving I would catch a ride with him. Otherwise will walk or bus. G
Hi Lads: Relevant phone numbers: Theodorakis, Chauffeur! Whirlissimo, Freeloader!

Hi Pat and Corinne. Many, many thanks for thinking of us and for your kind words. The funeral was on Tuesday and it was a fine affair, attended by many of our generation, including Lloyd Axworthy and current and former members of the English department, as well as past students and friends. I returned to Ottawa yesterday and David returns on Friday. David's sister Nan has been the principal support for her aging parents and was there when Walter breathed his last. She has had a tremendous amount on her plate, given that she teaches ESL part-time, and lives outside the city, and between her and Rick there have been 5 aging parents/family members, all with varying degrees of dementia and physical challenges.
 

Walter was a wonderful man and teacher. He never rose to the level of academic achievement that he had within him, in that he did not publish to the extent that is now expected of academics, but instead he focussed on the day-to-day back and forth of human relations as a department chair and family man. I feel very fortunate to have been part of his life. He was always kind and loving.

Unfortunately, just as Margaret and Walter were preparing to move out of their Wildwood Park home three years ago, Walter fell down the basement stairs and suffered catastrophic injuries to his head. He never fully recovered. He was already suffering from Alzheimer's then and the fall just exacerbated it. In recent years, he was confused and lost and frustrated and so his final departure did come as a relief. Even in his care home, to the very end, he was much loved and respected for his graciousness even though he had no idea why he was there. When he caught the flu a few weeks ago, his body just gave up the fight (the doctor said that this is typical in these cases).
 

David and I are preparing to fly to Korea in about 10 days. Our son Daniel who is teaching English in Japan is now getting married to his long-time girlfriend from Seoul. We've visited her there before and she has also been to Canada once, and they are marrying now so that they can begin to satisfy the residency requirements she will need for when they come back to Canada - maybe next year? They are already living together in Kitakyushu. We've visited Daniel in Japan twice, and he is now a regional coordinator for the JET program because he is fluent in Japanese. Having the funeral and all the business associated with it at this time has definitely not been convenient.
 

We also have a granddaughter in Winnipeg now, who has just turned 2, and we go back at least twice a year. My mother is still in her apartment building on Corydon Avenue, but the end of her ability to stay there alone is coming very soon. She is quite crippled by arthritis. I expect that I will have to go there for an extended period to help sort out her affairs, but she is extremely independent and unwilling to let anyone help. I'm sure her end will also be precipitated by a fall.
 

I'm sorry I have not been better at keeping in touch by email, but I appreciate you keeping up your end of the bargain. In recent years I've taken to Facebook, which David hates, but I like, because it provides a window onto the lives of old friends. Having attended the funeral has brought back to mind all the many threads we have woven over the years. Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts. Maret (with David)

Hi Shirley! Happy Chinese New Year! Trust you are well. Have been fairly busy what with a stint in California, over American Thanksgiving and then Christmas here. We returned from house/cat sitting in Parksville, Vancouver Island, a week ago, this past Monday. We will be in Mexico, attending a destination wedding, end of April to about May 10th. Until then will be pretty close to home. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

P, I think you knew Cas. Sad and unsettling. W

Rip, thanks for letting us know. This is indeed a very sad day. G 

Rip Peterman wrote:
 
Fellows: It is with great sorrow that I report just being made aware of Casper deJong's passing today due to heart attack. I have little else to report. The family is en route to Mexico. There will be a service in Vancouver TBA


Nice to hear from you two too, Patrizio and from your blog. Hope you continue to recover. That was nasty! Waiting out the winter here has been pleasant enough. On foggy gloomy days I try painting in my basement workroom and sunny days try to get out as there are not many of them this year. 

My sister just spent a week here and that was truly enjoyable. Corinne would have fitted in well as Janice is on a wheat free, partially vegetarian, diet and we love to shop. I bought some almond, chick pea, and coconut flour to make sauces and squares. We had pancakes made of cauliflower, egg plant stuffed with water chestnuts, walnuts, wild rice, quinoa etc etc. , creamed shrimp and salmon over spaghetti squash pasta. ... You get the idea. Since she left I have been continuing to eat wheat free although in a simpler vein. I haven't had the wherewithal to read "Wheat Belly" but Janice and Dana fill me in.  

 I just finished Elizabeth George's "One Evil Act" and am now reading an autobiography of Dame Daphne Sheldrick and her history and work in Kenya. It holds my interest well. Loved your photo of Departure Bay. Next time I work on my Mac I will send some pictures of a clear winter's day at Rose Hill. Must get ready for the gym. Cheers Brenda

Thank you for reviewing my brief, Pat. I'll take 10 out of 10 anytime.Travis, who scored very high in his course "Legal Surveying", rated it 8.5, before I made some changes.

Dave Hill, who I got to know while playing hockey against him back in the 1960's, is now a very successful corporate litigation lawyer, & a principle partner in the firm Hill Sokalski Walsh & Trippier LLP. His peers recently rated him in the top 35 lawyers in his specialty, nationwide. He recently scooped $2 million, plus fees, in 1 case alone v. Shell Canada, for breach of contract.
 

Anyway, He also reviewed my brief, & while admitting that he is no expert at privacy legislation, described it as "excellent", with 1 comment of concern. He strongly advised me to delete para. 60 (c), since it wasn't mentioned in Part 3, "List of Issues". His parting advice was to "Let it rip!", but I can't file my brief until I place my matter back on the uncontested list. (now scheduled for a hearing next Wednesday @ CQB, (Court of Queen's Bench). "on & on" "Wheeeeee", as Travis used to say, sarcastically, when life conditions were absurd & confusing.

Finally, Here's some pics of us around the table during Christmas brunch, including Kaitlyn's famously tough lover Scott, wearing the tam.

Hi you Island Inners, Thanks for your wonderful hospitality on Sunday. It was great to have some quality time together. The spirit tasting was great, as was the steak dinner. Clara’s beans were superb. I’m immersed in an India travel guide today so perhaps in a week or so we could have a phone conference on preliminary trip ideas. Cheers from Wintermata, Peter 

No idea what I have consented to here but nice to hear from you. Meant to get back earlier but it always seems soooo busy and I type with one finger. Remember Gilda? Her daughter has cancer and she is staying close by her. She is around 50. I have another great grandaughter a little over a month old. Am off to Brownsville Texas in a couple of weeks.I don't think the weather has been great there either. I';ll b there for about a month, then into Edmonton and then home on the 27th of March. I'll b looking forward to being home by then.. Take Care 

Hi Shirley:

I feel the same way about LinkedIn! Sad news about Gilda's daughter.

Congratulations on your latest great granddaughter! Corinne's parents used to go to McAllen which isn't all that far from where you will be. Hope weather isn't affected by the Polar Vortex! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Chloe Alexis Dunn

Chloe Alexis Dunn shared a link: "Vancouver Sun: BC must start to foster..."

Vancouver Sun: BC must start to foster change auntleahs.org Remember when you were 18 years old? You were living at home with your family, thinking about that first full-time job and planning to save money to go to college. You weren’t sure what the future would hold, but hey, you were almost 19, and there was lots to look forward to … life was good.

Hope foot better now. In Sh Pk until 23rd. Helping eldest dtr Allison get over horrendous miscarriage at 12 weeks, actually blighted ovum or improper pregnancy. Lost a lot of blood, very weak with low hemoglobin. The middle dtr, Steph having surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. Will look after her two for a couple of days. First day chasing a  2 year old and keeping up with Indikah's dramatics and already tired. -21C here. Was 70F the day before I left. Flew via Vancouver but not enough time between flights. Sorry to hear about Dr. Swayze. He must have been old. Did I tell you Phil Bleecks died; he was only about 75.

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Hi Dunn,  Thank you so very much for the update on your lovely life carrying on in retirement. I am happy for you and Connie. It is indeed tantalizing to the mind, watering in the mouth, but growling in the stomach. We should get together, but have to talk to Shewa first. 

I am going home after a long day of negotiation with the feds on contract, and not yet finished. Me and Shewa are going to Harrison for next week for two/ three nights for Valentines. The kids are going to school and it will give both of us a break. Talk to you soon, keep in riding my man. Give my regards to the family. Eyob