We went for an extended walk again today. This time, took the skytrain to Waterfront, walked along the Coal Harbour shoreline (with a pause on the bench dedicated to my mother), walked past Lost Lagoon, along English Bay to the little ferry to Granville Island, had dinner at the Cat Social House restaurant (we call it the Cathouse), walked to the Canada line on Cambie, went downtown, back onto the skytrain, walked home from Metrotown. A Great Day - totally clear and sunny, if somewhat cooler than a summer day. This was almost the reverse of a walk we took in June, see http://penmachinedad.blogspot.com/2010/06/see-town.html
We have all this for free; tourists pay a lot of money to come here and enjoy this scenery. Let's keep it "green".
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Eventful times.
We've had some visitors from Europe during the last month (daughters of good friends and their partners), and have done our "tourist guide" obligations. It's always interesting to view our area through their eyes - we take so many things for granted.
The guests have left, and it's back to regular life. One of the unpleasant situations right now is that, just after going through the latest 3-day chemo session, Derek is back in the hospital with a blood clot in his left leg. This is apparently a not unexpected occurrence with colon cancer. He's on blood thinners and is scheduled to stay in there for two or three days. It has spoiled his and Airdrie's planned weekend at the Ti-Na-Mara resort on Vancouver Island; this really "sucks" - both had very much looked forward to this.
An update: the hospital doctors have determined that Derek is fit to go home, and he arrived here this evening, feeling much better. We're all happy to have him back. He'll be on blood thinners for an indeterminate time, but of all the medical problems, that's a small inconvenience. Perhaps there is a small consolation in Derek and Airdrie's missed trip to Vancouver Island: there is a big storm brewing in the area of their destination.
The guests have left, and it's back to regular life. One of the unpleasant situations right now is that, just after going through the latest 3-day chemo session, Derek is back in the hospital with a blood clot in his left leg. This is apparently a not unexpected occurrence with colon cancer. He's on blood thinners and is scheduled to stay in there for two or three days. It has spoiled his and Airdrie's planned weekend at the Ti-Na-Mara resort on Vancouver Island; this really "sucks" - both had very much looked forward to this.
An update: the hospital doctors have determined that Derek is fit to go home, and he arrived here this evening, feeling much better. We're all happy to have him back. He'll be on blood thinners for an indeterminate time, but of all the medical problems, that's a small inconvenience. Perhaps there is a small consolation in Derek and Airdrie's missed trip to Vancouver Island: there is a big storm brewing in the area of their destination.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Parents' concern
Derek is blogging and facebooking again. This means that he is feeling better after the latest 3-day chemo session (Monday to Wednesday). That makes us feel better, too.
Parental concern does not cease when your adult child has his or her own family. It includes them all.
Parental concern does not cease when your adult child has his or her own family. It includes them all.
Spider
Spider is back - a new net and more wasps caught. I used my trusted Canon XT and uploaded the pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/m
www.flickr.com
Two of these pictures were taken about a month ago. If it is the same spider it sure has grown since then. Judging from the latest two images he (or she - I can't tell) has been successful enough securing meals in that time.
Two of these pictures were taken about a month ago. If it is the same spider it sure has grown since then. Judging from the latest two images he (or she - I can't tell) has been successful enough securing meals in that time.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cancer month
September is cancer month: In memory of every cancer patient, family member and friend who has lost their battle with cancer and in honour of those who continue to conquer it! Put this up for 1 hour if you love someone who has or had cancer. Many won't copy and paste, I did. Will you? (Barbra Goldman)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Playing with a new computer
A couple of days ago, just as the latest weather front was approaching our area, my wife noticed an unusual cloud formation almost overhead. I quickly grabbed her little digital camera and took a picture.
Since I just purchased a new iMac a couple of weeks ago, and am still "getting the hang of it", I decided to play around with a third-party, inexpensive graphics program I bought on-line (Pixelmator, recommended by Derek) to play around with the cloud picture.This is the original image, including a flaw in the camera which appears when the zoom is set to higher than 1.5 ( I'm getting the camera looked after under warranty).
This is a negative image, after painting out the flaw, and rotating the original. To me, it looks like a number of jet fighter planes flying in formation. Maybe aliens?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Part of the family?
Today, I decided to give my comfortable old slippers an honourable "burial". As the oldest "member", they joined our slipper family at Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast, and served me well for over ten years. They were "born" at a shop that specializes in sheepskin products; the shop is still in business, so far as I know. Over the years, the left slipper has had a couple of duct tape repairs, but now it's time to say goodbye. Perhaps we'll get a replacement - I do occasionally go to the sunshine coast on business.
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