Have you ever considered the fact that Andre may well be a spy? In the book I'm currently reading, Expats, the wife, Kate, worked for the CIA for 15 years and never told her husband, Dexter. Turns out that he is being investigated by the FBI for apparently stealing €50 million. Author handles the question of just how well we know one another, (particularly spouses/significant others), in a world filled with deception, lies and secrets. Actually, in spite of seeming improbability of plot, it is very, very engaging.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up Robbo Man and we dropped in to visit Mike Carter, friend recovering from knee surgery. Glad to report he seems to be doing extrremely well. We had a good visit, two of their delightful grandchildren buzzing around the bedroom all the while. Poor Polly is exhausted as she has obviously borne the brunt of taking care of the children this past week as the parents were off to Mexico. (Trip was scheduled before Mick knew when he was to have surgery.) When we said goodbye I knew she looked relieved that Saturday night was last night to have to put girls to bed! They do a considerable amount of grandparenting normally but with Mick's operation and full week of energetic three and four year olds it has been taxing indeed.
After Cora Lee attends church this morning we are off to pick up Chloë
and then go to have lunch at a new restaurant, in North Van, which her
friend Krissy had been hired to open. (Krissy is the daughter of
Gaye/Derek, couple in Cornwall we will do house exchange
with.) Not sure of the name but apparently business was originally a
meat/butcher operation and owners wanted to expand. Today's menu will
feature a whole roasted pig on a spit so should be both fun and tasty.
After that we'll return to loft to help put
up a few things: magnetic knife holder, towel hooks, small set of
shelves, etc. Then back to Granville Island for dinner at Cat's Social
House, just two minutes from us on GI. Cora Lee has a Groupon, (an
online service offering
deals on everything from shopping to travel to dining and more), that
needs to be used before it expires. Then Bletchley Circle! Hope you receive a letter written in invisible ink shortly! Fondestos and Cheers, The Scarlet Pimpernel!
Hi again, Rosemary! Somehow I sent the last message before
including attachments! I think I was worried that Cora Lee might
discover that I was sending a coded message to an agent! Cheers,
Patrizzio! Pics: Mick, grandchildren and Raymond.
Hello Knee Recovery Unit et al!Great to see you yesterday, Mick! No wonder you are doing so well, given the bevy of beautiful nurses you have, waiting on you and answering your every beck and call! Wonder if you need any reading material?
Off to have lunch at a new restaurant. Today's menu will feature a whole roasted pig. Sorry Giorgio, I meant to say endangered Chilean Seabass! Dinner at Cat's Social House as Cora Lee has a Groupon, (An online service offering deals on everything from shopping to travel to dining and more. Probably not something in your ken, Robo Man!), that needs to be used before it expires. Hope everyone receives a letter written in invisible ink shortly, particularly Ragin' Bull as he only wants the executive summary of my messages, not the detailed Field Reports! I'm off to ride at FCCC and read more Expats. Cheers, The Scarlet Pimpernel!
Pics of lasterday with attachments. Apologies for latter to RR & W. Sounds like a 19th Century, mid-west American railroad! (Kansas, Arkansas and Texas Railroad, so-called Katy Trail, bike trail on former roadbed I rode upon while in Dallas this past January/February.) Anyone still have stocks in it? If so, cash them in and pay for next round of lattes!
So
sorry to hear about your horrible fall. It couldn’t have been a lot of
fun and even your fairly light-hearted description of the aftermath
doesn’t make it seem something
I want to do. It’s good news that you didn’t do worse damage. I’m
sure any lingering scars will only add to your craggy good looks and
intellectual mystique. I just hope that your taste for alcohol returns.
We did see the film
Barbara, and I agree with you that it was excellent. There was
lots of tension and the East German setting was really interesting. It
reminded me a bit of the sort of police state atmosphere when I was
working in Poland in 1976. It was shown last
fall as part of the Penticton Art Gallery’s Hot Stove film series. The
series is put together by TIFF, so we see 5 excellent contemporary
films every year. This week we saw
The Angel’s Share. It’s a great gritty Scottish comedy, with a
lot of whisky culture. Great characters and dialogue. Highly
recommended when you get a chance.
Speaking
of alcohol, I found this past week that I have a certain tolerance
level. We had a 3-night, 2-day visit Sunday through Wednesday from
friends Anne and Byron Stewart,
nearly neighbours of yours on the south side of False Creek. Byron and
I have a long standing golf rivalry, so we played a two day match play
contest at Penticton and Summerland golf clubs. In the evenings we
drank a lot of martinis, wine, whisky and cognac.
I thought I was coping OK but the old system was really very tired.
I’m finally feeling back to normal after a few days of near abstinence.
It’s
been awhile since we corresponded. Lynne and I had a very enjoyable 3
weeks in Maui, March 16 through April 6. We spent one week in a cottage
on the North Shore, where
the big surf is. We were near the little town of Paia which has a
great lineup of good and affordable restaurants. The last two weeks we
spent in a condo right on the water in Honokawai, a few miles north of
Lahaina. It was a lot of fun watching humpback
whales frolicking right offshore of our place. They were so plentiful
that there was never a time that we couldn’t spot a whale with a few
seconds of scanning the water. I played quite a bit of golf (6 rounds)
and we both did lots of walking. Good thing,
as I perfected my mai-tai recipe which required accompanying pupus
every evening.
Since
Maui, I’ve been scrambling to get the vineyard and garden in shape.
There seems to have been an unending list of urgent chores. Fortunately
it’s now more or less under
control so I can manage it in a few days a week, leaving time for my
bad golf game and other activities. I’m booked for a golf trip to
Kimberly for three days of play with my old AMEC and Teck colleagues May
24-26 so trying to get my game in shape (with little
real hope!). I’m not so busy with consulting work right now, but have
a couple of things on the go, and a new review board assignment that
will probably entail a trip to Madagascar at some point this year.
Thanks
for your invitation to Beau Soleil. It looks like a great base for
exploring that region of France and becoming authoritative on Languedoc
wines We would normally have
been very tempted, but have other plans. We probably talked about it
when we were in NOLA – our Asian cruises. We’re doing back to back
land/river cruises, one in China, followed by a second one in Vietnam
and Cambodia, from about Sept 8 to Oct 10. That
will be our big travel for the year. We’ll think about the Dram Come
True, but the timing might not work. However, we have to be in
Vancouver once or twice this summer so hope to catch up. When are you
leaving for Cornwall? We’ll try to get to town before
you take off on that trip.
Hi Mai-tai Man!
Glad to hear you are keeping your bar tending skills up as well as your alcohol levels above the refill level! Thanks for best post-accident-recovery wishes. Sorry we won't see you both in France but I thought it was probably a long shot, although I wasn't sure where in the world you would be! Both land/river cruises sound simply wonderful. Missed The Angel's Share at VIFF, (just couldn't match showings with my volunteer shifts), but hope to see it somewhere along the line. Hard wonderful reviews as you yourself attest.
Other wise you sound busy as ever. We'll be flying to LA on May 18th for Alejandro's graduation from U Cal Northridge on May 22nd. Then back to Vancouver on May 22nd and then to Winnipeg, alone, on May 23rd. I will attend the 100th Anniversary of my junior high school, Isaac Brock. Really looking forward to both as you can imagine. Then back to Vancouver on May 28th in time for Dram on 31st. Not much more than a month and we are off to London on July 10th. If it's Tuesday, it must be York! First stop after London.
As I mentioned, we had lunch at The Meatery and it was delicious. even met the owner, (Umberto, another fine Italian!), and visited with a number of Chloë's friends who were there. After that we returned to her loft and while I put up the magnetic knife holder, a towel hook and a small set of shelves, Cora Lee did some touch-up painting. Then back to The Islay Inn. I'm corresponding with the world while Cora Lee and Chloë and Maggie watch Skyfall. After film is over we will stroll to Cat's Social House for a bite to eat. Nobody is that hungry after tasty and plentiful food at The Meatery.Be terrific if you are in town for Dram but understand if not. Have been playing a fair bit of bridge, over last week or so, so am pleased with that, of course. I'm planning to start a bridge circle with Sarge, Mick, Whirlygig and Theodorakis, all of us retired, except Sarge. For time being we'll probably play at Mick's house as it is tough for him to get around just yet. Let me know when you'll be passing through next and we'll plan to have a game if it works.
Buona Fortuna with your golf outing in Kimberly. Watch out for grizzlies. Couple who were quite badly mauled there, last fall, I believe, were known to me, at least the husband. Peter Moody taught in the Faculty of Education at UBC when I first started there in 1976. He was an even closer friend of Ray Banks, one of my cycling mates, as Sylvia, Ray's wife, is from Kimberly and knew Peter and his wife through other connections there. Fondestos to Lynne and you from Coriandre. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Trust you are both well. Have been meaning to say hello for aeons. No excuses but plenty of reasons and then I bumped into Jeff this past Wednesday outside Vancity Theatre. He looked extremely well but unfortunately I couldn't but say a few words as I was attending a showing shortly. Anyway, catalyst to write "short" missive as I understand you both possess extremely short attention spans, not to mention moving your lips as you try to pronounce words of more than one syllable!!! You country pumpkins, (Phrase used by friend, Ruth, now in Dallas, originally from Taiwan!), are all the same but we love you anyway, in spite of the hayseeds in your grey hair. (How's your blood pressure now?)
After Cora Lee attended church this morning we drove to Wall Street to pick up Chloë and then went to have lunch at a new restaurant, The Meatery, in North Van, Edgemont Village, which her friend Krissy had been hired to open. (Krissy is the daughter of Gaye/Derek, couple in Cornwall we will do house exchange with.) Apparently business was originally a meat/butcher operation and owner, (Umberto, another fine Italian!), wanted to expand. Today's menu featured a whole roasted pig on a spit so it was fun and food was ever so tasty. After that we returned to loft to help put up a few things: magnetic knife holder, towel hooks, small set of shelves, etc. Then back to Granville Island. I'm corresponding with the world while Cora Lee and Chloë and Maggie watch Skyfall. After film is over we will stroll to Cat's Social House, just two minutes from us on GI, for a bite to eat. Cora Lee has a Groupon, (An online service offering deals on everything from shopping to travel to dining and more. Do you have these in The Hinterland?), that needs to be used before it expires. Then Bletchley Circle! Hope you receive a letter written in invisible ink shortly!
CSIS Classified/Restricted photographs!
PS: Dram Come True , VWF fund raiser, on May 31st. Are you in town on some tax dodge/write-off scam? If interested, let me know. You can stay, as well, now that we actually have spare bedroom, in case you are redecorating your $15.3 million high-rise apartmento with inlaid diamonds and pearls! However, our half star, travel-strained budget won't allow for chocolates on pillows! Maybe a stale mint or two, recently found in pocket of jacket worn in New Orleans this past January! And chickory coffee. Rest of gang wouldn't drink it! Sound like an offer you can't refuse?
Just thought I'd send along latest snaps of Krissy and Mark. As I mentioned, we had lunch at The Meatery and it was delicious. Even met the owner, (Umberto, another fine Italian!), and visited with a number of Chloë's friends who were there, Rhona and Laurie. After that we returned to her loft and while I put up the magnetic knife holder, a towel hook and a small set of shelves, Cora Lee did some touch-up painting. Then back to The Islay Inn. I spent some time corresponding with the world while Cora Lee and Chloë and Maggie watch Skyfall. After film was half over we strolledl to Cat's Social House for a bite to eat. Few drops of rain and quite coolish. Nobody was that hungry after tasty and plentiful food at The Meatery so we had some tasty appetizers and chatted for an hour or so.
Chloë raided our larder and pantry and then made for home as she's a busy week ahead. Cora lee is finishing watching James Bond and then we'll put on Bletchley Circle.
Sent a message to close friend in Naramata, Peter, who is off for a golf outing in Kimberly shortly. Warned him to watch out for grizzlies. Any dangerous wildlife, other than locals, we need to know about in Cornwall? Fondestos to you and Gayle from Coriandre and Chloë. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello Simone!
Trust you are well. Have been meaning to say hello for aeons. No excuses but plenty of reasons! Fondestos from Cora Lee to you. Cheers, Patrizzio!
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