Skirts

Sitting in our coffee shop each morning we watch the wide diversity of people who float by on foot, on bicycles and in vehicles. It is fascinating to see the eclectic mix of clothing and the various shades of skin colour...all making their way to places of employment while we discuss the next travel options.

This morning we were surprised to note that a lot of women were wearing skirts!  During the water months we have commented on the lack of skirts...womens' legs being hidden inside pants, leggings and even sweats. Could this be a sign of spring? Is this the mating urge being presented in flounces and florals and bare legs?

Goodbye to Gibsons

Our time in Gibsons is drawing to a close. We have never tired of the view from this home...watching the ferries coming and going... the sun rising and setting...the mountains peaking and disappearing between clouds and mist.

Daily walks with the pups have introduced us to their world and the neighbours around us. We  witnessed absolute fear when we met a massive Newfoundlander  this morning...a gentle giant that must have presented an overwhelming threat to the two little dogs on our leashes. Boomer wrapped his leash so tightly around my legs that he almost cut off my circulation. Then the BIG dog approached for a pat and everything calmed down.They did the usual "bum sniff" and nonchalantly moved on.

One day the two pups set up a barking frenzy when they saw a large German Shepherd. Their noise must have triggered something in the bigger dog because he charged for Boomer. Thank God for those harnesses because I pulled on the leash, lifting Boomer off his feet and threw him behind me while the owner of the other dog wrestled him to the ground and pinned him down with a knee to his neck!!! Whew!!!Since that incident they are never off-leash until we arrive at the bottom of the driveway and they are released for the climb back up to the house.

It is a laid back life here...filled with friendly people. On our walks we are greeted with "Oh! You must be staying at Shelly's." ...or..."Is that Boomer and Bella?" Even the ducks on the foreshore seem to know us and sidle out of the way without panic. Richard, the unofficial mayor of Hopkins Landing, carries dog treats for all of the pups he meets on his morning walks...even though he doesn't have a dog!

Tomorrow we will board the ferry for a trip back to Horseshoe Bay and drive to North Vancouver where we will leave the pups at Shelly's daughter's house to wait for their Mum's return from PV later in the day. They will welcome her very excitedly and immediately forget about the two strangers who filled in during her absence.

It was fun!! We enjoyed every minute.

Adrian visits again!

Adrian came for another visit...arriving on Monday after work and leaving this afternoon. Yesterday we discovered two Thrift shops in town and brought treasures home for all of us...books, tapes, a hat, shirts and a special "counter" for keeping track of pool game scores.The puppies accompanied us on our walkabout.

Adrian whispered in her ear. 

Will she answer?

Last night's full moon.

In the evening we cooked up a delicious Thai Coconut soup package. Prawns, coconut milk, bok choy and yogurt were added to the pre-packaged ingredients. It was delicious!!...and there's enough left over for tonight's dinner! The full moon appeared as we were finishing our meal.

A cribbage threesome followed our meal before we settled down to watch "Blackfish", a sad tale of whales in captivity. Why was it ever a good idea to use these wonderful creatures for entertainment and monetary gain?!

Before Adrian left today he prepared a tasty brunch for us...halibut cakes, poached eggs, fried potatoes & carrots with a small side salad of kale, avocado, tomato and parmesan.

Yummmh!!

It has been great to have family visits during our house sitting gig in Gibsons. Everyone has enjoyed the tranquility of this area and the welcoming feel of Shelly's home. We are privileged to share her home, to meet the neighbours, to receive loving attention from her pups and to see the beauty of this corner of our country. Thank you.

Family visit

A morning walk before they head for the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay.

Making eye contact!

Only in Gibsons!

Sunrise

Sunrise - March 19th

The $300 chocolate bar

When we heard that our daughter and family were arriving on the 9:30am ferry from Horseshoe Bay we decided to pick up groceries before they arrived. The dogs were used to being left at home. They had their morning walk and their breakfast before we headed to the Super Valu. About 40 minutes later we returned to find lentils and shredded papers scattered across the kitchen floor.

Our bag of miscellaneous grocery items had been sitting in a corner of the kitchen for one week, since we arrived. There was nothing in the bag to attract the puppies...canned salmon, coffee, lentils, oatmeal and....OMG...I had forgotten a small piece of chocolate bar in the bottom of the bag. The wrapper was laying among the shredded remnants of their rampage! "Chocolate is poison to dogs" rang through my head. "We have to call the Vet right away!"

"This is an emergency!" was the Vet's response so we headed to the clinic right away with two dogs that exhibited no signs of poisoning. The Vet examined them and said that he wanted to force the pups to vomit for evidence of the crime. He took Boomer first because I suspected that he was the culprit and returned 5 minutes later with a pan of vomit that exhibited no signs of chocolate. Next was little Bella who resisted the first injection of "forced barf" and had to have a second injection before she produced the chocolate streaked proof.

I waited for about one hour with a semi-comatose Boomer on my lap, recovering from the narcotic that had purged his system. Finally they brought Bella back after forcing her to ingest a dose of charcoal to absorb the balance of the chocolate poisoning. They were both quite docile on the way home but leapt out of the car and bounded up the stairs when we got home.

That was the most expensive piece of chocolate that I have ever "not eaten"!

Last night

Last night as the sun was setting.

A sunny departure

Coffee at The Black Bean and a walk around town in the sun

before taking Adrian to the ferry for his return trip to Vancouver.

He plans to visit again next week for a couple of nights.

A visiting chef!

Adrian arrived on the ferry for two nights with us. 

We have enjoyed games of Saskatchewan Rummy, 

walks in town and shared puppy walks. 

Last night he cooked for us.

The chef at work.

Pan fried sole, potatoes & carrots in herbs, asparagus

and a kale, strawberry, feta salad!

Ready!....delicious!

Snow

The snow line has dropped on the mountains.

Discovery of Black Bean Cafe

We toured Gibsons today and discovered 

the delicious goodies at Black Bean Cafe.

Enroute we passed some interesting graffiti...

...and an opportunity for self expression.

Later in the day my sister-in-law left for the ferry.

Bella and Boomer watched the ferry leave port.

It is reassuring to note that their appetite was not affected

when dinner was served in their dishes!

Gibsons

House sitting in Gibsons.

Bella and Boomer have a new friend. I think they like him!!

Vancouver Art Gallery & more

On International Women's Day I did a leisurely tour of the Art Gallery. The current exhibition, MASHUP, is intended to reflect "The Birth of Modern Culture" and includes pieces from Picasso, Braque and Warhol. ..371 artworks by 156 artists are on display.

On the fourth floor the curators credit Picasso and Braque with creating a shift in the art world when they began the process of collaging. Hannah Hoch's works are very interesting. Andy Warhol is given a large area on the third floor. Content on the lower two floors didn't hold my interest so it was time to walk down Georgia Street to the Gallery's Offsite artwork.

It looked like Spring outside but it still felt like Winter!

This 18 meter (collage) banner by Elizabeth Zvonar

is set behind a reflecting pool.

Offsite is funded by the City of Vancouver through their Public Art Program.

Dal Richards is the charismatic star of this tile mosaic. 

Known as “Dr. Swing”, Dal’s big band music enriched the Vancouver 

music scene for over 60 years. His Orchestra performed five nights a week 

for 25 years at the Hotel Vancouver, with Saturday night performances 

broadcast live on CBC National Radio. 

OMG...11km!

OMG! Could the pedometer be right?...11km!!!

Our day started out quite normally...a walk over to Breka for morning coffee. We were earlier than usual and the place was packed so we decided to walk to their other downtown location at Bute near Robson. After fuelling ourselves we searched for the CIBC on Georgia Street in order to reset my PIN. This credit card is my backup card for travels and is used once every five years...maybe! The process was easy...took 10 seconds.

Then we had to find a BMO location for John to reset the PIN for his backup travel card. Unfortunately we didn't understand the process and thought that his PIN was fine...until he tried to use the card for payment of medications at Shoppers Drug Mart.

After returning to the apartment John contacted BMO and learned that there is a "procedures" option at the ATM that leads you to resetting a PIN. So, checking online for BMO locations, we discovered one at 1041 Davie Street. Trekking over there, we found a Safeway store that used to be home to a BMO ATM...no longer in service!!

I remembered that there was a location on Denman Street so we finally found the Bank. With a little help from the staff we managed to get everything done.

After another fuelling stop for tea and coffee we retraced our steps back to the apartment....11km!!!

Today's walk

Another walk along English Bay this morning

with Heather, Chris and Augie.

The weather wasn't as cooperative as yesterday but the air was crisp and refreshing!

It's always more fun to walk on the logs!

The Laughing Men didn't mind a bit of rain!

After working up an appetite we shared a delicious brunch at Village Bistro on Davie Street. They specialize in  a "made from scratch" menu. John inhaled a Perogie Hash that included homemade perogies, Ukrainian sausage, poached eggs and smashed potatoes. My dish of Classic Eggs Benny was very tasty. Heather savoured a Croissant French Toast with caramelized apple slices and Chris attacked the BIG BREAKFAST with 3 eggs and a plate full of bacon, potatoes, etc. Augie had a chuckle when he "snitched" a piece of toast from his Papa's plate!

Sunny morning

We enjoyed a sunny walk along English Bay this morning.

Enroute we passed a furry creature who was tired of walking.

She was obviously embarrassed to be on the end of a leash

and wearing a "doggie" shirt!

Is that James Spader?

Really????

Dorothy & Kevin's new home!

We are staying for two days at Dorothy & Kevin's new home in Cloverdale.

This is a very exciting transition for them.

John testing the Wi-Fi in their newly renovated kitchen!

Changes are ongoing with glass replacements and furniture deliveries.

We will return next week to see how the home is settling in!