AUNTY JOAN RUSSELL. LORRAINE JENNIFER APRIL MYLES AND ME

 I left out the dinner we all had at Pier 7 at the bottom of Lonsdale.  On purpose.  I wanted to make a post just about that.

Well let me start with the least important thing...the food.  I kind of am leery to go there because they specialize in truffle fries.  I have actually had the waitress move us to a different table because people  at a table beside us ordered them and I hate the smell of truffle oil.  I don't like the taste either.  But I love raw shaved truffle.  Go figure!

But I sat between Aunty Joan and Myles and Myles ordered them, the bugger!  lol!!!  When they came I tried one off his plate and there wasn't much truffle taste and there was basically no smell.  Sure not like the time before!

Jennifer, being originally from BC with free access to seafood now lives in Alberta, landlocked North Trumpville with little or no access to fresh sea offerings.

So naturally we ordered the seafood tower and let me tell you, it was SPECTACULAR!!!!!! Raw oysters with minuette (sp?), lox, scallops, prawns the size of my head, candied salmon, mussels, clams, crab legs  etc....Truly a masterpiece. I had the poke bowl.  It was delicious but not as good as Maui's from the Costco poke bar.  No Canadian poke bowl will measure up to that.

And now the people.  It was as wonderful  as our so special visit with Aunty Jan and Uncle Jim...mentioned in the last post.  Aunty Joan is mid eighties but you would never know.  How does a woman reach that ripe age not looking a day over 65.  She just doesn't change...and the same with her sense of humour!  She is a pure joy to visit with.  And we visited...boy did we visit!  We both can talk our socks off and we did!

The only less satisfying time was not enough of it to visit with Lorraine. She is probably one of the nicest most interesting people on this planet.  She used to work in the classy fat lady store, actually I do believe she managed it, in Park Royal.  But she changed occupations in the middle of her working life, such courage and smarts, and is now an IT person.  I so admire her and one of these times I AM going to get a chance to visit properly with her.

Then there was Russell.  He is the head guy from what I know (which might be a tad off but I don't think so) Rick and Morty.  He has some pretty impressive awards under his belt!  He is a gifted animator...thus April and he are close.  He is such an amazing influence and mentor for April.  And it doesn't hurt that he is so very much like Bill!  He definitely inherited the Heyman genes!  He rates as one of my fave nephews!

And Jennifer I have already described in my previous post.  What a freaking live wire she is!  And she plays the piano too and she is in a serious band and can sing like the dickens.  All my kids turned out to be musically talented one way or the other!!!  And to watch her enjoy that seafood just made me happy!!

The next day I drove (or Jen drove...don't remember) out to the airport for her afternoon flight back to Calgary.  Before leaving I phoned Cookie for directions to her place from that direction.  I was driving the van and it does not have a thingy that tells you where to go.  I know I could probably get Surrey (my East Indian man helper on my phone ( I call him Surrey not Siri) to tell me where to turn and drive etc... but I really don't want to stop using my brain and memory.  So she gave me instructions and I got it all except I ended up going through the Deaz (sp?) Tunnel instead of the Alex Fraser bridge but I found my her anyway.  When I can't spell a word I just write it phonetically.

Anyway it was an incredible evening.  We left stuffed and satisfied and happy.

TFL&TTYL

NOT MY FAULT!!!!!

 Usually my hair stands on end when I hear that phrase 'Not My Fault'.  I have a real true blue beef with people that don't take accountability seriously.  And sometimes it isn't actually their fault.  But that phrase still bugs me.

And now I am using it.  Blogspot somehow lost the sign in button.  I tried tried and tried a hundred different ways to get into the guts of my blog so I could write a timely post.  But nope.  I really hate blogspot for lots of reasons but I am not a techie type of person and any other blogging site is so not user friendly.  Anyway one magical morning, upon the hundredth attempt, there it was, back again.  Now I am going to be nervous every time I click on my blog to make a post.  Grrrrrrr........  I know how freaking annoying it is to keep checking your blogs you read and they don't consistently post.  My apologies.  

I had a good time in Vancouver.  Firstly I took Jen out to the airport and then on to Cookie's.  Jen was pretty glad to be heading back to her youngest.  He was going through a lymphoma scare which has turned out to be mono thank Ohm.  His older brother beat lymphoma which makes siblings subject to it as well apparently.

As usual I had a fantastic visit with Brian and Cookie.  The food and drink and visits were fabulous.  And speaking of drinks, I drank all their PC  root beer flavoured sparkling water.  No sweetening.  Normally I don't like drinks like Bubly (sp?)  but the pc root beer one is amazing.  Cookie kindly took me to Stupidstore and helped me buy them out of their stock.  One ended up being a diet A&W diet root beer case.  Monte was quite happy to take care of that for me.  I love visiting them.

I was privileged enough to be shown all of her quilts she has made.  She is truly gifted.  They were stunning!  And now she is making me not one but two quilts in the next year or two.  One for my purple bedroom and one for out here in my living room.  I already am the proud owner of two of her quilts...in fact I received her very first one she ever made on my fiftieth birthday!  And I love it!

Back to April's for a couple of nights and then home James.  It was good to be back home.  Ange and Monte were happy and I was happy to dig into cleaning and cooking again.  Not so much tv.  Now with Roku I find I watch tv sporadically, stuff I really enjoy and the tv is off as much as it is on.  Not like before when it went on first thing and stayed on whether it was being watched or not!

In spite of my tailbone, which really does limit my physical activity time lengths, I came home with the resolve that I wasn't going to let it slow me up anymore.  I need to be on my feet the majority of the day doing stuff.  It is just too easy to sit in this chair to the point of getting bedsores on my backside!  lol. just kidding.  But I started yesterday.

  I made a giant pot of applesauce, dressed up a shoulder pork roast and got it into the little oven (my stove oven door is duct taped), butchered a fifteen pound salmon, vacuum packed the pieces, cleaned then cleaned the kitchen again and again.  Today I will be making corned beef hash for our communal dinner.  Ange donated the roast last night and is donating the corned beef today, bless her heart.  I am also cooking a big tail off the salmon to make salmon burgers tomorrow.  But before that I am going to tackle all my music books.  Holy doodle I have stacks and stacks.  Not sure what I am going to do with all the ones I won't be keeping.

Well enough for today.  I have a mass of music books and a very messy room to tackle.  TFL&TTYL

BRAIN FARTS ARE SO ANNOYING

 Not only are they annoying but at my age and our family's history they are scary.  Is it dementia?  Is it not?  When I was younger it didn't matter but now at 74 brain farts have a whole new meaning.

I got out the door early on Thursday.  The ferry was right on time and I got to April's by four.  Jen and she were well into their cups!  They were so happy to be together again.  Sisters to the core...crazy sisters I might add!  We had an amazing dinner of schnitzel and crispy baked wee potato pieces and a gorgeous salad.  Myle's makes the best schnitzel!

But speaking of brain farts...I made three pans of brownies and went to extreme lengths with Monte to get frozen Yorkshire puddings from No Frills before leaving port.  I had bought a very expensive (worth every penny) beef tenderloin at the butchers.  I needed the Yorkies for the sliders.  I cooked that roast very carefully, it only took fifteen minutes to reach medium rare!  When it had cooled I sliced it all into slider size and made a litre of gravy.  I then left the five bags of Yorkies in the freezer that were alongside the brownies and there they stayed.  I was too far down to Nanaimo to go back for them.  I could have cried!  The only other thing I was bringing were the condiments!

So, before heading out to Rosedale and the venue we had to find our way to Superstore..the only other store that sells President's Choice, thus PC Yorkies.  And thank goodness they had them.  Finally on our way!  In Chilliwack, just before Rosedale Jen and I decided we were hungry so we found a C-lovers and stopped for fish and chips.  Jen, being a landlubber but originally from here, missed seafood like the dickens!

And then we hit the venue.  It was a massive bougie type house with many bedrooms.  It claims to sleep 17...we were 16 and I sleep on a couch.  And then people started to arrive.  Did I say people?  I mean food.  Holy Doodle!!!  Get that many women with their fave dips and cookies and casseroles and just delicious food and it's the reason I like to get there first and claim fridge real estate.  Ohhhhhh the food...the yummy yummy food.  Incredible.  I am so impressed by what they all brought.  I will see if I can make a list:

hot chili dip

brie and blackberry

cowboy caviar

twenty pound lasagna

beef tenderloin and gravy sliders

a plethora of rolls, pot stickers and dips

meatballs

charcuterie

croissants, baking, chips, baklava,

sausage eggs hash browns

cream puffs and Nanaimo bars

spinach salad and dinner buns

and waaaaaay too much booze to list

and way way more than I can remember at the moment.

The fun began.  One thing we did thanks to Steph and Jocelyn, we each were given a blank painting canvas and water paints and set up at the table.  We drew names and had to paint something that would be recognizable as that person.  It was a guessing game. But some were a tad obvious.  Someone drew a chocolate chip cookie for Cookie.  hahaha!  I drew Leeloo for April.  Man did we ever have some laughs.  The whole weekend was fun.  And loud!  They had decible measurers in the house and on the deck.  Neighbours.

Jen and I left around 11 and headed straight to fat burger in Ladner.  We were actually hungry believe it or not!  You'd think we hadn't seen food for weeks.  jeez!!!

We then went to Aunty Jan's and Uncle Jim's.  It was so freaking amazing to see them.  It reminded me so much of Bill it was almost teary.  They haven't changed a whole bunch and Jan was her feisty self!  Uncle Jim was exactly the same.  Their house is so homey and full of good memories.  It was lovely to catch up on all the kids goings on.   She made a well needed cup of coffee and cookies and butter tarts and we had about an hour and a half talky visit.  I loved it and will see if we can do it again.  Jen was so happy to see them.  It had been a while for her too.  I love rellie visits.

We managed to beat our way through Vancouver to April's.  We had a delicious dinner of leftover beef and Yorkies and salad then watched a very interesting documentary and off to bed.

So now we are going to meet Russell, Lorraine and Bill's brother's wife..aunty Joan for supper down on the pier.  This is so nice for Jen who is sorely missing family out there in North Trumpville...I mean Alberta.  I can't wait until she can move over here to BC.  And with any luck she will bring her youngest with her.  He is now training to be a welder like his talented Mamma.  Lots of work here for them.  And I love that boy.  He is the most interesting person and very witty!

Well thats it for today.  A good time was had by all.  Can't beat women's retreat and relatives and tons of food.  TFL&TTYL

A GANDER BACK

Once in a while when I go to bed I cruise around in my head.  I try to think of every person I know and take note of the ones I need to connect with soon and which ones may need help or most of all which ones I may need to make peace with.  I have done this since my mom put us through the first five or six lessons from the Amway business course when I was twelve.  It was all about empowerment and self awareness and the power of what you think.  It truly was a life changing event for me.  One of those things I learned was the importance of the people in your life and to take care of those connections.  So now and then I would do what I did the other night.

And I realized that I had not properly connected with and THANKED Bill's sister....Auntie Jan (we still call her that in the family).  Bless her heart she took the money needed at that time, now it's free, and herself to the genetic testing place and got tested for the Bracc gene (sp?).  It is the gene that causes breast and fallopian tube cancer in women. 

Bill's daughter died in her early thirties from breast cancer.  Bill's mother got breast cancer.  Auntie Francine got breast cancer.  Auntie Jan got two types of cancer.  So she went and got tested and tested positive.  She convinced Bill to get tested and then both Jen and April tested....positive and both have had total mastectomies.  

I had not talked with Jan since Bill died twelve years ago.  Actually to tell you the truth I didn't really think she liked me much...which I totally understand.  I don't like me much a lot too!!!  lol!!!  I respect her dislike and kept my distance.  I missed her though.  I liked her a lot.  She is the kind of woman I like...strong and very family oriented.  I like those traits. No milque toast here!!!  Thank god!!

So I messaged her and I thanked her.  Because of her both my girls are alive and well.  There is no doubt about that.  I am so grateful for her perseverance in testing and convincing Bill to get tested. I figured if she chose not to answer that would be totally okay and I sure could understand.  But she did!!!!  And she sent such a lovely message.  I was so happy!!!  We had a lovely little convo and after the retreat on the twentieth of October in Chilliwack Jen and I are going to go over to Ladner to see her.  Both Jen and I are super excited to be seeing her and Uncle Jim again.  I can't wait!!!

So now I am up to my toothless gums in retreat preparations.  Plus cleaning and readying the house for the cleaner.  Tomorrow we have to make a trip to the butcher in town here.  I need a long piece of super expensive tenderloin beef to roast and cut into proper sized pieces to make Yorkie sliders at the retreat.  We did it for April's wedding but they never got used.  No Frills sells bags of frozen already cooked Yorkshire puddings.  All you do is put them in a hot oven for six minutes!  They are delicious and the perfect small size for sliders.  Along with some goats on the roof horseradish and thinly sliced onion and pickled hot pepper rings...can't beat it.

So I am signing off and next post will be disgusting stories of antics at the retreat!!!!!  Pics will have to go on fb.  They sure as hell can't go on here for eff's sake.  TFL&TTYL

 

SO POST NUMBER THREE

THIS IS THE ONLY PIC THAT WENT THROUGH.  MY FAVE PICTURE OF BILL.

 

A PS TO THE PREVIOUS POST

 I sent the previous post ages ago earlier today.  Since then I have been in this chair so long my ass hurts in a new place, trying to put pics on this stupid blogpost.  To make matters worse they updated my laptop, an apple, and you no longer have iPhoto...it is now apple photo and it freaking sucks.  You cannot put photos anywhere.  They don't drag and drop.  They do not email.  They do not insert.  No matter what I do they don't effing go anywhere.  I am so pissed off.  So no photos.  Even AI when I asked slapped his head with the palm of his head and said okay here we go....and proceeded to instruct step by step about twenty steps you have to follow.  Which I carefully did and it still didn't work.  So I am about to throw this freaking computer out the back door so I am going to quit trying.  You will have to go to fb.  I think they will drag and drop from my pics there.  I will go see.  Sorry about that.    HP

EITHER I AM POSTING TOO OFTEN (SURE) OR WAY TOO FAR APART

 I remember when there use to be all kinds of blogs to read and the writer would leave a long distance from the last post, I would panic that whoever was writing wasn't writing anymore.  It happened a lot.  I don't think any blogger got further than three months before quitting.  Just a few continued longer.  One of them that I religiously read had gone on for a couple of years or more.  I became very very familiar with her life.  Then one day there was nothing.  I just kept checking and checking and checking.  Nothing.  Then one day...ping!! and there was a post.  But it was her boyfriend telling us she had been killed in a car accident.  It was so terrible.  I can't tell you how upset I was for someone I had never even met.  I still kinda twinge when I think of it.

I think this is the longest I have gone without posting.  It means I have been busy!  And I will admit that I am not busy all that often...not often enough for sure.  April came to visit!!!!!!  Visits from one of my kids is very rare.  I live in a stupid place for easy visiting.  Plus they all have very busy lives.

We had such an awesome visit.  The first day I got up in the dark and drove to Nanaimo to the ferry to pick her up.  We then mozied up the island on the old highway.  What a fantastic trip!  We had time to make a couple of stops here and there and take a few pics.  Our destination was Campbell River where my brother lives.  We had a wonderful visit.  Antonia makes fancy delicious little sammiches and awesome bean soup and she MADE panacotta...perfectly with the caramel and all.  Then we got visiting so much we forgot to leave!!!! lol

Our next stop was at a mushroom farm near there.  April was approached a couple of years ago to make their signs using the cutest mushroom cartoon character.  She became friends with them.  We had a most interesting visit with them!

Then we hit the freeway and got home....but not before we stopped at A&W and picked up a couple of teen burgers and onion rings to bring home.  I ended up giving my burger to Monte.  They are the most delicious burgers money can buy but I was still full from lunch.

She stayed for another couple of days.  One of them we spent part of a day in Winners for heaven's sake.  It was actually a lot of fun.  I am not a shopper and especially now with an uncooperative tailbone.  But it was fun.  I bought a bright red dog house for Leeloo, who is staying with me for a couple of weeks.  She is in it as we speak.  I then took April out to Canal Beach...a fave spot Monte and I go to sit in the car and listen to music and stare at the channel.  And this time a big humpback whale breached and April caught it in a video!!!  It was an amazing moment!!!  You can see the video on Facebook or instagram.  I would put it here but...well you know.

On our way home we went to a place called Dog Mountain Brewery.  We sit upstairs on a huge patio in the hot sunshine, with the dog, and we drank delicious amazing beer (they win all kinds of awards) and the best freaking nachos I have ever had!  Then home and no supper.  We were just too full!

The next day we didn't leave the house.  We just lazed around the house and gossiped.  Best day ever.  Then I baked a massive salmon chunk and made dill béchamel sauce and April made a massive Greek salad and we had some rice and dinner was incredible. Spring salmon.  It was way better than I thought it would be.  Spring isn't my fave.

Yesterday we took April back to the Hullo ferry and she was gone.  But I still have Leeloo!

Monte and I then went to Horangs on the way home.  We had an early dinner there.  Jeez Murphey the food there is outstanding.  It is Korean and honestly their food is award worthy.  We got sushi rolls for a starter then there is this dish for two.  It includes a bowl of rice each, a bowl of amazing miso soup each, a long wooden narrow serving dish with kimchee, salad leaves (so deliciously dressed) and some kind of fermented amazing onion.  Then the main event was this massive cast iron cauldron full of long cooked braised beef short ribs still on the bone and a broth with carrots, potato and tiny Korean dates.  Unbelievable!  I park the car there where I can see it right out the window so we could leave Leeloo there.  I went out to check her and she was just laying there, happy as a clam.

And now I am home in a pretty messy house and posting instead of cleaning!!  I did clean the kitchen whilst my coffee brewed!  And now I am going to clean up the living room and get me a fat salmon sammich.  I am hungry.  I think we are supposed to drive to Bamfield today.  At the moment though it is so foggy we can't see past the house across the street.  We shall see.  I will try to post some pics in a separate post.  TFL&TTYL