August 2008

August 31, 2008

Went for a long walk with Richard and the dogs before our roast lunch. He’s pretty spry for a man of almost eighty. I guess their two springer spaniels help keep him fit. We strode through woodland, traversed several fields, skirted the golf course, marched through a heavily plowed potato field, took the road past the graveyard and town hall, cut through more fields and back through the woods to their gate with scarcely a pause. Must have been close to three miles — Nova was certainly tuckered out, and Adam’s shirt was soaked through from carrying Lyra in the backpack.It certainly gave us an appetite, and we demolished Rosanne’s roast chicken lunch and plums with custard. We set off straight after lunch in the hope Lyra would sleep for most of the drive. Took the M40 this time as the M1 threatened to be a parking lot, and made pretty good time… No more trips for us for a few weeks I hope…

August 30, 2008

Although Richard is no longer on the Board of the Severn Valley Railway, he still seems to be very involved. After breakfast, we drove half an hour to the station at Highley to see the new visitor’s centre and engine house. The new playground was a hit with both girls, and after that went for lunch on the balcony cafe.There was a great view along the track, and we saw several trains steam past as we ate. As it was Thomas the Tank Engine weekend, the engines all had faces on the front. They all looked pretty much identical to me, but not to the five-year-old boys who would shout, “There’s Duncan!” or “Here comes Malcolm!” each time a train went by.

It was a sunny afternoon, and there were a lot of wasps about, attracted by the melting ice creams and spilt drinks no doubt. Richard has a special technique for dealing with wasps. Whenever one landed on the rim of his wine glass, he’d give in a little flick to knock it into the drink, put his hand over the top and give it a hell of a shake, spoon the woozy wasp out on to the table, and then crush it with a sharp smack of his fist. Nova’s eyes were like saucers each time he did it…

In the evening, Rosanne brought out two little suitcases of photographs and family documents that she’d put aside for me. Mostly they were from great-aunt Mag, but there was a lot of stuff from great-aunt Julia as well. Took the whole evening to go through it. Mum would have been thrilled to see it. And since her death, I seem to have inherited the mantle of family archivist…

August 29, 2008

Spent the morning getting ready for our weekend visit to Richard and Rosanne’s, which was a cakewalk compared to our last two trips. Although the Anti-packer did her worst, we managed to set off straight after lunch (our usual half hour behind schedule…)Traffic was terrible, but at least we found their new house without much trouble. (Actually we found their old house, which always used to fox us, with no trouble as well – the wrong turn we took meant we drove straight past it…)

Their new house great. They call it a cottage (and it is a lot smaller than the old place) but it seems pretty big to us. Living room, sitting room, kitchen, dining room, conservatory, toilet, utility room downstairs, and three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs seems acres of space for two people. The garden is lovely as well. It must be half an acre, with a stream (and little bridge), big vegetable garden, apple trees…

The girls were both excellent. They kept it together until dinner was served at around 8pm, and went off to bed without complaint. We weren’t that far behind them…

August 28, 2008

It occurred to me the other day how many of our belongings are in the wrong part of the house — stationery in the living room, work papers in the bedroom etc — and how the areas of the house I enjoy the most are those that contain all the things they should, and very little they shouldn’t.This evening Adam and I carried out a functional analysis of each room in the house. First we made a list of all the kinds of things that were in each room. Next we went through marking whether they belonged there or not. If they didn’t belong there, then which room should they be in. The end result was a list of the ideal contents for each room in the house, and a note of which things need to be moved out/in.

Of course, we don’t necessarily have the right furniture or storage to move everything to where it belongs. It’s oing to be an intricate operation shifting things around, like one of those puzzles where the picture is all mixed up and you have to slide the squares around until they are all in the right position.

August 27, 2008

The football season is upon us again… seems only a couple of weeks since the last one ended. Adam has started sneaking off to read great tracts of pre-match analysis, post-match analysis, trade predictions and rumours. He seems to have an endless appetite for football commentary…Lyra’s vocabulary is expanding by the day. Her current words are:

• ball (her first word)
• no
• dog, horse, duck
• none (used when she’s cleaned her plate and when she doesn’t want to eat any more)
• there it is
• mummy (used mainly for me, but also for Adam)
• sis (Nova)
• shoe-shoes, boots, crocs (she’s big on footwear)
• bag
• juice, milk, toast
• beaker
• book
• nose, eye, toe-toes
• wee wee
• row row (when she wants to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
• bath
• baby
• oh oh
• bye
• cheers

August 26, 2008

Went out for dinner with Jane at St John this evening. Caught the bus down to the Whittington and then walked along Junction Road, which isn’t the nicest street in London. Passed a beauty parlour called The Retreat that was offering “spa sessions”. “Spa sessions!” I snorted to myself, looking at the dusty fake palm in the plate glass window, and ratty rattan screen dividing the row of office chairs in the front from the “nail bar” at the back. And then I wondered, where did I get off being so snotty? Luxury is a relative term — something that costs more or is a bit nicer than what you experience in your daily life. I might not think much of The Retreat, but no doubt Paris Hilton would turn her nose up at what I would consider luxury.Had a nice meal with Jane — poached salmon and a chocolate caramel tart to share. A bottle of white wine and and extra glass each as well. Plus a cigarette… Jane’s marriage is breaking up and with the stress of that she’s taken up smoking again. Now that all restaurants in the UK are smoke-free, you need to duck outside if you want to smoke.

As I said earlier, it’s not the nicest neighbourhood and I went along to keep her company. When she offered me a cigarette, I automatically said “no”, then curiousity got the better of me. It’s been years since I’ve smoked, though I used to enjoy the occasional one. Didn’t do much for me — just left my mouth feeling a bit dirty…

August 25, 2008

Had Adam’s former boss Rebecca round for lunch. We’ve not seen her since she was diagnosed with throat cancer about a year ago. Fortunately, it was caught early enough that they were able to operate successfully, and she appears to have made a good recovery. She’s got a project she wants to work with Adam on, so they had a short meeting about that before we ate.Lunch was green bean frittata with horseradish-tomato relish, green salad from the garden, and carrot cupcakes with cream cheese-lime frosting. Nothing too exciting, though the cupcakes were rather good. The recipe had you beat the eggs, sugar and butter together until it was really fluffy and airy, then fold the flour and other ingredients in gently. Produced a lovely, light little cake…

August 24, 2008

Another sunny day in Scotland… We’ve been really lucky with the weather this weekend, especially as the forecast was for rain and strong winds. Even though it was bright, it wasn’t exactly hot…When the kids wanted to go in the inflatable swimming pool, Gilda hooked up some sort of adapter to the kitchen tap and ran the hose off that to fill the pool with warm water. Nova borrowed a swimsuit from Viva, and Lyra jumped in wearing her nappy. It’s amazing how much water those things can absorb — it inflated to about the size of a basketball…

The train home was another ordeal. Lyra squawked and wriggled, but eventually fell asleep, which made the last couple of hours much more pleasant. I’d pictured the train being a more baby-friendly way to travel, but you can’t really have a toddler staggering up and down train aisles either, and when you’re sitting in your seat it’s not that different to a plane. I guess there are opportunities to abandon the whole enterprise…

August 23, 2008

Visited the St Andrew’s cathedral after lunch. Once the largest cathedral in Scotland, it’s now an atmospheric ruin. While the kids clambered around we wandered about the gravestones. I could spend all day doing that…

Moved on to the local museum next, which was surprisingly interesting, especially the little wash house that explained the history of soap. I hadn’t considered how fat might have been a rare commodity in the past (it certainly isn’t now!) or realised that there is a difference between soap and detergent.

Adam took the baby home for her nap while the rest of us took the St Andrews open-top bus tour (we had a lovely day for it), then spent half an hour at the beach before returning home.

After a supper of steak pie, another long evening of Kaluki beckoned. I’ve noticed that about people who enjoy playing cards — they’re never happy playing just one or two games and putting the silly things away. It has to be first one to five thousand or some marathon tournament that stretches over the whole weekend. It was great to see Adam and Gilda enjoying themselves so much, but cards are just not my thing…

August 22, 2008

Lyra woke at 6am, but I went through to her room and managed to settle her for a cuddle nap (ie, one where she falls asleep on top of me) until 7:30. Poor Viva is feeling ill, and returned to bed after breakfast and a dose of Nurofen.Adam took Lyra out for a morning constitutional, and Gilda invited Nova to pop to the shops with her, which left me at home with her two. “Turner won’t even notice I’ve left,” she said. She hadn’t been gone two minutes before Turner (who’s five) turned away from the telly he’d been glued to all morning and started yelling for his mum. Turns out he needed the toilet — and his mum to wipe his bum. Fortunately Viva got up from her sick bed to provide the service or we could have had a situation on our hands…

In the afternoon, Adam and I slipped off to the beach together while Lyra napped. I’d been wanting to go all day but Viva didn’t feel up to it. Probably a wise call, as Scottish beaches are quite “invigorating”. We crossed the centre of town, which is only about four streets wide, cut through the famous links golf course — “the birthplace of golf” — and reached the beach in about ten minutes. The beach wasn’t the prettiest I’ve ever seen, but stretched for miles in both directions. In spite of the lowering clouds and chilly breeze, there were Scots children frolicking in the surf, and good on ’em. I didn’t have to stick a toe in to imagine how cold the North Sea water would be…

Gilda’s kitchen has a big Aga, and she’s been turning out some really nice meals on it. Lamb stew, sausages, and tonight some lovely roast chicken. Played cards afterwards. As Gilda explained the rules of a rummy-type game she grew up playing with her Italian aunties called Quaranta Scala, Adam exclaimed, “this game is exactly the same as Kaluki!” which he used to play every Friday with his Jewish grandmother. Personally, I could go happily live the rest of my life never playing another game of cards, but they were both so excited by the prospect of a night of Kaluki that I did my best to get with the programme…

August 21, 2008

Struggled a bit when the alarm went off at 6am, but managed to drag myself out of bed and tackle the trip preparations It was pretty straightforward compared with the Canada trip, but we were busy up ’til the minute the taxi arrived at 9:30.We’re taking the train to St Andrews, so travelling light, but there’s no way to avoid taking the travel cot, pushchari etc… We also had a big bag of food for the journey (5 1/2 hours) — basically all our remaining groceries. Tucked straight into those the minute the train left the station, even though it was only 10:30am. Funny the way people do that… When Grandma Ivy used to pack us a lunch for the drive home to Prince George, we’d be at it before we’d crossed the Okanagan Lake bridge.

The trip was one long Lyra-wrangling session. If they ever consider adding baby wrestling to the Olympics (and after beach volleyball and BMX, why not?) I’d be a shoo-in for a medal. Adam had some work to do, and eventually set up his laptop a few seats away, but the nice dad of three who had the misfortune to sit next to me pitched in, as did the elderly couple behind me, and the woman across the aisle, and the good-looking young guy diagonally across from Adam, and the Maori tattooed hardman with the pitbull cross. It was a team effort getting that baby to Scotland…

Nova was very keen to know the exact moment we crossed into Scotland, and the man next to me helped out there as well with his phone-based GPS system. “See, the weather is nice in Scotland,” she said, which it was if you ignored the big black thunderclouds boiling up ahead…

The storm broke just as we arrived at the end of Gilda’s land. Five minutes later, we arrived at their front door — soggy luggage, wet shoes, and all…

There house is an imposing granite head with a fab circular staircase in the entrance, 15 foot ceilings, six bedrooms, and an Aga in the kitchen. Most of the year it’s rented to students, but they use it in the summers. Gilda’s husband Steve has started up a clup in New York City, so he’s there at the moment…

After a dinner of lamb stew and getting four kids down, we were ready for bed ourselves…

August 20, 2008

Crazy meetings day… I’d planned to get in early, but the jetlag is still biting, and it was all I could do to drag myself out of bed at 7:30am. On the “plus side” I got to watch some marathon open water swimming and BMX heats that I hadn’t planned on…Didn’t get home until after 7pm again, and Lyra was already asleep. Agata had taken them to the Science Museum and Lyra didn’t have her usual nap.

Made a Greek salad and hummus pittas for dinner. We’re off to Scotland tomorrow morning, but I didn’t have the energy to start the packing and preparations. I did get the list organised. That master packing to-do list has been such a time (and worry) saver. It contains everything we could possibly want to do or take before a trip, and I just delete as necessary before printing it out.

August 19, 2008

We’re operating a real skeleton crew at work, which is making it all the harder to get a handle on things. My job share Tina was off the last week that I was as well, so there’s all the more to clear through. In some ways though, it’s easier doing the job solo. When there’s two of us, I feel obliged to agree most decisions (and negotiate when we disagree), which can be wearing.Left work promptly as Adam had arranged a massage for me in the village. Claire, the masseuse, was very good, though her shiatsu technique left my shoulders and neck a bit tender. Lyra was asleep when I got home, though I expect I’ll get some “quality time” with her before morning…;-) Asian-style noodles for dinner with the crystal chicken broth.

August 18, 2008

My first day in the office in nearly a month… Almost 600 emails have accumulated — it took most of the day tomake a first pass through them, after which 160 requiring some sort of action remained.

August 17, 2008

Adam and I were up until 5am watching the Olympics… the womens’ marathon, which looked like it might develop into an exciting finish but never did. Adam let me sleep until 10am before bring me coffee in bed.Nova got back from Fay’s around noon, still in her pyjamas, with a letter from tooth fairy (both she and Fay lost a tooth yesterday). Apparently she left a note for the tooth fairy telling her that she’s collected teeth, and the fairy left her the tooth and some money.

Nova has decided to have a pyjama day. She went off to Waitrose in them, and even wore them through our barbeque with the Italians. Intended barbeque… the friends who borrowed our house while we were away emptied the propane tank. Swiftly shifted the operation indoors, which was just as well as it was threatening to rain. Bit of a challenge grilling sausages and kebabs for eight under our tiny grill with a gaggle of bemused Italians looking on…

August 16, 2008

Up and down all night with Lyra, who didn’t want to go back to sleep after waking at 2am. Settled her eventually, and we all slept in until 11am. Nova was quite upset and tearful about it — as she felt she’d missed too much of the day, and it was practically bedtime already. Felt better after we raised her blood sugar with toast and orange juice.Had Pete and Pasc round for dinner — yellow Thai seafood curry and chocolate slice. They’re off on holiday on Monday, so this was our only chance to get together. Went back to theirs for a cup of tea and to put Nova, Sid and Fay to bed. Asked the Italians to keep an ear out for Lyra and to call me if she woke. She started crying the minute we walked through the front door. At least she was easier to settle this time…

August 15, 2008

Lyra slept sprawled across our laps until plane bumped down on the runway. Unfortunately poor Nova didn’t get much sleep. We were in the four seats in the centre of the plane — Adam on the aisle, me then Nova in the two middle seats, and a very fat young woman on the other aisle.Nova tried to sleep curled in her seat leaning against me, but whenever she stretched out her legs to get comfortable the woman would make a yip and I’d have to shift her back into position. It was precious of her, especially considering the way she was spilling over the armrest herself…

We hadn’t been home an hour before Claudia and her three nieces arrived from Italy. We’d agreed she could stay in the flat again this summer, but I’d suggested they arrive a day or two later so we’d have a chance to settle back in again. I just gave them a key to the door and let them settle themselves…

August 14, 2008

The final pack… Margo and Aaron kept an eye on the kids while we got it all sorted. Aaron has a kick-ass Ducati motorcycle that he allows Nova sit on and start — which she could do endlessly. Even Lyra has had a go…Set off just before noon, and hit the McDonald’s drive-through for a pair of “Happy Meals” for the girls before joining the ferry line-up. I’d told Nova she’d likely get a chance to eat at McDonalds when we were in Canada, and it just hasn’t happened. Adam and I were much happier with the lunch provided by Margo.

The ferry was nearly an hour late. Over all the years I’ve been taking BC ferries, I can’t recall one ever being more than about five minutes late… It was a beautiful journey though. It was incredibly bright and clear and we could see miles up and down Georgia Straight.

Zipped around Vancouver, dropping off the car seat, returning the rental car, then taxied to the airport. The flight was pretty much what we expected — much easier than the journey out, but no picnic either…

August 13, 2008

I’ve become such a seasoned drinker that last night’s tally of red wine, spiced whisky, beers, white wine and martinis didn’t even result in a headache… Not that that’s a good thing…;-)The last day of our holiday… It seems to have gone by so fast. Holidays are always like that. The weather was gorgeous, so it was another afternoon on the wharf with drinks and books.

The other night we left the table umbrella out overnight and the wind had blown it away. Adam and I put on masks and snorkels and searched the lake bottom for it. Eventually found it wedged underneath their wharf. Sproat Lake drops off almost vertically a few feet from the shore, and the water must be twenty five feet deep by the end of their wharf. When Aaron returned from logging, he got his fishing rod out, hooked the umbrella and dragged it to the surface. Didn’t seem much the worse for it…

Tonight’s feast started with gougeres (FL – little fluffs of cheesy wonderfulness), followed by gazpacho and spit roasted chicken. We’ve certainly eaten like kings this visit! It’ll be a big reality check to return to our standard repetoire of fast, family-friendly meals…

August 12, 2008

Happy birthday, Greg!
And happy anniversary, Margo and Aaron! Yesterday in the car I asked Margo how many years they had been together which was a timely reminder that it was their anniversary tomorrow.Drove to Parksville after breakfast to visit Josanne. As we were ahead of schedule, we stopped at the Coombs General Store. Coombs has certainly changed since the last time I was out this way. What I remember of Coombs is that you looked out the window as you whizzed past to see if you could see the goats on the roof of the general store.

Nowadays, it’s a full-fledged “tourist destination” with ranks of parking for tour buses, and about twenty stores selling hippy-crafty-ethnic stuff. The general store has transformed into a gourmet food emporium selling, with cafe and bakery attached. It would have been great fun to mooch around in, except for the crowds. It was absolutely heaving with tourists…

Spent a couple of hours visiting with Josanne (or Jozan as she now writes her name). I thought we might take her out for lunch, but that was when I thought she was living in the centre of Parksville. She’s actually just a few miles down the highway from Coombs, and having just been we didn’t fancy the idea of loading the kids in the car and driving back there.

She rustled up some crackers and apple for the girls, and we sat at the kitchen table drinking red wine (and shots of cinnamon whisky). She’s looking marvellous for her 83 years — hasn’t changed a bit really, aside from letting her hair go white, which is much more flattering to her than the auburn. Gave us a little tour around her garden, complete with Japanese tea house before we headed off.

Aaron had arranged for his friend Frank to take us out for a spin on the lake in his powerboat, which we did before dinner. That thing really flew — we were past the bomber station in minutes, and explored two of the bottom arms of the lake before returning for a dinner of barbequed hamburgers.

August 11, 2008

Left Adam at home with the girls and went into town with Margo today. We had a list of errands to get through: bank, Margo’s chiro appointment, buying a sports bag for our extra stuff, fishmongers, liquor store, supermarket, fruit stand… Took Margo out for lunch at the unusually-named Batstar Cafe and Picnic Restaurant.Adam, Nova and I had a swim while Lyra slept. Margo brought her down after her nap. We didn’t use the life jacket today, and she was surprisingly good about not venturing too close to the edge. We didn’t use her swim nappy either (I seem to have lost it) and she was pretty good in that department as well. We lowered her into the lake in her yellow floating chair but she howled until we took her out again. Too cold for her perhaps…

I was a lovely hot day and Nova kept exclaiming how “refreshing” the lake was. The pitcher of Pimms Margo served was pretty refreshing as well. My turn to cook this evening: I made salmon-olive canapes, and linguine with scallops, tomatoes, bacon and tarragon. I’d bought a bottle of riesling, which complemented the scallops nicely. Margo’s awesome chocolate ice cream for dessert — Lyra absolutely coated herself in it. Took ten wipes to get her clean…

August 10, 2008

After a delicious frittata breakfast, we set off for a little family jaunt in Aaron’s motorboat. It was lovely to be out on the water, though with Lyra determined to clamber over the side, I couldn’t relax for a minute. Kept my hand on her life jacket handle the entire time…Aaron was volunteering at the Thunder in the Valley drag races, and took Adam along with him. Margo and I took a walk round their neighbourhood with the girls. There are quite a few properties for sale, and Margo knows the interesting inside story on most of them. Canadian real estate has been strong for some time, but the newspaper is predicting prices will drop. They’re certainly dropping in the UK and the US…

Went for a swim with Nova while Lyra had her nap. She’s quite a handful on the wharf — if it wasn’t for her life jacket handle, she’d have walked straight into the water a dozen times already…

For dinner Margo made parmesan crisps with whipped brie (from the French Laundry cookbook), which were tasty little morsels. They were followed by salmon with a tangerine relish and brown rice cooked in veal stock, and cream of walnut soup (FL again, and absolutely delicious).

Tonight’s Olympic coverage featured beach volleyball yet again — you’d think there’d be something else they could show. It’s not even that interesting as a sport — all the points seem to follow exactly the same pattern…

August 9, 2008

The morning was a bit overcast, but by mid-afternoon it was nice enough to hit the wharf. We hadn’t been down ten minutes before their eighty-year-old neighbour Madeleine arrived by pedalo boat. She clambered out onto the wharf wearing a high cut swimsuit and wedgies. I don’t think she generally gets about that way — she kindly brought it over for the girls to use. They both loved it, and Lyra went nuclear when we tried to get her out of the thing.Travelled over to Derek and Sue’s barbeque in the flatbed of Aaron’s pick-up. Another novelty for my little urbanites… There were a few of us for dinner: Nesta and Al, octogenian expat Brits from Mill Hill, she sporting a jaunty turquoise cowboy hat and fresh from the Thunder in the Valley drag races; Dean and Barbie who pulled up on the lawn in an emerald green Russian motorbike and sidecar; and Brenda from next door with her new puppy Paw Newman.

Dinner was prawns (cooked in a kettle over their impressive fire pit), barbequed salmon and salads. Lyra was in heaven with a kid-size pickup truck to roar around the sundeck in, and Dean took Nova for a spin in the side car. Everyone was talking about how incredible the Olympics opening ceremony was. I’d tried to find highlights this morning, but no one was showing them. Apparently, 4 billion people had managed to tune in…

Got back home about 8:30. Rusty nail nightcaps and dozing (at least I was — Adam seemed pretty alert) in front of the beach volleyball. “Do they really need to do that ‘sport’ in a skimpy bikini?” I said at one point. “Anything more would just get in the way,” Adam replied.

“At least I didn’t drink too much,” I thought as I lay in bed, “not too much” being a small martini, one tin of beer, one glass of wine, and a rusty nail .;-)
Ah, the good life…

August 8, 2008

Needed to get an early start, as we weren’t able to make a reservation for the ferry. Adam went off the fill up the car while I packed, as we were completely out of petrol. We were pretty much out of nappies as well, but had no luck buying those. Set off with one reserve nappy, hoping that Lyra’s digestive system didn’t have any surprises in store for us…We somehow managed to miss the freeway turn-off after the Lion’s Gate Bridge, and ended up meandering along Marine Drive all the way to Horseshoe Bay. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, once we got to Horseshoe Bay we had to head the wrong way down the freeway for a few exits before we could turn around and head back to the ferry line-up. Anyhow, we made our ferry with the marriage pretty much intact…;-)

Enjoyed the ferry ride over. Lyra was happy as a clam staggering about on deck in the wind, offering high fives to all and sundry. Stopped for lunch at the Earls just north of Nanaimo. My salad was no more than the sum of its parts — perhaps I should have copied Adam and had a burger, though I’m a bit burgered out…

Got to Margo and Aaron’s about 4pm. After a couple of beers we headed to the wharf for a round of mai tais. There was a good wind blowing, but that didn’t stop Nova from leaping in for a swim. Lyra would have been straight after her, if I hadn’t caught her by the handle of her little life jacket. That handle came in handy toting her up the stairs as well…

We fed the girls first. Once Lyra was down and Nova busy drawing we had a martini, then moved into the adults dinner. Margo is a fellow fan of Carol’s French Laundry blog, and her green bean salad with a roast tomato reduction was inspired by the French Laundry cookbook. Next came pulled pork belly in fresh bread rolls (delicious!), and an amazing blueberry-banana sorbet for dessert.

Sat down with a nightcap to watch the start of the Olympics, but I was dozing within half an hour…

August 7, 2008

David’s family and Greg, Wendy and Landyn all left in this morning. Spent the next couple of hours of packing, trying to round up all our junk, scattered as it was amongst Ed’s piles of stuff. I’m sure I’ll discover we’ve left a dozen things…I took my little violin and a Pisces swim club scrapbook (full of newspaper clippings with headlines like “Horth makes waves”). I also packed dad’s album of Horth family photos which I’ll scan in so he can share them with uncle Bernard. The Dodge Kaliber was bursting at the seams…

The drive was okay, though Lyra was miserable when she woke up. She has yet another molar coming through… I dosed her up with Medised and she dozed off again. Spent an hour in the construction traffic before the Port Mann bridge, which knocked us off schedule. And forgetting to take the Grandview Highway so we ended up crossing the goddamn Second Narrows bridge didn’t help either.

Finally made it to Gail and Bruce’s about 6pm. It was Bruce’s birthday, so we’d picked up a nice bottle of Mission Hill reserve pinot noir. I brought him a little booklet on Cariboo pioneers as well. He’s writing a historical mystery novel set in the Chilcotin and I thought he might find it interesting.

We sat down with a G&T before dinner. In a couple of minutes inattention, Lyra managed to stuff an entire bowl of cashew nuts into her mouth. Exorcist worthy, slow-mo spewing ensued… Not the first time she’s done it either — she pulled a similar stunt with the Goldfish crackers at Sheila’s house…

August 6, 2008

Wade came round first thing with Tim Horton’s coffees before they set off on their journey home. Like many of our friends, they’ve invested in a backseat DVD player as a way of keeping the kids distracted on long car journeys.Took the kids for an afternoon swim in the lake, then cooked dinner — a really nice pasta sauce, courtesy of David. I think he said he put cinnamon in it — anyway it was really good. Greg and co had spent the day visiting wineries, and opted for a night at their condo, though Landyn came up for a short visit. He is such a sweetheart… We’re hoping he’ll take advantage of the under-30 working holiday visa he can get for the UK and come spend a few months with us.

August 5, 2008

Today was our turn for a trip to the winery… We arrived at 11am, and signed up for the tour while we waited for them to start the lunch service. We opted for the cheaper one — the “Heritage Tour” — and added the money saved to our lunch fund…;-)Waiting to be seated, we overheard a guy arranging a surprise engagement party for his girlfriend with the restaurant manager. It was quite convoluted — she believed she was organising a surprise birthday party for him, but he was actually double-bluffing her, and planning to propose in front of their family and friends. Seemed a potentially high risk strategy… Anyway, the arrangements were going along nicely until he said he wanted the champagne served after he’d proposed so there could be a toast. “I’m afraid we don’t do champagne,” the manager said. The guy was completely knocked back. “Oh my god, she is going to be so bummed,” he said, “she loves her champagne!”

We were seated at that point, so I don’t know how they resolved that one… I appreciate they are a winery and want to promote the wines the produce, but it seems to me if they are hiring the terrace out for private functions, they should find a way of offering sparkling wine.

For lunch, I start with the heirloom tomato gazpacho with goat’s cheese sorbet paired with their reserve sauvignon blanc. When we get home the first thing I’m going to do is throw out my gazpacho recipe — my gazpacho horizons have now been considerably expanded… And goat’s cheese sorbet — who knew what a great idea that could be?

My trout fillet with garden herb purée, Walla Walla onion and chorizo tart, paired with the reserve riesling was also delicious. For pudding, I had the citrus vanilla savarin with Okanagan peaches. It was nothing special, though it did come with a glass of ice wine. Adam’s food was also very nice, but I think I pipped him on all but the dessert.

Dinner at Lord Chumley’s was a very different affair. We’d booked a table for eighteen, but they’d arranged a long table for twelve plus a booth. Adam and I ended up sitting with Ceinie, Nova and Lyra — effectively the kids’ table. We felt a bit annexed from the main event, facing a long row of backs, though Wade came and joined us after a bit.

Back at the house, Ed, David, Wade, Greg, Wendy and I sat down to talk about what should happen with the Kelowna house, now that dad needs to change his situation. It was pretty tense and unpleasant, but I think it needed to happen. Mum was keen for the family to have a meeting about it when she was alive, which unfortunately we never did. Perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation if we had…

August 4, 2008

Went for a walk round Poplar Point this morning with dad, Adam and the girls. We’d agreed to look after Ceinwen and Kael so that David and Denise could visit Mission Hill winery.They dropped they kids off about 10:30am. Kael went straight down for a nap, and was a bit surprised when I turned up to take him out of his crib. I made hamburger kebabs for the kids’ lunch, then set up the sprinkler for them to run through. They all loved it — Kael was so happy he broke into an impromptu sort of caveman dance, bending his knees and swinging his arms and chortling like a maniac.

When Lyra went for her nap, Adam took the big girls for a swim in the lake. I trailed Kael round the garden for an hour or so. It’s interesting to observe their different natures. He seems quite self contained and serious, but perhaps he was just playing his cards close to his jerkin until his parents returned…

Ordered pizzas for dinner. Greg, Wendy, Drew and Landyn came round just as the food arrived (they’d had pizza as well). After eating, we drove in convoy up Knox Mountain to the parking lot for the second viewpoint. We followed the trail to the spot where Grandma and Grandpa Goode’s ashes had been scattered. It’s a beautiful spot, just down from the lookout, with a view that stretches from the city to miles down the lake. In the late afternoon light the lake was startlingly blue.

Dad went first, tossing his handful of ashes into the breeze flowing off the mountain over the lake. The children went in turn, then grandchildren, then spouses. We didn’t scatter all the ashes, but it felt right for me to have done this at last. Another stage of saying goodbye I guess…

I think we all a bit subdued and introspective afterwards. Went to bed early after a quiet night…

August 3, 2008

Lousy night’s sleep — you certainly couldn’t consider the North End a quiet part of town. Cars, motorcyles, dogs barking, fireworks… Well after midnight a car roared past the house with tires squealing. Several seconds later there was a loud crash, as if it had smashed into a tree. I half wondered whether to get up and see if they needed help, but it sounded like another car stopped soon after, so I left it.Spent the morning running errands. Started with a Tim Hortons breakfast, then over to the Superstore to buy Lyra some shorts. Picked up a few things to improve life at dad’s place — like a dish drainer, dish cloths, pot scrubbers etc. I was tempted to buy him a nice little table and chairs for $99 to replace the stuff he’s using, but there’s no point if he’s planning to move.

Next stop Sears, where we got shorts for Adam and a great swimsuit for Nova. Bought her a “skort” as well. Europeans don’t bother with skorts — and I’m not entirely sure what the point of them is. North American prudery perhaps…?

In the afternoon, Greg, David, Wade and I had a talk about dad and what his next move might be. The Kelowna house and garden is too much work for him to look after, and doesn’t suit his needs anymore. I knew we’d have different ideas about what he should do with the house, but I wanted to see whether we all agreed that it was time for him to go.

Yet another trip to Costco… I’m now on a first name basis with Brian on the door. Bought fixings for shish kebabs, and some grapes and cheese. Stopped by the Calona Wine building to pick up a few bottles of wine. Another evening eating in the garden — I’m really enjoying this dose of hot weather…

August 2, 2008

Took the kids swimming at Wade and Gale’s hotel this morning. I thought they might object to a guest inviting nine people round to make use of their facilities, but apparently not… We had the pool to ourselves most of the time, which is just as well, as we pretty much filled it.Wade had picked up some cold cuts, so we had a bite to eat and a beer before going back to Ed’s so Lyra could have her afternoon sleep. Nova and I popped over to the fruit stand on Clement to pick up blueberries, cherries and peaches. We bought a bottle of cherry cider as well, as Nova was “desperate to try it”. Poured her a big glass when we got back, but I don’t think it lived up to her expectations. It is rather rich…

Back to Costco yet again, to get the fixings for steak fajitas this time. We’d invited Greg’s family (who were arriving that day) to join us, but with all messages going through Drew and Landyn’s cell phones, there was some confusion about whether they were coming for dinner or eating out in Kelowna first.

They arrived just as we were cleaning up, having all eaten more than we needed “to finish things off”. We stayed sitting outside until after dark. I’m glad we fixed the picnic table — it’s lovely to be somewhere you can sit outside all evening…

August 1, 2008

With wireless internet increasingly common, we are generally able to find a free connection wherever we go with the computer. In Kelowna, there’s a spot half way up Ellis with two services to choose from, and Adam even managed to get a connection in the Canada Trust parking lot while I was in there doing my banking.
Some monthly charges have appeared on a couple of Canadian bank accounts I don’t often use. With interest rates being so low (or even non-existent) they are slowing draining my bank balance away. I called about it from London and thought it was sorted, but it hadn’t been. I’ve now faxed off a request for reinbursement, so we’ll see how that goes… Otherwise, my Canadian finances seem to be in reasonable order. The dollar has taken a pounding just recently, which has reduced the value of my mutual funds, but nothing to be done about that.

Dinner tonight was barbequed chicken, Caesar salad and grilled asparagus. Costco is the supermarket of choice now that the numbers are creeping up. David, Denise and I made the run this afternoon.

Wade and his family arrived in time to eat with us. His kids have certainly grown since we last saw them – especially Isobel, who was a newborn. The gap between Nova and Liam has definitely narrowed and they seemed quite happy with each other’s company.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing the three littlest cousins together – there’s less than a year between them. Lyra toddled straight over when she saw Isobel, and put out her hand tentatively to touch her. Isobel responded with a shove that sent her sprawling on her nappy, “Isobad!” growled Wade (not the last time we heard that particular nickname).