Queen's Park

I'd never heard of Queen's Park in New Westminster when someone who had moved there told me about it so my friend Paula (who lives in New West) and I went for a walk. It was a lovely bright day that was not too hot so walking around was lovely and there were plenty of places to sit on benches and enjoy the view.

New West was the original capital of the area and is full of heritage homes around Queen's Park. It was a fabulous day.

The home of the (amateur) Vagabond Players. A theatre! Paula checks it out.

I LOVE verandahs.

 Casey was a delight to spend some time with. He is five months old.

This is an apartment block—The Carleton—that has beautiful heritage signs in glorious fonts.

Then there are the places falling apart.

Pot Pourris

My day began with an email from a student who revealed an astounding history. We will have lots to discuss on Sunday when I meet him for coffee to help him catch up with what he missed last class. Over the years, I have had such an amazing array of experiences and emotions as a result of relationships from the classroom. I sometimes think of teaching as speed dating because of the emotional outcomes and because so many students are mature.

Then I walked to North Vancouver, up the Trans Canada Trail connection and when I got to Edgemont Village where I was to meet two friends for lunch, I was early so I bathed in the warmth and beauty of "The Prodigal Daughter," by Jill Lapore in the New Yorker with Burt and Ernie on the cover.

Then I came back into town, on the bus, to join the local car co-op! New adventures await. I have been figuring how to get up the mountains where I can walk in the local wild.

The himalayan blackberry crop is maturing.

Even dandelions are stunning in a "meadow."

 Sites like this make my heart beat fast.

 Pristine water but no fish. When I rented a house in France a few summers ago, I noticed that even the ditches had fish—zillions of them. They were little tiny fish like the sticklebacks we have in the sea here.

I loved this old fire escape in the historic Rogers Building.

Baking Label

I made myself a label that I will have printed for the clear plastic bags with which I gift my macarons to people.

Hell and Heaven

Hell: On my way to meet my Godson and his sisters to spend the afternoon with them, I believe I experienced my first ever overt homophobic attack. If homophobia has ever been the motivation for aggression towards me in the past, I didn't know it. But today as I walked along the seawall near Science World, a man wanted to fight me. He was crude and vicious in his mannerisms and his language.

A lovely kind man stopped on his bike to make sure no one got hurt. I so appreciated that gesture of goodwill to counterbalance the palpable hatred of my aggressor. I couldn't help but scream hateful things at him and give him the finger as I left. I could not stay on the high road.

Heaven: Cole, my Godson, and his sisters, Ruby and Georgia, met me as planned at the Science World Skytrain station. Their company was the perfect antidote to the man on the seawall. We walked through  Chinatown and they loved seeing all the exotic dried foods and fish and the tropical fruit. Then we went to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen garden (the only classical Chinese garden outside mainland China) and they loved it. Then we walked through Gastown where we had lunch in a semi-swank restaurant which was really really fun. They are exceptionally polite and well behaved kids.

Then we walked along the seawall and got the girls ice cream and after that was a walk past the historic houses of the West End and Rodde House Museum and then home to meet their Dad. It was such a privilege to be with them and I felt supreme to be trusted by them and their parents. Ah life.

I was delighted to see my girls take immediately to the exotic nature of the store. They were the first in and had lots of questions. We walked every isle. It was thrilling for me.

 We had no idea what were were looking at.

Colie has the key to my everyone's heart.

Three dragons.

Georgia (left), Ruby and Cole in the garden.

Busy Tuesday

Get up...answer zillions of emails....finish marking....walk to a wonderful breakfast with lots of gossipy theatre friends....hoof it to John and Bunny's place in West Van to retrieve my camera....hoof it back to Vancouver....bather...hoof it to class and teach a three hour lecture....bed!

Monday: Pique-nique sur les rochers

Monday consisted of a lovely leisurely walk into town and then along part of the seawall I rarely walk. It was a lovely way to do a lot of errands. And then, I packed some of my immense batch of macarons and a small bottle of Veuve Cliquot and headed to West Vancouver where my friends John and Bunny and I enjoyed dinner on the rocks of Whytecliffe. It is one of my favourite places to go to picnic. It is a place only locals know and it is beautifully maintained and has a lovely history.

Bunny ignores the scenery and looks at me.

Salade Niçoise avant mélange.

Gianni takes in the view.

 This guy is one serious diver and very cordial. We had a lovely chat about all his incredible tools and gizmos.

Above and below: Floral sculpture!

Sunday: Trans-Richmond Epic

I took the Canada Line train to Bridgeport ("A" above) and walked to Cindy and Larry's house (B). It took a couple of hours as I was ambling not quick walking, and it was lovely to get out of the suburban parr of Richmond in the north and into the agricultural area of the south.

Sidewalks just stop, but not the bike lanes.

There are massive open fields in Richmond.

Birth.

 Those kohlrabis are gargantuan.

 I love hand-painted signs.

My soul is soothed by sights like this. I could just stand a look at the beauty of this flat open sunny rural and tranquil space. A view like this is like meditating.

Three people live here. One is a surgeon; one is a child. Are doctors paid too much?

Cindy and Larry live close to the south arm of the Fraser River; this is a boat going by. 

 Their backyard.

 I loved playing with Dasher, their dog.

Their bees.