To Vancouver Until Sunday

Sheba has a sore foot again. It really upsets me even though she is stoic about it. Still, I’m taking her on short walks whilst she heals. The day started well, weather-wise, but clouds rolled in and the humidity made the day feel very cool. On the plus side: Tuesday was a day spent deep inside The Overstory.

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If you have a cat, you know they like fresh water. Ethel practically knocks herself out against my toilet every time she hears it flush because she’s in such a hurry to drink from the fresh water. So I ordered a cat fountain that circulates water; it’ll give Fred and Ethel a source of “fresh” water that I think they’ll love.

Well … Freddy thinks it’s a bath or play tub. He had water everywhere within minutes of me setting it up. But things appear to have settled down and now all the pets have a source of “fresh” moving water.

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Today’s been exhausting: I had so very much to do to get the place ready for Hannah and for my three days in Vancouver. I saw Cathy, the mental health nurse, this morning; I won’t see her again for six weeks. I’m being weaned from therapy with her as the clinic in Nanaimo takes over. The best part of our session was her saying that we’d have a non-clinical dinner together once we are done with appointments.

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I’m not going to post while I’m away, so I won’t be posting again until Sunday. I’m leaving looking forward to being with friends, but I’ll miss Sheba, the cats and home tremendously. What I won’t miss is lighting the fire every morning and feeding and exercising my beloveds. 

Another Hangover

Sunday was another stunning day! It was soul satisfying to rise to so glorious a sunrise and have light at six thirty in the morning. And then came opening the back door (to let Sheba out) and seeing the bright pink Azalea blossoms floating in the air and hearing the gently falling water of the fountain. Paradise was back in full swing!

Another pleasure was the view of light green carpet covering the backyard. All those months of hard work last summer, plus all the expense of the soil will bring me a satisfying and aesthetic reward every sunny Spring and Summer morning from now on. Where once there was only rock, dirt, weeds and years of Fir needles, there’s now a rich green carpet of lawn.

I lit the fire, fed the pets, made my bed, made the chicken marinade and set the chicken into it, cleaned the kitchen and got to Mad Rona’s by eight fifteen to meet Jay (who came to dinner later in the day) and his sister, Kelly. Kelly is a wonderful friend from my days living at Brewery Creek. She now lives in Comox but visits often to see Jay.

Then I roared home to fetch Her Highness and go on the big community dog walk before coming home to make the Parmesan Potato stacks I served for dinner. After that, it was more cleaning and tidying before going for the afternoon dog walk and making the final course that was dreadfully complex and time consuming.

I finished at four forty and I was beat. I had a fast shower and wished I could’ve had a joint; instead, I opened some Proseco and had my first tiny drink of wine alone. Then my guests arrived: Five gay men from the island, all of them dog owners, but one. They arrived at five. It’s what we do here; we start early and end early and it suits me just fine. I had time to relax before bed.

I felt good about what I served and it all went over very well. Two of my guests are true gourmet cooks, and I know of what I speak. Eoin worked in the restaurant business all his life, and François is Quebecois. Need I say more? We had a great time together

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Waking up on Monday was not at all the same. It was drizzling and I had another (milder) hangover. I am never drinking again! I spent most of the morning in bed.

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But there was some good news on Monday. In the afternoon: I got all the information I need to defer my property taxes henceforth. Deferring my taxes will save me a considerable annual expense and extend the time I will have to remain here on Gabriola.

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Today is another day of lousy weather. I’ll spend it reading and pondering all I need to do to leave the place for Hannah. I hope I leave notes to cover all she needs to know whilst I’m in Vancouver Thursday to Sunday.

Party Night

Yesterday morning, I melted some white chocolate I found, dyed it red with food colouring and rolled it into little balls to add berries to my cake. I’m super proud of this cake.

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Sunday night: A dinner party. Wednesday: Cathy and a deep talk about the mental health program I’ll be starting at the end of March. Thursday to Sunday: My trip to Vancouver and visits with a lot of people and staying in a different friend’s home every night. And the Tuesday after I return: Sylvie and her sister Lucie arrive for a visit. I haven’t had anything like this busy a life in a long, long time. It’s going to be interesting to see how I fare with so much socializing.

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It was a stunning day yesterday! I did my cooking, chopped the wood I wanted to get done and then I took on a scary challenge: Washing my sofa—well, beginning the process. 

I’ve lived here for two-and-a-half years with a dog and been through three winters. I’ve never cleaned upholstery before but it was time, so yesterday I attempted to clean one side of one of the two seat cushions and I was very satisfied with the outcome. Plus, drying it was easy in front of the fire. So, when I come back from Vancouver, I’ll do its reverse side, then the other cushion on both sides and then the back of the sofa.  

Moving here has inspired me to try lots of new things and I’ve learned many new skills.

I also got my fountain going and hooked up to a timer so it comes on with sunrise and goes off at sunset. It is just divine to have the sound back and to look out my office window and see the water sparkling as it drips down into the collecting pool. I love it and the birds love it and its sound, when I am in the spa, is wonderfully relaxing.

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In the afternoon, I usually go to Ann’s to get her and her dog, Minjou, and we all go to Rollo Park together, but when I got to her house I saw that Di’s car was there. Di walks with us three times a week in the mornings, so I went into Anna’s yard and Di’s dog, Nelson and Minjou gave me a really warm welcome. Sheba was very jealous.

Then Anna emerged from her house and invited me in for tea and cookies with Di and another fellow dog walker, Donna. So the four of us had the most wonderful hour of conversation, tea and cookies before we went for a walk with out dogs.

It was absolutely lovely to be together.

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Today will begin with me meetin Jay and Kelly for breakfast after making marinade for the chicken, then I’ll go on the big community dog walk before coming home to cook courses four and five and tidying up the house before my guests come.