Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Tuesday 31st July 2018.... another great day!!!

Cannot believe I have been in the Island two weeks already!!!


I went to do some chores this morning and borrowed Zack’s 🚙 car...






Yes this used to be my car this was the original Little Bluey I gifted it to the family many years ago and glad that she is still in service...



As I backed out the driveway saw this beauty!!!!









I took Boomer’s collar off this afternoon and took him here...



























He loved the freedom of the hike and pretty nice scenery too...


I then took Ruth for an ice cream and brought her out to the lake as well...


Tonight was a full house as Ruth’s other grandson Jonah and his friend Mitch arrived for one night....


Ruth with four of her grandsons!!!






We were entertained by the same deer 🦌 in the back yard...






This time with his & family...









Can you see the baby!!!


A good night was had by all!!


Yashi Kochi!!



Monday, July 30, 2018

No you 30th jul 2018....good riddance!!!!!

Good bye to the belly!!!!!


I have been a bad boy and a combination of Janet’s great home cooking for two months and me getting off my eating schedule and now Heather’s good cooking and me not being able to say no to desserts the waist line had enlarged and I am up to 183 lbs.......when I left SMA in April was 176 lbs.....


So today is the start of my new eating regime........I had cereal and a banana for breakfast and then donned my hiking stuff lots of drinks and headed out on a hike to here...






It is a lovely park enjoy the views...






































I was lucky to catch this bird in flight....






I then walked to the next park ...Pipers lagoon..another lovely spot....






This is where I had a rest and a very light lunch...






The house next to the very tiny red dot in the centre of the photo was Roy’s house, you have often heard me talk of Roy...






A close up...











I had to walk the same route back and in all I hiked 14 km and it was hot but felt good.


Heather is cooking some grilled chicken and veggies for dinner and I think we are going to watch a movie downstairs tonight on the 65 inch television..yes 65 inch!!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Sunday 29th July 2018...the lazy days of summer!!!

Sunday was a easy day spent the morning puttering, laundry, reading, sorting, making plans, eating, visiting....


At 11.30 am I went again to pickle ball it is usually the same players some of whom are really good all of them very friendly and over two hours of almost non stop games, very enjoyable!!


Heather cooked another lovely dinner and then I treated Ruth and Heather to a movie....I cannot remember the last time I went to the movies and boy have things changed notably the price of popcorn and a drink....loved the easy chairs that recline....and the movie was fun uplifting and a great evening out.


What did we see?


The header should tell you!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Saturday 28th July 2018.....Ruth’s special day!!!!

Today was Ruth’s day, she is 91 years young today and I mean young.  She looks great is very mentally in tune and just suffers a tad with mobility issues.


I went with Heather and Ruth this morning to the next town where there was a sandcastle competition..some of the sculptures were really detailed and amazing!!












From there we went to the very &amours country Coombes market..this market is know for the goats on the roof!!!












They sell a zillion different food items and it is always a packed and fun place to visit!!





Afterwards we went to this really nice restaurant for a light lunch everything about the lunch was perfect...including cake!!






 And back home and at 2 pm I went to pickle ball a good job it was inside as the afternoon temperature was very high......two hours of great games and friendly people!!


We stayed home for dinner with just five for dinner...Heather put on a great meal and wonderful decorations and yes more cake for Ruth!









Hope you had a special day as you are a special lady!!


Yashi Kochi!!


Friday, July 27, 2018

Friday 27th July 2018......an afternoon of music!!


The only plan today was not until the afternoon so lazed around the garden and had some company...









This afternoon I took Ruth to the seniors village where Heather works to listen to their afternoon of music and let me tell you it was awesome....Wilma a volunteer came and played for nearly an hour all the old favourite songs that had smiling clapping and singing.....

She was an amazing player all without music and a great personality ....to watch the faces of the residents was a humbling experience..Heather  you do such a fantastic job and that facility is lucky to have you....


Before everyone left we sang Happy Birthday to Ruth who turns 91 tomorrow...isn’t she great looking!!!






Had to take Boomer back to the vet this afternoon he got to his tail again hopefully this time the bandage and collar will keep him safe.


Tried to see the moon today but way too cloudy!!



Skywatchers will be treated to the longest "blood moon" eclipse of the 21st Century on Friday. 

As it rises, during this total eclipse, Earth's natural satellite will turn a striking shade of red or ruddy brown.

The "totality" period, when light from the Moon is totally obscured, will last for one hour, 43 minutes.

At least part of the eclipse is visible from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, most of Asia and South America.

In the UK, rain clouds permitting, the Moon will appear entirely red - fully eclipsed by Earth .

On the same night and over the coming days, Mars will be at its closest point to Earth since 2003 - visible as a "bright red star" where skies are clear. 


Yashi Kochi!!!

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Thursday 26th July 2018....a quiet day!

Just the usual boring Thursday morning stuff...off to out door pickle ball...played almost three hours and it was hot.....great games and very friendly people.


This afternoon I had an appointment at my bank to apply for a second Visa card having had mine compromised twice in one year I figured a back up card was in order.  My appointment was at 3pm and the young man that did the application for me looked about 15 years of age...but he knew his stuff and I should have the card in a few days.


Heather’s Mum Ruth arrived today she is staying about a week and it is her 91st birthday on Saturday she is doing really well...we had a lovely dinner out on the deck it was lovely!


Yashi Kochi!

Wednesday 25th July 2018....pickle ball....

Today was spent mainly doing some chores and changing bedrooms as Heather’s Mum arrives tomorrow for a few days to celebrate her 91st birthday....did some laundry and went shopping the rest of the time I was home reading and relaxing until 5.30pm when it was time for my evening of pickle ball...I sure enjoy my time on the courts and it is a good work out!!



Pickleball is a racquet sport which combines elements of badmintontennis, and table tennis. The sport is played on a court with the same dimensions as a doubles badminton court. The net is similar to a tennis net, but is mounted two inches lower. The game is played with a hard paddle and a polymer wiffle ball.

The Court
220px-Pickleballcourt.PNG.png

Court Dimensions
The pickleball court is similar to a doubles badminton court. The actual size of the court is 20×44 feet for both doubles and singles. The net is hung at 36 inches on the ends, and 34 inches in the middle. The court is striped like a tennis court, with no alleys; but the outer courts, and not the inner courts, are divided in half by service lines. The inner courts are no-volley zones, and extend 7 feet from the net on either side.
Play
The ball is served underhand starting from the right-hand side of the court and is served diagonally to the opponent’s service zone.
Points are scored by the serving side only and occur when the opponent faults (fails to return ball, hits ball out of bounds, etc.). The server continues to serve, alternating service courts, until the server faults. The first side scoring eleven points and leading by at least two points wins.
The return of service must be allowed to bounce by the server and partner i.e. cannot be volleyed. 


Yashi Kochi!!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Tuesday 24th July 2018...an afternoon with Mother Nature!!!!

I may as well say this and get it out of the way..they issued a heat advisory today hot and sunny temperatures for the next ten days!!!


My day started with a visit to the doctor..Heather had made me an appointment weeks ago with Dr.Williams all I wanted was a consult to attend a cardiologist but I knew before I even went it would be impossible the waiting time is many weeks.


To regress. When I had my yearly medical in SMA in March my doctor just wanted me to see a cardiologist just to check all was OK with my irregular heartbeat so now I shall get an appointment when I return to SMA in late September.


What struck me as very strange and I do not why I did it but my doctor here before he retired had been my doctor for over twenty years and Dr.Marco is my doctor in SMA...so when Dr.Williams walked in the consulting room she did so with a big smile...why would I just assume the doctor was a man????


Anyway I came home had breakfast and being as I had Heather’s car decided to go to a hike a few miles out of town and loaded up with lots of drinks and food went to the trail head of....







This is about a ten km loop trail and the first part is straight up hill through rain forests a really difficult climb but almost at the top the rewards of all that hard work are awesome!!!













 A few minutes later I came over the ridge and my destination Heart lake!!


Wow what a wonderful lake in the middle of the forest...












Had my lunch with these views...









I took another route back to the car and I was sweaty, tired but happy!!!


I stopped at the Nanaimo river on the way home just to take a photo.....a pretty busy place on a day like today.




Tonight a lovely supper and a soak in the tub and another day complete!!


The medication that Boomer is taking is keeping him very quiet and this is good the bandage is still on his tail and he is not trying to get to it so hopefully this will last through the weekend!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Thursday 5 th January 2023…it was a great run!!!

 This was my first ever blog post back in November of 2006!!! With just a couple of days off I have written a blog every day since and I hav...