Lucky in love

We’ve been living the high life for the last 6 weeks, not that we don’t always live high and happy, but we’ve been on a bit of a whirl. I am disappointed that I wasn’t doing a good job taking photos as we’ve had ‘visitations’ and not much record of them. For instance my sister, Betsy, was in town for the first time in a year and we had a lot of good times and laughter with her. Of course she inspected my head and did her ‘older wiser sister’ thing. And our good friend Alan Bull, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, was working here for 3 weeks so we got to catch up with him too.

And then Jim’s sister and her husband, Pat and Ed Lawlor came to town and we did finally get the camera out. A photo that should have been and wasn’t was of Pat & Ed, and Arthur & Jessica Vickers www.arthurvickers.com at Arthur’s gallery in Cowichan Bay because the Lawlors bought one of Arthur’s fabulous Orca Family sets. Arthur is hardly ever in the gallery but he was that day 3 times as we came and went. We decided he was lurking outside somewhere and as soon as we went through the gallery door he followed us in! He is a wonderful story teller and a very spiritual person so it was an amazing day, again with a lot of laughter but also powerful images and emotions.

We were supposed to meet Pat & Ed in Las Vegas and tour around southern Utah and Nevada for a couple of weeks but Jim and Pat decided they might as well come here instead. Of course we had a fabulous winter weather-wise until that decision was taken and then the weather pretty much collapsed. Sure it was in the low teens and pleasant enough but not as nice as it had been in February. And good grief, when we went to Seattle it was a howling winter storm and freezing. Luckily we ‘did’ mostly indoor things ‘cuz it was bitter. When the Lawlors returned to PEI for Easter weekend they had summer weather, 20C for heaven’s sake, and we had another storm. Today Jim  I went to Costco, (remember I said I would need to buy plants!) and I wore my down jacket knowing we would be outside in the garden centre. Actually many of my seedlings are doing okay but Costco's garden centre is a spring ritual.

Speaking of friends and family, Randy Mains is back from Abu Dhabi for 6 weeks, Joan & Rob Tweedie have returned from South Africa, and we had a very happy time at my cousin Barb’s on Easter Sunday with the extended family of 15. BTW, if you get an opportunity to have bacalhau, the traditional fish stew that Portuguese/Brasilians eat on high days and holy days, I think you’ll love it. I don’t eat fish but I do eat that.

A sidebar referring back to hair related things, specifically sodium laurel sulphate: I recently read in a newpaper medical column that anyone who gets mouth sores or cankers should find a toothpaste without SLS in it (the stuff is everywhere). We are using a Jason product, Seafresh which we like well enough to continue with. My hair is starting to grow back, btw, after 4 rounds of cortisone shots in the scalp, and yes they hurt.

And that’s it really. We have just been having the best time with so many really fine people and being reminded every day how lucky we are in our friends and family. And there is still a little bit of wine left on the store shelves but you better hurry if you want any…

Another sidebar is that this post didn't want to cooperate so I haven't labeled the photos most of which are obvious anyway. The ones that aren't obvious are in Seattle, Pike Market, Pioneer Square, and the Underground Tour.