To all my Canadian friends, Happy Canada Day!
Okay, this is weird, but I feel sadder about Billy Mays' unfortunate death than about any of the other recent celebrity passings. Billy Mays was an institution, and someone who was in our homes just about -- oh -- every ten minutes. Wherever I was in my house, as soon as I heard Billy Mays' voice on the TV, I ran for the remote and muted it. A friend of mine once said, "Can you imagine living with that voice?"
I received an e-mail from someone, asking me about my tree house. Well, I live three stories up, amongst the trees. I am surrounded by trees including mountain ash, Japanese plum, poplar, douglas fir, hemlock, pine and cherry trees. In the springtime, the Japanese plum and cherry trees are a mass of pink blossoms. When Phinnaeus was about three years old, he looked out the window at the blossoms and said, "Those are the boofelest things I have ever seen..." The douglas fir trees are filled with birds nests, and the raccoons sit in the nests in the late spring, hoping to steal the eggs. The crows dive-bomb them and put up an awful uproar, all of which usually starts at about 4:30 in the morning.
As I am writing this, there is a huge windstorm blowing in off the Pacific Ocean, and the seagulls and crows are gliding and swooping on the breeze. Seagulls are very social animals, and they love to tell jokes to each other. And then they laugh, and laugh, and laugh at the jokes. Sometimes they will set up such a cacophony, it really makes us wonder what on earth is going on. I love the scene in "Finding Nemo" where the seagulls are sitting on the pier yelling "Mine, mine, mine, mine!" until the albatross tells them to "Shaddup!" Seagulls really are like that, and they start very early in the morning. You don't need an alarm clock if you live anywhere near seagulls.
I'm fortunate that my tree house faces south, and I get the sunshine summer and winter. For some reason, which I do not understand, prime real estate in Vancouver is anything that faces the mountains, which are north. But for several months of the year, anything facing north gets no sunshine at all. I would rather have sunshine than a view of some 
Here in Canada, school is over for the summer now. One of my munchkins is officially going into high school soon, and I will be holding my breath as he starts to tread those shark-infested waters. He is the type of person who is so cool, he doesn't know he's cool. For most people, our high school experiences are not always our fondest memories. There are the usual suspects -- the "in-crowd", the "geeks and nerds", and the "in-betweens". Most of us fall into the category of "in-betweens", with occasional forays into either the "in-crowd" or the "geeks and nerds". The people who are able to navigate the waters best are the ones who don't really care which category they fall into. Whichever category my munchkin falls into, I hope he will be one of those folks who doesn't really care.
However, years later when we attend our 20 year high school reunion, the "in-crowd" folks are almost invariably the ones who have become fat and bald, and are working as a mechanic in the local service station. Or they're married to the guy who became fat and bald. Meanwhile, the "geeks and nerds" have blossomed into amazing people. Have you ever noticed that? It's almost a cliché. In the movie "Pretty in Pink", we just knew Duckie was going to become "über cool". Meanwhile, Steff, the bad boy -- and definitely the leader of the "in-crowd" -- has turned into William Shatner.
Is it just me, or are other people having difficulty posting comments on some blogs. I notice the blogs where I have the most difficulty are the blogs that have the option of posting a comment "embedded below post", rather than the "full page" option. If you have the "embedded below post" option and the "word verification" option chosen on your blog, you may be missing comments -- lots of them -- because the combination of the two options does not seem to like comments. It will invariably say "your comment cannot be posted", and the commentor has to try a second and sometimes a third time.
The "full page" option is much easier, more convenient and it has the added benefit of displaying the commentor's avatar. The "embedded below post" option does not post the commentor's avatar. Don't you think it's more fun to actually see everyone? I sure do...
If you go into "Settings", "Comment", "Comment Form Placement", you will see where you can choose the option of "full page". Now, please don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. If you prefer the "embedded below post" option, well, that's your choice. But keep in mind that by choosing that option, together with "word verification", you may be losing comments, because often people give up after the second try, or even the first try.
And then, of course, there is "blog approval" which to me is just another hurdle, but some folks seem to prefer having that option on their blog. I always wonder, "Will I be approved?" and I wait with baited breath...
I have had so many wonderful visitors to my blog, and there are new people every day. I enjoy going back to visit all of you, but sometimes I am not sure if my comment has even been posted. I wonder how many other people visit you, but are unable to post a comment. Has anyone else had this problem, or is it just me...?
Two larger than life icons of the 1970s and 1980s are gone in one day. Is there any more proof of how fragile and fleeting life can be? How many of us wasted time today, fretting and fussing over inconsequential things? "Miss So-and-So" took too long for lunch; "Mr. Such-a-Body" was rude to someone on the bus; oh, drat, I have to pay the phone bill and the hydro bill -- again... In the alternative, how many of us take pleasure in the fact that we can simply walk down the street, enjoy the fresh summer air and look at the gardens as we stroll by. And at the end of the day we can wash our faces, brush our teeth, and climb into our warm, cozy beds. Most of us don't really appreciate these ordinary, day-to-day things but they are -- in fact -- miracles. These folks will never experience those things, ever again.
This guy was lonely and so he decided life would be more fun if he had a pet. So he went to the pet store and told the owner that he wanted to buy an unusual pet. After some discussion he finally bought a centipede, which came in a little white box to use for his house.
I notice from my list of followers that two people have removed themselves as of today, and I do apologize if my last post or the painting on it offended anyone. It was meant to be fun, and not -- provoking -- in any way. I value everyone who reads my 
Yesterday was the first day of summer, and the silly season is officially here. The Guinness World Records Organization has just created a new category for the largest number of people simultaneously skinny-dipping. "In conformance with the stated rules of The Guinness World RecordsTM Organization, all participants to be counted must be completely nude during the skinny-dip. In addition, and as with all Guinness World Records events, all record attempts will be witnessed by a designated 'member in standing' of the local community."
I think everyone should have the experience of skinny-dipping at least once in their lives. When we were kids, we used to skinny-dip at this swimming hole in the Englishman River on Vancouver Island. Due to a weird anomaly of the weather, the town where I grew up is often the hottest place in Canada during the summer months, and is definitely the hottest place on Vancouver Island, getting up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit and more. So there was nothing salacious about skinny-dipping, we just thought it felt so much better to go sans bathing suits.
Gossip
Portrait of an Unknown Woman
"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." ... Abraham Lincoln
What do you do when you are surrounded by negativity, and it is draining the life's blood out of you? How do you deal with people who are motivated by anger and look for only the negative and never the positive? We have all had to deal with that at some point in our lives, and it can wreak havoc on our confidence and sense of self-worth. And it has sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy effect -- the harder you try to do something right, the more you know you are going to do it wrong. More negativity, more lack of confidence, and around and around it goes. Oh, you can do something good such as teach people a new skill, or volunteer to take on some project that no one else wants to do -- or whatever. Those are positive things, but it's not as much fun to point out the positives. The negatives are so much more exciting.
I'm late, I'm late for a very important date
On my most recent post, our friend Owen asked about railroads on Vancouver Island, so I thought I would give you a "Cook's Tour" of the Island. Vancouver Island is 290 miles long and 62 miles wide. It is the largest island on the western side of North America. The spine of Vancouver Island is The Vancouver Island Mountain Range, and the highest point in the range is Golden Hinde Mountain which is 7,201 feet, and is named after Sir Francis Drake's ship, the "Golden Hind". (I don't know why the spelling was changed.) Sir Francis Drake was the first European to spot Vancouver Island, but he did not land there. There are 18 subranges in the Vancouver Island Mountains, and 210 peaks.
Vancouver Island is so large, it has two separate weather climates, the northern being the rainforest climate, and the southern being officially a Mediterranean climate, complete with vineyards producing prize-winning wine. Victoria is the southernmost city on Vancouver Island, and is the capital of British Columbia. It would take at least three or four posts to tell you everything about Vancouver Island, so I will start with the bottom and work up. (Oh, don't yawn ... I won't do it all at once ...)
This is a picture of the world-famous Empress Hotel. The hotel was built 1908 and has hosted kings, queens, movie stars and other celebrities. In 1919, Edward, Prince of Wales danced in its Crystal Ballroom and in the 1930s, Shirley Temple and her parents took refuge there after she was threatened with kidnapping in California. The Empress Hotel is an iconic tourist attraction, and every afternoon during the summer months, the hotel serves high tea (along with tea sandwiches, fresh scones, preserves and Jersey Cream) in its 'Tea Lobby' to more than 800 guests and tourists -- a little bit of "Old England".
Across the harbor from the Empress Hotel are the Parliament Buildings. Both the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings were designed by the architect Francis Rattenbury, who led a scandalous life. In 1923, he left his wife for 27-year-old Alma Pakenham. He married Alma in 1925 and soon afterwards she had an affair with their 18 year-old chauffeur. In 1935, Rattenbury was murdered and his wife and chauffeur were charged. It was just like in a game of "Clue". Rattenbury was murdered by the chauffeur, in the library, with a candlestick -- well, actually it was a mallett. The chauffeur was convicted and sentenced to death, although his sentence was later commuted to a life sentence. Mrs. Rattenbury committed suicide by stabbing herself through the heart and falling into the River Avon. There is a story that the Rattenburys haunt the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings.
"So", Owen asks, "What about the trains?" Here is a link to the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island, previously known as the Esquimalt and Nanaimo line. The railway line started in 1886, and it was both a passenger line and a freight line. At one time the rail line went over the historic wooden Kinsol Trestle, which is 125 feet high and 614 feet long, and is one of the highest railway trestles in the world. And let me tell you, you haven't lived until you have gone over one of these creaking wooden trestles, in a train going about two miles an hour, and there is nothing on either side but a canyon. Oh, yes... We used to walk across those trestles, and hope and pray a train didn't come along. I remember once my friend Bonnie and I made a huge sign that said "STOP" and we stood on each side of the railroad tracks until a train came by. The engineer stopped the train and chased us down the street yelling, "You little b*ggers!"
The other day I decided to "Google Earth" my favorite house on Vancouver Island, et voila! there it was. This is the house where I have my happiest memories. It was quite a large house, but fairly modest, in a modest neighborhood. I believe houses can have spirits, and our house had a good spirit. I could feel it. Somehow, that house felt like summer all the time, and my memories of it are of the sun shining through the windows. It had a big cozy kitchen, a wonderful living room with a fireplace, and four bedrooms -- two on the main floor and two upstairs. My two older brothers had the rooms upstairs, and I was not allowed -- under any circumstances -- to go up there. My brothers kept me away by telling me there were spiders the size of dinner plates up there. It worked -- I stayed away.
My mother, who was a wizard at interior decorating, made the house into a beautiful home. We had a formal dining room, but no dining room table. So my father felled a pine tree, had the wood planed, and built a beautiful pine dining room table -- all with dowels, no nails. My mother painted the dining room forest green and on the walls she put botanical paintings of flowering cacti, framed in the same pine wood as the table. The sideboard and hutch had belonged to my grandparents, and my mother painted them off-white and then painted ivy growing across them. It was all done free-hand, and it was beautiful. I remember family dinners at that table, and they were always sort of raucous, with my two brothers regaling us with stories of their high school teachers. Their stories of Miss Ormrod the librarian were my favorites.
All of my friends lived in the neighborhood -- Barbara, Naida, Larry, Sonia, Billy, Joyce, Harry, Bonnie ... and so many more. We were free to roam the countryside, and we spent all our time outdoors, swimming, riding our bikes, exploring the forest. The boys taught the girls how to whistle through our teeth, how to do arm farts, how to climb trees, and all the other wonderful things that boys know how to do. Unfortunately, as we got older and realized we were different from each other, we grew apart. But for the time being it was an age of innocence, and a wonderful place in which to grow up.
The back yard was on a slope, so my mother built a rock garden out there, and it was filled with nasturtiums and all sorts of colorful flowers. The unusual thing about the rock garden is that it was built with petrified dinosaur bones my father had collected in the Alberta Badlands. I wonder if the rock garden is still there, and if the current owners of the house have any idea what those rocks are. Probably not.
Three Sisters, A Study in June Sunlight
I have been rather unfulfilled at work lately, so in the past couple of days I did a pencil sketch of the salt and pepper shakers in the coffee room, in order to use another part of my brain for a few minutes. The salt shaker is slightly battered and worse for the wear, and the pepper shaker is empty. Why no one fills it, I have no idea. It just sits there in the middle of the table, bereft of pepper. Sometimes I understand how the pepper shaker feels -- my job leaves me feeling very empty. There was a survey done recently, and one of the questions asked was, "Is the organization giving you the opportunity to work up to your talents and expectations?" The truth is, they don't even take the time to enquire as to my talents and expectations. I have learned that it is more difficult to work below your talents and expectations than to work up to them, or to be challenged.
Room in New York
Vancouver has managed to do it again. The Economist Magazine has voted Vancouver the number one most liveable city in the world. I'm sure by now you are getting tired of listening to me 
CANADIAN and Australian cities account for six of the top ten spots in the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest liveability ranking (see full report). All of the cities in the top ten scored well over 80.0, the threshold below which difficulties are apparent in day-to-day living. Vancouver is still the world’s most liveable city, with a rating of 98.0; Sydney and Zurich, sharing ninth place, achieved a score less than 2% lower than Vancouver’s. The worst-performing locations are in Africa or Asia, where civil instability and poor infrastructure present significant challenges. The unfolding political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe makes Harare the least desirable city in the survey. Locations within Afghanistan and Iraq are not included.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ... Albert Einstein
I have come to the conclusion that I may be a bad influence. My mother used to say, "We are all born with a little larceny in us..." but I think I have more than a little. The other day I took the Munchkins to see "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". I had taken the Munchkins for Japanese sushi first, at their favorite sushi restaurant, and I desperately wanted a latte. However, if I had stopped for one, we would have been late for the movie, so I decided to buy one to take to the movie with me. The young man taking the tickets at the movie theatre was not much older than Phinnaeus, and he informed me, in no uncertain terms, that "No outside food or drink was allowed in the theatre." I looked around and people were hauling in mega-sized buckets of popcorn, soft drinks, chocolate bars, ice cream, and there was I -- with my teeny tiny little latte. Anyway, the young man chased me out to the lobby to finish drinking my latte, just as the movie was about to start. Phinnaeus, Marigold and I sat in the lobby, and then I had a brain wave. I looked at my drink, I looked at my tote bag, et voila! problem solved. My latte fit very nicely into my tote bag, the three of us strolled into the already darkened theatre, we sat down, and I enjoyed my latte in leisure. Phinnaeus and Marigold didn't say a word, although they did look at me with a twinkle in their eyes. I hope I was not a bad influence on them.
The Munchkins enjoyed "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". I thought it was even better than the first one; the special effects were wonderful. The famous statue "The Ballerina" by Degas came to life and danced through the museum. Jeff Koons' balloon puppy bounced and pranced through the halls; the people in Edward Hopper's painting, "Nighthawks" came to life. I loved it. Hank Azaria was wonderful as Egyptian pharaoh Kahmunrah -- complete with a lisp. But if you're looking for high drama, this isn't it. It's a kids' show, and kids love it. The Munchkins were even asking me about some of the art work, which clearly was in the movie to educate children. It was an interesting concept.
I watched a movie last night that, in my opinion was so good, I wanted to replay it ... but it was getting late, so I didn't. I just might watch it again tonight. It's called "Passengers" and it stars the always-wonderful Anne Hathaway. It was released in the theatres last fall, and for some reason I had never heard of this movie. Have any of you heard of it ... or seen it? No, I hadn't either, until now. It also stars Andre Braugher, who is my favorite actor. And of course, it was filmed right here in Vancouver, so it's always fun to pick out Vancouver landmarks. "Oh, there's the BC Sugar Refinery; there's the Museum of Anthropology; there's the Skytrain..."
I recently bought a new television set, and along with it I got the digital box so I could get more channels. I love watching old, classic movies. To me, they are a real art form. And I love the classic movie stars. They were a completely different breed than the movies stars of today. They had a magical quality about them -- a patina -- that movie stars seems to have lost. I don't know, call me a prude, but I don't want to watch a movie, and then the next day see the star of the movie exposing her pregnant belly with her belly-button sticking out. Yes, pregnancy is beautiful, but cover up the belly-button, please. It just detracts a bit from the mystique. When I watch the classic movies, and see the elegant actresses who played in them, I sometimes wish the actresses of today could try to emulate them -- just a bit.
Most of the women from the so-called golden era of movies were real people in their private lives. Greer Garson was married three times, once to a man who played her son in "Mrs. Miniver". Deborah Kerr was known for her raucous sense of humor and her bawdy jokes, and all of her leading men fell in love with her for that reason. She had romantic affairs with Stewart Granger, Burt Lancaster, Cary Grant and Robert Mitchum, who called her a "great broad", and he regarded that as the highest form of compliment. So do I. You can see the chemistry between them in "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison". That was my mother's favorite movie, and she always used to say, "Those two are in love with each other -- you can see it."
Ingrid Bergman was known for her classic beauty and her amazing talent, but in 1950 she became notorious for her affair with Italian director, Roberto Rossellini. This resulted in a huge scandal in the United States. Democratic Senator Edwin C. Johnson from Colorado referred to her as "a horrible example of womanhood and a powerful influence for evil". She was declared persona non grata and was forced in exile to Italy, where she eventually married Rossellini. In 1957 she returned to the United States and won an Oscar for her role in "Anastasia".
Grace Kelly was, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful actresses who ever lived. Her beauty was astonishing, and she was equally as talented. One can only imagine what her career would have been like, had she not married Prince Rainier and retired to Monaco as Princess Grace. I think she often wondered that as well, and I could sometimes detect a far away look in her eye -- "what if...". But she, too, was known for having affairs with her leading men, including Cary Grant (he got around, didn't he...?), William Holden and Ray Milland, who referred to her as having a "great ass".
My first encounter with blogging was a few years ago when I read a book by Carole Radziwill, who was married to John F. Kennedy Jr’s cousin, Tony Radziwill. Tony and JFK Jr's mothers, Lee Bouvier Radziwill and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, were sisters. Tony Radziwill and JFK Jr were best friends, and Tony was the best man at JFK Jr's wedding to Carolyn Bessette. Tony Radziwill was born into European Royalty and was in fact a prince. He was descended from King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, King George I of Great Britain, and King John III Sobieski of Poland. In 1989, at the age of 30, Tony Radziwill was diagnosed with cancer. He went into remission for a period of time, but in 1999 just a few days after his 40th birthday, and one week after the funeral of his cousin JFK Jr, Tony Radziwill lost his battle with cancer.
Tony Radziwill and John F. Kennedy Jr, and their wives, Carole and Carolyn, were extremely close friends. Within a short period of a few days, Carole Radziwill lost her husband and her best friends. Can you even imagine the overwhelming grief she must have felt? After years of struggling with the loss, she wrote her memoir, “What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love”. When I read it, it touched me deeply. I know something of friendship, love and loss, and I wanted to send a message to Carole Radziwill to let her know how much her book had affected me.
I had dinner tonight with a friend of mine from Ireland. Oh, sure, by gosh, I did, *heh* and it was lovely. Vancouver is just too hot right now, so we sat outside on a patio and tried to keep cool. My friend said when she had first heard about Vancouver, she imagined the "land of ice and snow" and was shocked to find when she first got here that it was nothing as she imagined. In any case, right now it's too darned hot to sit at my computer.
We are having unseasonably hot weather here in British Columbia. In the Lower Mainland, some areas have reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with a relative humidity of 15%. That is hot. And very, very dry. We often get temperatures like this from July until September, but on June 3rd? Goodness! So, as much as I would love to stay indoors and visit with all of you wonderful folks, it's just too hot. I'll be over to visit you very soon. But, I'm not complaining ... I love it. Stay cool...!
Portrait of Dora Maar
Warm tropical weather from across the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii has slammed into Vancouver, and it feels just like Waikiki. And yes, those palm trees are here in Vancouver, right along Beach Avenue by English Bay. So I am going to be taking advantage of the beautiful weather to get outdoors, and I will be away from my computer for a couple of days.
I had sort of a pleasant experience this afternoon. I went downtown to pick up some things I needed, and the buses were stalled, so I grabbed a taxi home. The taxi driver had all the windows open in the car, and as we were driving across the Granville Bridge, it felt as if we were in a convertible. My hair was flying, and it felt wonderful. The taxi driver turned to me and said, "You are a very beautiful woman..." Omigosh! Every woman should hear that at least once in her lifetime, right? ...Just what I needed, just when I needed it.