December 28, 2025 to January 3, 2026 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Sunny, cold, +4 C.°

I took Apollo for a couple walks today, enjoying the sunshine despite the cold. Joanne did laundry. I went to the hotel’s book exchange library and scrounged for interesting books to read / take with me when we move in less than two weeks to Robin Hood Inn. Again we spent quite a bit of today discussing and researching our options for travel next winter, probably to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A few weeks ago I bought a liquid glucosamine and have been administering a carefully measured appropriate dosage daily to Apollo. His activity level has increased / mobility difficulties have decreased. We’re impressed. Joanne thinks she should start taking glucosamine. You go, girl !

Monday ; Mostly sunny, chilly, +6° C.

Again Apollo woke me up at 7:30 AM, wanting to go outside. It seems as if his overnight bladder capacity / endurance has diminished from 9 hours to 8 hours. <sigh> Yeah, Apollo ... I get it !

We left our room this morning at 11:30 AM to allow Housekeeping a half an hour to service our room. We went to the waiting lounge in the front lobby area. Usually that area is empty. Today it slowly filled up with the fifty seniors here on a bus tour, as they waited for their noon departure by bus to Butchart Gardens. Apollo was thrilled ! He thought fifty old people ... his kind of people ! ... were coming into the lounge specifically to make friends with him. Most of them did ! HA HA HA ! Good dog, Apollo !

After much pontification and discussion over the last couple of weeks, today we decided to “bite the bullet” and make a reservation for a five month stay next winter in Mexico. Execution of that plan is dependent on Apollo’s passing, not something we hope for, but expect within the next year. Everything about this reservation via VRBO went wrong. I spent most of the evening either on the phone with their very unhelpful HELP call centre (obviously) in India, or sending / receiving messages back and forth with the American owner of the condo. The multiple problems ... cost discrepancies and payment failures ... remain unresolved at this time. Over the years I have experienced similar, insurmountable difficulties paying an “American” bill using (two) Canadian credit cards and/or (one) Canadian debit card. Back in the day, I solved that problem by having a bank account and credit card with Bank of America in Yuma, Arizona. But ... no longer ! Elbows up ! ! ! Stay tuned !

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny, +5° C.

Yesterday evening, both I and the owner of the condo in Mexico that I wish to reserve for five months next winter spent much of the evening trying and failing to get a reservation made through her chosen rental listing service VRBO. She was back at it first thing this morning, even before I was out of bed. Upon getting my day started, I also was back at it. By noon we still had not succeeded.

I gave up. I advised her that I had invested as much time and energy in this teeth gnashing, unsuccessful transaction with VRBO as was warranted, wished her a Happy New Year, and told her I was “moving on”. She asked me to phone her. I did. It took her and I only a few moments to resolve the insurmountable difficulties with VRBO, I made her a proposal, she agreed ... deal done !

After lunch we headed out with Apollo for grocery shopping at Country Grocer, and self-serve dog wash at Bosley’s, both in the same mall in Esquimalt. After bathing Apollo Joanne wrapped him in his blankie and we headed home to Royal Scot. Good (clean) dog, Apollo.

Wednesday ; New Year’s Eve ; Sunny, +7° C.

This morning we completed Apollo’s grooming, plucking and cleaning his ears, and trimming his nails. HMPH ... he needs a haircut again soon. His hair is just long enough now to begin tangling / matting whenever he gets wet. Which in Victoria during the winter is pretty much daily !

This afternoon I began working on year end financial analyses, an onerous task, but one which I usually enjoy doing. Except at the end of the years when the stock markets have done poorly.

We had an interesting dinner of appetizers, then spent the evening watching CBC’s “Cross Canada” New Year’s Eve show. It’s now 11:50 PM, I have just walked Apollo, he’s gone to bed ... joining Joanne who’s already gone to sleep. Story of my New Year’s Eve life ! HA HA HA ! HAPPY NEW YEAR ! Goodnight !

Thursday ; New Year’s Day ; Overcast, rain in the evening, +6° C.

I made “Christmas brunch” again this morning ; Belgian waffles slathered with strawberry jam and covered with vanilla ice cream. Had to use up the remaining half box of Belgian waffles.

I spent most of the day puttering with year end bill paying and investment analysis, and new year financial planning. You know it’s been a great year in the stock market when you have collected annuity pensions from your investments all year, withdrawn from your investments to buy a new (to us) condo, and the value of the investments is larger at the end of the year than at the beginning. A begrudging bit of thanks to asshole Trump for the first few months of the year, and lots of thanks to our new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for the rest. Stay the course, Mr. Carney. And elbows up, everyone !

Friday ; Overcast, intermittent drizzle, +7° C.

I continued puttering around today with year end and new year financial matters. At 11:30 AM when Housekeeping showed up to service our room, we took Apollo for a walk around the block then went to sit in the lobby lounge area to wait for Housekeeping to finish our room. I had an interesting conversation with a middle aged woman and her three high school and college aged children who were waiting for their lunch reservation in the hotel’s (overpriced) breakfast and lunch restaurant. They were here from Seattle for a brief vacation. I gathered it was the first time any of them had been to Canada ... or anywhere else outside of the USA. They had all just gotten passports for the first time.

We chatted about health care in Canada, including Canada’s recruitment of American nurses. The youngest daughter, almost finished high school, wants to be a nurse. The mother asked questions about Canada’s “free” universal health care system. And my answers dispelled myths that most Americans, including the mother, “believe” about Canada’s health care. She was particularly amazed to hear that my triple bypass surgery was performed two days after an angiogram indicated I needed it urgently. And that Joanne’s mastectomy was performed two days after her breast cancer diagnosis. And that both those surgeries, as all (well, most) health care in Canada, were “free”.

After lunch and a nap (for me and Apollo) Joanne and I left Apollo in our suite and set off for the downtown branch of the Bank of Montreal, using the hotel’s shuttle service to get there. I wanted to get Global Money Transfer service set up on my online banking application, and a visit to a branch is necessary for that.

The downtown branch of BMO is in a huge, ornate, historical building. It’s beautiful ! Too bad the BMO doesn’t staff it adequately. There were only two tellers. And the line-up in front of me was short. BUT ... nowadays the only people who go into the bank to be served in person, at a counter, by a teller, are those who require a “high maintenance” level of service, And consequently, each person seems to spend fifteen minutes at the counter. I probably spent more than that at the counter. I didn’t think that toggling “Global Money Transfer” service to the “on” position on my online banking app was high maintenance, but ... it was ! AND ... <sputter> ... the teller was not able to do it. I spent whatever ... twenty minutes ? ... answering his relatively stupid questions (in my opinion) and expressing dissatisfaction at being told I needed to make an appointment with a “specialist” and return at another time.

Eventually ... probably due to his eagerness to get rid of me because the line-up behind me had grown to about six people ... (each needing fifteen minutes of service ?) ... he wrote my answers to his stupid questions on a piece of paper, photocopied my driver’s license, then sent me on my way, advising me that instead of making an appointment for me, he would have one of his “specialist” colleagues contact me by telephone, probably before the end of the business day.

Joanne had planned for us to walk back home, and to have a Beavertail as a treat on the way. It was drizzling as we walked home. The service at the Beavertail kiosk on Broughton Avenue was poor. The front counter fellow was an idiot. And the food preparation woman in the back was careless and sloppy, “tearing” our Beavertail as she smeared it with their thick maple syrup coating. We didn’t realize that until we were back in our hotel suite, because we didn’t want to stand there in the rain at their kiosk and eat our Beavertail.

As we were passing in front of the BC Legislature Building on the way home our phone rang. I dug it out of Joanne’s purse ... she was delicately carrying the poorly wrapped Beavertail ... it was the bank’s “specialist”. She started out by asking yet another stupid question, and again one that really wasn’t any of the bank’s business / concern. “To whom did I intend to send money ?” My brain thought “what the **** is it to you whom I send money to ... sweetheart ?”

But my mouth said “I don’t intend to stand here in the rain in front of the Legislature Building and answer more of your questions, call me back in five minutes when we’re back at our hotel room”. She didn’t ! But a few minutes after the call I received a “notification” that Global Money Transfer” service was now available to me on our online banking app. <shrug>

I realize their “stupid” questions are designed to prevent old people (or anyone else) from becoming victims of fraud. But really ; “why are you sending money to someone in another country ?” and “to whom are you sending money ?” fall into my cranky old man category of aggravating and insulting.

Saturday ; Sunny in the morning, intermittent drizzle for the rest of the day, +8° C.

Slow start to the day, routine chores for much of the day, also worked on RRIF withdrawal planning for 2026, summarized 2025 medical expenses for income tax purposes, etc. Many decades ago I learned to harness my OCD and put it to good use. HA HA HA !

DSK

December 21 to 27, 2025 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Mix of sun and clouds, occasional light rain later in the day, +8° C.

To fulfill a year old Christmas present / birthday gift commitment to Joanne, today we indulged in afternoon high tea at the establishment of her choosing. We left our suite at 12:45 PM and walked about a kilometre to Piggy & Paisley, an upscale tea house across the street from Thrifty Foods, in our James Bay neighbourhood. We both thought that the experience started off poorly when we were made to wait at the front door for over five minutes for our 1 PM high tea sitting, their first of the day. If you are going to make your customers make an appointment, and pay a deposit, for an indulgent experience that is outrageously overpriced, by anybody’s standards ... be ready for them when they show up on time ! ! !

Notwithstanding that service “stumble”, the experience was very good. The quantities and qualities of teas and foods, the most important elements of the experience, were excellent ! The ambience was pleasant, three tables serving three couples, in a small, intimate, pleasantly decorated, afternoon high tea room. The young woman server was knowledgeable, and pleasant, although she tried a bit too hard to engage us in small talk. It came off as “phony”. One table was occupied by a pair of young Asian women speaking Chinese. We chatted with the other couple, a bit younger than us, who are originally from Winnipeg.

When we were finished, the experience taking longer than we had expected, we crossed the street to pick up a few items at Thrifty Foods. The afternoon high tea experience is designed to be leisurely, and lingering seems to be part of the experience. If you’re in a hurry ... don’t do afternoon high tea. HA HA HA ! We arrived back at our suite at 3:15 PM. Apollo was asleep ... quiet ! Very good dog, Apollo !

We had another weekend of many dogs ... and plenty of dog drama ... in the dog wing of our suites hotel. By the time we arrived back home at 3:15 PM, all except the couple across the hall who are here due to medical treatments seemed to have checked out, and our wing was quiet, as usual.

I had a brief, late nap with Apollo, then worked on uploading my weekly blog entry, and budget planning for next year.

<checking bucket list> Afternoon high tea for Joanne <check>

Monday ; Sunny in the morning, heavy rain in the afternoon, +8 C.

Because Joanne was dissatisfied with the lettuce available at Thrifty Foods yesterday, this morning she wanted to go to Quality Foods in Esquimalt to buy lettuce and a few other items. <sigh> I’m tired of how frequently we shop for groceries. Joanne is unwilling (afraid) to drive in downtown Victoria, but assures me that once we move to the Robin Hood Inn in a few weeks she’ll drive herself to wherever she wants to shop.

It wasn’t until we arrived at the small mall containing Quality Foods that she surprised me with a visit to that mall’s bakery. How nice ! <sigh> Closed Mondays !

After buying lettuce ... and more ... she wanted to see how close that Quality Foods is to the Robin Hood Inn. So ... we drove to the Robin Hood Inn before returning home to Royal Scot.

At 5 PM Joanne and I went to the swimming pool and did a set of aquatics exercises, then soaked in the hot tub. We have found that 5 PM to 6 PM is a good time to go to the pool and fitness area, we usually have it to ourselves at that time.

At 11 PM I took Apollo for his last walk of the day. BRRRRR ! Cold ! On the sidewalk in front of our hotel was a homeless man’s grocery cart of possessions. While walking Apollo I noticed the homeless man dumpster diving at the Royal Scot, the Grand Pacific and the Days Inn. <sigh> After returning Apollo to our suite I went back outside and offered to bring him a cup of tea. He said he would prefer coffee. I went back to our suite and prepared two cups of coffee for him, in disposable cups.

Merry Christmas, Ryan !

Tuesday ; Mostly sunny, +8° C.

Today’s weather was so nice (no rain !) we both took Apollo for his noon walk. And this afternoon Joanne invited me to the Bay Centre to see the Festival of Trees displays and then ... have an afternoon snack at Beavertails. OK ! ! ! We took the hotel’s shuttle to the Bay Centre at 3:15 PM. That was my mistake ! It took twenty minutes to drive to the Bay Centre ! Walking there slowly takes about that amount of time !

We spent an hour or so wandering around the Bay Centre looking at the many decorated Christmas trees, each created by a local business or organization, and most decorated in some theme à propos of that business or organization. For five bucks one can vote for “best tree”. All funds to BC Children’s Hospital. Our vote was for “Team 4 Hope”, a children’s cancer organization. Some of the attached pics (below) are of their tree. The lower part of the tree is decorated with ornaments made by their current cancer patients. The upper part of the tree is decorated with small angels bearing the names of their deceased patients.

We left the Bay Centre and meandered back towards the Inner Harbour and home/Royal Scot, with a small detour to Beavertails for Joanne’s promised afternoon snack. <blink blink> Closed on Tuesdays ! That’s two days in a row that Joanne tries to treat me (yesterday at the bakery, today at Beavertails) and is thwarted. Pauvre petite Joanne. <snicker> Don’t worry ... I still love you !

It was dusk as we approached the Inner Harbour on the way back home. Nice sunset !

Wednesday / Christmas Eve ; Sunny, chilly, +5° C.

Today I remember my father, who died on this date thirty years ago. Seems like yesterday. And for thirty years now, the Christmas season drowns me in depression and negativity. BAH, HUMBUG !

Today was a lazy day, by design. Apollo and I were up around our usual time of 8:30 AM. He woke me up wanting to go out to relieve himself. Joanne slept late.

In the afternoon I gave Apollo a bit of a facial haircut. WOW ... he has Bette Davis eyes again. HA HA HA !

In the early evening we went for a short drive around the James Bay neighbourhood to see the Christmas lights and decorations on the James Bay homes featured in the local newspaper’s map of “must see” decorated homes.

As is her family’s tradition, Joanne prepared French Canadian tourtière for dinner tonight. Thank you, my dear. As always, it was a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. As a matter of fact ... <whispering> ... this year’s version was even better than usual.

We watched White Christmas while having dinner. I’m grateful that there was something other than It’s A Wonderful Life to watch.

Thursday ; MERRY CHRISTMAS ; Rain, +4° C.

We slept very late this morning. Well ... I had to get up at 7:30 AM because Apollo was asking to go outside earlier than usual this morning, but after a walk he and I went back to sleep until 10:20 AM.

I made my family’s traditional Christmas brunch ; Belgian waffles slathered with jam then covered with vanilla ice cream. As I mentioned in a Bluesky post the other day, it wasn’t until I reached adulthood that I realized this was not a “normal” Christmas breakfast. HA HA HA ! We opened gifts, which this year involved opening a reusable shopping bag and pulling them out. We have both finally eschewed, at the ripe old age of 71, the concept of wrapping gifts.

This afternoon we had a lengthy FaceTime session with Joanne’s sister and her partner. We look forward to seeing them in a few months when they come to visit Victoria. Apollo and I napped. Joanne worked on preparing Christmas turkey dinner with all the fixin’s.

Christmas turkey dinner was excellent, as usual. Thank you, my dear ! I moved our suite’s small dinette table from the kitchen to the living room and we ate dinner while watching Call The Midwife, a BBC show we have not seen before. It was interesting.

Between supper time and bedtime I became ... <ahem> ... very ill ! I believe that may be as a result of drinking half a can of the (exploding) probiotic soda drink this afternoon. After speaking with the “owner/manufacturer” of that line of (exploding) probiotic soda drinks, who “discovered” the formula for those drinks while he was in a drug rehab facility, I’m dubious about the “quality control” of his “manufacturing” operation ! I will pour the remaining 1½ cans of the expensive (and explosive !) cans down the drain. Good riddance ! ! !

Although ... so as not to be an ingrate ... <clearing throat> ... thank you very much for the thoughtful (exploding) Christmas present, dear. <snicker>

above video is of Centennial Fountain, across the street from our hotel

Friday / Boxing Day ; Sunny until noon, chilly, +4° C.

I woke up late, still feeling ill. By noon I was no longer feeling ill, just weak. When Housekeeping came to service our suite, we went for a walk with Apollo. Although cold outside, it was nice to walk in sunshine.

After our walk, as I was preparing Apollo’s “kefir lunch” as we call it, and opened the fridge door to remove the bottle of kefir ... ZOOM ... in the blink of an eye, Apollo had his face in the fridge, gnawing on the turkey in the roaster on the bottom shelf. HEY ! Get your ****ing face out of the turkey ! ! ! Apollo backed out of the fridge looking extremely self-actualized !

We had turkey dinner leftovers for lunch, then Joanne stripped the remaining turkey meat off the carcass, packaged it into containers, and put them in the freezer for future meals. Thank you, my dear.

We watched an episode of Call The Midwife while eating dinner. We’re now hooked on yet another BBC show. We spent the evening amusing ourselves yet again with browsing vacation rentals for next winter.

Saturday ; Sunny, cold, +4° C.

We both took Apollo for his noon time walk, the sunshine was so pleasant, but it was cold. Late this afternoon we drove to Centennial Square, where Lights of Wonder continues for a few more days, to see a mariachi band perform. We have seen a lot of mariachi bands, in south Texas and all over Mexico. None were this bad ! HA HA HA ! I think it might be that it was too cold for the trumpets to sound correct. Breath vapours condensing then freezing inside the trumpets ? There were also puppeteers in giant puppet costumes wandering around the square, amusing most children, scaring some. We were there for only about half an hour. It was too cold ! Apollo was shivering.

DSK

December 14 to 20, 2025 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Overcast, +10° C.

Another somewhat lazy day with a slow start. We went for a leisurely walk with Apollo around the neighbourhood at noon. I worked on some financial records updating this afternoon. Posted my weekly blog entry. We had planned to go to a local repertory cinema this afternoon or evening for a showing of the Muppets Christmas Movie which we have not seen, but I received my regular weekly CBC GEM e-mail newsletter, and this week the Muppets Christmas Movie is available for streaming on CBC GEM, so we decided to watch it at home / in our suite. And ... you know ... <shrug> ... I had a long nap with Apollo this afternoon.

After having supper I configured the laptop to the suite’s TV via HDMI cable. And we watched the Muppets Christmas Movie. Good thing we didn’t spend sixteen bucks to see this in a theatre, as we had planned, because ... we didn’t think the movie was all that good !

The most entertaining part of the evening was ... as the movie credits were rolling ... BAM

<blink blink> HUH ? That was an explosion ! On top of our entertainment cabinet ? ? ? In a Christmas gift bag ? ? ? WHAT ? ? ?

HA HA HA HA HA ! ! ! ! ! Joanne had purchased three expensive cans of a probiotic loaded soda/soft drink as a Christmas gift for me. One of them exploded. In the immortal words of John Candy in the role of Billy Sol Hurok on SCTV ... “blowed up real good !”

We both scrambled quickly to grab the bag and start cleaning up. It was a reusable shopping bag with multiple gifts inside, and they all had to be quickly removed and cleaned and dried. As did the top of the entertainment cabinet. I found the whole thing quite amusing. Joanne did not ! She felt that she had found a unique gift for me (and my ulcerative colitis), and was pleased with herself for having found it. And ... eleven days before Christmas ... it “blowed up real good !” <trying hard to stifle my amusement as she skulks off to bed feeling sorry for herself>.

I am somewhat leery of drinking the remaining two cans. What if the contents “blow up real good” in my intestines ? ? ? <doing my best John Candy as Billy Sol Hurok impersonation> HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA !

Monday ; Overcast, windy, light rain, +13 C.

This morning I sent an e-mail, with photo, to the Vancouver manufacturer of the exploding probiotic sodas. He responded within a minute or two by telephone. His promptness impressed me. However, his response did not ! It was along the lines of ... yeah, shit happens ! He pointed out to me that printed on the back of the can, near the bottom, in blurry, extremely tiny font, is ... “keep refrigerated”. Otherwise ... fermentation of probiotic contents might continue, and explosion might occur !

At 3:45 PM we left our suite to walk to the Legislative Building for the 4 PM Christmas concert of ... ukuleles ! The group was comprised of a couple of dozen grade 7 to grade 12 students. And a disorganized, hyperactive, music teacher. Her disorganized hyperactivity distracted from the performance. Which in and of itself was okay.

We returned from the concert to our suite for just a few minutes before heading to the swimming pool and hot tub. AHHHHH ... <deep breath>. We were gone from our suite for an hour each time. Apollo was alone ... and quiet ... for two hours in the suite. What a very good dog you are, Apollo !

Tuesday ; Raining heavily, +9° C.

We left about 11 AM this morning in the car headed to Eagle Creek Village (shopping mall) in the tony neighbourhood of View Royal to run some errands ... and have lunch. First was Dollar Tree followed by Bosley’s (pet foods & supplies) to buy Apollo a large bag of dog food. We’ve been trying to buy small bags of his dog food on PET VALU’s and Bosley’s monthly seniors’ discount days since October, but ... Apollo always seems to finish a small bag of food shortly before each monthly seniors’ discount day. We gave up ! We bought a large bag today, will keep it in the back of the car, and refill a small bag as necessary, and keep that in our suite. SHEESH ... a large bag was over a hundred bucks ! No wonder pet food store owners get rich. <ROFLMAO>

We went to Quality Foods (supermarket) and had Chinese food for lunch at their nice in-store restaurant before doing some grocery shopping. I went to the small independent pharmacy in the mall to buy my choice of deodorant product I was able to find there last year, but ... they no longer carry it. I have been searching for this Ivory brand sensitive skin deodorant, readily available at Superstore, at every pharmacy and grocery store we have been to in the last couple of weeks. <sigh> Tomorrow we will drive to Langford, about 45 minutes away, to the nearest Superstore, to buy my deodorant, which I ordered online tonight to ensure that we don’t waste an hour and a half driving to Langford and back for nothing ! As a result of going to Langford we probably will not attend tomorrow’s 4 PM Christmas choral concert at the Legislative Building as we had planned. BAH, HUMBUG !

WOW ! Horrendously crappy weather in Winnipeg !

Wednesday ; Sunny until noon, then intermittent light rain, +8° C.

We had planned to attend another choral concert at the Legislature Building rotunda at 4 PM this afternoon, but our errands took longer than expected, and we did not arrive back home until 4:30 PM. And it was dark already at 4:30 PM ! ! !

After lunch we left our suite at 1:30 PM heading for Langford, for our 2 PM to 2:30 PM scheduled pickup of my online order placed yesterday with Superstore. We arrived at Superstore around 2:15 PM but it took me ten minutes or so to find the online order pickup area (around back !). And I only found it when I asked two Superstore employees walking from their car to the store to start their work shifts where was it ? ! ? Then we sat for another ten minutes or so waiting for my small bag of four items (deodorant !) to be brought to our car. It was our first time using online ordering, and I did it just to make sure that the items I wanted were in stock. We didn’t much like the online order and pickup process, and are unlikely to do it again. <shrug> Dinosaurs !

After finishing at Superstore I refilled the car with fuel at Superstore’s Mobil Fuel Bar, then we drove across the street for more shopping at ... Wal-Mart. <singing> Oh, tidings of comfort and joy ... <echo> ... comfort and joy ! <sarcasm> Apollo was once again a very good (quiet) dog while waiting in the car at Superstore and Wal-Mart. Good dog, Apollo !

We had supper during the early part of the three hour season finale of Survivor 49. Congratulations to Savannah ... not whom I was hoping would win.

Thursday ; Intermittent light rain, +8° C.

We left our suite at 11:45 AM and walked to the Legislature Building for today’s noon Christmas concert in the rotunda featuring the Greater Victoria Concert Band. It was a pleasant concert, although the band was not much to our liking. Or more specifically, the band leader/conductor was not much to our liking. He and his mini-orchestra sounded somewhat like a (grades 7 to 9) middle school band. That hadn’t rehearsed in awhile !

After an early (for us) supper (of buckwheat holubtsi from St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church) at 6 PM, we departed again at 6:45 PM, this time with Apollo, in the car, to the Royal Theatre, for tonight’s 7:30 performance of Daniel Lapp’s 22^nd Anniversary “Home For Christmas” Concert. We saw Mr. Lapp perform a few days ago at the Legislature concerts. He is a local musician of considerable renown, a music educator, band leader, choir leader, composer, arranger, performer, Artistic Director at the Victoria Conservatory of Music ... jack of all (music) trades, as it were. A musical genius ! Every year he presents this charity fundraiser Christmas concert featuring the choirs and bands and various other specialty music groups that he teaches, organizes, conducts, leads, etc. He somewhat uses the Christmas season concerts at the Legislature to get his various groups ready and rehearsed for this annual Christmas concert at the Royal Theatre. Many of his previous students return many years into their adulthood to perform (once again) at this annual Christmas concert.

We parked in the underground parkade of the Victoria Public Library, left Apollo in the car, and walked half a block to the Royal Theatre. It was a stupendous concert of musicians and singers of all ages, from very young children to seniors. A fourteen year old violinist who has recently won the Canadian Fiddling Championship. A young cellist on a full musical scholarship at the University of Boston. And so on and so on. Mr Lapp not only plays and teaches many (all ?) instruments, he seems to produce champions and prodigies amongst his students.

The concert was stupendous !

Friday ; Intermittent rain, chilly wind, +7° C.

Today was a lazy day at home. Well ... for Apollo and me. We slept late. We went for a walk with Apollo while Housekeeping serviced our room, as they do every Friday and Monday. In the afternoon Joanne went shopping by herself while Apollo and I napped. After returning home she did laundry.

We spent the evening browsing for next winter’s accommodations, probably in the Puerto Vallarta region of Mexico. IF ... Apollo is no longer alive.

Saturday ; Rain, +6 C.

We left this morning at 11:30 AM to run some errands. A few weeks ago, while refilling the minivan with fuel at an Esso station on Fort Street, I purchased a car wash voucher at the pump before I realized their car wash was out of order. So today I returned and washed the car ... before the voucher expired. It seems counter-intuitive to a Manitoban to wash the car on a rainy day, but, when in Rome ... ! Second stop was Oak Bay Custom Orthotics to pick up Joanne’s custom made, hand made, orthotic insoles. This is the second pair of orthotic insoles she has had made for herself here, and today’s are even better than last year’s. As was predicted by the proprietor, an elderly Asian man who has been hand making custom orthotics in Victoria for over 40 years. Last year he made a cast of Joanne’s feet when her Achilles tendonitis was at its worse, so the tendon was inflamed. This year’s casts of her feet were when the Achilles tendon was in pretty good shape, after almost a year of her wearing last year’s orthotics.

I had planned our last stop to be the Hillside Mall, where I wanted to treat Joanne to today’s special event of gingerbread cookie decorating. <sigh> She declined my offer. HMPH ... perhaps I’m not the only “BAH, HUMBUG” person in our family ?

We returned home, had lunch, Apollo and I napped ... as always. Joanne and I both wasted (?) a lot of time this afternoon and evening browsing condos available for rent in Puerto Vallarta next winter. And I sent our Season’s Greetings e-mails to family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

DSK

December 7 to 13, 2025 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Overcast, drizzle in the evening, +11° C.

After lunch we left our suite at 1:45 PM headed for an afternoon (2:30 PM) concert of Christmas Pops with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Theatre. We drove to the downtown Victoria Public Library and parked in their parkade, leaving Apollo in the car, then walked half a block to the theatre. The concert was ... okay. The orchestra was fine, the two vocalists and their “jazz styling” of Christmas music was not to our liking.

After the concert ended at 4:15 PM we walked back to the library parkade and retrieved the car ... and dog. Good dog, Apollo. We drove about another kilometre north through downtown and parked in the Centennial Square parkade. We were there to see the “Lights of Wonder” Christmas lights display in Centennial Square, behind and beside Victoria City Hall. Apollo wondered why there was so much “foliage”, and none of it smelled like ... trees ! HA HA HA ... that’s because it’s all made of plastics, Apollo !

Somewhat Much (!) to our amazement, there was a large owl sitting on a branch on a tree beside Centennial Square, looking down and scowling at all the lights, people, and dogs in the square. <shrug> I don’t think I’ve ever seen an urban / downtown owl before !

HA HA HA ... I’m writing this at 7 PM Sunday evening. Joanne has just started preparing pizza for supper. Apollo is wandering around trying to convince us that it’s time to go to bed. HA HA HA ... no, no, Apollo, not yet ! Obviously Joanne and I are not the only ones with age related declining stamina issues. Poor tired old dog ! By the time I finished typing these few sentences he’s fast asleep in his dog bed in the suite’s living room.

Monday ; +12° C , heavy rain all day. Apollo has been resistant to going outside all day. As have we all !

At 3:45 PM we left our suite and walked to the Legislative Building to attend today’s 4 PM Christmas concert in the rotunda, the Motanka Ukrainian Women’s Choir. Thanks to today’s miserable weather, the concert was poorly attended, but that gave us excellent seats. We both enjoyed today’s concert.

I will attach two videos that I took of the choir. The first requires explanation. It’s an old Ukrainian folk song, and like many old Ukrainian folk songs, it’s about the four seasons. The little girl dancing represents a goat. When the song starts in the summer, the weather is wonderful, the crops are growing well, the little goat dances happily. In the fall, the bountiful harvest is brought in, the weather deteriorates, the little dancing goat is not happy. Winter comes ... <gasp> ... the little goat dies ! The people are horrified, then sad, then determined to make it through the long, hard winter, made possible thanks to last fall’s harvest. In the spring, the little goat is reborn ... the cycle repeats, and so on ! HA HA HA ... as I said, this is a recurrent theme in old Ukrainian folk songs. When I was a little child, I remember my father and his cronies singing such songs when they all had a bit too much to drink, which fortunately wasn’t often.

The second video is of “Carol Of The Bells”, a Ukrainian Christmas carol that has been translated into many languages around the world, and certainly popular in the English language.  SLAVA UKRAINI

Tuesday ; Overcast, +10° C., rain starting around 4 PM.

We left our suite at 11:30 AM this morning, first to take Apollo for his noon time walk, and for me to drop off at Huntington Manor, a local hotel, one of their room key cards I found a couple of days ago. We returned Apollo to our suite, then walked to the Legislature Building for a Christmas concert at noon in the rotunda.

Today’s concert was a performance by South Island Harmony, an a cappella chorus comprised of about fifteen men ... and a woman. Well ... somebody has to hit the soprano notes. HA HA HA ! They were very good ! They had better start shopping around soon for a new basso profondo member. Their current basso profondo member ... and he’s very good ... looks ... <ahem> ... rather elderly !

After lunch we headed off in the car for an afternoon of shopping errands ; Country Grocer, Dollar Tree, London Drugs, Save-On-Foods, Dollarama, and Fairway Market. It’s now becoming dark in Victoria at 4:30 PM. We arrived back home around 7 PM. Too much shopping, too many malls, too much driving in the dark and the rain ... just ... too much ! All three of us are too old and too tired for days like today. This evening we (Joanne and me ... Apollo did not participate, he was napping) discussed how to do “errand days” differently and better.

Wednesday ; +11° C., heavy rain all day.

At 11:45 AM we headed to the BC Legislature Building again to attend today’s noon Christmas concert featuring Folkestra, a local folk orchestra, mostly string instruments, but including two accordions (twice the fun !) and a flute. I was an accordionist from age 8 to about age 17, so I am entitled to poke fun at accordionists. Today we forgot our cell phone in our suite, so ... no pictures or videos of today’s concert. Most of their concert was “fiddle music”, specifically Canadian fiddle music.

After the concert we returned to our suite, had lunch, then set off for an afternoon of Wal-Martin’. WOO-HOO ... <sarcasm> ! Once again we went to the Wal-Mart located at Uptown Shopping Mall, an incredibly goofy Wal-Mart in an incredibly goofy mall. We chose that location today simply to avoid the rain. Uptown has an underground parkade, so one can get from the car to the store then back to the car without being exposed to rain. Well ... even that’s not true. Uptown is such a goofy mall that you must come upstairs out of the parkade, and dash across about 100 feet of outdoors to get into the Wal-Mart. At our “regular” Wal-Mart location at Hillside Shopping Centre, one needs to pack a lunch to get from your parking spot to the store.

Apollo seemed slightly ill today, very lethargic, not hungry, etc.

Congratulations to Jag and Jas, the brothers from Omak, Washington (a stone’s throw from our previous home near Keremeos, BC) on winning The Amazing Race tonight.

Thursday ; Overcast, intermittent light rain, +9° C.

Late this afternoon we left to go to the Esquimalt Farmers Market where we bought assorted wild mushrooms a few weeks ago. We wanted more today. On the drive there Joanne told me that while she enjoyed the Chanterelles, Winter Chanterelles, and Belly Button Mushrooms we bought last time, what she really wanted to try were Matsutake Mushrooms, a.k.a. Pine Mushrooms. We have never eaten Matsutake / Pine Mushrooms despite having found a few in the wild when we’ve been mushroom hunting / foraging.

Today we bought another basket of mixed wild mushrooms, about ¾ large Matsutakes, and about ¼ small Winter Chanterelles. We also bought a variety of locally grown (overpriced) vegetables and greens. Doing our part to “support local” ! Back at home Joanne did some Matsutake recipe research, and we decided that our basket of mushrooms was enough to make three meals ; Matsutake risotto tonight, Matsutake omelette tomorrow, and Matsutake & Winter Chanterelle creamy pasta Saturday.

We have long been aware of foods that taste differently to different people, but have not experienced that personally. For example, we have long known that some people love the tangy taste of cilantro, while some people taste “dirt” when they eat cilantro. Joanne and I are in the former group, we love cilantro. But tonight ... while she thought the Matsutake / Pine mushrooms in the risotto had a delicate, pleasant earthy taste, I found that the mushrooms had a strong bitter taste. How odd that we taste them differently.

I visited for awhile with the people across the hall from us, while I was returning from a walk with Apollo, and they were going out with their four year old male brown miniature poodle Dash. They are from Nanaimo, and will be staying here at Royal Scot for three weeks while the woman undergoes daily radiation treatments following surgery for breast cancer. As soon as her final treatment is finished on Christmas Eve they will drive back home to Nanaimo, a few hours north of Victoria. Apollo and Dash were friendly to each other. In the year and a half that we have had Apollo he has become much friendlier towards other dogs. Good dog, Apollo !

He was much healthier today, active and happy. We surmise that he may have simply been literally “under the weather” after being cold and wet from having to go outside about half a dozen times per day during the last few days of constant heavy rain. Poor old dog ! His time is running out ! <whispering> I can relate !

Friday ; Overcast, +9° C.

A slow “stay at home” day. Although ... Joanne procrastinated all day about going out shopping by herself for a Christmas gift (HMPH ... just one ? ? ?) for me. She claimed repeatedly throughout the day that she was “just waiting for the (forecast) rain to pass”. Yeah ... it never rained today ! Then ... “it’s going to be dark before I get home and I don’t want to walk in the dark”. Another “empty stocking” Christmas for me ? ! ? HA HA HA !

In the afternoon I made another brie en croute. This time I used apple sauce instead of jam. And I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top before baking. The cinnamon sugar was an improvement, the apple sauce was not. Nevertheless ... still very good ! Well done again, Daniel ! Joanne assisted. A lot ! I’m a messy cook, an especially messy baker. Flour dusted everywhere ... on the table, on the counter, on the stove ... on my sweatshirt, on the kitchen chairs, on my computer ... ! <shrug> Even I can’t explain how it ended up on my computer. HA HA HA !

By the way ... <blink blink> ... currently (7 PM) it’s -26° C at home in Winnipeg at the moment, with a wind chill factor of -36° C. That’s 33 below zero for you Fahrenheit people. Makes +9° C (48° F) with rain forecast look pretty good ! ! !

I cooked Matsutake (mushrooms) & Brie (cheese) omelettes for supper tonight. At Joanne’s insistence I employed a new (to me) cooking technique. The results were ... visually ugly. HA HA HA ! The flavour / taste was just fine, thank you very much !

Saturday ; Overcast, +9 C.

We left Apollo alone in our suite when we left at noon to walk to White Eagle Polish Hall, a bit more than a kilometre away, for their annual Christmas market. We wanted to buy home made Polish food again. When we got to the hall, there was a line-up from here to eternity to buy a variety of Polish Christmas sausages. Fortunately for us, that was not what we were there to buy. We were there to buy home made Polish food from the operators of the Polka Pierogis food truck located in the parking lot of the hall, but operating out of the hall’s indoor kitchen during November and December. Once again we bought beef holubtsi (cabbage rolls), and something new to try ; uszka/mushroom stuffed dumplings, somewhat similar in appearance to tortellini pasta, and a large jar of Borscht broth, in which uszka are cooked and served.

We detoured slightly on the walk back to Royal Scot, stopping at Thrifty Foods to replenish some groceries and buy some advertised specials ... (ooooo ... chocolate dipped shortbread cookies !). By the time we arrived back at Royal Scot Joanne was complaining that the 2.6 km. distance we walked was beyond her comfortable capabilities. <sigh> Her two year persistent (and still undiagnosed ... <fume>) chronic coughing/respiratory problem has significantly diminished her stamina. That inspired a discussion about next year’s winter travel plans ; what/where is practical/possible and what/where isn’t. <whispering> We’re assuming Apollo will not be around next winter.

When we arrived back at our suite, about 1¼ hours after leaving, Apollo was sound asleep in his dog bed. As opposed to standing at the suite door ... barking ! Good dog, Apollo !

We left again, at 3:15 PM, with Apollo, in the car, heading to Belfry Theatre for the 4 PM performance of Little Dickens, a 2¼ hour, no intermission, one man marionette show. What a demanding performance for Ronnie Burkett, the founder of Daisy Theatre of Marionettes, creator of all the puppets, and the plays in which his cast of marionettes “perform”. This performance, and I think most of his creations, are “adult only” puppet shows. It takes a lot of moxie to create puppet shows that can inspire a full theatre’s adult audience to shout at the top of their lungs, on cue ... “FUCK OFF DIANE !” Dianne is a witch puppet. HA HA HA ! The story line of Little Dickens is loosely based on Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Emphasis on “loosely” ! HA HA HA !

We left Apollo alone in the car for almost three hours. What a good dog you are, Apollo !

Tonight was our last wild mushroom meal with the basket of mixed wild mushrooms we bought Thursday at the Esquimalt Farmers Market. Joanne sautéed the remaining mushrooms, a mixture of Matsutake/ Pine mushrooms and Winter Chanterelles, and then mixed them into creamy angel hair pasta. It was a very good meal ! Well done, dear !

During and after supper we watched tonight’s episode of SNL. Weak episode !

DSK

November 30 to December 6, 2025 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Sunny, +8° C, seemed chillier than that.

Most of the (American) dogs in our hotel “dog wing” checked out this morning. AWWW ... no more dog parties and dog fights in the hallway. HA HA HA !

This afternoon I did monthly preventive maintenance on the car, checking tire pressures and fluid levels. I paid our monthly condo fees. I processed yesterday’s Santa Claus Parade pics, and when that was finished, I was able to post last week’s daily journal to my blog.

Joanne walked to Thrifty Foods to buy some groceries, and asked me to come pick her up with the car so that she wouldn’t have to walk home (about a kilometre) carrying a heavy jug of milk.

In the evening I did regular monthly computer maintenance ; scans and backups of all files, etc.

Monday ; Overcast, occasional light rain, +7° C.

I spent the early part of the day working on month end and month beginning financial matters ; paying bills, reconciling, etc.

At 4:30 PM we departed to run some errands, have dinner, and visit Butchart Gardens. First stop was Wal-Mart at Uptown Shopping Mall. We’ve been to this location last year, and it’s not quite as goofy as the Wal-Mart we regularly visit at Hillside, but it’s a further distance from Royal Scot. From Wal-Mart we headed to our choice for supper, Gyrosa, a fast food Greek restaurant in Royal Oak Shopping Centre. The meal was good, the friendliness and efficiency of the staff was superb. After supper we headed for Butchart Gardens, halfway up the Saanich Peninsula, in the middle of nowhere, near Brentwood Bay. Thank goodness for GPS !

Today was the first day of Butchart Gardens Christmas displays season. And from 8 PM to 10 PM dogs are allowed. The intermittent drizzle of the day held off between 8 PM and 9:30 PM. It started again as we were leaving the display gardens and walking back to our car in their massive parking lot, so all we were subjected to was a few minutes of drizzle, and on our way from the gardens to the parking lot we picked up a loaner umbrella, a common amenity offered by Victoria businesses.

The Christmas lighting displays in the gardens were quite spectacular. And I still don’t recall ever having been to Butchart Gardens in the past, but Joanne is certain that we have been, many years ago. <shrug> Much like at the Victoria Santa Claus Parade a few nights ago, Apollo was captivated, especially as we watched people skating on Butchart Gardens slightly elevated skating rink, so that the people’s skates were at Apollo’s eye level. I would guess that he’s never seen people on skates up close before. HA HA HA ... good dog, Apollo.

His exuberant “Happy Dance” upon our return to our suite about 10:30 PM was indicative of how much he enjoyed the outing, and particularly how much he enjoyed returning “home” to Royal Scot.

Tuesday ; Overcast, +7° C.

Today was another “start late, do little” day. That seems to be our new normal following a busy day. <sigh> Being old is so wonderful ! <sarcasm> However ... low energy / stamina is better than ... the alternative, n’est-ce pas ?

I continued working on financial matters today, necessitating a phone call to Steinbach Credit Union and another to Service Canada / Govt. of Canada. Lots of time spent on hold. And I downloaded and processed photos and videos from last night’s visit to Butchart Gardens. I cooked dinner tonight. Baked Steelhead Trout with creamy pasta and vegetables.

Wednesday ; Overcast, +7° C.

Joanne decided we should go out for lunch today, so at 1 PM we headed out to walk to her choice for lunch, Little Sweet Cakes, a bakery about one kilometre from our hotel. When we arrived at the tiny bakery they advised us that they no longer offer lunch, only baked goods. Well for crying out loud ... then change your website !

No problem ... Joanne had a plan B. We walked a few doors down to Smile Chicken and had lunch. It was superb ! We had purchased take-out Korean chicken from Smile Chicken last winter. After lunch we walked back to Little Sweet Cakes and bought a slice of Tiramisu to have as dessert after supper tonight.

On our way back to our hotel we stopped at Victoria Public Library. I wanted to use the restroom, and I’m always interested in libraries. They had a section of free books. I helped myself to two oddball cookbooks that must have received so little interest as library books to be borrowed that they ended up on the free shelf. They will be part of my “Santa to me” Christmas gifts. If they turn out to be disinteresting ... <shrug> ... no big loss ! HA HA HA !

I noticed while in the washroom that Victoria Public Library’s washroom was being used by some homeless people as their place to perform daily toilette / hygiene. HEY ... great idea. Great use of public facilities. And the fellows washing up in the washroom seemed to be particularly careful and respectful of the privilege. Bravo ! Homelessness is a HUGE social issue and problem here in Victoria, especially downtown. The climate here makes it not only desirable for us elderly Snowbirds, but is one of the few places in Canada where winter is more or less survivable by the homeless. Helped by the BC government’s enlightened attitudes towards safe consumption sites and harm reduction policies and programs for the addicted.

I’m a big fan of both Manitoba’s and British Columbia’s NDP governments. Once a pinko, always a pinko, je suppose. HA HA HA!

I cooked supper again tonight, making egg and (cottage) cheese pie. Well done, Daniel. We had supper while watching Survivor, then Amazing Race, our usual Wednesday evening ritual. This is (probably) the fourth time I have made this egg and cheese pie recipe, and it turns out better each time I make it. Well, except this time I forgot to spray the bottom of the casserole dish I baked it in and ... <whispering> ... it stuck to the bottom !

The Tiramisu was ... mediocre.

Thursday ; +7° C, light rain all day.

We had planned to go again to the Esquimalt Farmers Market this afternoon, but got sidetracked. Walked with Apollo this evening to the Inner Harbour to see the annual Harbour Light Up event.

Friday ; +10° C, windy, intermittent drizzle.

At 11:45 AM we all headed off for Apollo’s noon walk, and to replenish groceries at Thrifty Foods. The leisurely <rolling my eyes> walk to Thrifty’s went fine. While Joanne went into Thrifty’s to pick up a few items (35 minutes !) Apollo and I waited outside. After about half an hour, Apollo’s feet were so cold from standing in one spot on cold concrete he was shivering. I had to pick him up (21½ pounds !) and hold him in my arms, wrapping my hands around his feet to warm him up. Like us ... he’s old ! And also like us, seemingly much more so this year than last ! I think we shouldn’t combine his walks with shopping trips to Thrifty’s any more.

We’re planning an outing tomorrow ... with him ... to another parade ... that will involve walking 1.7 km. then back the same distance. I hope that doesn’t prove to be too much for him. Or Joanne !

Today was the first day of another holiday season of daily Christmas concerts in the rotunda of the BC Legislature building ; some bands, some choirs. At 3:50 PM we left to walk half a block to the Legislature Building to attend the 4 PM concert featuring the Vancouver Island Chamber Choir. It was pleasant, and helped improve my negative mood, a common problem for me during the ... <ahem> ... “Christmas season”. Yes, yes, my depression turns me into one of those “Bah, Humbug” people.

Saturday ; Morning was sunny, becoming overcast by lunch time, +8° C.

This afternoon we left home at 4:30 PM to walk to Dallas Road to watch the Christmas Truck Parade. BUT ... I decided shortly before leaving that the chilly, strong wind coming in off the Pacific Ocean would make it uncomfortable to walk there, watch the parade, and walk back, and ... run errands in both directions. So we took the car !

We drove to Thrifty Foods and parked in their lot. While Joanne went into Thrifty Foods (our errand planned for the walk back to the hotel) I crossed the street to Piggy & Paisley, a snooty bakery café to make reservations for afternoon high tea just before Christmas (our errand planned for the walk to the parade).

Last year I had planned an afternoon high tea outing to the Fairmont Empress Hotel, very close to the Royal Scot where we are currently staying. The price for afternoon high tea at The Empress is truly ridiculous, but ... it’s a classic tourist activity in Victoria. I had planned and made reservations for it as a Christmas gift for Joanne. But she decided that she would rather have afternoon high tea at Butchart Gardens, equally outrageously priced, in conjunction with a visit to Butchart to view the floral gardens. So ... this year when we decided to go to Butchart Gardens during their Christmas (lights) season, and bring the dog, allowed after 8 PM, that eliminated Butchart Gardens as the choice for afternoon high tea. So ... she researched all the snooty places in Victoria that offer afternoon high tea, and many of them are in our James Bay neighbourhood, and she selected Piggy & Paisley. But I digress ...

So after Piggy & Paisley reservations and purchase of lettuce and mushrooms at Thrifty Foods, we drove a bit further south in our James Bay neighbourhood and found a parking spot on a side street about a block from Dallas Road, the Pacific Ocean waterfront road that runs along the coastline that defines the southern tip of Vancouver Island. We walked the last block to Dallas Road, and found a spot to stand and watch the 2025 Christmas Truck Parade which started a few minutes later, at 5 PM, from its starting point a couple of blocks down Dallas Road. It would take three hours to reach its finish line in Langford. It was quite spectacular. And Apollo thought going to another parade was GREAT ! Good dog, Apollo.

The amazingly decorated big commercial trucks zoomed by at a pretty quick clip, and it took only about 15 minutes for the parade to pass by us. We walked back to where our minivan was parked, and drove the short distance home to Royal Scot Suites Hotel.

While having supper we watched Saturday Night Live, broadcast LIVE ... FROM NEW YORK ... surprisingly early here on the West Coast at 8:30 PM.

HEY ... guess what ? Tonight Apollo and I discovered that we both like Egg Nog mixed with kefir. HA HA HA HA HA !

DSK