January 18 to 24, 2026 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Sunny, +10° C. A lovely spring (?) day.

It was such a lovely day that this afternoon we drove a short distance to the Gorge Waterway, parked in one of the many small parking lots along the Gorge Waterway, and went for a long, leisurely walk along the waterfront walkway ... what would be called a malecon if we were in Mexico. We felt that Apollo needed to get out for some stimulation. He seemed to be suffering from a bit too much indoor time / cabin fever. He agreed / we were right. HA HA HA !

We met lots of dogs being walked along the “malecon”, Apollo was friendly to all. Well ... the ones he actually saw. He had his head down most of the time, so intent on “new smells” that he missed seeing many of them. HA HA HA ! Good dog, Apollo.

While walking along the “malecon”, me taking pictures of wildflowers blooming, we received a weather alert on our phone. For our Winnipeg / Tuxedo neighbourhood. Blowing snow blizzard conditions ... 40 below zero temperature. HA HA HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA .

Sorry ! What I meant was ... how awful ! <choking, trying to hold back snicker>

After we returned home to Robin Hood Inn I retrieved and analyzed our annuity year end statements. And began to do some preparatory work for income tax returns. In the evening we watched our two regular Sunday evening TV shows ; Death In Paradise and All Creatures Great & Small.

At 10 PM Joanne took Apollo outside to relieve himself. A few minutes later there was loud pounding on our suite’s door. I whipped it open to find the night manager standing there with a look of panic on his face, telling me that Joanne had fallen and was hurt.

<exhaling deeply> She had tripped on the curb outside the office door, had fallen on her hands and knees, then smashed her head against the brick building.

<exhaling deeply again> I assessed Joanne quickly, nothing urgent, I rushed Apollo back home to our suite, then went back to retrieve Joanne. I got her standing, and slowly helped her back to our suite and onto the bed. I retrieved our excellent first aid kit from the car, and tended to her injuries. Not the first time in my life that my Boy Scout first aid training of sixty years ago has paid big dividends ! ! !

HEAD ; minor scalp laceration and bump, mild pain, no headache, no visual problems.

RIGHT HAND ; minor thumb abrasions, moderate wrist abrasions and bruising.

LEFT HAND ; sprained finger, swollen and bruised, moderate pain.

RIGHT KNEE ; minor abrasions and bruising.

LEFT KNEE ; serious abrasions, bruising, swelling, pain.

<sigh>

Monday ; Sunny, +9° C.

+ LEFT HIP ; deep bruising, not yet evident last night.

+ ABDOMEN ; bruising, not yet evident last night.

+ “aches and pains all over”, “I’m depressed”, “I hurt everywhere”

<sigh>

Late this morning I drove to a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart and replenished the first aid kit supplies I used last night. Our bed looked like a scene from a TV medical drama ! We are both grateful that Joanne’s injuries were not worse. She’s very sore, but all her injuries are confined to “soft tissue damage”. No broken bones, no broken hip. Her pride and ego are hurt as well. She’s feeling “very old and decrepit”. <shrug> I don’t have first aid skills to deal with that. But ... we had some discussions this morning about what the future holds for us, and how we should ... and will ... deal with those inevitable aging issues. I believe we’ve already been doing that, for about the last decade !

At 5:45 PM I left to drive through downtown and back to the James Bay neighbourhood where we lived for the last couple of months at Royal Scot Hotel & Suites. I had signed up for an evening workshop at the James Bay Community Centre in “cultured dairy” / how to make yogurt and kefir and sour cream and buttermilk. I have already been making my own home made kefir for the past few years, having been taught by a neighbour at our Steinbach condo.

It was an interesting workshop, attended by me and three women. The workshop leader’s thirteen year old daughter was there as well, and I had interesting side chats with her. While her mother is interested in making cultured dairy products, and fermented vegetables (like sauerkraut and kimchi), and sourdough cultures, the daughter is interested in baking. Their family ancestry is (Russian) Doukhobor, and when her mother spoke about covering their varenyky (perogies in my Ukrainian culture) in home made sour cream, I initiated a conversation with the daughter, explaining how to make dill cream sauce to slather over their varenyky. The young daughter was very interested in trying that. Since her family does some herb gardening, I encouraged her to grow her own dill weed. Her eyes got big, and sparkled at that suggestion.

Upon my return home we had a late supper while watching another episode of THE PITT.

Tuesday ; Sunny, +8° C.

We left home today around noon heading north on the Saanich Peninsula to Sidney, the small city at the northern tip of the Saanich Peninsula, where the Victoria Airport and the Schwartz Bay Ferry Terminal are located. We have wanted to have lunch at a particular restaurant in Sidney since we first came across it a year ago when we were in Sidney to see a play at the Mary Winspear Community Centre. And after lunch we planned to do some thrift store shopping.

Upon arrival in Sidney, about half an hour or so north of Victoria, we stopped at the Mary Winspear Community Centre to take Apollo on a bathroom walk on the manicured grass area surrounding the parking lot. Then off to lunch at Thai Corner Restaurant. They have a weekday buffet lunch, and Joanne thought it would be a great opportunity to sample a variety of Thai recipes, perhaps some new ones we might be unfamiliar with. She was right. And it was a great lunch ! Worth a return visit in the future. The restaurant’s hostess pointed out to me that they change their buffet offerings every day.

We drove a short distance to the downtown area where five thrift stores are located. We visited all five, one was closed. At the four that were open I bought two pairs of jeans, one pair of dress pants, a glass jar for making yogurt and/or sour cream, as I had been taught yesterday evening, and a long HDMI cable to facilitate connecting my laptop to our hotel suite’s television. Since I seem to be a failure at mastering Chromecast ! Joanne bought a blouse and a pair of pants.

We drove to the Beacon Avenue Pier, parked, and walked around exploring. First stop for me was Fish Market, the seafood store on the dock to browse for fresh fish. I wasn’t impressed enough with their offerings to buy anything. We walked around the waterfront area, saw a seal flirting with people passing by. We passed by the Empress Gin distillery. We were fascinated by the large “manufactured” tidal pool in front of the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea (aquarium), inhabited by a multitude of sizes and shapes of sea anemones.

On our way back to Victoria we stopped to buy some produce at Michell’s Farm Market, a greengrocer and butcher in Saanichton. We arrived back home at Robin Hood Inn & Suites shortly after 5:30 PM.

Joanne’s abrasion injuries have lost their “angry” look. However she has developed a lot of deep purple bruises.

Wednesday ; Sunny, +8° C. WOW ... Victoria has had quite a string of sunny days !

We have just received a weather alert on our phone, for our Winnipeg / Tuxedo neighbourhood. “Multi-day wind chill factors of minus 40 to minus 45 degrees” ! ! ! <blink blink> The prospect of spending winters in Winnipeg (which we have not done since 1987), an inevitable part of our future (unless if I die soon !), scares the dickens out of me !

Apollo and I had a lazy, restful day. This afternoon Joanne went grocery shopping at Country Grocer. Apollo and I respectfully declined her invitation to join her. HA HA HA !

In the evening we watched another couple of episodes of season one of THE PITT. Now that we have discovered how to connect to our (Winnipeg) home TV feed via either the i-Phone or laptop, we have recorded a bunch of episodes of different shows we’re interested in, to watch at our leisure.

Thursday ; Overcast, chilly, +5° C. But ... NOT with a wind chill factor of 45 degrees below zero ! As in Winnipeg !

Yesterday afternoon I began a buttermilk culture. My first time. When we got home from shopping at Wal-Mart this afternoon, and my buttermilk had been fermenting for about 24 hours, I took the lid off the jar, stirred the contents, and sniffed.

And Apollo went berserk ! GIMME GIMME GIMME ! ! !

HA HA HA ! Why would a little, old dog become frantic to have some buttermilk after catching a whiff of its fragrance ? ! ? What a silly dog ! I have been feeding him a “kefir lunch” every day since we got him about a year and a half ago, putting a small amount of (usually home made) kefir on his lunch portion of dog kibble, and he LOOOOOVES it, eagerly demanding it every day upon return from his noon time walk. As the (probiotic) kefir does for me, it has improved his gut health, and digestion process. I’m expecting similar results for me if I now start drinking some (probiotic) buttermilk daily. And ... obviously ... Apollo will be getting some as well. HA HA HA !

As I said, we went Wal-Martin’ this afternoon. It’s less painful than when we were at Royal Scot. We’re a lot closer to a Wal-Mart at Robin Hood Inn than we had been at Royal Scot. And we don’t have to battle downtown traffic in both directions. And we’re finished before dark ! I really came to hate driving home to Royal Scot during afternoon rush hour, in the dark, in the rain.

Friday ; Sunny, a bit chilly, +6° C.

Late this morning we all went for a walk around the neighbourhood in the pleasant sunshine. Shortly after noon we left our suite to allow Housekeeping to service it, and we drove to Tillicum Mall to shop at Dollar Tree and Save-On-Foods. Apollo waited in the car like the good dog that he (usually) is while we shopped. We were back home at 1:30 PM for a late lunch, and our (Apollo and me) obligatory post lunch afternoon nap.

Apollo had buttermilk (and kibble) lunch instead of his usual kefir (and kibble) lunch. I also had a small glass of my new home made fermented / probiotic buttermilk before lunch. It was good. I started fermenting a second batch this afternoon. My first batch was experimental, and quite small.

Saturday ; Sunny, chilly, +5° C.

Once again ... we spent much of the day watching CNN coverage, and doomscrolling on BlueSky, regarding the murder of VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti by “federal agents” / ICE (GESTAPO) in Minneapolis. We are outraged ! And scared ! For the future of democracy, and the rule of law and order, in the United States. I feel slightly sick to my stomach. And I think and believe that the ... development of this out of control ... “federal law enforcement agency”, comprised of exceptionally poorly trained thugs and goons (PROUD BOYS), that has been granted immunity for anything and everything has progressed to the point that it can and will be stopped only with ugly, violent, civil war.

DSK

January 11 to 17, 2026 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Raining, +8° C.

Did some minor maintenance on the car this morning, tightening valve stems. Spent too much time this afternoon spinning my wheels trying to configure our i-Phone and my laptop to connect to the our suite’s TV via Chromecast. I succeeded with the phone, but was not particularly impressed with the results. After awhile of trying with the laptop I gave up, deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort, since I can easily accomplish the same with an HDMI cable between the laptop and the TV.

Joanne made wonderful homemade turkey noodle soup for supper, using the remains of the Christmas turkey carcass. Well done, my dear, thank you.

Monday ; Raining, +10° C.

Apollo is really fed up with being forced to go outside in the rain. When it rains for days at a time, as it is doing now, he holds his bowels for 24 hours, and then empties only when forced to be outside for a long walk, hating every minute of being wet. Poor little fellow.

Late this morning we headed to Uptown Mall for another episode of Wal-Martin’. We had planned this to allow our suite to be empty for its scheduled noon cleaning. We returned from shopping at 1:40 PM to discover that Housekeeping had not been in to service our room. I stomped over to the front office to find out why, only to discover that there was apparently no record of the schedule for cleaning of our room on Fridays and Mondays, as had been arranged upon check-in, as asked for by the hotel’s general manager. Still hard to find good help, isn’t it ? ! ?

The good news is ... Wal-Mart is no longer crowded, as during November and December. And the Uptown Mall location is pleasantly close to the Robin Hood Inn.

While Joanne began shopping in the food section of the store I went looking for the stationery department, to buy a highlighter. The stationery section was not obvious, so I stopped to ask a clerk for directions. I walked up behind her as she was restocking. I asked her where I could find stationery ? She was unresponsive, and mumbling incoherently and somewhat louder than usual mumbling. I surmised that she was deaf. I stepped around to the side of her, caught her eye, and she turned towards me and gestured that she was deaf. No problem.

me ; <signing> are you deaf ?

her ; <looking surprised ... signing> yes

me ; where are ... <thinking ... don’t know a sign for highlighter ... too long a word to finger spell> ... pens ?

her ; <pointing straight upwards>

me ; <thinking ... HUH ? ... in heaven ? ... OH ! ... upstairs> Thank you

her ; Thank you for recognizing my deafness, and using sign language.

me ; You’re welcome

I have seldom had occasion to use sign language in the last 45 years, but ... some basics remain in memory, I guess.

After our return from Wal-Mart, and stomping to the front office, we had a late lunch. While eating lunch, and watching the ongoing Minneapolis drama on CNN <sigh> a very pleasant Hispanic young woman came to service our room. Her English was poor, so ... I practiced some Spanish on her. WOW ... I’m on a linguistics roll today. HA HA HA ! She seemed to be in a very good mood. Probably thinking ... “glad I immigrated to THIS country !”

Tuesday ; Overcast, +11° C.

Today was a squabble day ! Started as soon as we were both out of bed, continued all day ! Brutal ! ! ! Today was also Apollo haircut day. We didn’t get started until late afternoon ... wasted too much time on endless, senseless squabbling ... so we didn’t finish his haircut today. Hopefully, tomorrow.

Wednesday ; Sunny until mid-afternoon, then raining, +11° C.

It feels as if spring has arrived in Victoria. Temperatures above 10° C., lilies and irises and tulips springing up in gardens.

Around noon we headed out in the car, Apollo in tow, to run some errands and buy lunch. We went to Country Grocer in Esquimalt and bought some advertised specials, then stopped in to a nearby thrift store to browse. We bought nothing. We walked across the street, I checked out the “free books” rack at the Esquimalt branch of the Victoria Public Library, then we walked a few doors down to buy lunch at a tiny “hole in the wall” diner.

La Belle Patate (the pretty potato) is owned and operated by a Quebecois fellow not much younger than us. Until a few years ago he operated a pataterie (french fries shop) in Florida during the winters. Like most Canadian Snowbirds, he had the wisdom to get the hell out of that shithole of a third world nation ... now governed by a fascist regime ...permanently ! His products are ... poutine ! And hot dogs ! In a variety of permutations and combinations. We chose Montreal smoked meat poutine, with chicken gravy, available only Wednesdays and Sundays, as opposed to the regular vegetarian gravy. We took it home and ate it for a late lunch. It was stupendous ! He also offers three different styles of hot dogs, including “guedilles”, a Quebecois / Gaspésie version of hot dogs we were not previously familiar with. The three of us had a conversation that flipped back and forth between English and French.

I love this country !

After our poutine lunch, and a brief nap for Apollo and me, we finished Apollo’s haircut. Just in time for his birthday tomorrow.

Thursday ; HAPPY 14^th BIRTHDAY TO APOLLO !

Sunny, +11° C. A lovely spring day. We had a slow, lazy day at home, pampering Apollo on his birthday. I spent much of the day finalizing my 2025 investment updates and analyses. HMPH ! Time for some changes ! Well ... that’s exactly what “financial analysis” should lead to, when it’s warranted.

We made supper together. Egg Foo Yung. Dismal failure ! <shrug> In the evening we watched the first couple of episodes of the series THE PITT. We have just recorded all of the first year’s episodes. <blink blink> I think we’re hooked !

Friday ; Sunny, +9° C.

We went out and did some exploring today. We left our suite at 1 PM, after an early (for us) lunch. We drove to a local thrift store called Burnside Boutique and browsed. Nice thrift store, didn’t buy anything today, but we’ll likely return. Then off to Mayfair Shopping Centre, a nearby very large shopping mall. We started, and ended, at H MART, an Asian supermarket that anchors the mall. It was a very interesting supermarket, and more ... “accessible” / understandable to us than other Asian supermarkets we have visited. We found a few interesting products we wanted to buy and try, so after browsing the supermarket, we walked around and browsed the entire mall, until Joanne was complaining that she was tired of walking. HA HA HA ... okay, dear ... time to get you back home. We returned to H MART, bought a few items, then returned home to Robin Hood Inn & Suites.

A hundred and fifty bucks a pound for live King Crab ? ? ? ! ! ! <wince>

Watched two more episodes of THE PITT in the evening.

Saturday ; Happy 27^th birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine

Sunny, +10° C. Researched local auto service centres, made an appointment for some fluids “flush and refill” services at a local Canadian Tire next week. Did some financial planning and research. Apollo and I had a long nap this sunny afternoon while Joanne went shopping. AHHHHH ... life is good today ! For all of us !

DSK

January 4 to 10, 2025 ; Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

 Sunday ; Sunny in the morning, then intermittent light rain, +8 C.

We had an extremely late and slow start to the day ... <shrug>. And then ... <sigh> ... spent too long pontificating about ... <ahem> ... current geopolitical issues ! ! !

ELBOWS UP, PEOPLE

We extend our condolences to our former (Dugald Estates) next door neighbour, whose husband just died.

Monday ; Sunny, +7° C.

The sun made it seem warmer today than it actually was. UGH ... today was the first Wal-Martin’ trip of the New Year. It has taken me all of last winter season and almost two months of this winter season to decide which is the lesser goofy Wal-Mart in Victoria ; Hillside Mall or Uptown Mall. Uptown Mall wins. More by default than anything else, because while the two Wal-Marts are somewhat equidistant from the Royal Scot Suites Hotel where we have been for the last two months, the Uptown location is much closer to Robin Hood Inn, where we are moving to in a few days, for three months / the remainder of this winter.

I spent the evening setting up medical, income tax, and investment records keeping spreadsheet files for 2026. The early days of each new year always ends my Holiday Season depression and negativity, and kicks my OCD into overdrive. Although this year, I must confess ... my thought processes right now are extremely affected by current ... <ahem> ... geopolitical concerns ! ! !

Tuesday ; Rain, +7° C.

I was too groggy this morning to check if it was raining before I went outside with Apollo. YIKES ! I ducked into the hotel lobby with Apollo in tow, and grabbed a hotel loaner umbrella. BUT ... poor Apollo ! He did not have his raincoat on, and by the time we had finished our walk, he was as soaked as if he had just had a bath. Sorry, Apollo ... my bad ! I wrapped him in his blankie and he went back to sleep for another couple of hours with Joanne, until he was dry and warm.

At 4:30 PM we went to the pool and fitness room for an hour. While I worked out with dumbbells Joanne did aquatics exercises in the pool, then we soaked in the hot tub. Apollo was quiet while alone in the room. Good dog, Apollo.

Wednesday ; Mostly sunny today, +7° C.

Apollo is sick today. More lethargic than usual, not in and of itself a major concern, but ... he refuses to eat or drink. <sigh> He seems to not be suffering in any way, he’s not vomiting, doesn’t have diarrhea, etc. BUT ... <swallowing hard> ... our lifelong experiences with pets suggests that this might be the beginning of the last week of his life. Unable / unwilling to eat or drink due to slow, multiple organ failures. I certainly hope I’m wrong !

Joanne phoned her respirologist’s office this morning, to inquire about the medical test she has been waiting for since last May. Eight months of waiting for a test that was supposed to have a six week waiting period ! ! ! ! ! And to make a relatively long story shorter ... she discovered that the Winnipeg hospital where the referral was sent last May has bounced the referral to the hospital in Selkirk. Joanne phoned the correct department in the Selkirk Hospital to discover that they are currently scheduling patients who were referred for this test in April 2024 ! ! ! ! ! Their waitlist for this test is twenty-one months ! ! ! ! ! So ... Joanne’s referral has been sent back to the Winnipeg hospital. After eight months of waiting, she’s back at square zero ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

SHE HAS NOW BEEN COUGHING FOR TWO YEARS. No diagnosis ... and no treatment plan, obviously.

I needed to phone Telus about a minor change I wanted made to our cell phone service. This kind of matter, in my opinion, usually results in a whole lot of cell phone drama, and usually ends in failure. Well ... not today ! With kudos to Telus, there certainly was a lot of “drama” in getting this minor issue resolved, but the agent who served me refused to give up until he eventually got the problem solved and my needs met. Thank you, Telus.

Upon reflection, I remember having a minor issue last year with our Telus cell service a year ago while we were in Victoria, and I got a service agent at the Bay Centre Telus store who persisted until my problem was solved / my needs were met.

And finally ... I have just watched the video of the murder by an ICE agent of the woman in Minneapolis, and ... I feel nauseous !

At bedtime I administered an appropriate dosage of Pepto-Bismal to Apollo, followed by a syringe of water. He had not eaten anything or drank today. We went out for a slow walk and when we returned he ... asked for food ! And ate a small amount. WOO-HOO !

Thursday ; Overcast, +6° C.

Well ! Sometimes it certainly is satisfying to be wrong ! Apollo seems fine today.

I woke up when he left our bed at 5 AM and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. I expected him to return to bed a few moments later and when he didn’t I sat up to see where he was and what he was doing. He indicated that he wanted to go outside. <sigh> I got up ... at 5 AM ! ... and took him for a walk. When we returned he drank a bit more water, then indicated he wanted some food. I fed him a small meal ... HE ATE ! ... and we returned to bed.

That process repeated itself at 8 AM. And as the day wore on it became more obvious that he’s feeling better / healthy. Hopefully yesterday’s illness was simply a short lived mystery ailment.

Today was dedicated to preparing for check-out of the Royal Scot tomorrow morning and move to the Robin Hood Inn for the next three months. Most of the efforts were Joanne’s. I’m mostly the “muscle” behind such activities. And my value as “muscle” is greatly diminished !

Next door to the Royal Scot is a very nice condominium building. A suite has just been listed for sale there. I checked the listing online. It’s a two bedroom, two bathroom suite, similar size to our condo suite in Tuxedo / Winnipeg. Balcony not enclosed, as ours is. James Bay neighbourhood, very nice, but ... not quite on a par with Tuxedo. Price is ... <blink blink> ... more than triple what we paid for our suite in September !

Friday ; from Royal Scot Suites Hotel to Robin Hood Inn & Suites

Mix of sun and clouds, +8° C.

We were up at 8 AM, and checked out of the Royal Scot Suites Hotel at 10:30 AM. We had to kill time until we could check in to Robin Hood Inn & Suites. We went to explore Beacon Hill Park. We found ... <blink> ... a small flock of peacocks living in the park. Who knew ? Then we found a children’s zoo in the park, closed for the winter, but with alpacas wandering around inside the gated compound.

HA HA HA ... Apollo is so “chill”. HEY ... peacocks. OK ! HEY ... alpacas. OK ! HEY ... ducks ! OK ! HEY ... Golden Retrievers ! GRRRRR !

We drove to Robin Hood Inn around noon and asked if we could check in. No, not yet, phone around 1:30 PM. We went to explore the Gorge /Tillicum area. We had a picnic lunch in the car parked at one of the many small park areas along the Gorge Waterway. I phoned the Robin Hood Inn again at 1:30 PM. No, not yet, come at 3:30 PM. We did more exploring of stores and shops and malls in the area. We did a small amount of grocery shopping at Dollarama and Fairway Market, both in the same small mall near Robin Hood Inn. We checked in to Robin Hood Inn at 3:30 PM.

Our suite at Robin Hood Inn is good, slightly larger and better laid out than the one at Royal Scot. The kitchen is larger and better equipped. The building is older and slightly run down. The suites have been renovated and are modern / updated. The area is "uptown", not downtown, in a slightly scruffy, mixed area of commercial and residential. Certainly not James Bay ! Joanne did all of the unpacking, I wasn’t feeling well. Apollo is very happy. He certainly takes “moving” in stride !

Saturday ; Raining, +8° C.

Today was a bit of a rest day. At our age ... aren’t they all ? ! ? HA HA HA ! Yesterday’s move tired us out, especially Joanne. We had breakfast in the hotel’s “great room” where breakfast is provided every day for hotel guests. That’s a nice perk ! I was interested to see and try the “automatic pancake making machine”. HA HA HA ! Very interesting technology. Makes really crappy pancakes ! HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA !

Around noon we went for a leisurely walk (again ... aren’t they all ?) around the residential neighbourhood behind the hotel. The hotel faces a busy arterial / commercial street, but behind the hotel is a residential neighbourhood. It’s an elegant old neighbourhood, but ... facing reality ... it’s a ****ing rainforest ! Which I suppose is true for much of Vancouver Island. The lawns are ... moss ! The roofs of the homes are ... covered in moss. Same with the driveways and sidewalks. Moss, moss, and more moss ! Oh, well, at least the homeowners don’t need to spend money on snow blowers and lawn mowers. HA HA HA !

It took far too long for me to jump through too many hoops this afternoon to send money via “Global Money Transfer” service of BMO as a deposit on the brand new condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico I have rented for five months next winter. However ... I do appreciate the efforts that BMO makes to prevent their (elderly) clients from being victims of fraud / sending money to Nigerian Princes.

DSK

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