January 23 to 29, 2025 ; Victoria, B.C.

 Thursday ; Sunny, 6° C.

This afternoon we went to Hillside Mall for weekly errands. While Joanne shopped at Wal-Mart, I went to Tommy Gun’s Barbershop and got a haircut. Not really my kind of place, but … while searching online for some place to get a haircut I discovered Tommy Gun’s January promotion for first time customers ; a man’s haircut, regular price $38 <gasp>, for $25. After getting a haircut I went to Canadian Tire to get a refund on one of the two packages of wheel well moulding I bought before Christmas. I had only required one package for our minivan.

While walking back through the large mall to return to Wal-Mart I bought a box of Purdy’s Chocolates as a gift for Joanne’s upcoming birthday. I had purchased her a box of Purdy’s Chocolates for Christmas, and had been planning to buy her a box of Roger’s Chocolates for her birthday, but the Roger’s Chocolates store is downtown near the Bay Centre, and … Purdy’s Chocolates store was right in my face today, so … my princess might have to wait until next winter for a box of Roger’s Chocolates.

I am confident she won’t be dissatisfied with my decision. HA HA HA !

Tonight while eating dinner we streamed and watched the premiere episode of DOC, a new TV series. I think it’s made in Canada.

I am finishing typing this at 10 PM, sitting on the sofa. Apollo is snoozing beside me. This is a regular evening routine for us. And for the last few evenings, every evening, he has a dream where he is “running” in his sleep. He is lying on his side, all four legs are “running”, his face is twitching, his ears are twitching, he occasionally whines softly. I don’t know if it is a pleasant dream, he is chasing something, or if it is a nightmare, he is being chased. So as I usually do, I will reach over and pet him until he wakes slightly, and the dream ends.

There we go ! He stretched, and went back to sleep.

Friday ; Sunny, 7° C.

This morning Apollo and I walked around the block with an elderly woman from Saskatoon who is a few doors down from us in the hotel and her snarly little Yorkshire Terrier named Winnie. Fortunately Apollo does not seem to have his Alpha tendencies triggered by snarly little female Yorkies.

After Joanne and I walked Apollo at noon, we headed out for our often postponed visit to explore Canada’s oldest Chinatown here in Victoria. We had the hotel’s shuttle take us to the edge of Chinatown and drop us off at the restaurant Joanne had chosen for lunch today. Fresko One World is a little “hole in the wall” dive run by a young man from Cuba. His food offerings are mostly Cuban and Mexican, but also include specialties from other Latin countries in Central and South America.

I had pozole pollo (poZOlay POYo) (chicken), first time I’ve been able to eat a bowl of pozole by myself, as opposed to just tasting a spoonful of Joanne’s pozole, because in Mexico pozole is always made with pork which I am unable to eat. Pozole is a spicy broth concoction that is somewhere between soup and stew. <late thought> Maybe think of it as a Mexican version of pho. This restaurant’s owner / operator makes pozole in a verde (green) version with chicken and a roja (red) version with traditional pork. The green version comes from using tomatillos to make it and the red version comes from the types of chile peppers used to make it. Common to both is the “pozole”, the hominy (complicated product made from corn kernels) that is the foundation.

Joanne had a Cubana, a sandwich made on a sourdough subway type bun, containing ham (pork), salami (pork), roast pork (!), cheese, pickles, mustard and lettuce. Obviously … not my kind of sandwich !

After lunch we walked to Market Square, adjacent to Chinatown. It’s a two storey open air collection of eclectic businesses (like we had expected to find at Victoria Public Market, but didn’t) around a central courtyard. Many of the businesses were closed for the winter season. We walked from Market Square to Chinatown through Fan Tan Alley, a very narrow walkway between tall buildings on the edge of Chinatown. Fan Tan Alley was filled with a variety of interesting Chinese businesses, and a Chinese Museum which we entered and walked around.

Canada has more than a few distasteful periods in its history, and the treatment of Chinese immigrants (and Chinese born in Canada !) between the First and Second World Wars is one of those ! The despicable treatment of the Chinese by both the citizens of Canada and the Canadian government began to end only when the ugly rascism and prejudice shifted to Japanese Canadians during the Second World War.

We wandered through Chinatown exploring. We found a Filipino bakery and went in! WOO-HOO … just like a panaderia in Mexico. Pick up a large tray and a pair of tongs, and … WOO-HOO … help yourself ! Now … at 8 PM … with hindsight … perhaps twenty-five bucks worth of Filipino baking might have been a bit excessive ? NAHHHH ! HA HA HA !

We continued to wander around Chinatown until we found the bubble tea place that Joanne wanted to visit. It’s name is … The Bubble Tea Place. HA HA HA. We bought a large bubble tea for two … black tea, milk, boba pearls, papaya and coconut flavours, and shared it as we continued wandering around cold and tired. As I was phoning our hotel to send its shuttle to pick us up … <blink blink> … there was our hotel’s shuttle, sitting at a red light. I ran to the shuttle and knocked on the passenger’s side window, and asked the driver to pull over for a moment to allow Joanne to catch up. HMPH … at least I’m still able to run briefly, albeit not elegantly. HA HA HA ! The driver had just dropped off some other hotel guests in Chinatown and was returning empty to the hotel.

Apollo had been alone in our suite for about 3 ½ hours. Good dog, Apollo !

I was still drinking bubble tea when we returned home. HEY ! Apollo likes bubble tea boba pearls ! Who knew ? HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny, 7° C.

Today was a slow day. I walked Apollo upon awakening. We walked him at noon. We walked him at 6 PM. And Joanne walked him at bedtime. Thanks to her new orthotic insoles and orthopedic shoes her Achilles tendonitis pain is slowly diminishing, despite her increased walking. Our hope is it continues to diminish until eventually ceasing.

My cold is over. Hers is as well … if that’s what it was … although she continues to cough heavily, as she has for ten months already.

This afternoon we did quite a bit of online research and planning of exploration and adventures during February and March while we are living at Xanadu Estates near Cobble Hill in the Cowichan Valley, a short distance south of Duncan, B.C.

At 6 PM we went to the fitness centre, swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna to exercise and relax. HMPH ! Must be the weekend ! Pool and hot tub crowded with children and drunks !

Sunday ; Sunny, 6° C.

At 1:30 PM we left Apollo in our suite and headed downtown for a Victoria Symphony Orchestra concert at the Royal Theatre at 2:30 PM. We left that early because we were uncertain whether we would walk or have the hotel’s shuttle drive us to the theatre. It was a chilly day, so we decided to go by shuttle. As a result, we arrived at the theatre a bit too early. No problem ! We wandered around the theatre’s neighbourhood for half an hour or so, exploring areas we have not been to before.

Today’s performance was a pianist / vocalist / composer performing with the orchestra. Almost all of his repertoire was Frank Sinatra’s songs, with one of his original compositions and Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue thrown in for good measure. Joanne liked his composition the most, and disliked Rhapsody In Blue. That’s fine, there is room in the world for Philistines. HA HA HA !

I had an ulterior motive for suggesting that we walk home after the concert. Two blocks from the theatre is a local outlet of Beavertails. Joanne had asked for a Beavertail treat as an alternative to a birthday cake this year. Beavertails, originating in Ottawa when we lived there for 16 ½ years (1988 to 2004) are a sweet baked treat, beaver tail shaped slabs of bannock coated with a variety of sweet toppings. Very Canadian. Very French Canadian, actually. Apparently they are quite popular with Americans when cruise ships headed to Alaska arrive in Victoria’s Inner Harbour in the summer. “Taste Of Canada” !

Victoria’s Beavertails outlet is closed Mondays and Tuesdays so today was the last opportunity to buy Joanne a Beavertail for her birthday. Not surprisingly, it did not last until her birthday on Tuesday, it was consumed within minutes of our arrival back in our suite. HA HA HA !

Also … our route home took us past Roger’s Chocolates, so … we went in and I bought another box of chocolates for her. I had already bought a box of Purdy’s Chocolates as a birthday gift, so the Roger’s Chocolates will be for Valentine’s Day. Good thing there is a safe in our suite where I can safely lock the boxes of chocolates away. HA HA HA !

We arrived back home at 5:30 PM. Apollo had been alone … quietly we assume / hope … for four hours. Good dog, Apollo !

We have just returned from walking Apollo (at 7 PM). As we meandered down Kingston Street, in the dark, behind our hotel … <blink blink> … a deer wandered across the road in front of us and disappeared into the bushes behind our hotel’s outdoor parking lot. Well … that seemed unusual for this densely populated a neighbourhood !

Well … I just did my weekly investments summary update. HMPH … the stock market was generous again this week. Been a lot of that lately, n’est-ca pas ? ! ?

Monday ; Sunny, 7° C.

Today was a slow day, by design. Our noon walk with Apollo included walking to James Bay Thrifty Foods to buy buns and tomatoes. In the afternoon I worked on planning and costing next winter’s accommodations here on Vancouver Island.

Tuesday ; HAPPY 71^st BIRTHDAY TO JOANNE

Sunny, 7° C.

The front page story of this morning’s newspaper was about how this has been the sunniest and driest January in Victoria’s recorded history ! How fortunate for us ! Two bad we spent ¾ of January in our hotel room due to illnesses.

This afternoon we drove to The Gorges area and explored. We are very likely going to spend next November and December at the Robin Hood Inn in The Gorges neighbourhood. We parked in Gorge Park and went for a long walk with Apollo along the Gorge Waterway. Then we drove around checking out other smaller parks and shopping areas nearby.

At 7 PM we left Apollo in our suite and walked to Old Spaghetti Factory on the other side of the Parliament Buildings and the Royal BC Museum, for Joanne’s birthday dinner. I had purchased two Christmas promotion gift certificates for the Old Spaghetti Factory. Food was very good, service was good, albeit slightly flawed, prices were reasonable, made even more so by the discounted Christmas promotion gift certificates.

As soon as we were back in our suite at 8:30 PM Joanne was eager to get into her box of Purdy’s Chocolates. It’s your birthday … you go, girl !

Wednesday ; Sunny, 7° C.

Today we started preparing to “move” on Friday, from Royal Scot Hotel & Suites in downtown Victoria to Xanadu Estate, in old growth forest outside the village of Cobble Hill, about an hour north of here in the Cowichan Valley.

Joanne did laundry. We packed stuff and loaded it into the car. We have more stuff than when we arrived two months ago ! More clothes, more shoes, Christmas gifts … chocolates galore ! HA HA HA !

January 16 to 22, 2025, Victoria, B.C.

 Thursday ; Sunny, +9° C.

Joanne continues to be ill.

Around 6 PM I took Apollo for his late afternoon walk, then I drove to the nearby fish catching / processing / selling business Finest At Sea, and ordered a halibut and chips take-out dinner for two from their “food truck” in front of their fish processing plant and retail sales shop. We ate our fish and chips dinner while watching all three episodes of the new TV series North Of North on CBC Gem.

All three of us are getting bored with our lack of activity due to illness.

Friday ; Happy 26^th birthday to Joanne’s niece Madeleine

Sunny, +8° C.

Joanne’s health was slightly improved today. Azithromycin might finally be doing its job.

She joined me for Apollo’s noon time walk, then we all got in the car and drove a short distance to Emily Carr House which is in our James Bay neighbourhood. I wanted to take a peek at it and assess whether or not it was worth a more thorough visit. <shrug> It doesn’t seem to be, in my opinion. I had initially intended to walk to it in conjunction with a walk to Thrifty Foods, but Joanne was barely able to endure a walk around the block with me and Apollo. After looking at Emily Carr House we drove to Thrifty Foods to buy some milk and vegetables before returning to our suite to have lunch. Upon our return home Joanne plopped down in a comfy living room chair and hardly moved for the next four hours, so … her stamina remains at zero !

Saturday ; Sunny, +6° C.

Chilly this morning. Temperature below zero overnight last night. Frost on grass and windshield this morning. Still … it ain’t Winnipeg / Dugald ! HA HA HA ! NOT 40 below ! No multiple car pile-ups in zero visibility due to blowing snow blizzard conditions ! ! !

Joanne’s health continues to improve, albeit agonizingly slowly. Heading in the right direction at least.

Late this morning we took Apollo for his walk then set off in the car to Oak Bay Shoes & Orthotics to pick up Joanne’s custom made / hand made orthotic insoles. And after wearing them for about eight hours today, they seem to be working to alleviate her ongoing Achilles tendonitis pain. She wore them in her existing shoes and in one of the two pairs of orthopedic shoes she bought today at Oak Bay Shoes & Orthotics.

The pair that she tried the orthotic insoles in tonight are orthopedic walking shoes. The other pair are orthopedic sandals for summer. Custom made hand made orthotic insoles, pair of orthopedic walking shoes, pair of orthopedic sandals, excluding taxes … nine hundred bucks ! Relief from Achilles tendonitis pain … priceless ! ! ! Our hopes are high !

Tonight I made an Udon noodle stir fry dish for supper. I didn’t have some of the ingredients that I use when I make this at home. Nevertheless, it turned out great. As it almost always does. This has become of my specialties. Although … I didn’t really like either the taste or the texture of the Shitake mushrooms that I used in this for the first time tonight.

Sunday ; Sunny, +4° C.

Chilly, but offset by brilliant sunshine.

I slept somewhat poorly last night, being awakened frequently by Joanne’s snoring. WOO-HOO … slow, long, deep breath snores. Seems as if the Azithromycin did indeed do its job of eliminating Joanne’s pneumonia, and allowing her to breathe easier.

She felt better this morning, and since both of us (probably Apollo as well) are bored to tears with our inactivity of the last few weeks, I encouraged and eventually persuaded her to come for a long walk to explore nearby Fishermen’s Wharf. We walked westward along the Inner Harbour walkway all the way to Fishermen’s Wharf, which in hindsight might have been a mistake. The curvy, winding walkway all the way to Fishermen’s Wharf was about twice the distance as our return trip walking down Kingston Street in a straight line from Fishermen’s Wharf back to our hotel.

Joanne’s new orthotic insoles and orthopedic shoes seem to be working well at minimizing her Achilles tendonitis pain.

Monday ; Victoria to Cobble Hill to Duncan & return

Sunny, +6° C. We left our hotel at 2 PM, drove through downtown Victoria and headed west on the Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 through Langford, then north on the Malahat Highway, up and over Malahat Mountain to the Cowichan Valley on the other side. We arrived in Cobble Hill at 3 PM for our appointment to view our upcoming rental apartment at Xanadu Estate. We will be staying there for February and March.

We visited with our “landlady” for awhile in her home, then she took us to view our apartment. IT’S SUPERB ! ! ! Large, fully equipped gourmet kitchen, dining area, large living room with wood burning fireplace, luxurious and comfortable furnishings, small office, large and luxurious bedroom and bathroom. Huge windows everywhere looking out over the beautifully landscaped grounds of the large property in old growth forest. Quite spectacular ! And secluded, which we like. Downtown Victoria has been fine, but we’re now ready for peace and quiet, and restful walks in nature. Xanadu Estate seems much like our Quigley Hill Road home just outside Ottawa was.

We left Xanadu Estate at 5 PM and drove another fifteen or twenty minutes north to the small city of Duncan. Joanne had selected a Vietnamese restaurant, Green Leaf Bistro, for supper. Food was pretty good, service was pretty bad. After supper we drove the remaining very short distance to Cowichan Performing Arts Centre to attend a film screening of a “foreign art” film, Queen Of My Dreams, one of the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre’s regular foreign art film fundraisers for a local hospice.

While we were in the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre to view the film Apollo waited in the car for about two and a half hours. He was a very good dog ! Before leaving Duncan I refilled the minivan with fuel at Superstore’s Mobil fuel bar. The drive back home in the dark, over Malahat Highway, was difficult. It’s a winding, up and down mountain road. My night vision is not very good any more. We arrived back home at Royal Scot Hotel & Suites around 11 PM.

Tuesday ; Sunny, +6° C.

This morning Joanne felt healthy enough … Achilles tendonitis pain reduced by new orthotic insoles and orthopedic shoes, and pneumonia eliminated by antibiotics … to walk to James Bay Thrifty Foods and back. She waited outside the supermarket with Apollo while I went inside to buy some groceries.

BAD NEWS ; She continues to cough heavily, as she has for the last ten months ! ! !

GOOD NEWS ; CT scan and consultation with respirologist both now scheduled for immediately upon our return home in April.

This evening, for the first time in twenty-three days, we felt healthy enough … both of us at the same time … to go to the fitness centre (me), swimming pool (her), hot tub (both of us), and sauna (her … men’s is still out of order).

Wednesday ; Sunny, +6° C.

After Apollo’s noon time walk we drove downtown to Victoria Public Market. It was a disappointment. It’s billed as an indoor food market, suggesting both restaurants and farm market type food vendors. It’s in a huge, old, elegant downtown building. And it is almost deserted !

We drove there and parked in the underground parkade in an adjacent condominium building behind the market building. Apollo waited in the car while we visited the market. There was a food court with about half a dozen or so independent food vendors / take-out restaurants around a communal eating / tables and chairs area. It was nice that all the vendors were independents, there were no chain outlets. And their offerings were varied and eclectic. But that’s all that was there, just the tiny food court !

We bought lunch from Naami’s Mediterranean. The middle aged Lebanese woman who was operating the place was friendly and gave good service and good food. We shared a large bowl of yam and lentil soup, and a large Saffron Chicken salad bowl. Yummy ! The soup, served very hot as I requested, was accompanied by excellent, “home made” pita chips and hummous.

The parkade behind the market, offering two hours of free parking for market customers, was ridiculous. There was no way to re-enter the parkade as pedestrians from outside. The residents of the condominium building above the parkade had fobs to enter from inside the building, but there was no way to enter from the outside as pedestrians leaving the market. HMPH ! Eventually we just walked down the vehicle entrance ramp into the parkade, and around and around until we got to our car !

Then … <sputter> … it was near impossible to drive out of the parkade if one didn’t have the fobs that the condominium’s building had that opened the parkade gates to allow vehicle egress. We got twisted around inside the parkade, and eventually followed another car through a gate that the driver ahead had opened, but that just led us into the section of the parkade that serviced the building next door. HMPH ! Now we were under a different building that we couldn’t exit by car, and we couldn’t enter as pedestrians, facing the prospect of eventually dying of dehydration or malnutrition in our car, trapped within the parkade from hell !

It was frustrating, despite knowing that these kinds of problems / impediments have been created by the need for downtown buildings to “protect” themselves from the vast quantities of homeless people “living” in downtown Victoria. I suppose that it is due to Victoria’s pleasant winter climate that there is a HUGE homeless population.

DSK

January 9 to 15, 2025 ; Victoria, B.C.

 Thursday ; SUNNY ! 7° C.

GOOD NEWS ; WOO-HOO ! Every fibre of my being, both body and mind, craves more sunlight !

BAD NEWS ; Joanne continues to be very ill. Again today our plans had to be cancelled / postponed.

Friday ; SUNNY ! 9° C.

For the third day in a row, Joanne is incapacitated / immobilized by illness. <sigh>

I combined Apollo’s noon walk with a trip to nearby Red Barn Market to buy some soups (for Joanne’s benefit) and easy to prepare suppers (for my benefit). After returning Apollo to our suite I immediately left again to head to Pharmasave for more meds for Joanne.

This is the third winter season in a row that she contracts some manner of respiratory illness of such severity … (Covid ? RSV ?) … that it renders her unable to function. For a week or more ! ! ! <taking deep breath> Followed by a lengthy, slow, recuperation period !

In the evening she got out of bed and asked for some soup. I prepared a small bowl of soup for her, she ate about ¾ of the bowl, rushed to the bathroom, puked it all out, and went back to bed. <sigh>

Saturday ; SUNNY ! 9° C.

Extremely small improvement in Joanne’s health today. Late in the day she finally began to be able to get out of bed, but only for brief periods before she would begin to feel extremely ill again. But … it suggests that the worst may be over for her. Let’s hope ! This evening she ate a little. And didn’t puke !

Many, many years ago, while travelling by RV on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, while boondocking overnight at a Pemex (fuel) station beside a small ejido (communal farm community), when I took our dog Bo for his late evening walk, we stumbled across an outdoor Mexican wedding celebration taking place. The mostly drunk Mexicans thought that a little gringo perro (dog) on a retractable leash was absolutely hilarious. Bo was always eager to make friends, so with drunk Mexicans laughing at him, he took it upon himself to crash the wedding party. HA HA HA HA HA ! The wedding guests were friendly and inclusive, welcoming Bo and I into their celebrations. When we returned to our RV at the Pemex station afterwards, having been gone much longer than expected, Joanne was a bit worried, then dumbfounded to learn that Bo and I had been to a Mexican wedding. HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA !

I tell that story as “background” to today’s afternoon walk with Apollo. He was eager for us to join the pro-Palestinian “rally” (riot ?) at the BC Legislature Building today. No, Apollo, we can’t join in ! What do you mean … “why” ? Because … I left my keffiyeh at home. HA HA HA ! And that large group of Victoria Police Department officers in riot gear don’t appear to like little dogs !

This afternoon I drove to Kal Tire to adjust the air in one of the car’s tires. YIKES ! Traffic through downtown Victoria is gridlocked on Saturday afternoons. I did this week’s laundering in our hotel’s laundromat, a household chore that I am not particularly adept at. I was banned from doing our laundry close to 50 years ago when I carelessly tinted all of Joanne’s “delicates” a dingy grey because I washed them with my blue jeans and dark coloured socks. <shrug> Who knew ?

We had to spend a few minutes outdoors around 7 PM when the hotel’s fire alarms went off. While waiting for the firemen to give the “all clear” to return to our suites, we interacted with Sophie the Papillon and Ernie the Miniature Schnauzer.

Sunday ; SUNNY ! 5° C.

Joanne has begun to slowly get better. Hallelujah ! She was up and out of bed for much of the day. She ate small meals without puking or having severe diarrhea. Hallelujah ! In celebration, I baked cookies. HA HA HA !

This evening I cooked crab cakes and sweet potato fries for our supper. She ate that … <sigh of relief> … no problem ! We ate supper while watching the movie Nomadland on CBC Gem. It’s a movie that seems to be part fiction and part documentary, about a full time RV’ing vagabond widow woman. Not particularly uplifting, and not a very appealing look at full time RV’ing.

Chacun à son goût, je suppose.

Monday ; Cloudy, +6° C.

Well … yesterday’s one step forward in Joanne’s health was offset by today’s two steps backwards. For the third time in two years, she has pneumonia … again ! This morning I had a succession of phone calls with our doctor in Winnipeg and the pharmacist at the local Pharmasave in James Bay. Tomorrow morning I will be going to Pharmasave to pick up a prescription of Azithromycin for Joanne. <sigh >

This afternoon I spent 3 ½ hours doing household and grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and Thrifty Foods at Hillside Mall. I HATE shopping at Wal-Mart, especially alone ! ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SHOPPING CART ESCALATOR IN THIS ****ING GOOFY WAL-MART GETS STUCK WHEN MY GROCERY CART IS HALFWAY BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND FLOORS ! ! !

<taking a calming deep breath>

Tuesday ; Cloudy, +6° C.

Joanne’s health continues to slowly improve. This morning I went to James Bay Pharmasave and picked up her prescription for Azithromycin, the antibiotic to battle pneumonia.

This afternoon I installed wheel well mouldings on the rear wheel wells of the car. After installing wheel well mouldings on the front wheel wells before Christmas I had planned to defer installing them on the rear wheel wells until I researched the feasibility of having some minor rust repaired on the car’s rocker panels at the rear wheel wells. After many phone calls to auto body shops in both Victoria and Winnipeg I decided not to bother repairing the minor / early signs of rust on the car.

Immediately after Apollo’s supper time walk and feeding I engaged him in a play session. We wrestled with Snakey, the squeaky plush toy our friend / his previous owner Patti gave him when she visited us shortly before we left home in November to come here. We romped and wrestled on the bed for a few minutes before he turned around and … puked out all the kibble he had eaten a few minutes before. OOOPS … my bad ! Sorry, Apollo !

Now that I have finally received my year end investment statements (about a week late !) I spent much of the evening working on year end investment updates and analyses. And I’m not finished yet.

Wednesday ; HAPPY 13^th BIRTHDAY TO APOLLO

SUNNY ! 8° C. A lovely “spring” (?) day.

I’m still mildly ill with “residual” cold and/or flu mild symptoms, a bit worse today than they have been. Joanne is very slowly improving. Emphasis on “very slowly”. I had thought / hoped that the Azithromycin would work miracles, but … NO ! Being her “caregiver” has impaired my ability to really rest and recuperate myself. <sigh> Third winter season in a row of this pattern. It’s exhausting ! And disheartening !

Opportunity knocked today ! Harbour Air announced a three day sale. Harbour Air is the world’s largest seaplane airline, flying from Vancouver to Victoria and Nanaimo and many of the Gulf Islands. Their three day sale has “too good to pass up” fares available on a few seats per aircraft, on just a few flight routes and dates over the next couple of months, BUT … as an old man with nothing much better to do, I researched what was available, and when, and how that could fit into our time here on Vancouver Island and ... VOILÀ !

I was going to buy myself a ticket from Nanaimo to Vancouver and back on the same day sometime in February or March, while we are Xanadu Estate in Cobble Hill, halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo. Thought I could fly from Nanaimo Harbour to Vancouver Harbour, spend an afternoon wandering around the Vancouver Seawall and a bit of downtown Vancouver, then fly back to Nanaimo. To my surprise, while I was researching and planning this for myself, Joanne said she’d like to come along with me. I didn’t think she was interested in a seaplane flight, but … I was wrong.

SO … I bought a couple of tickets to fly from Nanaimo Harbour to Vancouver Harbour on a Harbour Air seaplane, departing late in the morning, returning late in the afternoon, in mid-March. For a small fraction of the normal cost ! <shrug> When opportunity knocks … OPEN THE DOOR !

Not surprisingly, while I was making these arrangements on my laptop, Joanne used the i-Phone to research restaurants and found a lovely Greek café on the Vancouver Harbour waterfront where we will have lunch. Good teamwork, as usual !

DSK

January 2 to 8, 2025 ; Victoria, B.C.

 Thursday ; Overcast, intermittent light rain, +6° C.

Day 3 of a cold. Not doing well ! Slept late. Started slow. Remained slow throughout the day.

At 1 PM we left for an appointment to view a one bedroom suite at Robin Hood Inn, a motel with suites, in the Gorge / Tillicum area of Victoria, not downtown but relatively easy to get to downtown from. They have winter long term stay rates, and I wanted to check them out for comparison. Despite an inferior location to where we are now, they have nice suites at an attractive price. Well … relatively speaking. All of Victoria’s all suites hotels (and motels) are an expensive proposition.

We arrived at Robin Hood Inn early, so we drove around the neighbourhood checking it out. We stopped at the nearest small shopping centre to buy a few items at Dollarama, buy me some more cold medications at Shoppers Drug Mart, and refill our water jug at Fairway Market before our tour at Robin Hood Inn.

After viewing the suite we drove back to downtown and parked in the Bay Centre’s indoor parkade. We walked through the Bay Centre, then a block to where I wanted to have a very late lunch. Good Ovening is a Korean Chicken restaurant. Chicken was great, service was poor, they closed for their “afternoon break” at 3 PM, about twenty minutes after our arrival, and about five minutes after our food arrived at our table. At 3 PM Junwoo locked the entrance door, turned off the “open” sign on the door, then stood at her hostess station with her arms folded across her chest, looking annoyed that we were still there. We each ate a bit of chicken … it was excellent … then took the rest with us in a “to go” container. No tip for Junwoo !

< 9:30 PM ; coughing … expelling phlegm> … OW … that hurt !

Friday ; Overcast, rain the morning, +6° C.

Day 4 of a cold. Worst day so far ! Hope I’ve reached bottom and things begin to improve soon.

I keep thinking that getting outside will be helpful to my health, so I joined Joanne and Apollo on the noon walk and the supper time walk. <sigh> I was wrong ! Both times going out for a walk just made me feel more sick.

Using that same convoluted and delusional wishful thinking I pushed forward with our plans to attend a public tour of B.C.’s Parliament Building this afternoon at 3 PM. The tour lasted about 45 minutes, and while it was very interesting, I was feeling really ill by the end of it !

This afternoon Joanne did more planning of outings that interest her. And … she changed her mind about what she wants as a birthday gift. Almost a year ago she told me that for her birthday this year she wants to experience High Tea at The Empress, a classic Victoria tourist experience for over a century. I experienced High Tea at The Empress on a business trip to Victoria circa 1982.

She now wants to visit Butchart Gardens in March, shortly before we leave Vancouver Island to return to Manitoba, and she wants that visit to include High Tea at the Butchart Gardens. <shrug> OK by me ! Whatever my princess wants, she can have ! HA HA HA ! Tomorrow I’ll cancel our High Tea at The Empress reservations that I made last spring.

Saturday ; Dark overcast, raining all morning, intermittently in the afternoon, +8° C.

We left our suite this morning at 11:30 AM heading to a noon appointment at Oak Bay Shoe & Custom Orthotics in the very tony neighbourhood of Oak Bay. Average home price about 1.2 million dollars ! This specialty business is owned and operated by an elderly Asian husband and wife. He is a true craftsman, with over 40 years of experience solving people’s feet problems with specialty shoes and custom orthotics that he fabricates / manufactures. His wife stands behind the counter and scowls, and accepts payments. HA HA HA ! “PAY THE LADY !”

He carefully and thoroughly examined Joanne’s feet, particularly the one with Achilles tendonitis. He carefully and thoroughly assessed the “over the counter” orthotic insoles she currently uses, paying special attention to the wear imprinting on them. He assessed her gait visually as she walked barefoot around his shop. He recommended hand made custom orthotics for her. He guarantees that his orthotics will solve his customers’ foot problems, or money refunded. He is the only custom orthotics maker in Canada offering that money back guarantee, valid for six months after purchase.

SOLD ! <choke> HOW MUCH ? ? ? ! ! ! <blink blink> YIKES ! ! !

He took a “cast” of Joanne’s feet, in some kind of foam. He took measurements of her feet. The hand made, custom orthotic insoles will be ready in two weeks. At that time Joanne and he will further discuss shoe selections.

In the slightly oddly laid out (read that as “snooty”) shopping area that his shop is located in there was also a Fairway Market supermarket, so we went in and bought a few advertised grocery items. Joanne wanted to go to a sushi restaurant nearby for lunch but ; 1. She doesn’t like sushi, she wanted to go there for my benefit and 2. I was feeling really ill by then. I just wanted to go home and have soup.

On the way home we took a detour to view Beacon Hill Park, a surprisingly large nature park on the edge of downtown, sort of between James Bay and Oak Bay. We stopped there to take Apollo for his late morning / early afternoon walk. It was a slow and slightly short walk because ; 1. I was ill and 2. it began to rain again.

After a large bowl of cream of celery soup … some of which I spilled into my lap, eating it while sitting on the sofa, watching TV … I had a long nap with Apollo. That didn’t really have the desired effect of making me feel healthier. <sigh> <shrug>

After our late walk at 6 PM … I think NOW I’ve reached bottom. My intestines exploded ! And I felt REALLY sick for a couple of hours. That’s not uncommon for me. I have inflammatory bowel disease / ulcerative colitis. I take a lot of medications every day for ulcerative colitis, and coronary artery disease. Add in five days of a lot of cold medications, and eventually my digestive system can’t cope any more / metabolize all those drugs through and out of my system. For the next few days I will have to cease all medications except those that are absolutely essential. That’s likely going to mean a reduced amount of cold medications for awhile, and none of my “regular” medications for a few days. Wish me luck ! Hope my heart doesn’t explode !

In the evening I streamed / we watched the movie Vagrant on CBC Gem. Well … shit … didn’t see that coming !

<blink blink> Did I just read that right (at 11 PM) ? ! ? Dugald, Manitoba is currently -29° C with a wind chill of -38° C ? ! ?

Keep the +8° C and occasional light drizzle coming, Victoria. I can take it ! ! ! HA HA HA !

Sunday ; Overcast, +8° C.

Well … I don’t think that I would classify how I am healthwise as “better”, but … perhaps marginally less sick. I have discontinued all medications temporarily, and tried to have a very slow, lazy day today to help me recuperate.

I walked the dog upon awakening this morning. We both walked him again around noon. He and I slept this afternoon while Joanne walked to James Bay Thrifty Foods to buy some groceries. I puttered around with year end financial records keeping and analysis.

Monday ; Sunny, chilly wind in the morning, +8° C.

Day 7 of my cold. Yes, yes … I am feeling quite a bit better !

While we were still in the planning stages of this trip, back home in Dugald, Joanne became interested in having lunch in the Parliamentary Dining Room at the BC Legislature. Today was the day ! We left our suite at 1:15 PM and were at the Parliamentary Dining Room security entrance at 1:20 PM, for our 1:30 PM lunch reservation. After clearing security we followed the green line on the walls of the “tunnels” of the Legislature Building to the Parliamentary Dining Room. Upon entering, the first person we saw, sitting alone having lunch, reading a document, was Keith Baldry, a well known local political journalist.

A hostess guided us to one of the smaller rooms of the dining room, with only three small tables in it, windows high on the wall looking out to our hotel, much historical art on the walls, linen tablecloths and napkins on the tables … very elegant. Service was superb, food was even better than that ! A truly world class dining experience, better than most of the finest restaurants in Canada, the United States, and around the world that we have dined at. And … <sputter> … at quite modest prices. HMPH … must be BC taxpayer subsidized. HA HA HA HA HA !

As we were finishing our lovely and substantial meal, our server brought a large wooden tray with today’s dessert choices arranged to the table adjacent to us where two women were seated, one treating the other on her birthday. I stared at the tray of exquisite desserts as the server explained them to the two women, blinking and salivating, trying to stop my trembling hand from reaching out and grabbing one off the wooden tray. HA HA HA ! As the server was leaving with the tray I had to restrain myself from tackling her from behind ! HA HA HA <SNORT> HA HA !

Yes, yes … despite how filling our meals were, I ordered the key lime pie. Joanne told the server we would share it. Yeah … NO … not ****ing likely ! Keep your hands off my key lime pie, b****h ! ! ! HA HA HA … she had a piece of the chocolate torte all to herself !

Joanne was aghast that I nibbled away at the mint leaf garnishing my key lime pie with each bite of the pie. What ? ! ? You thought it was there just for decoration ? ? ? <ROFLMAO>

We arrived back at our suite at 3 PM just as workmen were entering our wing of the hotel to test the fire alarms and check the fire extinguishers in each suite. Good timing. We were there just in time to take Apollo out of our suite while they did their jobs.

As the day wore on, Joanne seemed to “inherit” my cold.

Tuesday ; Cloudy, no wind, +6° C.

GOOD NEWS ; On Day 8 of my cold I am feeling much better !

BAD NEWS ; Today seems to be day 2 of a cold for Joanne. <sigh> Sorry, dear.

And this cold virus is on top of her already chronic mystery respiratory ailment. She thinks it’s long covid. I think it’s COPD. It started about 10 months ago in Mexico. And she has been seeing doctors and undergoing tests from last April upon our return from Mexico until our departure for here last November. It remains undiagnosed. And therefore untreated ! The doctor visits and tests will continue immediately upon our return home in April.

So … today was another very lazy day, mostly to accommodate Joanne being ill.

I walked Apollo upon awakening. We both walked him around noon. The outing I had planned for today was postponed. I walked Apollo again by myself at 6 PM. Joanne napped a lot. Didn’t seem to help much. HMPH … been there, done that !

In the evening we started watching the movie Shakespeare In Love. We gave up watching it after about ten minutes. Plan B was American Pie, a movie we had not seen before. <shrug> We selected it because we’re fans of Eugene Levy.

When I took Apollo for his last walk of the day at 10:30 PM it was raining heavily. DARN ! Should have noticed that before we got outside !

Wednesday ; Cloudy, no wind, +6° C.

<sigh> Today was another long day of doing a lot of nothing, due to Joanne being very ill.

DSK