It's Here

I know that my prairie readers have expressed some dismay at the fact that our snow has pretty much disappeared - at least in our garden. Residents of Upper Kaslo continue to wait patiently for a chance to get into their gardens. Yesterday, I planted peas, sweet peas, spinach and lettuce. I wouldn't normally start things quite this early (the soil is still very cool), but with our departure for Britain not too far away, I needed to get some seeds in the ground.

A garden photo is going too far, but the daffs are up a few cm and the crocus and hellebores have flowers on them - if the sun gets out, they may even open. The pulmonaria are growing and have flower buds and the first tulips are beginning to emerge. Actually, most of my perennials look as if they have survived. This is one thing I do like about gardening here - as soon as the snow has melted, you can pretty much tell what is alive! I've got a couple of doubtful looking shrubs, but the daphne actually has a couple of blooms on it and plum prunings that I brought inside two weeks ago are in flower.

Happy Spring, gardeners! Oh to go to England, now that April is near.

56 Hands

I spent yesterday in Creston playing 56 hands of bridge and it was a really fine brain exercise! I played with a new partner (to me), Holly, and we had a bit of trouble here and there, but both felt positively about the experience at the end of the day. This was a Swiss Teams event and we sat east/west. Our partners, Betty and Anne, sat north/south. We play the same hands of bridge and see who scores best over 8 hands. Then we switch opponents and the whole process begins again. Eight hands per round x 7 rounds gives us 56 hands of bridge. We had about a 45 minute break in mid-afternoon. I realize that I really must start treating this the same way that one prepares for any athletic endeavour - get lots of sleep, don't have a hangover, and eat protein. For me this a pretty gruelling day, but I love it. Snow came down in Creston all morning so it was good not to be missing a sunny day. We ended up 9th out of 12 teams, so not our best day, but everyone had a great time. As a bonding exercise, it was first rate.

"Doing Sixty"

All the kurfuffle of turning 60 is now over. I had good cards at bridge and a surprise rendition of "Happy Birthday", all orchestrated by my former partner, Sue. There's been plenty of greetings on FB, email and snail mail. I even received a card today from someone which stated, "Celebrating Your 65th Birthday"! My time flies. It seemed fitting to go to my first official function today at the Senior's Lunch at the hotel. We've been using the local Senior's Hall for bridge lessons on Thursday a.m., so it was time to finally show up at an official event. It was well attended and there was a St Paddy's Day special of corned beef and cabbage. The special was on at a very good price. Alas, no Senior's Discounts for those of us ordering off the regular menu. Some of you will be relieved to know that I didn't sign up for carpet bowling which will be starting soon!

Pacific Coastal

I just came from visiting Victoria, flying from Trail to Victoria. It was a fun way to fly, not something I usually say about flying! The Trail airport is a small "structure" and a car can be left at the airport for no fee. The interior of the "structure" is retro and it even has free books available to grab for your plane trip (alas, no literature available, but some pulp fiction). Coffee is available on the honour system. When I left on Thursday, the plane was loaded by 3:55 so we left - the ticket said departure time was 4:05. When has that happened in the last decade or two??? There are no security checks and I've always loved walking to the plane and up a stairway. I did have to go through security in Vancouver (South Terminal so only 3 gates and no monitors) to get to Victoria. On the reverse trip, I left Victoria in a very, very small plane that could carry 22 people and had10 of us on board for this trip. Our steward was also greeter and co-pilot. In Vancouver (South Terminal) no security checks were required at gate 3 for the flight to Trail. My backpack had to be "checked" and arrived in both location without difficulty. This trip was a nice step back in time and I actually enjoyed the flight in both directions. Good on ya', Pacific Coastal.