Friday, 31 August 2012

IIDS, GD: Friday, August 31st

"A harmless hilarity and a buoyant cheerfulness are not infrequent concomitants of genius; and we are never more deceived than when we mistake gravity for greatness, solemnity for science, and pomposity for erudition." Charles Caleb Colton; Lacon: or Many Things in Few Words; Longmans; 1837.


 "The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding, and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism, and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."
Novelist and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck (1902-1968).

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers. -Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931)

Hi Fast Federico et al!

Great snap of Finnish "No Smoking"!

With respect to the date of the bbq, I'm wondering if it is convenient to change the date to September 6th as that is when Brian and Linda Covernton are able to join the gathering. I'd appreciate a reply from everyone to confirm that the 6th is okay and then we'll plan accordingly. I realize everyone has busy schedules and it may well be that it is impossible to find a date convenient to one and all. Anyway, let me know what you think.

On another matter, Honoured Guests, Bev and Kev, could you please reconfirm your flight name and number and ETA, tomorrow. I can't for the life of me find the calendar where I noted details of your arrival. I believe you are on AC 181 to land around 1:15pm. I will circle Canada Arrivals. Be on the lookout for a Ford Escape with a bike rack on the back. In case of emergency, we are at 604-734-9200 (H) and 604-512-6462 (C). I apologize, in advance, for the confusion. All will become clear! Cheers for now, Patrizzio!

Thursday, September 6th. Is great! We’re looking forward to the gathering.
Mea culpa: I gave you the INCORRECT number of my cell phone. The other number was for our home landline. Federico


 
Hi Patrick,

The flight number is correct air Canada 181 we will be on The lookout for you. See you soon Kevin and bev 

Hi Bev/Kev!

Thanks for confirmation. Looking forward to your arrival! Forecast looks like sunny and around 21 C for most of long weekend, (cloudy and 19 C on Sunday), and into next week! Cheers, Patrizzio!

 Hello Fellow VRC Folk!

This is the "final" email to set the date for the "Welcome Back to Vancouver BBQ" for Bev and Kev Wittwer. After much rending of hair and gnashing of teeth, we, The Organizing Committee, have had to cast a deciding vote for the date and have decided upon Wednesday, September 5th, at 6:00pm, at The Islay Inn, #20-1425 Lamey's Mill Road, Van., BC, V6H 3W2, for your Garmin GPS systems or 604-734-9200, for your telephone calls for help! I realize that this date will not accommodate some of you and for this, I apologize. I hope that those who are not able to attend this gathering will have an opportunity, until September 13th, to connect with the Perthites. Please feel free to call them at 604-734-9200, to arrange a a visit.

Please confirm, by return post, you intention and ability to join us. Cheers, Il Conduttore!

PS: If anyone has an email for Ricardo Martini, The Sadistic Surveyor, please send it along or inform him of/invite Julie and him to the planned event. Thanks, Patrizzio!

Very sorry to hear your news, hope you are doing as well as can be expected.Happy that you made it home and had a few days to spend  with her.Bill was here having supper when kimberlee texted us to give use the news so he sends his condolences as well.Thinking of you all love the Grays at the Farm.

Hello,
 
Thanks for the email/update.
 
Sorry to hear about Annie's health-we were in Vancouver right after her heart attack. She has amazing strength!

We catch TGV train from Paris to Avignon tomorrow, about 3 hours, then settling in at tiny village of Crestet for a week while Lurch tries to learn how to cook! I will settle for a good cycle each day, local markets, a bit of time by the pool, and some local wines. Sounds rough, but will manage.
 
Beth seems to be doing fine at Madrona so far-you will like her, interesting lady. Keep in touch-I believe we have wi if from our spot in Crestet. Cheers, Grog

http://www.vaison-ventoux-tourisme.com/en/our-favourites?slug=road-cycling-tour-of-the-voconces-area
A quick link to some of the region's cycling...Cheers, Grog 

Well Patrizzio unfortunately an important meeting (with dinner) has come up for me on the 6th since we last communicated so if the bbq is happening on that date I'll miss you guys. What time is it starting and finishing -could drop by later? cheers, Bill & Denise.

George and Pat,
    I think there is a ride palnned with Rod and Pete to Steveston tomorrow. If you are available, I can meet with you at the usual spot on King Ed. and Maple and we can meet the others further down the road at 8. Ray

Ray,

I will join you. 7:45 at Maple & King Ed – please confirm. Thanks, G

Meet you at 7:45 George - that's 2 of us at least. Ray

See you then.  

Hi Lads!

Thanks to both of you for your kind messages of sympathy. Still a fair bit to do but things are settling down somewhat. I'd love to join the Peleton so will see you both at Maple and King Ed at 7:45am domani.

Picked up Bev and Kevin Wittwer this afternoon. They are both well. Just off to GI with Coriandre at the moment. Unlike many of our other Australian friends they tend not to be as enamoured of wine so I trust I'll be in reasonable shape tomorrow morning! Went for a "lazy" 52.3K ride out to UBC this morning and was delighted to find that the Prairie Wind had followed me all the way back to the West Coast! Felt as if I was still on the road to Rennie River! Cheers, Il Conduttore! 

 Patrick,
This is just a friendly reminder that the deadline for Returning Volunteers to register for the 2012 Vancouver Writers Fest is fast approaching!
Please go into your myVolunteerPage.com and update your profile and make your 2012 shift requests.
Make sure to update any changes in your contact information, availability, Emergency Contact Information, volunteer preferences and, especially, your qualifications.
The most important update is the first question on the Qualifications page:"Are you available to volunteer for 2012?"
If you want to volunteer for our 2012 Festival (16-21 October) you must answer YES to that question.
Don't forget to SAVE (the button is at the bottom of each profile page, you'll have to scroll down to find it.)
After you update your profile, you can sign up/bid for shifts. Don't forget to SAVE your requests/sign ups for each activity.
Remember that we need you to sign up/bid for more than the 12 hour minimum.
This is because more people are likely to sign up/bid for any one shift than there are volunteer positions available.
To maximize your chances of being assigned and scheduled, please sign up for at least twice as many as would fulfill your the 12 hour minimum we ask of volunteers!
The deadline for Returning Volunteers to update their registrations and request shifts is Sept 3rd!
You can submit shift requests/sign ups after that date, but you will lose scheduling priority as a returning volunteer.
Many thanks! Please don't hesitate to phone if you are having trouble. Lili or I or the Reception Volunteer will be happy to help you complete your sign ups/shift requests.

Kathryn Fowler, Volunteer Manager

Hello,
Thanks for the email/update.
Sorry to hear about Annie's health-we were in Vancouver right after her heart attack.
She has amazing strength!
We catch TGV train from Paris to Avignon tomorrow, about 3 hours, then settling in at tiny village of Crestet for a week while Lurch tries to learn how to cook!
I will settle for a good cycle each day, local markets, a bit of time by the pool, and some local wines.
Sounds rough, but will manage.
Beth seems to be doing fine at Madrona so far-you will like her, interesting lady.
Keep in touch-I believe we have wi if from our spot in Crestet. Cheers, Grog

http://www.vaison-ventoux-tourisme.com/en/our-favourites?slug=road-cycling-tour-of-the-voconces-area
A quick link to some of the region's cycling...Cheers, Grog
 






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Thursday, 30 August 2012

IIDS, GD: Thursday, August 30th


"We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke straps our vice."
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862).


Mom as Mother Theresa!

Hi Lads!

Sad to report that Mom died yesterday around 1:00. It was a bit of a shock inasmuch as Corinne and I went over in the morning to see her and staff reported that she was very much improved. She had eaten most of a bowl of porridge, (one of her favourite foods), and downed a full glass of juice. Delighted with the news, we went to see her but the staff was changing her so we decided to deliver VIWF programs on GI, (one of our volunteer duties), before coming back. Finished around 12:30pm and came home for a bite of lunch and shortly thereafter we received a call to inform us that she was slipping away. We dropped everything and hurried over to find that she has stopped breathing moments before we arrived. Staff were very considerate and left us to sit with Mom after they had changed her gown. Even though we knew things might well happen like this, at any time, it is still tough, as I'm sure you can appreciate. Just very glad that we were home to be with her for even a few days.

Just to back up, Lodge phoned Monday morning as she had been sent to VGH for an x-ray. I visited her there and in discussion with doctor we agreed that it was best to return her to Broadway Lodge. He said he couldn't say for sure but he didn't think she would last more than a few days, if that. I visited her again, in the early afternoon as I had asked to be phoned when she arrived back in her room. I came home around 4:30pm to pick up a few things to read while I sit with her and hold her hand. While her breathing was extremely laboured, her grip was very firm.

On a slightly lighter note, I told her that she looked like Mother Teresa when I walked into her room. The staff had wrapped her up as she was shivering when she was delivered by ambulance. Coriandre came with me when I went back and she dabbed her forehead with a cool cloth while I cut her nails. Cora Lee had a release party for Jim Byrnes, just up the street from us at a recording studio on 1st, a block before Burrard. She really liked the cuts that were performed off I Hear the Wind in the Wires. Invitees were each presented with a copy of the CD so I'm looking forward to hearing it.

I stayed at Mom's bedside and spooned her an enriched drink. She seemed to relish the thickened liquid and I was very pleased to see that her swallowing reflex was not impaired. As well, she drank about half a glass of juice through a straw. If she could continue to take in such liquid nourishment the staff planned to give her a course of antibiotics. Given her state of health and age, (She was to turn 99 on September 22nd, as you might recall.), IV's were not be used but if she could manage to take in food orally, mixed with the medication, everyone felt she might well fight the pneumonia. In the recent past she had demonstrated just how tough she is, coming back from a heart attack while we were in Australia, this past April. Nevertheless, keeping her as comfortable as possible was really our main concern.

I spent about three hours at her bedside on Tuesday morning/afternoon and was very pleased that I was able to spoon her all of her protein shake and a full glass of thickened juice. Her blood pressure had gone up from the night before when Chloë visited so that was a good sign. Her breathing was still laboured but she seem comfortable when sleeping.

Cora Lee hosted a Friends of VPL bbq that evening and it was a lovely affair. We went downstairs to The Cave afterwards to visit with Flamin' and Sarge, just back from California that afternoon. Chloë came down after visiting Mom, once again at the end her shift, and reported that her blood pressure was holding in spite of her difficult respiration. Everyone was heartened and we all went to bed not dreading a call in the middle of the night.

As I mentioned above, given her seeming "rally" in the face of the very serious pneumonia, I suppose we all felt that she might pull through, much as she's done last April. I don't know for sure but I surmise that her poor heart may simply have finally not been strong enough after putting up such a valiant fight.

We spent most of this morning removing all her possessions from her room. Simpler to use a large dolly to wheel all the cartons from the Lodge to our place. The Annexe is now filled with boxes of pictures and ornaments that we will need to sift through when we have time. (Bev/Kevin Wittwer, from Perth, arrive tomorrow, for two weeks, and Greg, my brother-in-law from Winnipeg left last night.) After we had finished, Chloë and Corinne took four large boxes/bags to the Salvation Army Thrift Store on 4th and Mom's TV to their outlet on Broadway and 12th. Corinne had saved some of the nicer items of clothing and jewelry to give to Dodie, Mom's friend there. Once home, I was on the phone to Affordable Crematorium & Burial Ltd., the funeral home nominated by the Memorial Society, Canada Service, Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board, to make all the necessary arrangements, cancellation notices for pensions, etc. All of the service personnel I dealt with were extremely considerate, efficient and helpful so I have managed to accomplish much of the needed paperwork.

Given all of the above, not quite sure about riding in the next little while. That being said, I'm going out for a short jaunt shortly, just to to get a bit of exercise. If people are around on the weekend, I'd probably be up for something so please keep me posted.

Will say goodbye for now. Signing off as Patrizzio, "The Perfect Son"! Mom actually squeezed my hand when I said those words when I first saw her after our return. Whether by coincidence or not one cannot say, of course. However, it would be wonderful to think that she could hear and understand a few things. A number of years ago, at the dinner table, this is how she referred to me, causing quite a furor, as you can well imagine, among those friends and relatives at the table, engendering particularly hostile responses from Cora Lee and Chloë!)  Cheers, PPS! 

condolences from we three 

P,

I just tried to call ya -- condolences from all of us here to all of you.

We will toast to Annie when we can and will speak when it is convenient for you.

Mark and I hope to ride again Saturday. Best wishes, W

Pat,
    Your mother lived well to a good, old age and both you and Corinne deserve credit for supporting her so well. A very sad time but also a celebration of a good life for a very tough lady.
    I have been extremely busy of late with kitchen reno in progress, painting the exterior walls of a house in West Van (one of Peter's clients about to sell), as well as an hour and a half of tutoring each morning.
    Pete, Rod and I are thinking about a ride to Steveston Saturday morning, probably about 8am. I'll inform George also and hopefully you are both available.. I'll confirm details tomorrow. Ray

Hello Pat, Kevin and Bev – Juhli and I are heading over to the Mainland, Tuesday, September 4th. And planning to stay until Sunday, September 9th.
We have a few things to do when we’re in town – Juhli has some shopping needs, we have some business meetings and hopefully, catch-up with some long-time friends, including you guys.
We’ll be staying with Juhli’s brother and family over on the East Side, close to Knight Street, which will make for easy access to all points of our visit.
Once we’re on the Mainland, the ONLY way to maintain contact with us, is through our cell phone.

Pat, we’re open to a barbeque on either of those days, Wednesday the 5th. Or Thursday the 6th. Even on the weekend, if you prefer. Your decision…
The attachment is a photo I took at Sointula, (on Malcolm Island,) accessed by BC Ferries, from Port McNeill, BC. It’s Finnish for “No Smoking” that was posted in many places at a gas bar close to the BC Ferry Dock.

Hope everything is fine with everyone – see you soon - Federico


human wandering through the zoo / what do your cousins think of you. -Don Marquis, humorist and poet (1878-1937)



If you lined up 5 million pets, they would stretch from LA to Detroit. That's how many shelter pets have been saved by our friends at PetSmart Charities. BugZ is a rescue dog and the star of PUPPY LOVE, premiering September 8 only on Hallmark Channel USA

Patrick James Dunn Molly's big brother?

Ayn P Could be! I met Bug Z recently at one of our press events...great dog.

Remembering Basil Stuart-Stubbs
There will be a Celebration of Life to honour Basil Stuart-Stubbs, University Librarian at UBC from 1964 to 1981 and the Director of UBC’s School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS) from 1981 to 1992, on Sunday, September 16th at 2:00 p.m. at Sage Bistro (the former UBC Faculty Club) located at the University Centre. The nearest parking is the Rose Garden Parkade. 

No RSVP is required. Attendees are requested to arrive by 2:00 p.m.


Hi Patrick,      

Attached are the forms needed to be signed and initialed. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Melissa M. Affordable Cremation & Burial Ltd.

8^) George,
An afternoon ride works for me; rain not withstanding. Thoughts on a route? cheers, Mark


Aberdeen!
Mark,

I will bicycle with Tia up to UBC to drop her at Kerry’s work. I am thinking of leaving home at 2: PM. You could ride with us, a little plodding but okay, and then we could ride from UBC. Alternately, I could drop her at UBC and meet you somewhere else.

Lemme know, G

Sounds good - I'll be at your place by 2:00. 8^) cheers, Mark
 P,

In case you can join us. Give us an update on your mother when you can. W

Our colleagues up at Boalt Hall's Robbins Collection have just put up a great digital collection about California's Legal Origins. It's fascinating and beautifully illustrated! http://afs.berkeley.edu/group/law/Robbins/public/calegalheritage/


California's Legal Heritage: The Robbins Collection
afs.berkeley.edu



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Wednesday, 29 August 2012

IIDS, GD: Wednesday, August 29th, Mother Died!

Moderate giftedness has been made worthless by the printing press and radio and television and satellites and all that. A moderately gifted person who would have been a community treasure a thousand years ago has to give up, has to go into some other line of work, since modern communications put him or her into daily competition with nothing but world's champions. -Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., novelist (1922-2007)


For the first time ever, The Southern Hemisphere International Rugby Championship came to Mendoza this past Saturday. Giants from the South Africa Springboks played against behemoths from the host Argentina Pumas in Mendoza’s picturesque Parque San Martin in the city center.

"Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist -- it reduces him to his fighting weight." Josh Billings, columnist and humorist (1818-1885).

On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 8:34 AM, George Maddison wrote:

 Mark,

Thanks for the paddle yesterday – it was a pleasure. My ride back was a bit of a grunt against a west wind.

Let me know if you can ride Thursday. Afternoon is probably better for me. We may be riding is scattered showers – more likely a scattered forecast.

NRBC (Book Club) on the 9th of September. G

August-29-12 10:22 AM Hi Laura, sorry you can't come on Saturday. If you can drop in for a quick visit that would be great.Your dad is coming at 6pm but we will be home after 4. XXOO Corinne
my boss gave me the nicest card for my one year anniversary here at Crown Media...so happy and grateful to be here, be creative and be appreciated each day
MOM DIED!

August-29-12 2:04 PM  George,
Probably not - I have too much on. Thanks for including me. I'll be able to get going again soon. Ray
Hi Patrick                                                                                          August-29-12 3:32 PM

Back to couch potato mode , I am watching the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. Don't think we shall be seeing so much of these games but will be watching the medal table again which is somewhat pathetic really.

Good that the bike investment seems to be working out for you. Ed our son-in-law bought himself a "racer" though not an expensive one. He brought it to our Lake District holiday and we did some cycling in addition to walking. Unfortunately my gears had suddenly decided to give up on me and I was restricted to only two gears rather than the usual 21.  The distances and probably the speeds did not compare with yours though I was quite pleased with one ascent using only the two gears. The neighbouring Hardknott and Wrynose Passes are a challenge for motorists let alone cyclists though I did see a group begin the first ascent.

One of my Christmas gifts was a book called "Wild Swimming" of which we found some locations in Eskdale where we were staying. Richard our son came up for a few days and with the two young men I foolishly tried some pools in the mountain streams- extremely cold and I had to beat a hasty retreat to the rocks at times. Other parties were sensibly using wet suits.

Bagging Wainwright ( author of guides to the Lakeland fells) peaks in the Lake District has become a bit of a competition between Ed and his two brothers and now Richard. Ed and Richard went up 4 new peaks  for them on a miserably cold and wet day when fortunately I had decided to host my sister and brother-in-law at the cottage. I did manage a couple of smaller peaks with the "boys" a couple of days before and a walk with the whole family to a waterfall and mountain tarn.

There were several pubs in the valley(still) and two of them were advertising their range of malts- one claiming between 175 and 200 different malts. We had dinner in two of them but stuck with the cask ales.

Ray has just Skyped me and brought me up to date on his kitchen and more importantly his plans to buy a bike to challenge you. We even discussed average speeds- I shall have to get my speedometer working again.

My sporting investment has continued with the purchase of a pair of minimalist running shoes which are supposed to offer the advantages of barefoot running without the discomfort/pain- I even tried them out this evening. I have asked Ray to check Arthur Chapman's views on this subject which as far as I am concerned began with the book "Born to Run". I note that all the running shoe manufacturers are in on this band-wagon which is in contrast to their previous stance on offering more and more heel support.

As you can see I am still putting some effort in between the Americanos and beers.

I have just realised in penning this that I am at risk of sounding like I am trying to build on  the example set for me by my namesake tri-athletes who of course train in this part of the world- the Wharfe valley.

I look forward to hearing of how Ray, George and you are upping the ante of the bikes.

Best wishes to you both. Jim and Chris
 
Dear Patrick,

You have been assigned as a Distribution volunteer for the 2012 Vancouver Writers Fest. 

As soon as possible, please log in to myVolunteerPage.com and click on the Assignments tab.
If this assignment is good for you, please check CONFIRM.
If you are unable to confirm your assignment as a Distribution 2012 volunteer, please check DECLINE.
If your availability, interests, custom fields, or qualifications have changed, please update your profile. Make sure that you have answered YES to the question "Are you available as a 2012 volunteer?"

Please note that you can log hours this year...

Many thanks, and our apologies if this message seems redundant. We've had to do some jiggling with our scheduling software this afternoon and need to reconfirm our Distribution 2012 volunteers. Thank you for your patience!


Kathryn Fowler, Volunteer Manager & Lili Okuyama, Volunteer Assistant and Distribution Co-ordinator

Hi Corrine and Patrick                                                                                     August-29-12 7:48 PM

Glad to hear from you and that you had a good time with Lynne and Peter in Naramata.   I know you didn't pick up ant more wine as there was no more room in the Ford.  We have finished two bottles of the Larch Hills product and must say it is not bad.

It is sad to see Mom in her current condition but she must have comfort with your visits.  Barb and I have both been through this with our parents and 99 is a great achievement.  We trust she is comfortable.  It is our turn next and we just hope we don't have to put to much stress on our family when the time arrives.  One must do everything to the max whilst one can.  We know you and Corrine are in that mode.

We would love to have you as neighbours in Mexico this winter and will certainly try and connect on the Island in September. Take care and give Mom a hugh from us. Talk to you soon. Barb and Lynn

Chloe Alexis Dunn
Sadly my Grandma Dunn passed away today, she lived a great life and would have been 99 on the 22nd of September. Love you Grames!!!! xxxxxxxxxx
·
 At Scopa again!


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