Change in plans

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

We intended to stay on Texada for another day but packed up and came home quite quickly late this morning.

We unloaded some things into the workshop and then Pat cleaned and swept out his truck bed. While I did that I found a few sewing-related things that I wanted to either take back up to the studio or bring home. Pat wanted to get gas (it is a penny cheaper on Texada than in Powell River) and we needed to get the mail.

When we got to the gas station their pump wasn’t working so we weren’t able to get any gas. We had thought we might do a trip out to Shelter Point but since we were short on gas we went down to the public dock for a look-see. When Pat turned the truck off, the fan continued to run. There was no way he could get it to turn off. He worried that it would run down his battery so we decided that we would come home so he could get it looked at right away. They had to replace some sort of module but Pat also saw how it can be disconnected so should it happen again he can at least do a temporary fix.

I spent the afternoon at my computer. I finished transferring photos from our Facebook page onto our blog and then finished off another year of blog archives. The remainder of the blog archives will be easier as they were downloaded with a software program. There will still be things I need to add in that didn’t download but it will certainly be a much easier job.

One day on Texada really didn’t seem like enough time but there is really nothing to stop us from heading back again very soon. Although when I look at the calendar we have things booked up until next Wednesday and again from Thursday on past the next weekend.

Our Lady of the Lost and Found

Author: Diane Schoemperlen

When I pulled this book off the shelf Pat commented that it was recommended through one of his writing groups and he really liked it. I warned him when I was a few chapters in that it wasn’t going to get a high rating from me.

The idea was interesting. Mary, as in the Virgin Mary, arrives in the narrator’s living room and asks to stay with her in her home for a short time. The narrator goes into some detail about Mary – her history, the apparitions of her, her miracles – and, occasionally, Mary adds a little something to to story.

I think the author’s notes clears up a lot – it is an exploration of the fiction/non-fiction continuum. All the accounts of Mary are true but Mary did not actually appear in the author’s living room.

Goodreads Rating: * *

Packed and waiting

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Pat and I are heading over to Texada later this afternoon. I have almost everything packed. My Kindle is charging and my cell phone is beside it so I won’t forget either one. I have a small bag of meds sitting on top of the book I’m taking and my sweater is hung over my purse so I’ll remember to take it. My car is plugged in to the charger so, hopefully, I’ll be able to go places when we return in a couple of days.

Right now I’m waiting to get the Song Circle started. Pat asked me to do a few things differently for the recording. I made no promises but I’m trying to think ahead to how it might work for me. I am off-camera for the event but I have to pay attention so there will be no extra stitching.

Ten years

Saturday, April 17, 2021

This photo, from ten years ago, popped up on my Facebook feed this morning. I can barely remember our yard looking like this.

Here’s how the yard looks today.

Along the right side of the house I have my blueberry bushes, our mock orange, some peonies, our sedums, some lilies and a few other things that come up that we don’t know if we actually planted them or not. This year I hope to remember to get our sunflower seeds in the ground.

The small strip along the front of the house is the last patch I weeded yesterday. Today it doesn’t look so large but it seemed much larger yesterday when I was down on my hands and knees. We have a couple of hydrangeas, an ivy and a fir tree planted there, along with some sedums that seem to have migrated over.

There are a number of large pots on the edge of the patio, some with annuals, some with perennials and some with trees. The annuals that come up are generally ones that don’t die over the winter; I think my snap dragons are on about their fourth year of flowering.

You can’t see the patio because of the two large bushes in front of it but, when I’m sitting in my chair, I have a lovely view of the yard and the ocean. It is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon (either in the sun or in the shade) watching the ferries come and go.