Category — General Stuff

Covid and it doesn’t look like it’s going away for quite a while.

May was pretty uneventful this year. The last few years we have been getting ready to head off on an eastern Canada vacation, but not this year.

So instead we have been staying close to home and exercising lots. Brenda has been participating in regular Zoom calls with instructors from the YWCA, plus Line Dancing 3 times a week with a very small group of ladies. Everything is being down with physical distancing be practised.

Who knows what June will bring?

Welcome to April 2020, a completely changed world amid the Covid-19 Virus.
Brenda made a real good point the other day. She said her Dad had lived to the age of 96 and in his entire life he had never seen anything like this and as wide spread in the world.
So, yes we are and have been self isolating and self distancing when we go out. Exercise has changed from our regular visit to the “Y” and now we do a couple daily walks/hikes and then some other activity inside. Our yard and garden area has kept us busy and that’s good.
We certainly have not been going to the stores like we did in the past. Perhaps about every 10 days when we finally run out of milk we do make a visit to Save-On or Costco.
We have been having a weekly “Zoom” connect with GGMA and Dean and Judy; which has been great to keep in contact with them. GGMA has been a trooper, the retirement complex where she lives is on full lockdown. No outside excursions for the residents or outside visitors allowed in. That really makes it difficult because they have also changed their food serving practises from where they use to have one sitting per meal with 6 people to a table and now they have 3 sittings with more tables and only one person per table.
Our families in Princeton and Kelowna are all doing well and keeping safe, so that is always a blessing. We are really missing grand-kid hugs though!
Anyway, that’s about it for an April update and as Dr. Bonnie Henry says “Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe”

March has arrived and are we looking forward to an early spring.
March 4th marked the passing of Murray, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since GGPa passed away…… we miss him.
Actually we were happy to stay in the winter mode until after our annual family ski vacation. This year we were back to Sun Peaks and staying at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel. This seems to work so great for everyone. It’s a perfect location in the village close to everything. Plus they have the outdoor swimming pool and 3 hot tubs and they allow dogs, so Nova and Rover can come along. We also organized the kids “Treasure Hunt”, it’s always a lot of fun watching them work through their challenges to get the clues to solve the location and find the treasure. For Brenda and I it gets more challenging every year, the kids are getting older and smarter. Somehow we forgot to get a picture of Sage…… that was not smart.

This year it was really cold up at the hill but we still managed a family picture at some point…… Brrrrrrrrr!

Immediately after Sun Peaks the Corona Virus really started to take hold in Canada. We were so lucky to get our annual ski vacation in as the day after we left they shut the resort down for the year. Then once we were home we heard there was a recorded case of the virus reported by a Doctor up at the health centre.
Since that time we have been self isolating and social distancing; two terms that we never heard of before this pandemic.
So March has been all about staying isolated and staying healthy.

Same old….. Same Old. Well not really, but the winter is grinding on and we sure do miss our Hawaii getaway.
I have been very fortunate this year that the “On The Beach” group organizer has been keeping me up to date on the regular jam sessions on the beach. It’s been great to be included from a long distance.
Pretty regular weekly routine, lots of time exercising for both of us; Brenda definitely more and me playing the ukulele on Tuesday mornings and then pretty regular practise with the Kamloops City Strummers.
Near the end of February we got away to Vancouver for a couple days. We met up with Dean and Judy for an evening prior to them flying out to New Zealand and Australia for 6 weeks. Had a great dinner at Rodney’s Fish House in Yaletown.
Then on the way home we stopped in Langley for a coffee and muffin with my brother George, his daughter Chantelle and her partner Chris, their daughter Raven and my sister Jennifer. It was great to see them all.

January is here and no Hawaii this year for us after my mid summer heart event. Not enough time between the heart event and travel dates to get adequate travel insurance.
So we found other ways to keep us busy and get us through this winter. Regular trips to the local YWCA/YMCA and then outdoor walks when the weather was warm enough. We’ve become a little softer in the past few years and shy away from really cold days outside.
Brenda goes to a lot more classes at the YWCA than I do, however I attended my regular Tuesday afternoon classes at TRU as part of the V.I.P. heart program.
On January 12th we celebrated our 46th anniversary……….. where did the years go?
In December of 2019 we had a made a donation to the R.I.H. Foundation and in recognition of that donation we got to place a name plate on one of the lecture desks at the R.I.H. Ken Lepin Lecture Theatre.

Well almost hello 202o. At the end of December on the 30th we headed to Vancouver on a Wells Gray Tour to celebrate New Years in Vancouver. We booked this trip in September when we knew that our travel would be restricted due to my heart recovery. So in addition to using this as a chance to get away for a short bit we are also testing it out to see if we are ready for this type of retirement travel.

We had a full bus load and everything was very well organized. We drove to Vancouver with a stop for lunch in Chilliwack, then out for a play that evening (Miss Bennett  – Christmas at Pemberly) at Granville Island.

New Years Eve Day we had a tour at the Vancouver Art Gallery – Emily Carr Exhibit and then out to Richmond for Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. After getting back to the hotel just before midnight we went to the Wedgwood Hotel to have a drink and ended up in the lounge/piano bar. The piano player was outstanding, he played a wide variety and took requests from the audience; it was a special way to bring in 2020.

On New Years Day it was off to the Orpheum Theatre for A Salute To Vienna with a guest conductor and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – what an amazing show. Then home on January 2nd.

We were definitely the youngest couple on the tour, so I had to take my “patience pills” each morning with how people would move, block door entrances and just in general not listen or pay attention to instructions from the tour director.

Stay tuned for more updates in 2020

So, here it is the middle of January 2020 and I am just getting around to updating our web page. 2019 was a very busy, hectic, exciting year. So, here is a summary of 2019.

As you read in the last post we started by heading to Hawaii for a month. Waikiki is not for everyone, but it certainly has what we enjoy.

We got back from Hawaii in mid February and thought winter would be over, but oh no it gave us another cold blast to remind us what we missed when we were away in a warm sunny climate.

Then on March 4th, 2019 Murray passed away. It was a sad day for the family however for Murray he was finally at rest. His passing was not unexpected however it is always a shock when it happens. Murrays’ memorial was on March 23rd and he would have been smiling and laughing along with everyone else who attended. The City of Kamloops Rube Band was there to play a few numbers as people were arriving. Ken Hoshowski Band President said a few words on behalf of the band and then the Rubes played a couple tunes; it was the closest thing to a New Orleans Jazz Funeral this town has ever seen. How many people do you know have had a complete brass band play at their memorial? Murray was definitely smiling looking down. Dean, Judy, Brenda and I did the Eulogy and then there was a luncheon following where old friends reconnected and shared stories thanks to Murray.

Murray Frederick Mason
Born January 26th, 1923 in Nelson B.C. and passed away March 4th, 2019 in Kamloops, B.C.
“A Life Well Lived”.

Also in March we had our annual Family Ski Vacation. This year we were back to Sun Peaks and a stay at the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel. They have pet friendly rooms which is great for the Princeton family that has 2 dogs.

At the beginning of June we were off to Harrison Mills for our annual reunion with our good friends. Then the rest of the spring and into early summer saw us getting ready for a trip with the Rube Band to St. John’s Newfoundland for St. John’s Days. 2019 was the 70th Anniversary of the City of Kamloops Rube Band and it was also the 70th Anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador joining Canada in Confederation. We had a blast for the week in St. John’s.

After St. John’s Brenda and I headed to Nova Scotia with the plan to drive around Cape Breton and enjoy the scenery and the culture. We had an amazing week in Cape Breton, did lots of hikes and made lots of new discoveries.

Once we returned from back east I went to the Doctor as I had been having some funny sensations around my throat. Anyways, after seeing the Doctor and getting referred for testing the Cardiologist scheduled me for a routine angiogram in Kelowna. Well my heart couldn’t wait for Interior Health or the Catheter Lab in Kelowna to have an opening so it speeded up the process and I had a myocardial infarction (heart attack) around 1:30 a.m. on July 27th. I was given the best care possible and since my heart was in good shape to start with plus our other good health/lifestyle choices I am on the road to recovery and the last Cardiology Doctor that I saw diagnosed no damage to my heart. So as you can imagine all of our activities have been focused around my recovery and so we have been staying pretty close to home. Through all this Brenda has been a “trooper” and so supportive I am so fortunate to have her as my wife.

Our regular retired life is about the same. Brenda keeps herself in amazing shape by exercising at the YWCA on regular daily basis through the week. Then on the weekend we are always doing something outdoors as a physical activity, biking, hiking, walking, gardening (I am allowed to help in the garden but only under strict adult supervision).

I still have my little Country/Bluegrass group (Kamloops City Strummers) going and in fact this year we added a couple new members so we are now a quintet.

We managed to fit in a few trips to see the grand kids and their parents, plus a trip to Vancouver to see my brother George and sister Maureen and her husband Art.

That was just a quick “flyover” of 2019, but it gives you some idea of what went on.

Well we once again headed to Hawaii early in 2019. Hawaii is so nice and handy and fairly close just in case we have to come home on short notice.

We stayed with Jeff and Lindsay in Kelowna the night before we flew out. Then very early on Jan 16th we headed to Kelowna airport for a 6:00 a.m. flight to Vancouver and then about a 2 hour layover in Vancouver before flying to Hawaii. We arrived about 2:30 p.m. and after getting to the Hotel we still had lots of time to go for a beach walk and stick our toes in the sand of Waikiki Beach.

This was a year of walking and discovering some areas around Waikiki that we had not discovered. Our average steps per day as measured by our Garmin Watches was 18,500. A couple days we surpassed 25,000 steps. We used the  hotel shuttle bus a couple times, but mostly we just walked everywhere.

Once again this year we stayed at the Pacific Monarch which is a block and a little bit the the beach. The location is excellent and it is at the quieter end of Waikiki Beach. We had a corner room on the 31st floor so a tremendous view of the beach and also the Friday night fireworks from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Plus the staff at the Pacific Monarch are so friendly and welcoming.

Jeff, Lindsay, Zach and Oliver joined us for the 5 days of our vacation and it was great to have a few days to watch the boys enjoy the beach and sites.

I played Ukulele on Monday and Friday with a group called “On the Beach” and then occasionally with a group that did a traditional “Kanikapila” or jam session on Thursday and Sunday evenings. So, lots of fun.

Aloha from Hawaii
On January 3rd we flew from Vancouver to Honolulu and our final destination was The Pacific Monarch Hotel in Waikiki. The flight was great we left Vancouver at 9:30 a.m. and landed in Honolulu at 2:30 p.m.
The Pacific Monarch is a block and a little bit from Waikiki Beach, so the location is perfect. We got room 3103, which is almost to the top of the building and the view is absolutely stunning.
Unfortunately Brenda was battling a late December flu and was feeling “crappy” but she is a trooper and after a few good night sleeps she was on the mend.
Early on I found a ukulele jam session right on the beach at Waikiki. In fact the groups calls itself “On the Beach” and they have been doing this for almost 50 years or 35 years depending who you talk to……………. obviously this is run by Seniors. Anyway, the gentleman (Wayne Deffenbach”) leading it this year was from The Villages in Florida. He arrives January 2nd and they “jam” every Friday and Monday until he leaves at the end of March.
After the first week we got settled into a routine. Up early watch the sunrise then go for a long walk. Back for a quick breakfast and then off for another walk or sight seeing adventure. In the afternoon we hit the beach each day and had a dip in the ocean. Then back to our room for a shower and a Mai Tai or a beer or two! In the evening most nights we would stroll Kalakaua Ave. and watch the street entertainment.
You will notice in this post there are no pictures. We brought the camera but we only packed it the day we walked around Diamond Head. I guess we have been coming to Hawaii for so long that the pictures we are taking are mental pictures and memories. We did take a few with the cellphone, but will have to wait till we get home to download them to our desk Mac and then upload to our blog.

The start of our second week on the Thursday we caught a shuttle bus to Waimea Golf Course to watch the opening round of the Hawaiian Open. We got to see a lot of the big names on the tour Jordan Speith, Justin Thomas, V.J. Singh, etc, etc. it was a great outing for the day. Then on the second Saturday we did hike around Diamond Head and ended up at the Kapiolani Community College Saturday market. It’s always interesting to see the various market items. We did change our route to get to the market this year and we arrived just before 11:00 a.m. so the merchants were already wrapping up for the day; something we didn’t anticipate when planning our walk. When we got back from the walk around Diamond Head we started to hear about the false warning regarding an imminent nuclear attack on Hawaii. I guess on the one hand it was a good thing that we had no idea about all that activity. We think your chance of survival would have been pretty slim if it would have been the real thing. Also, trust good old USA ingenuity the very next day an old guy is walking down the street with a T-shirt that said “I survived the false nuclear attack”.

One thing we did this year was that we both had our Vivosmart step counters and we kept track of the steps we did each day. We estimate that on an average day we did 16000 to 17000 steps which works out to about 14 km. Time for another Mai Tai we deserve it.
On Thursday and Sunday nights we found a traditional Kani Ka Pila on the beach behind the Waikiki police station. We never went the first week as we both were adjusting to the time difference and getting over the flu/cold. A Kani Ka Pila is like a Ukulele jam session, however the majority of the songs are Hawaiian and there are locals who join in to teach the Hula to visitors/watchers. So what happens is the leader goes around the circle and you get to play a song and everyone else joins in. If you don’t have a ukulele and are just watching then you can request a song. So, Brenda and I would plan out what song she was going to request or what song I was going to play prior to going, it made it not feel so stressful. We usually stayed about an hour or so and it made for a fun evening. I learned a few new songs and variations on some songs that we already play, so I can’t wait to get them written out so we can try them when I get home.

One other highlight was that I got to play with the ukulele performers at the Royal Grove. I was invited by the Bass player to join in with them for the evening entertainment, what a thrill to play with this group of players and hula dancers. The Royal Grove Hotel is a traditional older Waikiki hotel that is right across the street from the Pacific Monarch. They have been having these evening Hawaiian entertainment Monday night sessions since 2004. The leader (Leonard) plays the ukulele and his wife (Caroline) leads the Hula. The rest of the entertainers are made up of local ukulele or guitar players and the upright bass player; these guys are really, really good, so it was an honour to be asked to join in with them.

Our four weeks in Waikiki passed quickly and then we headed to Maui to meet up with Jeff, Lindsay, Zach and Oliver for a week in Kihei.

Yikes……… where has the year gone and why is it every time I haven’t blogged for a long time I start the post with “Yikes”!

So, since our spring getaway to the Rockies the year has flown by.

Summer came and with it the worst forest fire season in B.C.’s history. The skies in Kamloops were smoky for weeks on end. To give you some idea, the smoke index scale goes from 1 to 10. Beijing on a bad day is at 22 on the index. Kamloops’ worst day during the summer of 2017 was 48. We could just barely see 6 blocks down the hill. It was awful.

The fires really picked up momentum the weekend of July 8th and 9th. We were down in Princeton looking after Sage and Conrad while Kevin and Tamara headed to a concert in Penticton. We had a great weekend with the kids but the road north of Princeton was blocked and we had to take the long route home. It was a Luau weekend, lots of games, contest, drinks and just fun.

Well we weren’t home too long and the forest fire situation continued to worsen so we decided to pick up Sage and Conrad and give them a break from the smokey weather. We headed to Vancouver and chance to do some different activities that they just do not get in a small town. We headed off and on the way down stopped at the Othello Tunnels and our first night was at the Hampton Inn in Chilliwack, which is a beautiful hotel, the kids had lots of fun in the pool/waterslide and of course they really enjoyed the Hampton breakfast. The next day we headed to White Rock for some beach time and then over to Mike and Rose’s for a family dinner. It was so great to see everyone and the kids had so much fun hanging out, playing video games and playing with the dog. The final day was spent shopping and then a fun activity at play centre in Langley where there was video games, pinball, skee ball, tunnels and tubes to climb through, etc. etc. The kids had a great time.

While were away in Vancouver, Brenda’s Dad had a fall and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. He spent 4 week in the hospital before being moved to Ponderosa Lodge where he remains today waiting for a transfer to a residential care home. So a lot of our time has been spent supporting her Mom and visiting her Dad.

The last week of August was Namma and Pops summer camp in Kamloops. Zach and Oliver came for a visit while their Mom and Dad worked. We did lots of activities like the Wildlife Park and Prince Charles Park and tried to keep them busy. Unfortunately the smoke persisted so we did not spend as much time outside as we would have normally. We did find time for some handicrafts, which they always enjoy.

September arrived and we were back to Kelowna to help out with getting the kids off to the first week of school. Then right after that we were off to Princeton to look after the kids while Kevin and Tamara headed to Las Vegas.

October was a breather month trying to get caught up and still lots on the go around here. On October 1st I officially resigned from being a School Bus Driver. I only drove 2 days in the whole year and kept finding reasons not to drive. So, it was time to quit. I have made a few new friends who I know will be there for years to come.

November arrived and we headed to Kelowna and Princeton for a quick visit and to drop off some birthday presents.

This was also the month when we finally were able to get our Reunion Friends together. We met in Vancouver at the Rosedale on Robson in Yaletown, it’s a great location and lots to see and do in the area. We had a great couple days visiting, going out for dinner and we even took in the musical Jersey Boys at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.  

We finally made it to December. We were so fortunate again this year as our entire family was together for Christmas. Both families arrived on Dec 23rd and it was wonderful mayhem in the house until they all left on Dec 26th and then “The Silence was Deafening”. Somewhere in the middle we celebrated Lindsay’s 38th birthday on December 24th and had a Christmas Luncheon with GGPA at Ponderosa. Unfortunately Tamara was very sick on Dec 24th and ended up in Emergency for a few hours. However, she recovered well for Christmas Day.

Now we look forward to the year ahead – 2018 !