Linda & Cec's 50th Wedding Anniversary

Spent a lovely Sunday afternoon at a party to celebrate the 50th "Golden" wedding anniversary of Linda and Cec, who were married on  November 4, 1967.  The party was held at the home of their daughter and son-in-law at their new home.  It was very well organized with a beautiful presentation of savoury and sweet foods, wine, and all the table settings such as napkins, place settings, cutlery having a "gold" theme. The TV had a rotating slide show of many happy occasions in the life of Linda and Cec, especially their many cruises.

I was happy to meet a few fellow classmates from high school at this event, where we shared memories of long ago and got caught up to date on the more recent years. I was a bridesmaid for Linda and enjoyed looking at the old wedding pictures and Linda's wedding dress which she can still get into!

Here I am in my bridesmaid dress which I made myself.  It is emerald green brocade.  I was so tiny then!

As one of the bridesmaids, I gave a bridal shower for Linda with the assistance of my mother, who was a close friends of Linda's mother, at our home.  It was a "Jobie" shower, with the girls from Bethel 23, South Burnaby.  Here is Linda with the traditional apron made with all the gift bows!

Spending my birthday with Neil

So I am another year older today, but much wiser after a year mainly spent taking care of Neil and his needs.  On September 2, 2016 he fell and broke his hip and was in hospital for four weeks.  He came out in a wheelchair, unable to walk.  Because the hospital discharge staff would not allow him to go into a rehab facility, Neil went into a care home.  He did not flourish there, so after five months there, I transferred him to the Weinberg Residence private care home. He is happy and content there and has wonderful companions, Emmy and Lanie. He partakes in the rehab exercise program nearly every day and enjoys the concerts and most of the meals.

I spent the afternoon with him, took chocolate cupcakes and he sang happy birthday to me. As usual he presented me with a box of Purdy's Chocolates, his favourites.

Our 45th Wedding Anniversary Today

Neil and I were married at Cecil Green Park at UBC on Monday, May 22, 1972.  Lots of changes since then. Here are a few memories:

Remembering Linda Today

Thinking of Linda, especially today on the third anniversary of her death. Many memories, both happy and sad.

Linda and I at University Golf Club

Linda with Mom and Dad - Graduation

from UBC Medical School 1976

Linda- high school graduation 1969

Panama Canal Cruise #3 - San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

Our third port of call was on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.  Again, this port required tendering and because of rougher seas, it took a very long time and we were delayed over an hour meeting our tour bus on the dock.

Suzy and I chose to take a ship shore excursion called "Granada & Parque Central", which was  total of about 6.0 hours but four of those hours were spent driving two hours each way from the dock to Granada and back.  The drive was interesting - fairly lush landscapes, but Nicaragua is poorer than our other ports of call which was reflected in the buildings and roads.  The people are very nice and eager to please and are trying to encourage the tourist industry.

Our first stop was at Lake Nicaragua, a very large fresh water lake, and from its shores you can see the Mombacho volcano on the far shore.

Young boy playing

After that stop we headed to the city of Granada which has a rich colonial heritage, as can be seen in its architecture.

First stop was the San Francisco Covent in Granada which is now the City Museum.

San Francisco Convent - this is a façade only, the buildings behind do not match

Interior Museum behind the façade with paintings depicting the history of Nicaragua

Interior Courtyard of the Museum

Pre-Columbia stone statues part of the museum

Close up of one statue

Next we did a bit of a walk through the old city, looking at the old buildings, cathedrals,

Cathedral Granada - one of the most prominent buildings in the city

A worker is restoring the ceiling painting

Parque Central - town square with, the cultural hub, with local artisans

Part of Town Square Folkloric Dancing

"Old Lady Dance"

Panama Canal Cruise #2 - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Saturday, March 18, 2017, we arrived at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which required tendering to shore, a process which took some time. Suzy and I did not book a ship shore excursion but decided to hire an official taxi after much negotiation.  We particularly wanted to see San Jose del Cabo located about 20 miles south of Cabo and we were fortunate to have a very polite taxi driver who gave us a two hour tour.  We drove south through beautiful townhouse developments, hotels and homes, all richly landscaped and green.

The city of San Jose del Cabo has lots of 18th century colourful architecture, and was an artistic hub with many stores featuring good quality porcelain, jewellery, sculpture and paintings, as well as lots of cafes and restaurants.

Cabo's famous rock formations

Beaches enroute to San Jose del Cabo

San Jose del Cabo Church

Cabo San Lucas marina

Panama Canal Cruise March 2017 - #1

On March 15, 2017, my friend, Suzy, and I departed cold, wintery Vancouver for San Francisco to board the Island Princess for a 15 day Panama Canal Cruise on the Island Princess, ending in Fort Lauderdale.  We had a good time:  hot weather, relaxing on board, great food, interesting lectures on the history of the canal, and a series of 8 lectures on opera by the "Opera Lady" which were very informative.

Embarkation took longer than we hoped, but once on board we got our staterooms right away and had lunch.  Then enjoyed the embarkation party going under the Golden Gate Bridge.  Weather was cold and wet in San Francisco.

On board at last

San Francisco Skyline

Golden Gate Bridge

Touring Vero Radiation Facility at BC Cancer Agency

On March 7 my brother, Ken, and I had the honour to be invited to tour the new Vero radiation machine installation at the BC Cancer Agency.  The acquisition and installation of this cutting edge radiation machine to treat cancer was partially funded by the generous donation of funds from an estate through the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation.  The trustees of the estate made this donation in honour of the late  Dr. Linda Vickars, in her memory.  Linda was previously head of the Department of Hematology at St. Paul's Hospital and died of brain cancer in April 2014.

Dr. Raymond Ma, Radiation Oncologist

Trustee of the Estate and his daughter

Ken and I

We were amazed at the huge installation which you cannot see from these pictures: rooms filled with computer equipment in behind, plus concrete walls and floor around the room. The Vero also extends down below the floor level many feet. Developed in Japan, the BC Cancer Agency expects to start radiation treatment with the Vero in the spring of 2017.

Winter Scenes from my Window

I enjoy experiencing the different seasons in Vancouver, including snow in winter! I spent some time gazing out my window enjoying the winter scenes.

These pictures were taken with my canon power shot camera, which produces better photos than the iPhone 4 photos taken at the MOA exhibit (below).  Must get a new iPhone before I leave on my cruise.

MOA Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures

Layers of Influence: Unfolding Cloth Across Cultures

On Thursday evening I attended this exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology with Sisterhood friends. This Exhibit presents large swaths of intricate textiles which were often worn to enhance the wearer’s prestige, power and spiritual connection, including Japanese kimonos, Indian saris, Indonesian sarongs, West African adinkra, adire and kente cloth, South Pacific barkcloth, Chinese Qing dynasty robes, Indigenous Northwest coast blankets, Maori feather cloaks and more.  http://moa.ubc.ca/portfolio_page/layers-of-influence/

The tour was led by one of the curators with comments and stories provided by other women who have personally experienced making or receiving special lengths of decorative textiles, often for a special occasion such as birth, graduation and marriage. These textile gifts are kept for life and passed down to children.

Many of the textiles were instantly recognizable as representing a known culture, such as Bali, Guatemala, Japan, China, places where Neil and I travelled.  I very much recommend this exhibit and of course the whole MOA. The Layers of Influence exhibit continues to April 9.