3rd Annual Mill Lake Cruise In

Super Moon

 

I took one of my Grandsons with me to the High Street Mall on Saturday night to photograph the Super Moon that was hyped in the media. There were a few other photographers out with their iPhones and Tablets but none with any serious cameras.

We set up the tripod and fixed the settings on the Nikon and then waited. It was 20 minutes later than the night before but well worth the wait.

 

These next three photos show the slow progression, some zoomed in and others zoomed out.

 

At one point I just stood away from the camera and stood in awe of the moment, drinking in the warm night air and watching the moon visibly rise above the mountain ridge.

 

Next time I will try a different location, a bit closer and a bit further south to get the moon rising over Mt. Baker.

 

One last photo to share and that of the evening light kissing the glaciers of Mt. Baker before the moon made its appearance.  

The Time Machine

 

"The Time Machine" by H.G.Wells  (1898)

 

This is one of the first novels to explore the idea of travelling through time. After a lengthy discussion on the 4th dimension, with several friends, the time traveller proceeds to announce that he has indeed built a machine that will transport him through time. He is met with raised eyebrows but sets out soon enough to prove his theory.

 

 

He pushes the lever to fast forward and lands in the same location as he left, but more than 200,000 years in the future. What then begins is the story of what and who he discovered. The future becomes a platform for some philosophical ideas on mankind, civilisation, as well as talk about political models. What he discovers, and I will not give it away, is that mankind has degenerated.  He observes that there is no war, sickness, disease, want or hunger. There are no weeds, etc. etc. But what has happened to mankind as a result of all this security? I quote

"This has ever been the fate of energy in security. It takes to art and eroticism and then comes languor and decay."

It becomes evident that the struggles that mankind and civilisation encounter are the very things that draw out new ideas and innovations. Struggle, as in the case of the metamorphosing butterfly, gives it strength. This is also true on the individual level. We should not disdain struggle but embrace it, for without it we atrophy and weaken.

The ideas put forth are worth reading, but the story, of course, is pure fiction. It is pessimistic in its outlook for the future of our world, and we are left hanging at the end of the book by the disappearance of the time traveller. (Temporarily or permanently?)

It is a topic that tickles the fancy of all of us, but at least in this life, there will probably not be any time travel for any of us.

                                                 2 1/2 stars of  5
 

 

 

A Most Interesting Life

Revolution in Mind  a book by  Roger Brian Neill

 

The last two books I have read are both autobiographies, that of Roger Neill and of Bill Vanderzalm,  but the two lives and the two books are worlds apart. What they do share is their Christian faith, but even there we see how divergent that can be. I was given this book by a friend of his and because he lives locally I thought it might worth my while to read it. It was!

 

Mr. Neill starts his autobiographical journey with a picturesque description of him, as a young boy, growing up in the Maritimes. His love of nature and outdoor adventure are nurtured early on and remain with him throughout his life. His schooling takes him to university but along the way he has numerous adventures as he finds employment on the ski slopes and on the trains.  

The mind revolution that the title refers to begins in University at the very left leaning Simon Fraser University in Burnaby BC. He paints a picture of revolutionaries and radicals and his temptations to follow that path.

He came from a family of achievers and after doubting he would fit the mould, he does achieve his degrees and establishes himself in a career in social work where his efforts are very successful, working with the mentally ill, something that would help him to achieve a very fulfilling task later in life in, of all places, Jamaica.  

 

His life is a series of adventures, both in outdoor activities, service opportunities, and inner discoveries, always interesting and always prompting the thought in me that I have lead a dull life.

 

Mr. Neill's writing is very articulate, and he particularly excels when he is describing nature, whether camping at Green Drop Lake in the dead of winter or scuba diving in Jamaica. I believe he would be a wonderful adventure writer. His descriptions are poetic and have the ability to draw the reader easily into the situation.

 

His desire to be of service leads him to unlikely places such as Kosovo, Jamaica, and a few stints in the Israeli army. I was hoping for more insight as to how these assignments appealed so greatly to him and what was the motivation to take them on.

 

I was also hoping for a some additional insight as to how his radical ideas were transformed into his desire to follow Jesus.

 

One other minor criticism is the fact that I found the flow of the book a bit jagged, a bit of jumping back and forth with some minor repetition and events happening out of sequence. At the end of the book he reveals that he has been journaling almost all his life. Perhaps he has taken many journal entries and tied them together.

However, this does not distract from the fact that Mr. Neill has led a most interesting life and has written a most interesting book about it. The final chapter entitled "The Hurt Locker" brings together the philosophical elements of his life and I found it to be an integral part of understanding this most interesting man.  

3 1/2 stars out of 5 

 

BC's 28th Premier

 

My good friend Ray Hall gave me an autographed copy of Bill Vanderzalm's autobiography and I could not wait to get at it.

 

Bill starts right at the beginning and chronicles his life as a boy growing up in Holland. It moves rapidly at first and I enjoyed hearing about his exploits in my home town after he and his family moved to BC.

 

It is interesting throughout and for different reasons. How does a young man with just a basic education establish what becomes a thriving business and eventually leads to the world of politics? His good looks, sunny personality, and optimistic attitude were definite assets, but his work ethic, creativity, and honesty were keys to his brilliant future.

 

He leads us through the days of municipal politics and his being wooed (and lied to) by Prime Minister Trudeau to run for the federal Liberals after being such a popular mayor of Surrey. It seems that he was successful at almost everything he put his hand to but he gives ample credit to both his wife Lillian and to God. 

 

The book gets really fascinating when he recounts the Social Credit party's leadership convention in Whistler in 1986. I remember it well as it was the time in my life when I was starting to get really keen on the political scene both federally and provincially. He tells of the handshakes and deals, the jealousy and backbiting, the subversive pranks and manipulations of the power brokers and the media. 

 

Bill, at all times, was honest, above board and was what is known as a populist, an advocate for the rights of the common man. He was not manipulative, wishy-washy, or duplicitous, but was honest and forthright, and you always knew where he stood. He was not afraid to make a stand based on his moral convictions even if it was not popular with the media or his enemies. It was refreshing and he was enormously popular. BC had some of it very best years under his premiership.  

 

But for this very reason, he was made an enemy of the establishment and the media was on the side of the establishment, or at best on the side of left leaning policies, something Bill would not tolerate. The book becomes a diatribe against the media who eventually destroyed him. 

 

As I observed the Victoria actions and reactions, I sometimes thought that Bill had a sour grapes attitude toward the media but after having read his book and the record of how he was hypocritically treated by print media, TV and radio, I must agree with him. The attacks were at first subtle, but became blatant, biased and fabricated as time went on. There was almost a race to the bottom to see which reporter could dig up the worst dirt and lie to spew in order to drag Bill's name through the mud. 

It all reached a climax during the Fantasy Gardens affair when Lillian sold the gardens when it became too stressful for her to see protesters day after day plugging up her parking lot and driving business away. The Vanderzalms were treated horribly and the media were having a heyday. 

It did not stop there but continued until his resignation and even into his later years. There is no shadow of doubt that the media were very biased against him, labelling him with negative epithets at every turn.

Bill's very strength became is downfall. He was too trusting and took advice from people who were out to get him. He thought everyone was honest like he was and he thought that all politicians had the good of their constituents at heart, when it seemed at times that all there was, was a struggle for power and influence. 

If ever I was disillusioned about politics, I am even more so now. That which I always suspected has been confirmed by this revealing book. But unlike Bill, I have a difficult time putting a happy face on in spite of it.  

When one clearly spells out where he stands on every conceivable issue, he will make wonderful friends but will also make bitter enemies. This is the story of Bill Vanderzalm in a nutshell. I suppose it is why one encounters so few principled people in these days, especially politicians. When you try to be all things to all people, for the purpose of pleasing all people at all times, you become like jello and keep sliding off the plate. Soon you do not even know where you stand and everything you say and do is irrelevant because it does not come from firm convictions. 

Late in the book, Bill gets into his own personal convictions and beliefs on a variety of issues. He leaves no stone unturned and there is nothing ambiguous in what he says, but the reader knows exactly where this man stands, whether you agree with him or not.  

I find this an admirable characteristic and one lacking in our leadership today. 

4 1/2 stars      

Deja Vu

 

Sorry for the poor arrangement of photos but 'Blogger" does that every so often and I cannot move the photos around.

 

We took a day trip to Keromeos on Sunday to 'get out of town' and to purchase some cherries. It was a good trip, overall, and our objective was achieved. We even found a few Saskatoon Berry bushes on the Old Hedley Road. By the time I thought of photographing the purple ripe berries, I had eaten them all and there were only these red ones to photograph. These were the only wild berries I ate as a kid. We would scour the country roads for them, pick for hours on end, and then my mother would bake a pie for us. Every time I bite into one of these berries, the nostalgia overwhelms me.

 

 

 

 

 

Every few years we take the Old Hedley Road, either east or west, and always enjoy the fresh view of the river valley east of Princeton.

 

Monday morning we got to work to can most of the 50 lbs. of cherries we bought at our favourite orchard on the Upper Bench Road in Keromeos. They had been picked only hours before and they were fresh and ripe. Plucking stems, sorting out the very few bad ones, and canning them was an all morning project for busylizzy, mostly. I was able to help but I had a major setback in my battle against gout.

 

Here is the story. We get the cherries because over the last year, I have had the occasional bout of gout. (I like the sound of that) On Sunday I ate at least several pounds of cherries. These are Vans and they do not at all cause an adverse reaction in my digestive system. Eating cherries in the past has always given me very quick relief from the painful gout so I should be good, right? I had a hamburger (beef, which I am supposed to stay away from) on the road and that is the only thing that might had triggered the gout. But all those cherries??

Anyway, at 3 am on Monday I awoke from the pain. I have been eating cherries ever since.

 

This was our first trip together, to the Okanagan, since we stocked up on apples last September. I blogged at that time about the traffic tie-up we had between Hope and Chilliwack. Wouldn't you know it. It happened again. It was at almost the same place on the highway and the time spent was almost as long. The Rosedale overpass was barely visible in our rear-view mirror and it was highly entertaining watching the vehicles try to turn around on the two lane highway and then proceed the wrong way on the shoulder, only to wait in a traffic tie-up at the overpass as they thought they would motor through Rosedale and back onto the Freeway. We stuck it out and it was fine, even though we were quite low on gas.

 

The traffic was very heavy, as it is every weekend, and we do not usually travel that way on the weekends. We were reminded again why. We also wondered if the newly raised speed limit was a contributing factor to the big truck roll-over.

 

On a side note, our peas from our garden are delicious this year. We have a bumper crop from one small row (maybe 8 ft. long)and we harvest this much every day. Yes, we are entering the fresh local food season.

The Challenge

 

I have been asked to install vinyl wall covering in a few strange places over the years. One of the most unusual was one that I turned down after much thought. It was a very expensive yacht, under construction, and the owner wanted real snakeskin applied to a bulkhead above the master's bed in the master suite. I seldom turn down a challenge, but because of the price of the skin and because the surface was both convex and concave in its contours, I decided that the skin was not flexible enough to accommodate both directions of curvature.

 

Motorhomes are also a challenge and I have done a number of them over the years. A few weeks ago I got a call from an elderly gentleman who wanted me to come to his place in Chilliwack with some samples of motorhome wall coverings. I do not carry samples and thought it best that he peruse the local paint and wallpaper stores and chose something, then give me a call. Many phone calls later, he said that he had bought some marine grade vinyl and would I come and hang it. I  was not sure what it was that he had, and told him that perhaps he should get someone local and it would be less expensive for him. I had to charge gas and time because the job sounded quite small, according to his description.

He then offered to drive the motorhome to my house on Sat. morning and I could do it there. I consented as then I would only charge an hourly rate and I would have any tools and materials that I would need, at hand.  

 

 

As it turned out, what he had purchased at great cost, was a strip of upholstery naugehyde. I thought it might hang like any other vinyl wall covering and proceeded to make my first cut. I have razor knives that cut through anything, and eventually my blade did cut it, but I had to exert so much force on the knife against my straight edge, that when the blade jumped over the edge, it came straight at my finger and sliced the tip all but off.

 

I have cut myself many times with these blades and like always the cut was so clean that there was not much pain, and blood only came later. I bound it tightly and continued with the job. The length of his purchase was inadequate so I had to make a few splices, but when all was said and done, it looked very good and he was happy with it.

Since then, I have been discovering the 1000 uses of the tip of my index finger, since deemed irrelevant. It is only Monday and it is healing nicely without stitches and very little discomfort. I now know that I do not like to hang upholstery on walls.  

How I Spent My Saturday Morning

 

Paul's wallpaper arrived on Friday and his furniture was coming in a few days, so we spent our Saturday morning installing the wall coverings. Here we have an 11' high alcove in the dining room where we hung a very beautiful and luxurious shimmery gold patterned non woven fabric backed wall paper. It was very custom, ordered only by the lineal yard, and each panel was 38" wide.  

 

 

 

It matched the exquisite draperies and the faux finished heavy crown mouldings. The heavy piece of dining room furniture will look great in the alcove now that is not a plain painted wall.

 

Then it was up to the prayer room where we worked with our heads respectfully covered.

 

There were six trim panels that each had to be papered. The wallpaper was 27" wide and each panel was 28" wide which meant we had to have a seam in each panel. How much easier to hang six full width panels than twelve narrow ones but it had to be done. The paper was yellow and gold and had a distinct 3-D look. It really enhanced the room.

 

 

 

One last look at a very beautiful home and the unbelievable chandelier hanging in the curved stairwell.

Canada's Birthday

 

July 1st saw us endure the heat and make our way to the parade route where we witnessed Abbotsford's version of the Canada Day parade. Lest the photos are not self-explanatory, let me comment on each of them and make some general observations.

 

These brass instruments were catching a nice reflection. There were only two bands in the parade this year.

 

BC's own flag.

 

There were no cowboy's in this parade but there were two contingents of cowgirls.

 

A rather old but nicely restored John Deere Tractor. I love the exhaust note on these old tractors.

 

A Korean Drum corps.

 

Two members of the Sikh Motorcycle Club. You have Hell's angels with their beanie helmets and now these fellows with their soft turban helmets, both above the law, apparently.

 

The Sikh mafia. Or so it would seem.

 

My grandson's band, the MEI Screaming Eagles.

 

My grandson in the sunglasses.

 

And again from the back.

 

Two of the second group of cowgirls.

 

I don't know who these were but there was a lot of colour going on here.

 

Being a very warm 33 C day, this old fellow must have been sweltering in his hat/visor.

 

My neigbours, Abhijit and Mita Nayak with their two boys Ishi and Jesse.

 

A cooling down exercise courtesy of the fire dept.

 

Some observations.

The ethnic makeup of our community is rapidly changing and it is so very evident at the parade. We were near the end of the route and the streets were crowded with onlookers. I would give a very generous estimate of 10% -15% had  my skin colour. But, we were all celebrating being Canadians.

 

If it were not for tax payer funded organisations and equipment, the parade would have been about 30% of its size. I am talking about fire trucks, ambulances, rescue vehicles, SWAT teams, three levels of policing (municipal, RCMP and Sherriff)  and all manner of politicos.

 

The parade is deteriorating. The same 'floats' and same people year after year make it very predictable.

 

I went to see my grandson in the band and was not disappointed. They did great even though it was a very hot day and they had marched for several hours before they got to our location.

 

Parades are definitely for kids. It was great to see so many of them out with their moms and dads, enjoying what for them was something wonderful and new. Makes me wish I was a kid again.  

A Four Day Job

 

After bidding against two of my friends in the business, I got this contract to paint the main floor of a very nice 'high end' townhouse.

 

There were two colours, one in the master suite, bathroom, and kitchen, and one in the main entry, den, hall, and liv/dining area. The change here was from a dark smoky green to a lighter Pea Green.

 

The vaulted ceilings and suspended beams over the stairwell called for some creative scaffolding.  

 

Here is the old guy painting above the plant shelf.

 

The new colour made everything bright, clean and open looking.

 

The kitchen especially looked very fresh with the new lighter colour.

 

As usual, everything is crowded into the middle of the room. It is a challenge remembering where everything goes later. We moved the heaviest china cabinet ever, on this job. When we put it back we removed all the glass shelving and all of the glass and brass doors. We should have done that to start with as we almost dropped it.

 

Finishing on time and on budget is a very satisfying feeling. My last two contracts have been a bit complicated and both of them were done within a few dollars of the contracted amount. Customer gets what they pay for and we get paid for what we do. Win/win.