Vancouver Again: What Now?

As promised, the store stood tall and proud, its windows reflecting a dull sky. I picked up a decent brand familiar to me, which happened to be on sale. A dollar saved is a dollar earned, is it not?

We walked and walked for miles and hours beneath an overcast Vancouver sky. I kept forgetting where we were and had to remind myself this was not Toronto where the buildings seemed dwarfed by the giant ones here. Tired, we trudged past Joe Fortes Restaurant, a landmark seafood restaurant and chop house, and a popular attraction with actors and people in the music business. It is said you never know whom you will bump into. Of course, one must make a reservation. Instead of waiting in line, a patron walks right in. Especially when new ships come into Vancouver Harbour, I heard this is a hopping place.

The hotel at last; I was ready to kick off my shoes and catch a snooze. By six or so, we ventured out to dinner across the courtyard to Café One in the other tower. Why hadn’t anyone suggested we bring sunglasses? I snapped awake from my lethargy at the sight of the foyer’s bright orange walls right and left. A seating area on one side encouraged relaxation and Wifi. On the opposite side, a bar and baby grand invited patrons to enjoy drinks and music but not open for business this early.

Most tables were in front of a wall of windows, which overlooked lush and soothing greenery. A sign suggested waiting to be seated. Were we with such and such tour? Yes. The wait staff person could not find the special and abbreviated menu for some time. Seated at a table for two I noted the crisp and flawless white tablecloths and sighed sinking deeper into my chair. The menu found, I ordered roasted chicken breast, which came with various scrumptious baby beets and sweet snap peas. The baby greens salad was not good. The restaurant mildly busy, service wasn’t bad.. I took our time with coffee and Mary with dessert.

Stuffed, we headed back to our room for a little reading and TV. Nothing interesting on so we prattled on as females will. Mary kept reading, then decided to try out the pool. No robes in the closet, she called the desk and a nice man delivered two robes on hangers within minutes. How is that for service at a large downtown hotel with 746 rooms and suites?

I tried out the high bed and chose the softest pillow. Why do they have so many? Though too many lights on, their distraction soon lost all significance as I melted into dreamland.

Vancouver Quick Facts:

• Population: 2.4 million
• A working not residential city
• Expo 1986 put Vancouver on the map
• Expected 15 million people; 22 million came
• Prince Charles and Princess Diana opened Expo
• Princess Diana fainted after a 3-hour tour of Expo
• A jump in immigration by 60,000 followed Expo from Hong Kong due to 1997 repatriation to China and the 1989 Tiananmen Square situation
• Pushed up real estate prices
• http://thelasource.com/en/2016/05/02/expo-86-the-bubble-that-never-burst/

~ * ~

Next on June 20th – Vancouver: A Bus Tour Anyone?

© 2018 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

Vancouver Again: Now What?

We’re in the South Tower (the other is North) so not sure where east or west is until the sun moves across and down later. We unpacked, checked email—heaven to have working internet again—and contacted home.

The sun broke through the clouds, sending ribbons of welcome heat. Confined on board ship four days with three landing days only, we strolled the neighborhood for the exercise and fresh air. I’m not used to towering buildings and kept forgetting where we were, although I had thoughts we were in Toronto.

I had forgotten my face cream at home. Why do I always forget something important? My poor parched wrinkles scrunched tight, screaming for nourishment. We passed a couple dollar stores. No suitable cream, but I picked up a couple inch-and-a-half diameter tins of nail polish remover pads. (Perfect for travelling.) Just used one a couple days ago—still good.)

I also pounced on an oversize sunglass case. It was a steal; I had to have it. I hate shopping but I don’t mind impromptu roaming through strange stores at times. Considering I had not purchased anything in Alaska except gifts for the family, fridge magnets, and some postcards, this is big spending for me.

While we waited at a red light to cross the street, Mary asked a young girl who had a ring in one nostril—a hippie-type, not a goth—about restaurants close by. She recommended Vera’s, a burger place. “Just up the block. . . better than MacDonald’s,” she said.

A guy next to her asked, “You want MacDonald’s?”

“Heck, no but thank you.”

We ordered at the cash register. The burgers were thick and juicy. The French fry servings were about the size of a handful, the young woman told us. Good thing Mary and I decided to share an order because they were more than we could eat after the filling hamburger. Had they been extra nice since we were visitors from Ontario and no one else was in the restaurant? They had no coffee, only milk, pop, and water. Before hitting the sidewalk, we inquired about a wine/liquor store. The young woman smiled so wide, I worried about her face. “Next door,” she said, pointing.

The store carried VQA bottles, beyond our price range. The first bottle I spotted was only $89.00. Yikes. We did find a couple shelves of reasonable prices. The two guys who unpacked and shelved other bottles stuck up a conversation. When asked if they had down-to-earth labels. I heard them roll their eyes as we hot-footed it out of there. We hit a Shoppers Drug Mart and a grocery store. All I wanted was a sample size jar of something practical for the short term and settled on Ponds Cold Cream.

I have made a short list of items (during this trip) I plan to keep in my suitcase forever: a pair of earrings, face cream, a shawl, nail polish remover tin and a corkscrew. I already have one I borrowed in China.

Following my $1.79 devil-may-care expenditure, Mary asked a passerby with white tape on his nose where the liquor store might be. You won’t believe this.

“Around the corner ahead,” he said. He appeared embarrassed about the tape and explained he lived each day to the fullest because of his upcoming surgery but did not explain what that entailed.

~* ~

Next on June 13^th: Vancouver Again. What’s Next?

© 2018 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

North to Alaska: Bet You Don’t Know These Quick Facts!

Wish we hadn’t missed the city tour bus to the Skagway Gold Rush Cemetery. A store clerk mentioned it too late and we were already bone tired. I don’t visit graveyards as a rule, but historical ones are intriguing. An interesting character popped up when I did a little research on my iPad later. Read about Jeff “Soapy” Smith here.

Read about the Slide Cemetery and the Pioneer Cemetery here.

Mary and I knew Mother’s Day would fall during our cruise but booked our holiday anyway. Like mothers everywhere, we deserved a special treat since we were away from home and family. The Lido Market, where most of our meals had been eaten buffet-style, ran short of lobster tails, the main event on the menu. Guests were asking for two and three tails at a time. Our turn came and only one tail was available. We’d have to wait. My dander up a touch, I grabbed Mary’s arm and we skedaddled in search of fine dining—the Rotterdam (again)—for our celebration dinner. After all, we had dolled up for festivity. Though there were other restaurants to choose from, we liked this one and knew where to find it.

Again asked if we’d accept sitting with others, we agreed. On my left, an Australian couple: she a teacher turned calligrapher and her husband, a pediatric physician, deaf in one ear since age five.

To Mary’s right, sat a 20-something single woman with limited food preference or on a special diet, who had pre-ordered a personal size veggie pizza. The couple next to her came from England, the husband originated from Australia. I did not talk to his wife because she sat too far away across the huge, round table. She was deep in conversation with a 50-ish woman and her father from the States. Grin. United Nations of sorts.

I ordered the Surf & Turf (a lobster tail and filet mignon). The waiter offered to cut the lobster out of the shell for all the females. O-h-h. Is this service or what? I splurged on a glass of divine Cabernet. I never eat dessert but had black coffee instead, which tasted scrumptious. Why was it worlds apart from the type served at Lido Market buffet? Were we still on the same ship? Unbelievable.

Filled to the brim with food and wonderful conversation following a long and leisurely dinner, we vetoed any activity other than shoes off, feet up, and thoughts of bed.

Earlier in the day before we glammed up

Bet You Didn’t Know: 

• 1916 Dr. William Skinner Cooper, founding father of ecology
• Also founding father of Glacier Bay
• 1925 Glacier Bay declared a national monument with help from President Calvin Coolidge
• World Heritage Site
• Second largest wilderness site in the world
• Majority of visitors arrive by cruise ships
• 7 tidewater glaciers found here
• Carbon Monoxide off the scale more than any other place
• Carbon dioxide makes seas acidic, bad in cold waters like here
• National Park Service: study climate change in our own lives
• Fastest glacier retreat (melting) since 1850 (a sign of global warming)
• Evaluation of warming atmosphere is a warming ocean
• 43 countries have scientific study about heating up, locked in heat, rising water
• Sea levels rising here
• Home to moose, wolves, black, brown, and Grizzly bears, orcas, humpback whales, otters, dolphins, and salmon to mention a few
• Example of John Hopkins Glacier: 1 mile wide by 12.5 miles long (a seal sanctuary)
• John Hopkins Glacier still advancing (not reducing)

I’ve gathered a ton of information but don’t want to bore you. The above are a few highlights.

Images Glacial Bay

What is the difference between an iceberg and a glacier?

An iceberg is what breaks off (calves) a glacier and usually sits 10% above water.

Glaciers are a combo of snow and ice and collected junk/debris, and entirely above water.

~ *~

Next on June 1^st – North to Alaska: Ketchikan Beckons

© 2018 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

North to Alaska: All Aboard

My heart dancing the Watusi, I took in nothing of my surrounding as we boarded the cruise ship, MS Volendam. We were already in the system as it was mandatory to complete an online registration no less than a week prior and up to 50 days before departure. Doing so also opened an onboard account to which all extras (drinks, purchases, internet etc.) excluded from the cruise price were billed to our (registered) credit card.

From the time we arrived at the port, continued through processing, and arrived in our stateroom, an hour and a half had passed. I’ve no recollection how we found our cabin. Our ocean-view room troubled us due to noisy people passing by and conversing on the deck outside the window. Mary closed the drapes as we thought they could look inside but as it turned out, they could not. Feeling exposed, we kept them closed throughout the cruise.

Mary’s bag arrived at 1:47 about 17 minutes after arriving in our room. I asked our stateroom attendant, Dan, “Where the heck is mine?”

“Maybe tomorrow,” Dan said, “if not today.” He was a reedy Pilipino in a signature Volendam jacket, mischief in his eyes, crooked teeth center stage. He had a bit of an accent but his English was excellent as was his partner’s, James.

We cut expenses where we could

We decided to explore and ended up on the lido deck for a snack. Upon our return, my luggage still had not arrived. We asked the young attendant outside our door what might be taking so long.

“Maybe they found liquor inside.”

What? The cruise line allowed one bottle of wine per passenger (only wine) with a warning of confiscation if more. Just my luck. I prepared for such a drama.

An announcement over the PA system suggested attendance to a Safety Meeting. A couple we met on the lido deck said we sign in with our room key. If our information isn’t registered at the meeting, they come to get you. Some suggestion. We moseyed to Station 8 Muster Station for the presentation shy of 4:00 p.m. Large groups gathered at various stations we could see all along the length of the ship. I worried about so many people on one side at once. The day was dull and dry but it was chilly and I wanted the meeting to finish.

People in large groups act like children. They act as if rules do not apply to them. Some kept talking during the demonstration and we couldn’t hear the woman speaker. “Be quiet!” The talkers were warned, not once but twice, before they zipped their lips.

We returned to our room afterward and I could not believe my bag had finally arrived. The lock had not been broken; I checked inside. Both bottles hid in the folds of clothes in their bubble wrap cocoons, dry and in one piece.

Around 5:00 o’clock, a gentle murmur underfoot—a light vibration no more than a whisper—signaled we were underway. Mary and I watched from inside the eighth-floor deck as the ship skimmed over the shimmering, glass-smooth water, soundless as a ghost ship. We eased toward the underside of the Lions Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean, barely disturbing the surface.

We sliced through the water barely disturbing the surface, shown bottom left of photo

~ * ~

Next on March 23^rd – North to Alaska: Chit-chatting Passengers

© 2018 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

One Night in Zhongshan

Image Courtesy of Sally Cronin

Through the window of our room on the 21^st floor, the view of the Pearl River was spectacular. Still in daylight, I spotted three cranes: two short, one in motion, and the third directly across from our full wall window. Construction is everywhere.

A lot of rooftops had water gardens with fish, a zigzag walkway over the water, a Pagoda in the center on another walkway and an old-style Chinese house with a fenced and bricked, L-shaped veranda affair at one side of the house. Couldn’t guess its use. Lots of fans and air conditions, another bricked patio, some with organized, potted gardens and others bare but swept clean. On the far right, I made out an old style boat on the Pearl River.

We were again joined by the French group during dinner. Afterwards, we learned The English Group Eight would no longer travel solo. Beginning the next morning and for the remaining days of our tour, we were to share the French bus and tour guide.

 Dinner:

• Sauces: ketchup, hot pepper, chili paste, soy sauce, sour cream, and chili sauce
• Spare ribs
• Sliced pork
• Egg pancake
• Pork with celery and carrots
• Sweet and sour pork
• Eggplant
• Bacon (boiled, ugh) with celery, red peppers and snow peas
• Rice with sliced green onions and egg whites
• Baby Bok Choy
• Apple strudel (in disguise)
• Fruit plate: sliced watermelon, cantaloupe, grape tomatoes

People gathered around in the lobby to check e-mail before calling it a day since the Internet was available there only. The huge and spectacular chandelier overhead made me somewhat nervous. 

A Starbucks Coffee Shop off the lobby opened to an outside patio. Room Service wine was 38 Yuan,  about $6.30 USD per glass. A bottle, however, cost 268 Yuan, approximately $44.65 USD. These ladies weren’t buying.

Our room had a glass-walled bathroom with a pull-down blind again. This setup was still a mystery. Why have glass if you need the blind? Why not a regular wall instead? Probably cheaper, too. Not one of our tour guides gave a straight answer, which only made the whole setup creepier.

Sue manually pulled down the shade for privacy as it had been left open. Later, sitting on our beds reading around 8:00 p.m., the whirl of a motor startled us and the shade rose. What? After playing with the button panel on the wall, success at last. Five minutes later, the shade rose again. Upon a second investigation, I noticed there were three buttons. If the bottom button meant down, the top one meant up, the middle one must mean hold. Yes. Problem solved. Fixed down again, no more musical blind.

This was only a one-night stay. We placed our bags in the hallway by 10:00 p.m,. in readiness for the next morning’s departure at 7:45 a.m. Why not bring our bags downstairs in the morning ourselves? Anyone confused yet?

~ * ~

Next on December 1: Zhongshan to Lollygagging in Zhuhai

© 2017 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

FYI: This is a re-blog of the best parts of my trip in 2014

~ * ~

I am currently on an unplanned sabbatical. I hope to return but when is the question. Thank you for your supportive reading, reblogging, and tweeting. I DO appreciate your kind and continued follows far beyond my inadequate words.

Beijing Part 11: Special Peking Duck Dinner

Image Courtesy of Sally Cronin

When the bus dropped us off, we stumbled to the restaurant down an alley and a weird sidewalk, up-heaved and unfinished, or maybe under construction. We entered a shopping mall and took the escalator to the second floor. The women wanted to look around and shop. We hadn’t been in a Chinese mall yet. Again, no time. I didn’t care about actual shopping, but I wanted to compare a mall in the east to what we knew at home. From our rushed escort, I’d say they are comparable.

                          Fancy carving of Peking Duck. Check out the wine glass on the table.

Our heads swiveled as we ascended, but Robert whisked the English 8 into the most upscale restaurant we’d been to so far. All the restaurants thus far wouldn’t be mistaken for anything but Chinese. Excepting the staff, we might have been anywhere in the world. Our table, tucked in a quiet corner with no other patrons around, put the idea into my head that we’d been bad. (small joke)

Asked for our drink preferences, glasses were blessed with a splash—my guess—an ounce of wine. (Proof positive: Don’t do this at home, kids. Today I ran a test. I measured an ounce of water and poured it into a similar glass. I was right. Sometimes I amaze me.)

Appetizers

• Thin beef slices
• Radish
• Salad (didn’t write what kind)
• Vegetables

                                                                    As expert as a surgeon

The opened bottle waited on the sideboard. All meals and tips were inclusive but not extra wine. At least when you buy a bottle of wine in a grocery store or liquor outlet, you can haggle over the price. You don’t ask the price of wine in a restaurant and then decide not to order. Right? What a group we are. No-one jumped to order another ounce of wine. Was it good? It wasn’t memorable.

The duck presented with a flourish was carved by an expert carver, every cut precise. We all tasted it but what a disappointment. We were embarrassed to leave so much uneaten. Okay, I’ll tell you why: it was dry and tough. My apologies to the chef. A buildup for nothing.

• Rice
• Beef and onion + red and green peppers for color
• Sweet and Sour chicken (familiar, almost like home)
• French fries and shrimp (yes, together)
• Chinese cucumbers (the teeny tiny ones)
• Chicken and tomatoes
• Soup (a mystery kind)
• Pulled duck meat and onions
• Something like a tortilla for the duck meat

 

Wouldn’t you know, the one night we had an early evening, we ended up in a traffic jam but not for long. My feet were killing me but felt better than the previous day. These new shoes for which I paid mega bucks were comfortable but my feet perspired like fish in a steamer.

I needed bandages for the blisters. Couldn’t find the ones I KNOW I packed. Lucky for me we had a drugstore next to the small variety store on one side of the hotel. What an experience. Neither the druggist nor the cashier spoke English. I shook my head a lot and the druggist showed me a roll of gauze suitable for a bullet wound to the chest. Pantomime, hand signals and short of removing my shoes, we finally found regular bandages. Bows and wide smiles followed.

On my return to the hotel, I slipped into the variety store next door and for $3.00 U.S. bought a large can of Chinese beer–you know, to celebrate the bandages and yes, it hit the spot.

                                  CCTV station in the background. Looks like a pair of pants.

 

Some Quick FACTS about WORK:

• Average salary $1,000 per month in major cities / less in smaller ones
• White collar workers $1,700 per month
• Working for government, same salary but allows discounts for detergents, soap, condos,
• Working for government has good healthcare and other benefits even if salary low
• Late to work once, maybe twice, 3^rd time you’re fired
• Unemployment rate 4 – 5%
• 70% of companies are privately owned
• Big imbalance between the rich and poor
• Lots of floating population from rural areas and outside the city try to move to Beijing
• Both parents must work
• Grandparents live close by and look after child while parents at work

Family:

NO matter how many young children we came across—not hordes—not once did any one of them flip out, scream, cry, cause any kind of fuss. How does that work here? As well, lots of grandfathers and young fathers interact with the young child. By far, most of the children have been boys.

• Babysitter for newborn good paying / competitive job = $1,500 / month
• Rather hire grandma/grandparents who live close to help with childcare
• Maternity leave is 6 months with pay
• Second child penalty 60,000 Yuan ($10,000)
• Twins or triplets are considered one pregnancy and not penalized

~*~

Next on March 31, Luoyang Part 1: Domestic Flight

© 2017 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles

FYI: This is a re-blog of the best parts of my trip in 2014.

Out and About in St. John’s

The previous night we spent at Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, built on the site of Fort William and the most luxurious of the trip. Our first night had been spent at Glynmill Inn, a much older but quaint establishment. A handful of magnificent east coast art decorated the walls in our room, even in the bathroom. The bellman who delivered our bags told my sister she better take care. He guessed her bag at capacity weight, if not already over.

It’s our second last day and the morning greeted us with angry, driving rain. Boarding the bus, we were introduced to our new driver, Pete, who informed us he’s waiting to get his license to drive this tour bus. What a joker. Shawn had left for Gander the night before to return our original bus.

Peter used to work in a paper-mill until five years ago when it shut down. He started our dreary day with this joke:

Sam went to heaven and was startled by all the clocks on the walls. Some moved slowly and some not at all. That’s St. Theresa’s clock; she never told a lie. That’s Abraham Lincolns…

Hey, where’s Stephen Harper’s clock? It’s in God’s office—used as a ceiling fan.

Newman and Company

• English Winery
• 1669 ships travelled to Portugal to pick up wine in barrels, returned to refine
• Attacked by pirates, escaped
• Escaped during storm
• Made way to St. John’s. Could not return to England
• Excavated caves 20 feet in solid rock to store wine
• In spring, loaded on ship
• When began to bottle, found wine superior
• 1670 to late 1880 went to Portugal, returned with wine, stored in caves several years
• Returned again to Portugal
• During WWII, munitions stored in caves
• Wine caves sealed now
• Newman Wine Vaults

This is Mile “O” of the Trans-Canada_Highway, where Canada begins!

 

 I ran out in the pouring rain with a few other adventurous souls to take pictures of this mustard yellow building: Quidi Vidi Brewery. We were interesting in going inside, but it was closed. It would have been a treat to sample some of their famous brew. Not worth getting soaked to the skin but there you have it. I didn’t enjoy this day’s tour in the pelting rain. Lots of info given, but it came too fast and the photos were messy taken from the moving bus.

Terry Fox Monument

• Moved to current location because people had trouble finding it
• This is where he dipped his artificial foot into the Atlantic before he started

St. John’s Quick Facts:

• War Memorial Day in Newfoundland is July 1
• Newfound dogs are mascots for War Memorial Days
• The other Memorial Day is November 11^th
• Oldest wooden structure in St. Johns is Mallard Cottage, a restaurant attached to it
• Penitentiary built 1859
• 55,000 American troops stationed at Fort Pepperrell from WWII until the 1960s
• Chimney Smoke Pots: If you see 6 – 8 on a roof, each leads to 6 – 8 open fireplaces

* * *

Next on October 14^th – St. John’s, a University Town

© 2016 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles. All Rights Reserved.

For more related posts, click on Newfoundland / Labrador tab at the top of the page

Back to Newfoundland

The water on our return, wasn’t as glass smooth as the day before. It simmered and bubbled like a pot of soup left on the stove on medium instead of low. Progress wasn’t as choppy as I expected though. We chose a central location on the ferry, but the engine vibration penetrated through the floor, into my feet and to the top of my head. Not an experience I wanted to endure, we moved to the same area as the previous day and sat at the same streaked windows. The rounded metal frames and nails  / screws fastening it in place were corroded and unappealing, but efficient. The St. Lawrence Seaway, as all bodies of water, is not kind to boats on the water nor houses within spitting distance. Wood doesn’t have the strength or guts to stand up to the water’s abuse, which creeps into metal and stone as well as skin and bones like a live thing reminding you it has been here since the beginning of time and will continue after you are gone.

Back in Newfoundland again, our next stop: Broom Point where three Mudge brothers, their wives, and children fished from 1941 to 1975.

Shaun, our driver, backed and backed into the Point forever. He had no alternative as there was no place to turn that huge bus around for our return. The road narrowed. As I watched, a deep drop over the edge drifted into view. I grabbed Mary and yanked her over to the window. Shaun made a correction. Gears grated. I held my breath. Mary and I stared at each other our last prayer on our lips. What a way to find out we had an excellent driver!

Barricades blocked vehicular travel from proceeding further. We walked a long way to the Point around puddles and wet gravel road. An ancient outhouse grinned as we passed. The wicked wind off the water, should have toppled it, if not this day, then long ago. I wish I’d taken a picture. I imagined bugs, spiders, and webs. Mary and another woman decided they couldn’t wait. No, I didn’t ask my sister how it was inside.

Seagulls screamed and the wind blew tantrums. Francis raised his voice and described how these traps work. Lobsters get in fine. Once inside, they end up in one of several narrow compartments and can’t figure out how to get out.

He had brought his iPad (the big one) and offered to take a group picture. Not satisfied with one, he took several and offered to email the best one to each of us, no charge.

All pictured out and tired of the punishing wind, we were again on our way. An Irving gas station stop offered snacks and use of the facilities. Everything from hot pizza, blocks of cheese, candy, knives, tools, hammers, a multitude of snacks, and a cooler full of beer were available among too many products to mention.

For a fee, we could have purchased tickets for an evening’s entertainment at the hotel bar, but we opted not to go. We decided on a movie and cracked open a bottle of wine. Mary ordered a pizza and salad at the front desk. The taste was a little different from the kind in Ontario but it did the job. We polished off the bottle, I crawled into bed, but Mary continued reading.

Three things I might mention about the room. The beds were lovely. There was no chain on the door, though it had a deadlock. The bathroom sported a tiny facet on a standard sink, the spout almost too short to be useful.

Giggle for today

My wife is such a grand cook. I bet she could fry a fart and make gravy.

* * *

© 2015 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles. All Rights Reserved.

For more related posts, click on Newfoundland / Labrador tab at the top of the page

Next on March 11^th – Rosehips and the Good Ship

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year;

Pockets full of money and a belly full or beer…or wine if you prefer.  

Can it be five days till Christmas already? I popped in to wish my special friends in Blog World a Merry Christmas, a fabulous holiday season, and a Hap-hap-happy New Year. Here’s an Oldie but Goldie for a sing-a-long to put you in the spirit of the season if you need a nudge. I do. We have no snow and it’s warmer than usual for December.

Credit:   ChristmasTimeTV

My granddaughter dressed my tree this year, and even put the lights on—her first time at not yet twelve—because I’ve had tendonitis for the past six months and needed help. She took it a little easy on the ornaments, but the results are a colossal success and I’m grateful she was willing. This means we’ll have less to take down before my trip to Vancouver three days after Christmas. (Can’t let the cats have too much fun while I’m away or maybe cut themselves on broken bulbs, though they’ve been good as long as I took away the tree skirt).

Do you know anyone born on New Year’s Eve? This particular sister I’ll be visiting has missed birthday presents for 60 years.

Credit:  Sarah Robinson

I had no idea my cat Dickens, adopted last January, had FIV and gingivitis. I found out about his health conditions when I took him to the vet shortly after adoption. He’s lost so much weight in the past few days, I took him to the vet two days ago. He’s lost more teeth and his gums have been a bloody mess.  He’s on pain killers and antibiotics now and already his coat looks less mangy today. How I hate forcing kitties to give them medication. On the other hand, it’s a bonus not to bleed to death myself while fighting with them. The pain meds are thick enough to smear on a paw, but the antibiotics are thin as water and he’s not forgiving.

Dickens is the tan one; Lady G. is brindle.

November had me chained to my desk. I’d participated in NaNoWriMo though I hadn’t registered. At the last moment, a friend challenged me and unprepared, I dove in, thinking no way would I complete the task ahead. Had it not been for Karen, I would have given up by day ten—my first brain drain–but she, the competitive type, kept me at it because no way was I pooping out first. Now I have a book of short stories to edit in the New Year and maybe, maybe, I’ll complete that circle too. I tell you to stay accountable. November paid off much better than last summer had workwise.

If I had not had your kind and generous support all year, I have no idea how I might have moved forward towards my long-time goal: indie publication. Thank you. Thank you for the jab in the ribs whether you had any idea or not. I could not have done anything without you, my supportive community, and I plan to return the favor again soon in 2016. I have been mostly absent since the summer, but it has been worth it. I appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness, each and everyone of you.

It’s been an unusual, but exciting year for me. Thank YOU.  Thank you. I had no idea what a wonderful world I’d entered when I began blogging four+ years ago. I am close to 500^th posts. Close, but still a few to go.

 

Credit: gabychest

Or maybe you’d prefer a more honkytonk version:

Credit:  TheChiefEmperor

Happy New Year!

Hip-hip-hooray 2016

Farther Along the Viking Trail

A warning light flashed on the bus dashboard. We stopped at an Irving Station (gas /variety store / liquor store) for a break and Shaun, our driver, had the problem checked out. Almost anything is available at some of the larger gas stations. It was a treat to move around and flex stiff joints and muscles inside the store. Some of our group grabbed coffee and snacks. Others used the facilities.

We’d met Margaret and her husband, Jack, when we first arrived at the airport. She came towards me with a brown paper bag wrapped around a bottle. “Oh. I see,” I said.

“Water,” she said. I thought she was fooling around.

Later, she called out and caught up with us while we were boarding the bus.

“It’s not water,” she said. “I didn’t know. He said it was water and I believed him.

“Ha. I knew that!” She wasn’t kidding.

I laughed. I know a wine bottle when I see one.  She blushed.

We did a lot of driving today: long stretches of empty highway, lots of roadside trees and more drizzle. I felt we were going in circles.

Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site. The land has risen two meters (rebounding of the land) where the Vikings (now called Norsemen) landed. Temperature 1,000 years ago was five degrees warmer. The scenery is spell-binding. We didn’t get off the bus here. The following video gives you an overview of this wonder.

Credit:  The Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

 Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism

 

More about Moose:

• 1904 Four moose released from New Brunswick (not native to Newfoundland)
• This is the heaviest concentration of moose in the world
• Moose love balsam, birch and fir
• Haven for 5,000 moose in Gros Morne National Park
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dc42JAHNPw (check this out)
• Full grown moose ( about 12-1,400 pounds) can eat 50 – 60 pounds of young trees per day
• One area fenced off at Gros Morne to protect the trees / outside of fence, trees naked
• 500 moose allowed to be removed / hunted: a controlled hunt
• Woodland caribou are native to this area
• Native predators are insects brought in by international shipping
• John’s and 100 km. zone = 23 accidents in August 2015 even before month ended

On the lighter side:

In Saskatoon, a boxcar came loose and a guy brought home a wheel barrel full of salt cod, but he didn’t know what to do with it. It was hard, you see. So, he shingled a shed roof. It leaked a little, but lasted about two years.

Cod Quick Facts:

• Cod is king
• Cod Fishery starting to renew after more than 20 years
• 3-week recreational fishing allowed now (fish coming back)
• Sent salt cod to the Prairies in the 1930s
• Used to ship salt cod with liquor run (Someone released the wrong car. only whiskey; no cod)

No credit required. Found at Pixabay.com

Newfoundland Quick Facts:

• NFL lumber can be shipped to the US
• Most of the lumber cut here, therefore tariffs less than in British Columbia
• Considered private
• Logging mill keeps nine days supply
• Burn the sawdust to provide electricity
• Dairy farming big business
• Used to be sheep but coyotes can decimate them
• Put a donkey or a llama with the sheep and coyotes don’t come near

The Lighter Side:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribou_(train)

A conductor told a pregnant woman on the Newfie Bullet she shouldn’t have got on due to her condition. She told him when she got on the train she wasn’t pregnant.

* * *

Tentatively on November 6^th – Continuing along the Viking Trail

© 2015 Tess @ How the Cookie Crumbles. All Rights Reserved.

For more related posts, click on Newfoundland / Labrador tab at the top of the page

*************************************************************************************************************

I have not registered for NaNo, but will be occupied for the next while. Will post as I am able.