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Anna

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Sea Island

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Thursday morning I carefully rounded up all my possessions. I tidied my hotel room up as much as I could. I was ready. I was early for the flight but wanted to go there to be on the safe side. The front desk person called me a cab. I was away.

Richmond, where I had stayed, is a city on Lulu Island. The Vancouver Airport is located on Sea Island, across the Middle Arm of the Fraser River from Richmond. It was a short cab drive. 

I checked in at the South Terminal. I was now free to roam the neighbourhood for a few hours. I thought I would start by going to the outdoor observation platform. On the platform, a man had set up a video camera and was filming every airplane arriving and departing, giving a constant dialogue as he worked. From his talking, I gathered he was  filming for a group of people who were airplane enthusiasts. 

He and his equipment took up a lot of space and his voice was distracting, so I left. I walked along beside a fence which was topped by barbed wire. Not terribly interesting. I decided to head away from the terminal area and explore side streets. I made a plan to walk for one half of my waiting time, then turn back and return.

I had bicycled all over Sea Island for years when I lived just across the Middle Arm in Richmond. Sea Island is flat and almost entirely taken up by the Vancouver International Airport. The South Terminal is on the south shore of the island, and is used by smaller planes. There is a seaplane dock close by.

The side streets of the area around the South Terminal are delightful. Old  cement, no curbstones, bordered by drainage ditches and flourishing, low growing vegetation, including the ubiquitous trailing blackberry.

I admired old wooden hangers (plane storage sheds) and walked to the Middle Arm river bank to see the float plane dock.  I watched a float plane fly in from the ocean, gracefully descending onto the river like a pretty bird.

I checked my phone. Time to head back. I returned to the South Terminal observation platform. The video maker was gone. I spent a few moments watching the planes, then went inside to await the return of my cat, who had received medical treatment in Vancouver. 

The PetstoVets people carried in her crate. She was sound asleep hiding under the crate liner. I checked her in and waited till boarding time. We flew back to our home in the mountains. Goodbye riverbank. Goodbye Sand Heads. Goodbye White Rock beach. My getaway was over and gone.

 

Sea Island Walk

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Ditch vegetation
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a street near the South Terminal
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Sea Island Sidewalk
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trailing blackberry flower
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vintage airplane hanger
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looking west towards the ocean
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seaplane wharf
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sea plane hanger

Sand Heads

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On Wednesday I chose to remain in Richmond. Steveston was my destination. Once packed with fish canneries, Steveston is now a historic site. There are walkways and old buildings, and best of all a big park at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. 

The sun was shining. All looked good. But first I hit the mall. I was looking for a little packsack. Lured in by the Apple sign, I went in to ask about adding memory to my iMac. A friendly rep checked and said yes it was possible to manually add memory myself, but I would have to buy it elsewhere. 

I asked about iPads, and looked and tested both iPad Pro and iPad Air. I said I would return later. Oh what dreamy machines. So much storage. So thin, so big a screen for an iPad.. 

I bought a nice little backpack at Lululemon, stuffed my purse in, and headed for the bus stop. I thought I knew the Steveston buses well from my winter in Steveston fifty years ago, but I made an error. I asked the driver of the 301 if he were going to Steveston and he said yes. 

But hey, wait! He was turning east at Steveston Highway, and heading in the opposite direction. I spoke to the driver who said this was Steveston Highway. My mistake. I ought to have been more clear and said Steveston village or something. Richmond is bigger busier place now and not every driver knows everything about everywhere. 

I got off at the next stop, which was at a Buddhist temple. I crossed Steveston Highway and waited for a bus going the other way. I waited quite awhile and felt it was God’s will that I was sitting across from the Buddhist temple, and should cultivate peace in my mind and life. 

When a bus came to take me back, I was told it would probably be faster to go back to downtown Richmond and get the right one from there. So I did. All the way back to Brighouse, the centre of new Richmond. This time I caught the right bus, and escaped new Richmond and finally got to older Richmond.

As a heritage area, the Steveston is mercifully free of towers and shopping malls. I walked paste old canaries, heading for the area once known as Sand Heads, now called Garry Point. Once my young daughter and I roamed the sand dunes of a wild natural area here. Now there is semi-natural park area, complete with park benches and lookout sites. 

But first I stopped at a little place at the edge of the park for fish and chips, which I never eat and can’t stand, but this time… I ordered some and sat and ate in the fresh air by the sunny river/ocean. It was my vacation after all. A delicious meal. And then…

There was a brisk west wind, and the air was fresh and clean. Some people were flying kites. I got to a spot where the current of the river was churning wildly. I was right at the end of the point, where the river met the ocean. I stood and stared for quite awhile. A magic place.

And following my instinct, I trudged along north a bit from the park and found another magic spot and sat out on a log with the blackbirds singing and flying around me. Here I stayed and let the sun and wind and blackbirds sing around me until the time came when I really did have to leave.

I don’t know if I will ever return, and I hope I never forget the healing power of the sun, wind, ocean, and blackbird music in that place. That was my marvellous Wednesday.

On the way home I did return to the Apple Store, but all the reps were busy so I left, grateful to have escaped the temptation to spend money I don’t have on something I don’t need. Tomorrow I would be going home.  

Day at Sand Heads

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Richmond Buddhist Temple

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the beach

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Getting to the ocean was imperative. Day two was devoted to White Rock, a huge beach near the US border south of  Vancouver. I had once lived in White Rock and miss it oh so much. 

From Richmond to White Rock meant a long bus ride. But first I had to get to the Bridgeport Skytrain terminal. White Rock buses make only one stop in Richmond, and that was no where near my hotel. 

I caught a bus to the nearest Skytrain station. The driver let me on without paying because I told him I was going to buy a day pass at the station. Thanks! At the Brighouse Station I struggled with the machine, and had to go in search of help. I followed someone through the toll gate and went upstairs to the train platform and spotted a Skytrain worker.

She came down with me to the machine and we went through the simple instructions together. I had missed some little thing on the procedure. The machine gave me a little plasticky card which, when scanned,  let me  through the toll gate. 

Busy place, the Skytrain station. People not exactly pushing, but moving into the cars very decisively when the outgoing people exited. Bridgeport was a few stops north. Lovely view from the train. Short ride. 

I disembarked, got downstairs and hunted for the 351 bus stop. Surprise! Double decker buses to White Rock now. I climbed upstairs. Sadly it was raining and I couldn’t see too well out the window. Coastal rain is heavy. 

Such a familiar ride. The bus gets on the freeway, then pulls off just before the Vincent Massey tunnel which goes under the South Arm of the Fraser River.  Post rush hour so there  no traffic back up at the tunnel. 

I managed to get off at the right spot and had trouble finding the bank I needed to visit because it had moved. My old branch. It was only a block away from the old location. I turned in my safety deposit keys and took out the paperwork. It had to be done in person. Not easy when you live 500 km away. But I did it. 

And then, despite a slight lessening of the rain, I felt chilly and very unenthusiastic. I considered leaving, but thought I would just walk a little… I headed towards the beach, zigzagging along the  streets, not sure exactly what I was looking for. A bus stop to go back to Richmond, or a bus stop to go down to the beach… 

I walked past an Anglican Church with a little bookcase outside, and chose a Georgette Heyer novel to read on the way back. I don’t think I was supposed to pay for it. Sorry if I didn’t notice. 

And then as I was getting colder and tired-er and wishing I could stop somewhere, I caught a view of the ocean and got re-inspired. I saw what looked like– and it was– a little staircase. Irresistible. Down I went, and eventually got to the beach. 

White Rock beach is bounded by a train track, along which big freight trains roll. There is now a paved walkway along the beach, fenced off from the tracks, with very few crossing places. I decided to walk west to the place where the paved part ends.

Still a bit of rain. I crossed the tracks and found a place to sit. My jacket was long enough to sit on the damp pebbles. After a bit, the clouds thinned  and the drizzle stopped.  I walked out on the sand. 

I kept walking out farther and farther. There was no one on the beach but me. I had to jump over little streams of water. Such fun! I kept an eye on the direction of these little streams so I wouldn’t get caught having to wade back when the tide turned. 

There was a brisk wind. The clouds thinned.  The waves made a wonderful rushy splashy sound as they washed in. Seagulls feasted on shellfish, and whirled and dove through the air calling to each other. Just the birds and I and the ocean.

The time came when I noticed the direction of the little streams had changed. I had to go back. Thankfully I had got my magic time with the ocean and felt renewed.

It got considerably warmer and I got tired walking up the hill carrying my jacket. I waited for the small local bus which took me to the 351 stop. A few others were waiting so I was careful to board the White Rock way– in polite line-up.

Rush hour on public transit was not quite so exciting as earlier in the day. I did not have the energy to climb to the upstairs view. I had to stand on the Skytrain. A man gave his seat to me on the bus back to the hotel. Thanks! 

 

bus to White Rock

bus to White Rock

Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church

the King George Highway

the King George Highway

Low Tide

Low Tide

Downhill easy walk

Downhill easy walk

Seagull at Rest

Seagull at Rest

My Getaway

Minoru Park, Richmond

Minoru Park, Richmond
Minoru Park, Richmond

Last month I took my cat to Vancouver for radiation therapy. It was a rushed, impulsive affair. Some the details are in my cat blog… My plan was to keep her with me in the cabin, but the space  under the seat was so small I opted to put her in cargo. Despite my not needing to accompany her, I couldn’t bear to not be as close to her as possible for the journey. So we hopped the plane and zipped off to the South Terminal of the Vancouver Airport.

Rozsa then was borne off by  the Petstovets couriers. incredibly friendly, calm people, and I was left to get to my hotel. I had seen the ocean out the airplane window, and had felt such a thrill I gasped out loud. A freighter was down there– a toy in a giant bathtub. When I  landed, the burst of moist coastal air in my face and into my lungs made me want to just breathe and breathe and breathe…

Sea Island, home of the Vancouver Airport, is well known to me from years of living just across the Middle Arm of the Fraser River from it. I had bicycled over every public inch. I chose to walk to downtown Richmond, towing my suitcase along behind me. I stopped often at park benches along the river bank.

It was more difficult, and hotter, along the sidewalk over the Dinsmore Bridge. My second bag kept falling off. A lady walking by kept turning around to look at me as I sat on a curb reorganizing my load. The city of Richmond, on Lulu Island, is becoming extremely developed. There were park benches along the rest of the way for me.

I arrived at the hotel, dumped my bags off, and headed out the back door exit. Across the lane was Minoru Park. Despite some maintence draining of the lake and waterways, I enjoyed  my walk. I carried on past the park, just walking and walking, vaguely heading toward a shopping centre.

I passed masses of construction work. Towers going up, jammed up against each other. The New Richmond, built on Lulu lsland, an island of silt at about sea level. I then walked though many streets of older 3 floor apartment buildings which may have been condos.

At long last I found the shopping centre. I shopped at T & T for supper of baked tofu and noodles. I wandered back to the hotel. Day One done. 

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willow tree on the South Arm
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my hotel is the small building
Minoru Park
peaceful Minoru Park
Richmond development
New Richmond
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my hotel window view
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photo borders

My shared hosting account is paid for another year, and my SSL certificates seem to be in order. Now my big concern here is how to make  black borders around my photos. I thought I had achieved this effect, but it seems no longer to be working. 

So far I have been stumped. CSS commands haven’t worked, nor have html commands. Nor has a lot of tinkering with the Themify Builder. I never studied how to use the Themify Builder. I found it overwhelming.

With Photoshop, I managed to create a border after a long trial and error method involving layers. Never again, thank you. 

So I am returning to this post later, now that I have typed the preamble. And I will persevere till I get it done. 

 

 

 

Ta da! It has taken awhile but I ended up returning to Photoshop. I found an easier set of 0nline instructions by Brendan Williams.

So let’s test it out with a photo I just took on my phone. It has just started raining, a lot of snow has melted, and I foresee a lot of work ahead in the yard, which looks pretty rough.

Oh no. The photo appeared as some horrid little blurry mess. What happened? I shall insert it in an image block… 

I returned to Themify Image Maker and tinkered, trying this, that and the other thing until I satisfied myself. Now I have to get outside for awhile. It has been raining off and on but not hard. Then home for lunch. Then maybe some music practising. Certainly no more computer work. 

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Stellar February

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A new month! Bills to pay! Decisions about hosting plan to make! January retreat is finished! Today I will be putting only three more drops of eye medicine into the right eye and then it is only the left eye to treat, with 5 drops a day. 

This morning was warm enough that Rozsa the cat wanted out and stayed out for quite awhile. I hung a little wash out till I heard raindrops on the roof and decided to bring it in. Green grass everywhere, And stellar jays in the garden and cherry tree. Very noisy, very busy.

I decided I liked a pre-breakfast meditation. I pulled out Divine Intimacy and found the page for Septuagesima week Thursday. This year I am only reading the prayer part of the meditation. Not the instructional, doctrinal parts. The prayer parts are often full of quotes.

Today’s choice for me was by St. John Eudes: “O my God … draw me to you.” I will to keep it in mind throughout the day. I wrote it in a little book which I keep on the kitchen table so I can consult it when I forget… 

It was so nice waking up and looking out the bedroom window and seeing clearly. I spotted the first stellar jays in my neighbours’ yard. I will see if any of my photos are usable. The jays were very active and only one briefly  posed for me.  

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Recovery

2024? Well, so far, so good. 

On January 1 I began what I call a “retreat”. I knew I was going to have to take it easy a bit after eye surgery. No heavy lifting… So I decided I would change my routine and do my spiritual reading and meditation in the morning while I remastered simple Adobe Acrobat making pdf’s of my meditation subject of the day.

In my iBooks app I located Daily Light from the Celtic Saints (Ray Simpson) and away I went. I chose a quote from St. Paul for day one of my personal retreat:

this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15

Ray Simpson used a different source than I so my actual phrase was simpler than the above. Regardless, the thought expressed has defined my year so far. And so far, so good. 

On January 2 I underwent cataract surgery for my right eye. When I got home, I pulled the bandage off the eye, cautiously washed the muck away, and headed outdoors. 

A Saint Paul moment. I saw as I had never seen before. Through my right eye I could see the trees of the mountains so clearly I could count them. Details, beautiful details. Evergreen needles, lichen patterns on the rocks, peoples’ faces. I looked into eyes as I conversed with neighbours. 

And on January 16, I underwent cataract surgery for my left eye, which was extremely short-sighted. Perspective! The ability to focus on my reading. Sight reading music in particular. And perspective in driving. No more seeing multiple headlights racing towards me in the left lane.

Not all perfection. I use a flashlight at night when adjusting baseboard heaters, and have learned to hold my camera at half arm’s length to see the focus in the screen. My vision may improve further as time progresses. And it may not. 

I have lots of plans for Lent. After all it is already Septuagesima week. I am trying to reduce computer time. A war with myself that am making little headway as yet. How I admire Saint Paul.  

 

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The Day Before the day before Christmas

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This week to me has that sparkly, bubbly feeling that I sense around mountain streams. Without pausing to look for reasons, I dive into the sunny-ness of the first unfoggy morning for quite some time. 

No one likes global warming and no one wants a dry summer, yet a break from snow shovelling is welcome. And a lifting of the fog and cloud cover that has hung about here for days is cause for some celebration too. 

Weather permitting, Christmas morning will have me driving to a church service where not too big a turnout is expected. An evening service the night before will attract the multitude. I do not mind if there is no music and if we have to sit scrunched together in the little chapel area behind the main altar. 

I haven’t exactly started, but I know that in the new year I shall do something about the clutter I have been amassing for years… On January 2 I have the first of my cataract operations, and two weeks later the second. I anticipate a bit of down time, avoiding strenuous activity like wood chopping. I shall sort papers and clothes and kitchenware and odds and ends which I can box up for removing when I am healed. 

It will be a massive job. I am inspired. Thanks be to God, I think I can let go of a lot. 

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Addenda: On Christmas morning, I chose to lie down for a moment before leaving for the drive to church. I had been awake most of the night. To my horror, I had fallen asleep for half an hour. Arriving unfashionbably late, I  was nodded in by the celebrant. Just in time to recite the general confession.

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