Over the Blue Bridge

Om Monday I was with Chris driving out to his school while Elaine and Maryanne were shopping.  He noticed that the Johnson Street Bridge was raising so turned over that way.  We waited while the bridges were raised to allow a sailing ship with tall mast pass underneath.  Then when the road bridge was lowered we drove across it.   

Road bridge and rail bridge (on right) both raised

Road bridge lowered and rail bridge still raised. 

The Johnson Street Bridge, also known as the Blue Bridge, is the source of some controversy in Victoria.  It is 86 years old, built in 1924, and would take a substantial amount of money to refurbish it to ensure it continues to be safe.  The option to borrow money for a new bridge and demolish the Blue Bridge had considerable opposition.  There will likely be a referendum in the fall.      

Then in Wednesdays newspaper we saw a news report that on Tuesday the Blue Bridge had stuck in the raised position due to a blown fuse.  This caused some traffic tie ups for a  while.  Of course this stirred up more debate about the future fate of the Blue Bridge.   

Visiting Cousin Pat

On Tuesday we traveled up to Comox to visit my Mom's cousin Pat and her family.   She is a very lively 87 year old and was very excited to have us come to visit.   

 
She still lives on the same ocean-front property she and her husband bought 50 years ago.   There are several residences and cottages on the property where she lives with her daughter, son-in-law and other family. 

This is the view from the living room windows on one side facing the ocean.  There were high winds, rain and large waves on the ocean.  

This is the view from the deck on one side of the living room.  

The large house is six-sided with decks all around and is her daughter Marilyn and son-in-law Bill's home (built by Bill.)   Pat's son Cy and wife Terry also came for supper, and some grandchildren, and a very cute 6 month old great grandchild.   They are all a great family and very friendly.  We had a wonderful visit and they made a large supper for us.  Pat had a lot of stories and is very amusing.  If anyone else is able to go visit her it is well worth the trip.   

Elaine and I had not been out of the Victoria area before so we took the scenic route up along the coast.  Chris was driving and Elaine and I could just watch the scenery.   On the way up we stopped for lunch at  Qualicum Bay and then continued up to Comox by about 2 PM.    In the evening Chris took the main highway home and made good time to get back that way.  It was long day but we had a great time.

Stay tuned for more reports from Victoria ... 

Good Times in Victoria

At Willows Beach

View from Willows Beach to Oak Bay Marina

Self portrait sitting in the sun  in Chris and Mary's backyard

We arrived in Victoria Saturday morning and had a good trip.  It was  a beautiful sunny day.  That afternoon we spent some time at Willows Beach which is just a few minutes from Chris and Mary's place. In the pictures at the beach the mountains seen in the background are in Washington state.  I was quite warm in the sun but with the breeze at the ocean we still needed jackets. 

On Sunday we were at church.  Then we had supper and visited for the evening with Vic and Barb. Actually Mary was with Ky watching the Oscars while we were there. We got to see Ky's place when we dropped Mary off.  Later we picked Mary up again on the way home. 

Today Mary and Elaine will do some walking and shopping, while Chris takes me up to his school and some site seeing along the way.  Then Tuesday is the day for our trip up to Comox   to see Mom's cousin Pat.  We plan to take the scenic route to see the coastline on the way up there.

More reports to follow ...

    

Getting Ready to Go

We are packing today for the trip to Victoria to visit Maryanne and Chris.  We leave here tomorrow morning at 6:55 AM so we will have to be up early.  We will be there until next Saturday morning. 

We now have the oxygen cylinders I need to take along for the trip on the airplane.  Also today the oxygen company in Victoria is delivering a  big liquid oxygen tank and a portable to use while I am there as well as two cylinders for the trip home.   We also got a special shipping case (steel reinforced and foam padded) to take along my ventilator to use at night. That weighs 46 lb with the ventilator and case which is within the limit for checked baggage.    And I have a large suitcase just for my portable suction machine and all the hoses, tubing and accessories I need for the ventilator and oxygen.  Then  of course Elaine and I need a suitcase each for clothes.   So we are not exactly traveling light.   

While we are there on Tuesday we have a trip planned up to Comox to visit my Mom's cousin Pat who is a very lively lady in her late 80s.   When  we talked to her she was very excited about us coming.   The week will likely go by quickly and I will try to post some pictures and reports from there.

Better get back to packing .....   

Three Years Breathing Easier

On February 24, 2007 I was in hospital in critical condition with respiratory failure and then on February 28, three years ago today,  I had my tracheostomy to help me breathe easier.    I posted updates  one year and two years  after this and other reports on my health.     Now I have had a trach and been using my ventilator at night for three years.   And my respiratory condition is stable.  In fact in the last year I have reduced in half the amount of extra oxygen I use.    So to mark this third anniversary I want to thank everyone once again for their prayers and thank God for his goodness.

Golden Celebration

We just finished watching Canada win the Olympic mens hockey gold medal.  You can see our "mascots" the monkey and the duck cheering in front of the TV where they have been through most of the Olympics.   The monkey has a team Canada sweater and both have Olympic mittens. 

Canada won 3-2 over a strong USA team.  It was an exciting overtime win after tense moments with the USA team tying up the game with 24 seconds left in the 3rd period.  It is soon time to get back to "normal" as we have been spending a lot of time watching Olympics.  

Chocolate Lab

One time someone was telling that he had a "chocolate lab" and I immediately thought he had a laboratory for making chocolate. Imagine my disappointment when I found out his chocolate lab was just a brown dog. LynnieC said she thought of a lab for making chocolate the same as I did. So last year she gave me a Chocolart chocolate making set as a gift.

Last night while Elaine was out at her choir practice I made some chocolates for her with my chocolate lab.  Basically you melt chocolates chips in the microwave, put it into the molds, and the chocolates harden in the fridge in 30 minutes.   

I also found a Chocolate Lab website that appears to be a chocolate specialty shop in Vancouver.  So there are others who don't just think of  it as a brown dog.

Raising Turkeys

Well dressed newly wed couple with the turkeys

My father with the turkeys at the back of the "white dorm"

 My father with the turkeys looking toward the "old tabernacle" 

When my parents were married in July 1950 they lived at the church campground that was a Bible school at that time.  My mother taught in the high school there and my father worked on the grounds, before he started the milk delivery.    Their first home when they were married was in the building we call the "white dorm"  with one room as a bedroom and an adjoining room as a living room.  At that time the rooms in the white dorm just had partitions that didn't go all the way to the ceiling rather than full walls. 

One of the interesting stories about when they were first married was raising turkeys.    One of the ministers at the Bible school got 1000 young turkeys and my parents took care of them.  When the turkeys were small they kept them inside the building that we now call the "west building" at the campground.    In fact they told of sometimes staying in that building with the turkeys to make sure they were OK.   It appears from the pictures that when the turkeys got larger they had a fenced off area behind the "white dorm."   I  am not sure if they raised turkeys more than one year.   But the west building at the campground continued to be known as the turkey building after that.