Who's a Fat Bastard - Those Cow Tipping Oil Suckers!

April 15, 2015

Gratuitous Puppy Picture

      It's been so long since I sat at the keyboard I'm surprised I can still type with three fingers! I am having a hell of a time making myself write these days. I'm pretty sure that means this blog has outlived it's usefulness. To me and I'm sure to you who read it as well. I can only take you around Como Lake so many times. I find myself keeping my camera in my pocket. Who wants to see another picture of a Duck!? I have been re energised working at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It's really more of a Concierge service than security. I have been working three days a week which is just about perfect. It still leaves me lots of time for golf. Also the lovely Lisa is on hiatus from Once Upon A Time until July so I have my golf partner back. 

      I had the Grandkids last Thursday for Papa Squatch Dayscare and they were dropped off at 07:30. Bella goes to school at 08:45 and Christo has no pre school. The lovely Lisa was still in bed and it was a challenge keeping the Grandkids quiet. I finally let them go and watch a show in the spare room. Alas it was too late Grandma Lisa was up. Christo stayed in front of the TV and Bella came out to sit on the couch with Grandma Lisa and Nutmeg. 

      Chef Boy R Lisa was wrapping out the work trucks today at 10:00. It's a huge job! They strip the truck down to the bones and power wash the entire cooking area. It's a full 8 hours of hard work to get the truck cleaned after 9 months on a show. They do a great job of keeping it clean on a daily basis. Chef Boy R Lisa  is a Nazi about kitchen cleanliness!

Snow on Grouse Mountain, too little, too late.

       It was a beautiful day with the sun warming up the spring air. What to do with Christo. First thing I did was turn off the TV. "Put your shoes and jacket on. We're going on an adventure!" I said. "Alright Papa" he said. He's a pretty easy going kid. I drove down to the Lougheed Mall, parked the truck and headed for the Skytrain station. I bought a multi zone ticket for myself and Christo rides for free. We were riding the rails today. 

      At 10:00 The trains are nearly empty. Christo and I got on the first car and the window seat at the front of the train was open.

Thanks Papa

It is by far the best seat on the train. Especially if you're 5 years old. It's an amazing way to see the city. Heading east from the station the train rolls through New Westminster. Out the window the Fraser River runs down to the Pacific, log booms and tug boats dotting the waterway. A right turn and we are headed north towards downtown Vancouver. Through Metrotown and Burnaby to Commercial and Broadway. You get a pretty good view of The Drive as you head down towards the Science Centre with it's distinctive Silver Ball then past the Garage where the Canucks will take on the Calgary Flames tonight and start our journey towards hockey's Holy Grail. I encourage all you Maple Loaf fans put away your golf clubs and take a ride on the Left Coast bandwagon. Hey, it's not like you'll be pulling for the Habs! I spent a week in Calgary one afternoon and that was enough to turn me off those Cow Tipping Oil Suckers! 

      When the train pulled into Waterfront Station I walked him through the Train Station to the Seabus.

We rode the Seabus across to North Vancouver. A seaplane took off right in front of the Seabus. That got Christo chattering with excitement. " Did you see that Papa? The plane flies off the water." We got off in North Vancouver and ran around to the entrance of the same Seabus.

The plane Papa, the plane!

On the way back from North Vancouver a different Seaplane landed. As we pulled into the Vancouver side I pointed out the Vancouver Convention Centre. "That's where Papa works" I said. He couldn't care less. Back on the Skytrain we got the back window this time. The front was open but Christo wanted to look backwards. Past the Stadium and the East Van sign we pulled into Commercial /Broadway station where we needed to transfer to the Millennium line. I'm hungry Papa. I bribed him with the prospect of McDonalds when we got back to the truck. The line out to our place runs between the Lougheed Highway and the Number One Highway. The perfect ride for a kid who loves cars and trucks. All in all close to three hours of non TV entertainment and for only $4. Drive through at Rotten Ronnies and lunch on the back deck in the afternoon sun. 

      With the sun beaming down and the trampoline up we never even had to go into the house. Grammy Sharon showed up to collect the kids early. We had coffee and talked while Christo played in the yard. Sharon has been dealing with some health issues but I'm happy to say she seems to be getting things under control. It was so nice out I strung up the hammock and stretched out for a minute or two. Christo came over and climbed in and we had a little swing for a few minutes.

When it was time Christo and I went over to meet Bella after school. We went a little early so Christo could use the playground. There was only one other child on the playground. She was three and half the size of Christo. They were having a blast! Christo just started going down the big slide but the little girl hadn't gone down it before. She followed Christo up then couldn't get down.

Come over here little girl.

She was still stuck with her Mom encouraging her to slide down when the bell rang. It's a really steep slide.

      After a half hour of play in the yard Grammy Sharon took the kids home. The lovely Lisa and I went down to Spanish Banks dog park to watch the sunset.
Time delayed so you can enjoy the sunset too.

18:30

19:45

Then to Tentatsu for a late Chicken Teriyaki Dinner.

Wild Salmon Sashimi

Wild Squatch with Daikon

      The weather turned ugly on Friday so we went golfing. We played at Musqueum. It was bright sunshine when we left the house. By the time we made it to the course, it was fifty shades of grey. And not the tie me up and tickle me kind either. We were rained on, hailed on and twice the umbrella was turned inside out. Fortunately it came in waves and we made it through all 18 holes relatively dry and warm. It was pretty quick because we were practically the only idiots on the course. There were two older Asian men , one who wanted to quit and one who kept pointing at the sky saying " I see blue sky, we okay" I agreed heartily with him and shortly thereafter we had the best weather of the day. The only other golfers were three twenty somethings who smoked a joint on every hole.

      On Saturday we went down to the Vaisahki Parade in south Vancouver. I had never done it before and we decided to do it at the last minute. We called Bro Steve and met him at the Grandview Walmart.

No point in taking more than one car. We knew parking was going to be a horror show. Au contraire! The lovely Lisa has a parking prayer.

Hail Mary full of grace.

Help me find a parking space. Does it work? We usually seem to find Mercedes parking!

Or...is it my poem.

Sister Grace love your face love you in your nightie. 

When the moonlight flits across your tits 

Jesus Christ almighty!

It doesn't have anything to do with parking. I just like to say it!

We were parked less than a block from the parade route and made our way from Fraser along 49th to Main Street and up Main Street to 57th Avenue. Eating the most delicious East Indian foods imaginable. Private homes and businesses set up tents in front of their homes and serve people curries, samosas, Breads and Sweets all free of charge.

Besides the incredible food, the color of the Sari's and the Turbans and the swirling rhythms of the Banga music and the, to my ear, discordant singing all added to the sensory overload I was experiencing. The Parade itself was pretty lame. Big Trucks pulling old people while they took turns giving speeches in Punjabi.

There were a couple of Bandstands set up on Main Street. One with speeches and one with music. I never saw any Bollywood dancers.

 Just old men walking backwards with swords!

 While we were walking around the lovely Lisa was accosted by two women who put a head scarf on her.

The Highlight of the Parade for me was the '27 Bugatti and the Sikh Bikers.

I would recommend Vaisakhi to any one. Unless you don't like crowds and noise. There must have been 100,000 people there.

It was fantastic.

      Monday I had a seminar Service Excellence at the Convention Centre. In return for three hours of my life they give me a gold coloured pin for my jacket and the promise of employment. I then turned down three shifts. 

      Tuesday the lovely Lisa and I played Central Park Pitch and Putt with Duffy.

Central Park Pitch and Putt

The lovely Lisa came out swinging and took a 3-0-0 lead on the first two holes. That's when I took over. I was dropping lawn darts on the green and after a couple of pushes on the score I won five skins on one hole to take an 8-3-0 lead. Then Duffy went nuts and won every other hole but one.

Duffy on the Tee!

It ended up 14- 9-3 for Duffy. It was a little bit chilly but all in all a beautiful golf day. For dinner I BBQ'd a couple of two inch thick strip loin steaks and with asparagus and a nice Squatch Salad we had a nice dinner in front of the TV.

      Like I said I'm having motivational issues. I am still enjoying the lifestyle. I don't like to call it a diet. I live on Veggies, salads and meat and other than the occasional Pizza, I avoid the big four carbs. I am going to try to write more in the next two weeks than I have been. I have surpassed my initial goals and feel fantastic. I will kill the Fat Bastard blog on May 1, 2015, one year after I started it. Just remember, It's not you, it's me!

Who's a Fat Bastard - I was Pavlov's dog!

April 5, 2015

Easter Bunnies

      I spend most of Saturday morning, well, all of Saturday morning, writing. That's what happens when you don't write the blog for five or six days. It turns into War and Peace! I'm not sure why I have this mental block lately about writing? When I do finally forced myself to sit in front of the keyboard I seem to have no shortage of things to say. It's just the getting started part. When I look back on the week that just passed I'm surprised how busy I actually was. I'm also surprised at how difficult it is to remember where, when and at what time/day it all happened. Four hours into writing the last blog I was stuck on Wednesday! Some times when I'm stuck, I look at the pictures I have taken and it takes me back. Not this time. I had over 200 pictures. Most of them I don't recall taking. So with yesterday's blog half  written I decided I was going to go and play some music at Mama Lee's. When in doubt, run away!

      The best thing about playing music at Mama Lee's is they are all so happy to see me. Most don't remember me but that's okay too. They get to make a new friend every time I show up. When I got there Mama Lee was in the side lounge watching the Canucks trying not to make the playoffs. Bums!

I found a chair in the main lounge and started playing about 12:30. Soon the lounge was full of people who may or may not know that I was playing. You need to be very self involved to play for people in their nineties. Some times as much as half the audience is asleep at any given time. Mama Lee, Shirley and Mama Lee's table mate Irene always stay awake and Irene requests old country tunes. That works out great because I play a lot of old country tunes. I play from memory until 13:30 when I am dumped for BINGO. So I finish my set with a singalong about a farmer and his dog named, You guessed it, BINGO! Every time we got to the chorus someone would ask "What was that last number?" 

      Back at home, feeling refreshed and fulfilled I sat down and finished the blog. I promised myself I was going to bear down and stay on track for the last month of Fat Bastard. Like a New Years resolution, it didn't make it through the night. We all know what the road to hell is paved with and I was laying brick at a tremendous rate. 

      In my defence, we were expecting 20 people for Easter dinner on Sunday and Chef Boy R Lisa was already on the prep. Making cranberry sauce, dressings and anything else she could do in advance. I watched the Final Four Basketball games and pretended to clean the house. The lovely Lisa was so preoccupied I didn't even have to go to Tiny TV Town to watch it. I just had to be prepared as Scullery Squatch to stay on top of her dishes! Halfway through the afternoon the lovely Lisa was out the door to Costco for a lamb roast and a few other items needed for tomorrow. 

      When the lovely Lisa was done shopping, she texted me and I met her at Mama Lee's to fill out some cards to be mailed and then to Como Lake for a walk with the Rat dogs. It has been quite a bit cooler the last few days, dipping down into spring like temperatures for no apparent reason. Other than it's actually spring! We have most certainly been spoiled this year. Maybe this is the new normal? British Columbifornia, has a nice ring to it! Other than having to mow the lawn in February I kind of dig it!

      Tonight was a wrap party. No, not the lettuce kind but the end of season, going on hiatus kind. This one was for Once Upon A Time. Both Chef Boy R Lisa and my Daughter Jen worked on the show. I'm not a big fan of these parties. Especially when I wasn't involved. It consists of 4 hours of people slapping each other on the back and telling each other how great the season was. Tonights affair was in the ballroom at the Hotel Georgia. 

Spanish Ballroom at Hotel Georgia

After the lovely Lisa made me change three times we were ready to go.We picked up Jen and Christian at 19:30. Christian was wearing a dress shirt and nice pants and a fuzzy jacket that made him look like a Mexican Fozzy Bear! Jen was not impressed. I was, lucky Bastardo! I looked like a valet. I was standing out front when a guy pulled up in a Mercedes, handed me his keys and said park it. I did. In an alleyway at Main and Hastings. 

      As much as these things suck for me they are way worse for Christian. There are always people at these things who know me so it's not so bad. Jen and the lovely Lisa flit from person to person hugging and telling lies while Christian stands off to the side and eats as many of the canapes as he can get. It was a slider spectacular. Burgers, hot dogs and beef in Yorkshire's made the rounds with Christian in hot pursuit. It was all big carb stuff so I went easy on the food. The lovely Lisa looked great in a thigh length sparkly black dress and some shiny hooker heels. Her nickname on set is the Queen of Tarts. I knew quite a few of the crew and most hadn't seen me since last years wrap party. They were amazed at how losing 55 pounds can change the way you look. I am very proud of what I have accomplished but it was getting a little embarrassing. Some people went on and on about it. I went and hid the lobby with Christian until they started the blooper reel. Lot's of inside jokes and I ended up back in the lobby talking travel with one of the other husbands. Everyone was given 2 drink tickets on arrival. Extra tickets $10 each. I drank water and the lovely Lisa had coffee. I was driving and the lovely Lisa doesn't drink. They made her give up a drink ticket for the coffee. It shouldn't be the Hotel Georgia it should be the Hotel GougeYa!

Jen and I don't know who?

3 hours after Christian and I were ready to go Jen said we could leave at any time. I was off to get the car in a heartbeat. "Meet me out front in five minutes" I said. I pulled up and Jen and Christian were waiting. No lovely Lisa. I was double parked at the Valet Service and the shooed me along. I turned the corner and sat in the no stopping zone on Georgia Street while Christian went in to find the lovely Lisa. Five minutes later Jen got out of the car to go look for Christian and the lovely Lisa. We were finally pulling away from the curb when Jen said " I could have stayed longer" "Me too" the lovely Lisa chimed in. I can understand Jen wanting to stay. She was the only one of us drinking and as upper management had a never ending supply of drink tickets. The wine was going down like water. 

      "We want to go to Burger King! We were so busy schmoozing we never ate anything." Christian was stuffed full of sliders and had no interest in eating anything else. I would wait till I got home and have something healthier than a Whopper and onion rings. It was like the Last Temptation of Christ! As soon as the bag was opened in the car the smell attacked my olfactory nerves with a vengeance! I was Pavlov's dog! At the first whiff of Whopper my mouth started to salivate and I was mesmerised as the lovely Lisa slowly savoured every onion ring. When she peeled back the foil wrap on the Whopper and the smell of the reconstituted cow parts hit me I had to roll down the window for air! The lovely Lisa managed to make that Whopper last all the way home. Back at home I ate a bag of pork rinds, had a shower and crawled into bed before midnight.

      Up at 07:30. The sun was shining and I think Jesus is still dead. I'm not a religious person but I'm for any holiday that involves good food. I honestly didn't realise it was Easter until people started phoning mid week to find out why they hadn't been invited to Easter Dinner. Chef Boy R Lisa had as usual gone Catering Crazy! Lamb, Ham, and Turkey were on the menu. I sat and drank coffee and watched the news until around 10:00 when the lovely Lisa awoke from her Whopper induced coma and Christian showed up with Jen and the kids to help me rearrange the living room into a dining room. While Chef Boy R Lisa started prepping the turkey and getting her seven different veggies together while discussing I don't know what with Jen, Christian and I moved the living room out onto the front deck. 

We have done it so many times over the years it only takes us about five minutes now. We had 20 coming for dinner so that's an easy setup. We have 2 folding tables that can sit 12 people at each. Table cloths and chairs and we were ready to go.

Doing the bunny hop

      The turkey was in the oven by 14:00 and the ham, coated with Chef Boy R Lisa's homemade glaze was in the roaster 10 minutes later. With the dining room done and the kids gone I was once again Scullery Squatch. 

While Chef Boy R Lisa started prepping veggies I did her dishes. Chef Boy R Lisa was doing the following veggies. 

Roasted;  Carrots, Rutabaga, Parsnips and Asparagus.

Steamed; Brussels Sprouts, Green Beans and Broccoli.

My ex wife Sharon brought her amazing Brown Sugar Baked Squash and Willy made his famous Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.

      At 15:00 we started to prep the Lamb. We were going to do it on the BBQ rotisserie. Chef boy R Lisa collected some Rosemary and other herbs from the garden and studded the Lamb with garlic. I preheated the BBQ to 550 turned on the rotisserie and turned the heat down to 375. 

That seals the meat and holds in the juices. It only caught on fire once! With things well in hand I turned my attention to the back yard. I was planning to mow the lawn but instead stood there staring at the frame of the trampoline. It was such a nice day and I knew the kids would like it so I put the trampoline back together. 

Willy and Annie

Willy and Annie were the first to show up with their 2 dogs Lincoln and Mac, followed by Jen, Christian and Sharon with the Grandkids. 

Lyndsey

They never got off the trampoline. People started arriving in droves. Jan and Joan, 2 of Mama Lee's friends, Gord and Penny, Steve and Lyndsey with 2 more dogs, Little Bit and Levi. 

Mama Lee

 Michelle and her son Ronin with their dog Whitney got here. Michelle is one of Jen's oldest friends going back to when they were 14 in high school. They reconnected a few years ago and she has become a part of the family, never missing our family dinners. Mark and Lea were the last to arrive having driven back down from the Okanagen to be here. We were now up to 7 dogs and 21 people. I had the computer hooked up to the TV playing random pictures off the hard drive while I had Galaxy music playing in the background. 

Some of the food!

Dinner was served at 18:00 and as always it was delicious! I stayed low carb with a plate full of meat and veggies. There was pie and cherry brownies and gelato for desert. Screw the carbs! I had gelato and a small brownie. Okay, it was smaller than my head!

The lovely Lisa, Joan and Mama Lee

      Everyone pitched in with the dishes and the place was reasonable before they started to leave. By 21:00 the lovely Lisa and I were alone. It took us about an hour to get everything cleaned up. I put the folding tables back in their place and brought the living room in off of the deck. I can do it myself but it's hard to move a couch by yourself. I would prefer to leave the stuff on the deck until morning but the lovely Lisa thinks that animals will come and sit on the furniture. Probably Raccoons come and smoke there. That's why they wear those masks. Can't pick them out of a lineup! We wound down with a few episodes of Family Feud and hit the sack about 01:00 knowing that we had sent our family and friends home happy and with a doggy bag. 

Mark, Lea and Me

      The Easter thing doesn't mean anything to me. Religion doesn't mean anything to me. Any of them. I believe that God lives inside of each and everyone of us. Religion is just a way to control people and generate money. Kind of the commercial arm of God. I choose not to participate. However, I'm all for any excuse for a dinner party!

That's all I've got

Till Next time

Peace out Y'all

©2015 Dave Squatch Ward

      

Who's a Fat Bastard - I am such a Scofflaw!

April 4, 2015

North Vancouver from VCC

      It just kind of slipped by. The time I mean. For eleven months I wrote daily about my life and the lives of those around me. Even when I didn't have internet access, I still wrote the stories. Now with less than a month left, I seem to be having trouble motivating myself to sit down and write. This is the 300th blog I have posted in 335 days. Some have been funny , some have been sad, some have been good, some have been bad. Some of them sound like I ripped off Dr Seuss! All of them came from somewhere inside of me.
      It's been a week since I sat down and wrote anything. It's not that I don't have anything to say all of a sudden. Not that I ever really had anything to say! I've never let that stop me before. My brain has gone to that place it goes to when something you don't want to do has to be done. What I once looked forward to doing every day has become onerous for me. It's not that I'm not doing things. I'm busier than ever. Maybe it's the fact that the end is near. Like when I quit smoking. I said "This is the last pack I'm ever going to buy! When they're done so am I!" I held onto that smoke for 2 weeks. Until my friends became so tired of me bumming smokes, they would run when they saw me coming.
      The week started at 17:00 Sunday night. I was working Security at the Vancouver Convention Centre for the end of the Auto Show. I was working outside for the first time in my brief Security career.

It was raining lightly, as it often does at this time of year. The company provides us with good rain gear so I was dry. I was out in Jack Poole Plaza where the Olympic torch is.

The city isn't crazy about lighting it because of the cost. They don't want to drain any cash from the bicycle lanes or Trans link management salaries and bonuses!
      I had a four hour shift and the first hour nothing happened because the Auto Show didn't end until 18:00. I wandered around the plaza, mostly under cover, until they started bringing out the cars within seconds of the show ending. For the the next 3 hours a steady stream of high end cars left the Convention Centre. Porches, Lamborghini's, Ferrari's and some I have never heard of or recognised.
      There is no permanent ramp out of the plaza so they had one made of 2 x 4 and plywood that was crushed by a giant flat deck that was there to pick up a Rolls Royce Phaeton. Most of the company cars left on flat decks. A lot of the show cars are privately owned and driven off the lot by way of the ramps. For liability reasons I wasn't allowed to help them down the ramp. Every one of these cars has 3 inches of ground clearance and they are all different widths. Did you know that a Maserati is the same width as a pickup truck? There where 10 or so Mustangs going back to 1965. All of them beautiful. I'm not a car guy but you don't need to be to enjoy them. Oh yeah, and a Canuck Camero

The way they're playing it will be coming to a golf course near you real soon! At the end of my shift with all the cars safely off the property, I made my way to the Waterfront Sky Train Station 100 feet away.
      The lovely Lisa dropped me off at work after I left my truck at the Lougheed Town Centre Sky Train Station, 5 minutes from home. We went to Tentatsu for an early Japanese dinner on the way.

The lovely Lisa has a 01:30 wake up time.
      It actually takes me longer to go by Sky train than it does to drive at that time of day. It takes 40 minutes compared to 25 if I drive. $2.75 on the train $4.50 per half hour/ $12 maximum after 18:00 plus gas if I drive.

      The lovely Lisa was in bed when I got home. I had a shower, crawled in beside her and was asleep in minutes. I was working a long shift in the morning. 07:30 until 18:00 loading in a fancy dinner in the Ballroom. That's like a Cinderella Ballroom, not a Chucky Cheese ball room. I meet the trucks on the loading dock and then escort them to the Ballroom with their equipment.  They built a 50' by 30' stage and had three 20' TV screens behind it. Tons of sound and AV equipment made it's way into the Ballroom. By 15:00 everything was loaded in and I had 3 hours of nothingness to contend with. All the equipment was loaded in and no more trucks were scheduled to arrive. At least I have a view!

      So I walked. I'm really digging the walking thing now that I have decent shoes and my blisters have healed. I put a pedometer on my phone and have averaged over 25,000 steps every day I worked a full shift. The first few shifts beat me up pretty good but now I look forward to it. I have my security stride down pat now and can walk for hours and cover a lot of ground. At the end of my shift I make my way to the Sky train and wait with the great unwashed masses for a ride home. It's still rush hour in Vancouver. In Vancouver they measure rush hour in Dog Hours. It lasts for about 7 hours! I was packed into the car with about a million other cattle, most of whom come up to my armpits. How nice for them. If I get on the Millenium line I don't have to transfer but it takes an extra 20 minutes as it circles through New Westminster. If I had a seat I would do that.
      Instead I got off to transfer at Commercial/Broadway. The train pulled in just as I got to the platform and I squeezed myself in at the last minute. The tiny humans occupying the doorway scattered as I slid into a spot made for someone half my size! I would stand up all the way home but it's several less stops this way. Also if you go the other way and aren't paying attention, you end up in Surrey!
      When I got home The lovely Lisa was still up. Her wake up time wasn't until 05:00. We had a nice dinner together for the first time in a few days. She was still in bed early and I watched the Canucks game I had taped. I was working a 12:00 until 20:00 shift finishing the Auto Show load out the next day. When I got to work I was informed that I was doing break relief. Something new and it has been an issue since I have been here. I don't know why? We work as a ten man unit. 7 Guards, 2 relief Guards and a Supervisor. The Supervisor and the relief can take their breaks whenever they want so between the two of us we have to relieve 7 people for a 30 and a 15 over 8 hours. We had nothing to do for the first 3 hours. No one wants a break right away. My relief partner went to relax somewhere. I walked. I like walking and I wanted to get in my 20,000 steps. That's my goal on days I work. 10,000 when I'm off. I was just getting into the break thing when the VCC manager Garth said they were ahead of schedule and would be done by 17:00. Cool. Off early with 3 hours of free money. On the down side I was back on the Sky Train in rush hour.
      I always buy a ticket. Not always the right ticket but always a ticket! There was a line up at the only functioning ticket dispenser and I almost skipped buying one. I didn't . I would be so embarrassed if I didn't and then got caught, even though I have never seen anyone check anyone's ticket. So I waited in line. The train was half full as I got on followed by 2 Transit Police. They asked to see tickets from a woman in a business suit and me. No one else. I was on the phone with the lovely Lisa at the time. "I'll call you back, I'm being hassled by the Fuzz!" I said into the phone as I dug one handed through my numerous pockets looking for the ticket I had just purchased. When I found it he took it and asked me "Where are you going" I wanted to say "What are you, a Cop" but he was, so I said "home." " No, what Station?" then the door beeped and they got off the train before I could answer. I only bought a 1 zone ticket and I was going 2 zones. I am such a Scofflaw! Take that Trans Link!
      The lovely Lisa's last day on Once Upon A Time is today. It's also a night shoot so her call time is 10:00. My day is full of Mama Lee. Today and tomorrow Mama Lee has Dr appointments and I am her driver. It's one of the reasons we bought the Rav 4. It's easiest for Mama Lee to get in and out of and is big enough to hold her wheelchair. Her appointment was at 10:30 at Metro Town so I was there to pick her up at 09:30. We got there at 10:00. Way too early. As it turns out this Dermatologist is one who fills his waiting room with patients then lets them sit there for an hour. We saw the Dr. at 11:15 and he said "Not medically necessary and $250 if you want me to proceed. Make an appointment with my receptionist."  I had Mama Lee home in time for lunch.
      I had an appointment down town at 14:00 went home and changed my clothes grabbed the Rat dogs and headed into town. I had a good meeting and left feeling positive about my presentation. On the way home I stopped at Trout Lake to let the Rat dogs run around. It was a another gorgeous day on the Left coast and the park was full of dogs. Mostly big dogs. That always freaks out Nutmeg. Elvis doesn't care. The bigger the dog, the bigger the Jerk Elvis becomes. We moved away from the majority of the dogs to the quieter side of the dog park. It's a nice walk but no Como Lake that's for sure. As we came back towards the busier side of the lake Nutmeg saw 2 big dogs wrestling and took off for the truck. Walk over!
      The next day Mama Lee had an appointment with the Speech/Swallowing therapist at Burnaby General. We arrived at 10:00 for our 10:30 appointment. I took Mama Lee to the same place we always have gone too and we were sent to the waiting area we always go to and waited, and waited, and waited some more. I was just about to go out front and find out what was happening when my phone rang.It was the lovely Lisa wanting to know where we were. The Therapist phoned her looking for us. The next call was from the therapist. We were in the wrong part of the hospital. They were having Mama Lee swallow things while they x-rayed the procedure. It took all of fifteen minutes and we were on the way home.
      At 15:00 I went down to the mall and had a pedicure at Professional Nails. I have been getting my Pedi's there for a year or so and have a different girl every time. They all did a good job. Thursday I had Helen. It was amazing. She did a great job on my feet. They were pretty beat up from work. She took her time and when she was done my feet were like brand new! I'll never let another tiny Vietnamese women do me again!
      We were sitting in bright sunshine out here in Coquitlam so we decided to take the Rat dogs down to Spanish Banks for the sunset.

Like the Rat dogs care. They don't go in the water, seldom go more than 10 feet from us and the sunset means it's dinner time!

The lovely Lisa likes it and that's enough for me. One thing that you can be sure of is the weather is unpredictable. We drove out of the sunshine and into the grey.

True Wet Coasters we weren't going to let a little grey keep us from being in position to see the sunset if by some chance the sun became visible. Didn't happen. It was cold and grey but it never rained. The sun melted into the grey without casting so much as a shadow. We packed up the Rat dogs while there was still enough light to see them and headed to Tentatsu for a late dinner. Chicken Teri dinner, Favourite roll combo and wild Salmon Sashimi.

So good.
      We woke up to bright sunshine on Good Friday. It seemed to us that it would be a good Friday to play golf! I went on line and booked a 12:30 Tee time at Musqueum Golf on Marine Way. We had a bite to eat and loaded the clubs into the car. It was starting to sprinkle when we turned down towards the golf course at 12:10. It's an executive course, par 60. We had a great time.

Having a great time?

It rained on us a couple of times. Fortunately both the lovely Lisa and myself are waterproof. If you let rain stop you from doing things on the wet coast, you will never do anything. We ate leftover Sushi under shelter when the worst of it came and went. Okay, I ate the leftover sushi. The lovely Lisa wasn't going there. She had a bag of fruit. We were done by 15:00.
      We were meeting Gord and Penny at the Rivers Reach for dinner at 17:30. We got cleaned up and out the door and had a table at The Reach by 17:15. We were quite pleased with ourselves. We are always the last ones to arrive so our friends always end up waiting for a table and we wander in and sit right down. It's good to be king! Today when we got there we had our pick of tables. I had lettuce wraps and chicken wings, we shared a Calamari with Gord and Penny and the lovely Lisa had a prime rib dinner. Too much food as always. Duffy joined us as we finished up dinner. We watched Canada/ Norway curling. I was speculating on what a performance enhancing drug would be for curlers? Valium? I know that would help the audience! We said our goodbyes out front. We will see them again on Sunday.

Elvis on Squirrel duty.

      We are doing Easter Dinner at our house on Sunday. Lamb, Ham and Turkey. Chef Boy R Lisa goes nuts again. We are expecting 20 people. Always a good time. That's us more or less caught up. I will try to finish the month with a little more enthusiasm. I feel great and I am going to continue eating right and staying active. With a little luck I'll be around long enough for my clothes to come back in style!

That's all I've got

Till Next time

Peace out Y'all

©2015 Dave Squatch Ward