Tipping

 This is an interesting view  I don't agree with it, but he does make his point.

My daughter worked for the IHOP through high school and university.  In those days people left cash on the table.  The waitress picked up the cash tip and they shared the tip with the kitchen staff, hostess and kept the rest.  

Now when you tip from your credit card, you don't know if the waitress is actually receiving the tip or if the employer is using the cash for payroll.  I liked the way it was.  I ordered food on the app, went to the store and picked it up and a tip came up when I checked out.  I wish they would include the tips in the price.  That way people would get a proper wage and wouldn't be reliant on their tips.  

When the service is excellent, I give the waitress a cash tip.  

I've been waiting and watching and it finally happened!

In the 1960's when I bought my first car, my dad told me, "buy new, keep it for 50,000 miles and then get another one".  I did that for many years.  My husband bought a Honda Pilot and I still had my Honda Civic.  Once I drove the Pilot I never wanted to drive the Civic.  The vision in the Pilot was great and it was so comfortable.  The Civic sat in the driveway for a few months and my neighbour asked if I would like to sell it.  A lady he worked with had a Civic and it was giving her problems.  She came to my house in a very old Civic and told me it had 400,000 miles on it!   She bought my Civic.

My friend Donna had a Honda Pilot but one year older than ours.  They sold theirs at 220,000 KMS!  I decided I would keep ours until it started to give us trouble.  We've only replaced the battery, tires and the timing belt.  We always get our servicing done at the Honda dealership.  We know they charge us more, but we also know their mechanics are qualified.

This happened yesterday as I was driving into my garage:

🤞🤞🤞

When a ship has problems.....

I was on a ship that lost power in port.  We returned from a visiting a port and all the people with walkers and wheel chairs were sitting near the entrance.  They told us to use the stairs as the elevators were not working.  It wasn't until we got onto another floor, we saw all power was lost.  We parked ourselves in a lounge and talked to other passengers.  No problem, it happens.  We were only without power for about 20 minutes but they said later the power was off for two hours.  Good thing we enjoyed our port day.  It was before sail away and the rest of the cruise was perfect.

Imagine waking up on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean… to find the lights off, the air conditioning silent, and the ship completely drifting in the open sea.

That's exactly what happened to 3,140 guests aboard Caribbean Princess on the early morning of June 5, 2026. The ship lost ALL main power TWICE in the Caribbean heat — and the situation drew immediate comparisons to Carnival's infamous 2013 "Poop Cruise."

Here's exactly what happened:

🔹 Date: Early morning of June 5, 2026

🔹 Location: Caribbean Sea, en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Port Canaveral, Florida

🔹 Ship: Caribbean Princess (3,142 max passengers, 23 years old, 112,894 gross tons)

🔹 Power outages: TWO complete blackouts, separated by about 15 minutes

🔹 Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes of disrupted power

🔹 Impact: Loss of propulsion, air conditioning, lighting, and most onboard systems

🔹 Speed: Ship limped along at just 2 knots during the crisis

What the passengers experienced:

🔹 Total darkness in the early morning hours

🔹 No air conditioning in sweltering Caribbean heat

🔹 Sudden silence as engines went dark

🔹 The ship literally drifting in open water for a period

🔹 One passenger sitting on their balcony described the ship suddenly going quiet

🔹 Another said: "Just floating around again and the ship is going to hit some winds on the starboard side"

🔹 Family members on land briefly connected with worried passengers

How the crew handled the situation:

🔹 Captain immediately addressed passengers over the public address system

🔹 Engineers worked around the clock to restore power

🔹 First outage was resolved within about 15 minutes

🔹 A second total blackout occurred shortly after

🔹 Full power was restored after the extended outage

🔹 The captain still made it to a pre-scheduled "Coffee with the Captain" Q&A

🔹 One Reddit commenter praised the captain's communication: "He made it to the scheduled Coffee with the Captain Q&A and answered questions in a way everyone could understand. Well done."

Why this draws comparisons to the 2013 Carnival "Poop Cruise":

🔹 The Carnival Triumph incident in 2013 left 4,200 passengers without working bathrooms for days

🔹 Power outages create the worst possible conditions for cruise ship operations

🔹 No AC + no working systems + tropical heat = a quickly deteriorating situation

🔹 Caribbean Princess passengers were extremely lucky power was restored quickly

🔹 If the outage had lasted longer, sanitation, food preservation, and safety could have all been affected

The good news for Caribbean Princess passengers:

🔹 Power was fully restored after about 1 hour 15 minutes

🔹 The visit to San Juan on June 4 was the final port stop — no further ports to miss

🔹 The ship continued to Port Canaveral with no further issues

🔹 Disembarkation on June 7 happened on schedule

🔹 The next embarkation day (June 7) was NOT impacted

🔹 No one was injured

What this incident reveals about the cruise industry:

🔹 Even 20+ year old cruise ships can experience major system failures

🔹 Modern cruise ships are remarkably complex floating cities

🔹 Power redundancy is built in, but rare cascading failures CAN happen

🔹 Crew training for emergency situations is generally excellent

🔹 Most cruise ship incidents are resolved much faster than headlines suggest

🔹 Communication during incidents is critical — and Caribbean Princess's captain did this well

Lessons for cruisers:

🔹 Bring a small battery-powered fan in your luggage (just in case)

🔹 Have a flashlight or headlamp accessible in your cabin

🔹 Keep cell phones charged in case of an emergency

🔹 Know where the emergency stairwells are

🔹 Pack basic supplies — water bottles, snacks — that could last hours if needed

🔹 Travel insurance with trip interruption coverage is always smart

The reality is that most major cruise lines have outstanding safety records. Caribbean Princess has been sailing for over two decades without major incidents. The June 5 power outage was unusual, scary for those onboard, but resolved without injury or extended disruption.

Still, the incident is a sobering reminder that being out at sea on a giant ship means relying entirely on that ship's systems working. When they don't, even briefly, the consequences can be very real.

Our former Steveston neighbours were on a cruise from Tahiti to Hawaii and lost the air conditioning.  Everyone slept on the deck.  She said the crew were wonderful.  They didn't get air conditioning for most of their cruise.  They got 100% future cruise credit for their inconvenience. 

Robert Bateman

Cec and I went to Victoria in May 2013 to see the new Robert Bateman Gallery.  To our surprise, he was there.  We purchased his book, which he autographed and let us take a picture with him.  We've always loved his art work.  He's a very talented Canadian.

Robert Bateman is one of Canada’s most extraordinary wildlife painters. He also happens to live in Saanich-Gulf Islands!  He recently celebrated his 96th birthday and still paints daily.

Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich Gulf Islands presented a petition calling on the government to speak with the National Gallery and encourage them to showcase the lifetime work of Robert Bateman.

The mandate of the National Gallery is to showcase artists who contribute significantly to Canadian culture and identity. Mr. Bateman’s work meets this standard in every way, yet it has never been exhibited at the National Gallery.

If you want to see his work in the National Gallery, please sign this petition:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7456

Robert Bateman Honours and awards

• Life Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
• Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977
• Officer of the Order of Canada, 1984
• Member of Honour Award, World Wildlife Fund, 1985 (presented by the Prince Philip)
• Society of Animal Artists Award of Excellence 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1990, 2008; Lifetime Achievement 2010
• Lescarbot Award presented by the Canadian Government, 1992
• Rachel Carson Award presented by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Washington D.C., 1996
• Order of British Columbia, 2001
• Rungius Medal presented by the National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2001
• Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002
• Roland Michener Conservation Award presented by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, 2003
• Ideas for Life Award, Canadian Environment Awards, 2006
• Human Rights Defender Award presented by Amnesty International, 2007
• Niagara Escarpment Lifetime Achievement Award, 2009
• Royal Canadian Geographical Society Gold Medal, 2013

Legends

 

I rarely watch thriller movies or series. They’re usually too dark, too frantic, or simply not my style. But every now and then, something keeps popping up in reviews, in conversations, in those little corners of the internet where people whisper, “You have to watch this.” That’s exactly how I ended up pressing play on Legends — and I’m so glad I did.

Legends is a British crime‑thriller series written and created by Neil Forsyth and produced by his Tannadice Pictures company. What sets it apart is that it isn’t just another fictional drama about undercover agents. It’s a dramatization of a true story — one that unfolded quietly behind the scenes in the early 1990s, when Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise was losing its battle against drug smuggling across Britain’s borders.

Faced with a crisis, a small, hand‑picked team of customs employees was given new identities and sent deep undercover to infiltrate some of the most dangerous drug gangs operating in the country. No glamour. No Hollywood gloss. Just ordinary people stepping into extraordinary danger because someone had to.

The cast is exceptional: Steve Coogan, Tom Burke, Hayley Squires, and Aml Ameen bring a grounded, human realism to the story. Their performances make you feel the tension, the fear, the moral weight, and the strange loneliness of living a life that isn’t yours.

And here’s the part that surprised me most: It was one of the best series I’ve seen in a long time.

The writing is sharp, the pacing is tight, and the story never drifts into sensationalism. Instead, it honours the real people who took enormous risks to protect their country — people most of us have never heard of.

For someone like me, who rarely dips into thrillers, Legends was a reminder that sometimes stepping outside your usual viewing habits leads you straight to something remarkable. If you’re looking for a series that’s gripping, intelligent, and rooted in true events, this one is absolutely worth your time.

A wonderful lunch with high school friends

Yesterday was one of those simple, good-for-the-soul days. Cec and I headed over to Victoria with my friend Donna for a long‑overdue visit with Janice and Jim. The four of us—Donna, Janice, Jim, and I—went to school together many years ago, and no matter how much time passes, there’s something comforting about slipping back into those old friendships. Seeing them again felt like opening a window to a familiar breeze.

Our day started at Tsawwassen, boarding the ferry for the beautiful crossing to Swartz Bay. No matter how many times I take that route, the scenery never gets old—the islands, the light on the water, the quiet hum of the ship. From Swartz Bay, we hopped onto the 72 Double Decker bus, riding like tourists and enjoying the view all the way into Sidney.

It was just a day trip, but it carried that lovely feeling of reconnecting—with friends, with memories, and with the easy rhythm of Vancouver Island life. Sometimes the best days are the ones that unfold simply: a ferry ride, a bus ride, and a table shared with people who knew you when you were young.

We walked the waterfront to Jack's on the Water.

Lunch with old friends always feels like slipping into a favourite sweater—comfortable, familiar, and full of good memories. The five of us settled in and ordered a mix of dishes that turned out to be as delightful as the company. Janice, Jim, and Cec all chose the halibut fish and chips, perfectly golden and crisp. Donna went for the fish tacos, and I had the salmon, which was cooked beautifully. Every entrée was excellent, and the service matched it—friendly, attentive, and relaxed, just the way a long lunch with friends should be.

After we finished catching up over our plates, Jim kindly drove us back to the ferry terminal. The sailing home was wonderfully calm, the kind of smooth crossing that lets you just sit back and enjoy the view. We didn’t spot any whales this time, but I did see a fish leap out of the water—a tiny moment, but it made me smile. Two elegant sailboats glided past as well, their white sails bright against the blue. It was the perfect quiet ending to a day filled with connection and nostalgia.

Some days don’t need anything extraordinary to make them special. Good friends, good food, and a peaceful trip home can be more than enough.

Prince Edward Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Edward turned down a dukedom on his wedding day — and then waited twenty-four years to receive the one he actually wanted.  When he married in 1999, the convention was clear: sons of the monarch become dukes upon marriage.  His brothers had become Duke of York and (later) Duke of Cambridge would follow for William.  Edward instead took the lesser rank of earl, choosing a territorial name reportedly inspired by a character in the film "Shakespeare in Love."

Behind the modest choice sat a remarkable promise.  Buckingham Palace announced that he would eventually be granted the Duke of Edinburgh title — his father's — but only after Prince Philip's death and only when the title reverted to the Crown. It was, in effect, an inheritance announced decades in advance, dependent on the decisions of a future monarch who was not yet on the throne.

Philip died in 2021.  The title passed first, by law, to Charles as his eldest son.  When Charles became King in 2022, the question became live: would he honour a promise made by his mother a quarter of a century earlier?

On March 10, 2023 — Edward's 59th birthday — the answer came.  The King conferred the dukedom on his youngest brother, for Edward's lifetime only. Sophie became Duchess of Edinburgh.

The man who took the smallest title in 1999 now carries the one most closely associated with his father, awarded as a birthday present by his brother.  Patience, in this family, is occasionally rewarded — it just takes a generation.