Vaccine Passport

There has been a lot of discussion regarding a vaccine passport.  I read on Twitter, US Representative Mike Loychik said "vaccine passports have no place in a free society".  U S Representative Marjorie Taylor Green said "They are actually talking about people's ability to buy and sell linked to the vaccine passport.  They might as well call it Biden's Mark of the Beast".

I've had a Vaccine passport since 1981.  The first time I used it is when I went to Singapore.  I've never thought of it as a bad thing, it let me into Singapore.  I need more shots for my trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.  I was going to get the shots last summer but as the trip has been postponed, I will wait before I go to the Travel Clinic.  I'll take my "Canadian 1981 Vaccine Record" and see what documentation they give in 2021.  

Do these US Representatives ever travel?

I subscribe to The Travel Guy's emails.  This appeared in my inbox yesterday.  He's super interesting if you want to follow him on Facebook or subscribe to his emails.  Lots of great travel information:

March 30, 2021

VACCINE PASSPORT

We've been hearing about "vaccine passports" since before there was a viable vaccine. Over the past few weeks, the concept has been generating even more buzz, now that several highly effective vaccinations are rolling out. Although we have yet to see a universal solution, countries are beginning to reopen exclusively to vaccinated travelers, and more should be accessible soon. Learn what this sudden shift means for you, with: Why you'll need a vaccine passport Your guide to digital health passports Destinations open to vaccinated travelers Where vaccinated people want to go first While some governments are exploring options on their own, a number of companies and organizations have offered up various tech solutions. In the U.S., one of the more promising options so far is now available from Clear, the company behind speedy security screening, pictured above.

https://thepointsguy.com/

The subway artist...

 

Windstorm

Yesterday we had a rain and wind warning.   The wind was not too bad in the morning, but in the afternoon it was really blowing!   We have large trees and we watch and hope they don't uproot.  We were fine yesterday, however others weren't.  Our power stayed on but 90,000 homes were not so fortunate.  The ferries were cancelled and I'm always happy I'm not on final approach at YVR.

Power outage map from B C Hydro

At 4 pm the sun came out.  It was a nice sight.  Then ten minutes later the black clouds blocked the sun and the winds were really high.  The hail started and it came down hard and fast.  I ran outside and moved my new hydrangea under cover.   A few minutes later, my next door neighbour texted me this picture of her back yard.

The hail picked up their umbrella and smashed the glass table top!  Thirty minutes later the sun came out!

Sunday - Eggs

 

Spring in Holland

This year is ‘special’. Keukenhof is closed, for the first time in 71 years. But that doesn’t mean there are no flowers. On the contrary; the flowers look incredible and get as much attention and care as always. All the passionate gardeners do their work as they’re used to. Because even without people, nature and the show of the garden goes on.

With no people around, these zig-zag paths become visible showing the attention to detail in the layout of the garden.

The famous Keukenhof windmill. The miller was so kind to move it to the correct position for pictures.

A rare species of tulips that I had not seen before.

The world-famous ‘Blue River.’ A road of blue grape hyacinths zigzagging through the trees.

In Keukenhof, you can find a bunch of classic Dutch bridges. This is one of them right at the entrance, surrounded by a sea of colourful tulips.

Did I mention the attention to detail? From the ground, I didn’t even see this, but when I flew my drone a few meters up it appeared that these were planted in the shape of a tulip flower!

Seas of tulips around my favourite area of the park: the pool with the fountain in the middle.

Lines and lines of tulips, hyacinths, and narcissus flowers in between the trees.

I love to photograph dreamy portraits of flowers, and the Keukenhof is perfect for that with its many different kinds of flowers.

My favourite places in the Keukenhof are the pools. Seeing the water reflecting the trees and flowers gives such a calm feeling. If you look closely you can see a gardener do his work. Because even with no people visiting the garden, the work goes on.

Punography

·I changed my iPad’s name to Titanic, It's syncing now.

·I tried to catch some fog. I mist.

·When chemists die, they barium.

·Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.

·A soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

·I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.

·How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.

·I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.

·This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.

·I'm reading a book about anti-gravity, I can't put it down.

·I did a theatrical performance about puns, It was a play on words .

·They told me I had type A blood, but it was a type-O.

·A dyslexic man walks into a bra .

·PMS jokes aren't funny, period.

·Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory, I hope there's no pop quiz.

·The Energizer bunny arrested and charged with battery.

·I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

·Did you hear about the cross eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?

·When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.

·I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me!

·Broken pencils are pointless.

·What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.

·England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool .

·I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.

·I dropped out of Communism class because of lousy Marx.

·All the toilets in New York's police stations have been stolen. Police have nothing to go on.

·I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.

·Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.

·Velcro - what a rip off!

·Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.

·Venison for dinner? Oh deer!

·Earthquake in Washington - obviously government's fault.

·I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

 

Vaccinated, Dose One

 

Last weekend our health authority lowered the eligibility age for the COVID vaccine.  It wasn't quite to my birth year but it did cover Cec's birth year.  We can book online, but others told me we could both go together as long as one of us qualified but I would have to phone in.  I called Monday morning and got two appointments for Wednesday!  That was fast!

Yesterday we got our COVID-19 vaccine.  We had an appointment at the closest vaccine location, a drive thru just two kilometers away.  It was on a dead end street in a huge warehouse.  There were many lanes with lots of people showing you where to go.  The first gal checked us off her tablet to make sure we had appointments.  The second gal gave us four pages.  Two pages to fill in, just the usual name, address, personal health number and typical questions.  The last two pages we kept that answered questions and what to do if we had a serious reaction.

Inside the side of the warehouse we were in had eight lanes.  We were in lane seven.  We waited and a nice gal came to the car and said “I’m Dr. ??, call me Rachael!”.  She took our forms and gave us our shot.  We drove ahead, stopped and waited for 15 minutes in our car. 

We got a card saying we’d had the Pfizer shot.  No side effects at all.  We didn't ask about the second dose.  The entire system is so well organized!   We were home in 40 minutes!

I am very grateful and relieved!

HAVE FAITH IN PFIZER.  

DON'T FORGET THEY MAKE VIAGARA!

IF THEY CAN RAISE THE DEAD

THEY CAN SAVE THE LIVING

Oh Canada!

Here are 30 weird facts about Canada that prove it's the most interesting country ever:

1. Canada only got its own flag 100 years after it became a country — on February 15, 1965.

2. Part of Canada is on Mars... kind of. A crater on the planet was named after the town of Gander, Newfoundland in honour of its efforts in space research.

3. The famous Canadian interjection "eh" is actually listed in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as a valid word.

4. The Royal Canadian Mint once made a gigantic loonie made of 99.9% gold that was worth $1 million.

5. You can write a letter in any language and send it to the North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada and you will receive a letter back from Santa.

6. Quebec manufactures more than 77% of the world's maple syrup.

7. Canada shares the largest demilitarized border in the world with the United States.

8. The townspeople of Nanaimo, B.C. race their bathtubs as part of an annual aquatic tradition.

9. Some of the world's most popular superheroes were conceived by Canadian minds, including Superman and Wolverine.

10. That being said, it is against Canadian law to have comics that depict criminal acts.

11. Canada is home to the Narcisse Snake Pits of Manitoba, the largest orgy of garter snakes in the world.

12. Twenty percent of the world's fresh water is in Canada, and it has more lakes than any other country.

13. The most common last name in Canada is "Smith."

14. In Alberta's Banff National Park, overpasses that go over highways are made for wildlife and have trees and shrubs growing on them.

15. The third official language of Canada is "goose" — just kidding. But Canadian geese do have as many as 13 different animal calls that are distinctly their own.

16. Only in Canada could it go from minus 19C to plus 22C in an hour! (Pincher Creek, Alberta in 1962. Look it up!)

17. Ogopogo is a mythical monster similar to the Loch Ness Monster that supposedly lives in Lake Okanagan, B.C. 

18. As much as Canadians love hockey, it's actually not the national sport — lacrosse, a First Nations' game, is.

19. The Westboro Baptist Church and its members are banned from entering Canada. 

20. Hawaiian pizza was actually invented by a man from Ontario, not by the Hawaiians.

21. At the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, you can run on the sea bed, but you have to make it across before the 100 billion tons of water rush back!

22. There's an area in the Hudson Bay region that has less gravity than the rest of the planet.

23. Up to 30% of Canada is covered in trees and thick forest.

24. Prostitution laws are hazy in Canada — the purchase of sexual services is criminalized, but the selling of sexual services is allowed under certain conditions (if that makes any sense at all...).

25. Canada has been invaded twice by Americans — both in 1775 and 1812.

26. The largest Sony big screen TV can be found in Toronto's Rogers Centre.

27. Canada consumes more mac and cheese than any other country in the world.

28. Old Quebec is still walled off and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

29. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Canada was in Snag, Yukon Territory at minus 63C.

30. The official phone number for Canada is 1-800-O-Canada.

Washing Dishes!

In my 53 years of married life, I've always owned a dishwasher!  As a child, dishwashing was my chore.  I detested it.  Right after our honeymoon Cec went on strike.  I said to him "I'm working, your home all day and you can wash the breakfast dishes".  I came home from work and he'd bought a portable dishwasher.  He said, "I had to do dishes for my my mom and I'm not ever doing them again".  We never had furniture in the living room but we had a dishwasher.  The folding beach chairs were just fine.  We got a TV for a wedding present and Cec took his bed from home.   It was quite funny!

We've had a few dishwashers in our time.  The dishwasher we have now is 13 years old and it's starting to give us trouble.  So, instead of waiting until it breaks down, let's order one from Costco.  I asked both Cheryl and Donna as I know they both do research and have recently purchased new dishwashers.  They both have Bosch.  They both love the third rack and I know when I've loaded Cheryl's, lids, knives and other flat things fit on that rack nicely.  Bosch gets an excellent rating with Consumer Reports.

Todd our handy appliance repair guy will install it.  It was delivered and Todd said he would come on Friday.  When he arrived and looked at our dishwasher, he said "we may have a problem".  Apparently the code has changed.  Instead of hard wiring, you need an electrical box to plug it in under the sink.  As our dishwasher is on an island, that meant we needed an electrician.  He called his neighbour George, a licensed electrician and George came over on Saturday and installed the electrical box.

The dishwasher was disconnected so I would be doing dishes all weekend.  I don't own a dish drainer.  Todd said, take out the rack from your old dishwasher and put it on a towel!   What a creative idea.  I found if you leave the dishes to soak in the sink in really hot soapy water, they come clean real fast.  Then rinse them in really hot water, leave them for 30 minutes and they dry themselves!   I actually haven't minded doing dishes all weekend.

The dishwasher was installed yesterday.  Todd likes to fly fish.  He has a brand new Ford F350 diesel truck.  Cec had a nice chat with him and it was really nice to have a visitor!!!!

What a gorgeous car!

We went to the golf course for lunch.  We had a nice lunch and when I returned to my car, this car was one empty spot away.   I don't blame him for parking at the perimeter of the lot.  I do that so I get more steps in.  I'm sure he did it to make sure no one bumped into this gorgeous vehicle.

I don't know much about these fancy cars, but this was amazing!   It's a McLaren and the license plates are different.  I thought maybe it was a demo car but I don't even recognize the BC license plates!  

I googled, McLaren 720S price Canada and this came up!

McLaren 720S/MSRP

From CAN$333,000

Sleep

I never had trouble sleeping until COVID.  I was thinking it was because I wasn't getting out as much as before, but I'm not sure that's true.  I have a Fit Bit that monitors my sleep.  It's quite interesting to see the stages of sleep.  I check it every morning.  Sometimes it says "fair" and I feel great.  Other times it says "good" and I am still tired.  I've never had excellent or poor and don't know if they are in the app.  

I chose this week as it looks pretty bad.  I remember on March 11th, I was fine all day.  On March 9th, it's recorded two different sleep times.  I was up in the middle of the night trying to get back to sleep.  In all, I felt good.  I never had anything on my mind so I have no idea why the short sleep.

I found this online.  I have seen most of this before, but it's a good reminder of what you should do.  Now, to put my phone away before bed..... 

A good sleep and a good laugh really help you start the day!

Winter is over and the good times are coming!

 

Animals are missing human connections too

 The animals in a zoo in Germany were depressed and never left their dens.  This happened during the pandemic.  Nobody went there anymore, neither children nor adults. The zoo remained empty.  So the zoo keeper called this pianist to play for them .. And see what happened..!

Finally a Red Hat lunch

Dr. Bonnie lifted outside gatherings to TEN people!  It was a Green Hat lunch.  Happy St. Patrick's Day Red Hatters!    I didn't take pictures as we were in a park, six feet apart.  We were allowed 10 and 8 showed up!   We all brought our own chair, lunch and stories.  It was great to catch up with these lovely ladies.  

One lady had her COVID vaccine the day before.  She went to the South Surrey Park and Ride location.   It's a drive thru and her son took both her and her husband.  They drove up to a fellow who gave them a questionnaire.  They filled it in and got in line.  The line wasn't long and they opened the windows and rolled up their sleeves.   They made the car wait 15 minutes and they they told her son they could drive off!   She said, "super easy and no side effects".  They got a card saying they'd received the Pfizer vaccine and the date.  The rest of the group is anxiously awaiting their year to be called!  

One of our members went to her winter home in Mesa, Arizona.  They own a place and go every year.  We were all surprised when she told us last September she was going.  The Canadian Snowbird Association insured them and they flew down.  I believe they purchased a car when they got their as they usually drive down.  She got sick in January, not serious but they decided they should come home.  She told us they social distanced and took the same precautions as they would have in Canada.  She said there were people who got COVID but they weren't following the rules.   She was happy to be home. 

We enjoyed a great afternoon in the Sullivan Park.  It was sunny but still pretty chilly.  Wonderful to see friends!

I saw this today and it looks like this is what is going to be what most countries are going to implement for visitors:

Iceland to open borders to all vaccinated travelers from 18 March

The Icelandic government has announced that all travellers are welcome to visit Iceland, starting tomorrow, without being subject to border measures, such as testing and quarantine, if they can show either:

• A certificate of full vaccination against COVID-19

• A certificate of previous COVID-19 infection

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your window pane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

And may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Paraproskokians

First time I heard about paraprosdokians, I liked them. They are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous. Winston Churchill loved them.

 

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you ...but it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up -- we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

7. Knowledge, is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of an emergency, notify..." I answered "a doctor."

11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

13. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

Sadly this is true!!! 

Monday jokes

This happened yesterday and is important information for our age group.

A friend had his 2nd dose of the vaccine at the vaccination center after which he began to have blurred vision on the way home.

When he got home, he called the vaccination center for advice and to ask if he should go see a doctor, or be hospitalized.

He was told NOT to go to a doctor or a hospital, but just return to the vaccination center immediately and pick up his glasses !!