Happy 20th Anniversary

When I was in my early 40's I had knee pain.  It got worse and at 48 was sent to the UBC Sports Medicine Clinic.  The Dr. said my case was very "unique" and I needed a specific specialist.  After going to five more specialists, I finally found one that would operate.  It took six years.  I spent time in a wheel chair and took incredible amounts of pain killers including some that were deemed unsafe and taken off the market.

He told me I needed seven months off work.  I would have one knee replaced and then four months after I would have the second surgery.  I had two orthopedic surgeons in the operating room as my legs were so crooked they needed two doctors to set them straight.  I was in St. Paul's Hospital for eight days.

When I was discharged, I was given strict instructions.  "Absolutely no running and restrict your walking."  "Walk up stairs, take the elevator down if you can."  "If you fall," he said "we will probably never be able to repair a break"!  He told me my knees would probably last ten years and they would only be able to repair them once more.   

My knees were x-rayed two years ago and they are good.  My knees swell at times, but I know how to deal with it.  

My cousin Sharon and my next door neighbour Kathy both had knee replacements this year.  They were in the hospital one night!   How things have changed.  They both had a cryocuff/polar ice machine that kept ice water on their knee to handle the after surgery pain.  I used bags of frozen peas!  

Today I celebrate twenty years of new knees.  Let's hope they last for another twenty years!

Monday fun

 

The Price of Gas in France; very punny

 

A few years ago, Janice talked me into blogging.  I always enjoy reading her blog and yesterday she had a great blog about the Writers Exchange, a wonderful program.  Breakfast in Bed sounds good to me.  

Janice's Blog

CBC - The Fifth Estate

Every Thursday and CBC airs a program called "The Fifth Estate".  It's investigative journalism and they do an excellent job!  This week they featured the BC floods.  They asked a lot of questions and I agreed with everything they said.  

I had never heard the term "Atmospheric River" so I looked it up:

The term "atmospheric river" may conjure images of water flowing through the air, like in a fantasy novel. In a way, that's right — only this weather phenomenon is totally natural, and responsible for providing a vast portion of much-needed moisture to many regions on the planet.

Depending on their strength and duration, atmospheric rivers can also be dangerous. They have been a major cause of the catastrophic flooding and landslides across swaths of B.C. this week, triggering a state of emergency and leading to five confirmed deaths.

We were warned by Environment Canada on our weather app.  If you had the app, you got the warning.  I have it and I got it.  Many people use other weather apps.  Our Province has the ability to send out an emergency text message, but they didn't do it.  They said it was a "regional" matter!  I find it inexcusable they didn't send out a text saying the regions that were in danger of flooding.  The provincial highways department didn't send out a warning that heavy rain may cause slides.  When there is a snow storm, they send out warnings, why not for an atmospheric river?

Our provincial government failed us and the CBC called them on it.  Good for the CBC!  I hope the provincial government reviews the events that occured and make some huge changes in their response or lack of warnings.

This is a little late, but there is another atmospheric river enroute. Last night I saw this on Twitter:

Three atmospheric rivers are set to hit BC over the next week. Heavy rainfall over many days could worsen existing flooding, create new flooding, or heighten the risk of landslides. Always be prepared. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. Stay informed and stay safe:

Not everyone follows the Province of BC on Twitter, but most homes have a cell phone. Send out the text Emergency Notifications!

A sign of the times

We received about 2 inches of snow yesterday so: 

8:00 am: I made a snowman.

8:10 - A feminist passed by and asked me why I didn't make a snow woman.

8:15 - So, I made a snow woman.

8:17 - My feminist neighbor complained about the snow woman's voluptuous chest saying it objectified women everywhere.

8:20 - The gay couple living nearby threw a hissy fit and moaned it could have been two snowmen instead.

8:22 - The transgender man.. women...person asked why I didn't just make one snow person with detachable parts.

8:25 - The vegans at the end of the lane complained about the carrot nose, as veggies are food and are not used to decorate snow figures.

8:28 - I was being called a racist because the snow couple is white. 

8:30 - I used food coloring to make one of the snow couple a different color and be more racially inclusive.

8:37 - Then accused of using a black face on the snowperson.

8:39 - The middle eastern gent across the road demanded the snow woman be completely covered.

8:40 - The police arrived saying someone had been offended.

8:42 - The feminist neighbor complained again that the broomstick of the snow woman needed to be removed because it depicted women in a domestic role.

8:43 - The 'council on equality' officer arrived and threatened me with eviction.

8:45 - TV news crew from ABC showed up. I was asked if I know the difference between snowmen and snow-women? I replied "Snowballs" and am now a sexist.

9:00 - I was on the news as a suspected terrorist, racist, homophobe, and sensibility offender, bent on stirring up trouble during difficult weather.

9:10 - I was asked if I have any accomplices. My children were taken by social services.

9:29 - Far left protesters offended by everything marched down the street demanding that I be arrested.

9:45 - The boss called and fired me because of the negative association with work that had been all over social media.

10:00 - I cry into my drink because all I wanted to do was build a snowman...

Moral: There isn't a moral to this story. It is what this world has become because of a bunch of snowflakes.

More rain is coming!!!

Another round of rain is enroute!  We are expecting 40 to 80 mm of rain in the next couple of days.  Freezing levels will rise above mountain tops on Thursday.  This may worsen recent flooding and impact vulnerable landscapes and infrastructure.  Then a break and on the weekend, and more rain.  Let's hope the rain doesn't overwhelm the Fraser Valley where they are recovering.  

Yesterday I went to Langley Costco for senior shopping hours at 7:50 AM.  The lineup to get it was to the end of the building.  There was no lineup at the gas pumps, I think everyone filled up earlier.  You would have thought it was December 24th at 3 PM.  I must say, I never saw anyone hoarding or taking ridiculous amounts of dairy or toilet paper, they were just stocking up like I was.  I heard another shopper say the Abbotsford Costco is open which is great for the people in the valley.

I have not seen any grocery stores with empty shelves and all our gas stations have fuel.  You are limited to 30 litres of petrol and dairy is limited at some stores.  

Thanksgiving Canada vs USA

 

Christmas displays in and around Vancouver

Here is the first list of Christmas lights and wonderful displays in Vancouver:

Christmas at Canada Place, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver 

December 3 - January 2  Free Admission

Potters Nursery, 19158 48 Ave, Surrey, BC 

- This is a garden store that has wonderful Christmas displays  Free Admission

https://potters.ca/christmas-store/

Glow (Garden Centre) - November 18 - January 1

6690 216 St, Langley  

(there is a charge of $40 per car; drive through at night to see the lights)

https://www.glowgardens.com/langley-christmas/ 

Lumagic - December 3-30

Cloverdale Fair Grounds -- Evening Christmas light show, indoors & outdoors

$22 adults / $18 seniors plus $5 per car to park

https://lumagica.ca/ 

Fleurs de Villes Noel - December 10-19

In downtown Vancouver -- website will have a map

No charge -- but requires a lot of walking

https://www.fleursdevilles.com/microsite/noelvancouver2021

St. Paul's Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver  November 18 - onwards

Capilano Suspension Bridge, 3835 Capilano Road, North Vancouver

November 20 - January 23    11:00 AM to 9:00 PM  $18.95 - $54.95

Grouse Mountain Resort, 6400 Nancy Green Way, North Vancouver 

November 25 - January 3   Regular admission

VanDusen Botanical Gardens, 5251 Oak Street, Vancouver

November 26 to January 3  $10.25 to $17.50

Lights at LaFarge, 1299 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam

November 27 - January 31   1.2 KM walk around the lake, wear walking shoes

Burnaby Village, 6501 Deer Lake Road, Burnaby

November 27 - January 3   Admission is free but parking is limited so arrive early

One year we went on the Vancouver Trolley Christmas Light Tour and it was wonderful!  I couldn't see where it's being offered this year, probably because of COVID.  

B C Strong

 

Pretty much sums it up right now

The warnings were real.   

Drivers can only purchase up to 30 litres of gasoline per gas station visit. The restriction, effective immediately, will be in place until Dec. 1.

Hoarding in Canada?

I was shocked the other day when Premier Horgan told people to stop hoarding!  I understand the communities that are isolated due to highways being blocked in the interior.  I never thought we would have a problem in the lower mainland.  Then last night I got this text from my next door neighbour:

Some interesting news from my friend: 

I stopped to fill up since everyone else has been. All Shell had left was 93 at 87 price. I saw a gas tanker at the chevron at KG and 64th.

One of the dump truck drivers heard that the lower mainland has roughly 2 days left of gas. So I decided to fill up just in case. 

I had a little more than half a tank and decided I would fill up because if there is a problem, there will be lineups.  I went to the Shell gas station across the street and found this sign on the pump:

On Wednesday, I received this text from my friend that lives in Parksville.  She drove up to Costco in Courtenay:

OMG went to Costco to just get our regular stuff. You should have seen the numbers of people with basket full of meat , dairy, etc. line ups went down to the meat dept around the bakery and back up the isle's. Hardly able to shop. Same line ups outside like when Covid hit. No meat, chicken or anything in the bins. 

I am not about to run out and get groceries, I will buy what I need.  When I went to Fresh Street yesterday to pick up milk, there was a sign on the milk fridge "Limit 2 items per customer".  I only bought one 2 litre jug.  

Last night when I came home from filling up half a tank of gas, this was on the Facebook site of No Frills in Cloverdale.  No Frills was flooded on Monday and it's closed.  Their Facebook page says it will take three weeks to clean up the store and then they posted this:

We will wait and watch to see what happens.  Now the Government of Canada is removing the PCR COVID test for trips to the US of less than 72 hours, we will be able to go south if we run out of supplies.  Let's hope we can stay in Canada and get what we need.  I do hope the hoarding stops!

Morning update on our situation

 We are fortunate we live in Surrey as things here are good.  However, not far from us is a lot of water and major disaster.

Abbotsford continues to be flooded and the new Surrey Police Force sent officers to help rescue stranded people and animals.   Dozens of volunteers at Dukh Sahib Gurdwara cooked more than 3000 meals for people stranded in Hope.  They paid for a helicopter to deliver the meals.  Thankfully last night the highway was opened for stranded people to return to Vancouver!   The highway has only one lane and it's now to get supplies to Hope in the day and repairs are done while the road is closed at night.

I just spoke to my friend Gail in Princeton.  The pictures we see on TV are old.  The water has receded and there is a lot of mud in town.  A good friend of Gail lost his house.  They still don't have power or gas in town.  Gail and Gerry don't have any cattle and the Lola the dog and the cats are fine.  Supplies are low or non-existent.  The highway is closed between Princeton and Hope.  Gail had surgery scheduled in Abbotsford tomorrow.  She cancelled it as it's impossible for her to get to Abbotsford.  Gail and Gerry live a couple of miles out of town and are on high ground.  Their house is fine and they have electricity.  She abruptly ended our conversation by saying, "OMG Danny from Kamloops is delivering milk, I have to go!"

Yesterday when I picked up Lexie from high school I told her what was going on with people being kind and helping one another.  People in Hope opening up their homes to strangers, the people at Dukh Sahib Gurdwara sending food and her reply to me:  "It's like Gander, Newfoundland after 9/11!"   Yes, Lexie it sure is!   I told her I would take her to Come From Away when the Broadway stage play comes to Vancouver in the summer.  She wasn't born when 9/11 happened but the schools are teaching it!   If anyone reading this has a Broadway Across Canada membership and can get advance tickets, please email me.  I cancelled my Broadway Across Canada when COVID hit.  It was a mistake!

What do you call ???

When we cruise we always play trivia.  Many of the questions are related to groups of animals.   

A congress of owls.  Do you think they are wise?

A gaggle of geese

A murder of crows.  We see lots of crows in blueberry season

A pack of lions

A flock of chickens

A herd of cows

A school of fish

 

Abbotsford is flooding!

Abbotsford is a 30 minute drive from where I life, due east.

The devastation continues to get worse.  Last night at 9 PM the City of Abbotsford sent out an immediate call for anyone living on Sumas Prairie who has not evacuated to evacuate immediately!  The Barrowtown Pump Station is about to fail and when that happens water from Fraser River will flood the area.  Residents told to drop everything and leave immediately, it's a matter of life or death!

In 1924, Sumas Prairie was a lake.  The Barrowtown Pump Station drained the huge lake and stopped it from filling up again.  It appears the Sumas Lake will reappear!  

This is Abbotsford, early yesterday.  I'm sure it's worse now.  If you drive Highway 1 you will know this area well.  The yellow circle is the site of Castle Fun Park!
 

CBC News coverage

Thursday, November 11th was Remembrance Day.  All our schools took Friday off to give all the students a five day weekend.  There were hockey tournaments all over the province and a lot of people took advantage of the long weekend and travelled around our province.  

This post from Facebook is from a friend of a friend of mine.  It breaks my heart because so many people are stranded. 

We've been trapped in Hope since Sunday coming back home from Kamloops. Sleeping in the van and being fed at the local high school and "Grace Baptist Church" . People have been so nice and generous here.

Panago gave everyone pizza for free when there was no power in the whole city. They worked with a generator to help all people in the two shelters. Local people keep bringing food and supplies for the hundreds of people in shelters. Lots of families with children, babies, pets, elderly people, etc. 

Meanwhile, I don't want to waste my time, so I went around and offered "free massages with my doterra essential oils" I helped a retired teacher and her husband, an autistic boy and his mom, a pregnant lady,, etc. They all get rid of their pains, they felt, relieved, grateful and loved!!

 

Unfortunately, there have been mudslides everywhere, flooding, winds and so much rain. All highways are closed. We cannot go anywhere from here😵😭

Pray for us and for the people that are trapped in the highway because of the mudslide😭.RCMP just came to give us the bad news that more Mudslides happened and they are trying to rescue them🙏

 We hope they will open the highway soon when it's safe🙏🙏

Vancouver weather!!!

We've had non-stop torrential rain for days.  Environment Canada issued a Rain/Storm warning.  No one expected what just happened.  Yesterday was our Red Hat lunch.  I was dressed and ready to go with 20 minutes to spare.  Then I hear a huge sound and this happened:

The weatherman said when the rain subsides at noon, expect high winds.  This was before the high winds.  The branch was close to our house and with a strong wind, we could lose a window or two!  I emailed our strata and he had an arborist at our home in an hour!  They couldn't take the tree down but figured it would be safe so they took the broken branches down and left them in our yard!  I was thrilled they came so fast.  I'm sure they were very busy.

When the rain finally stopped just after lunch, we ventured out.  There were flooded roads, everywhere!  The Cloverdale Mall was flooded, when we drove out of Willowbrook Mall, again huge flooding and a small car was sitting in the water with his flashers going!  When we passed the Serpentine and Nicomekl Rivers they were right up to the banks and almost touching the bridges we were driving over!  

There are so many people stranded, some for the second night.  The entire town of Merritt has been evacuated.  My friend Gail in Princeton was in tears when I called yesterday morning to see how they were doing.  There property is little higher than most in Princeton and they have no water close to their house.  At the end of their very long driveway that ends at Highway 3 there is 3 1/2 feet of water!  Fortunately they don't have any cattle in the fall.  

Within the lower mainland, Highway 99, just before the Oak Street Bridge to Vancouver has been close all day to traffic, north and south because of flooding.  Highway 1, Canada's link from coast to coast is now closed at Abbotsford.  

On June 30th, 90% of the town of Lytton was devastated by fire.  Here is Highway 1 just outside Lytton, as if they haven't had enough grief:

There are four highways out of Vancouver to the rest of Canada.  They are all closed with major slides.  Some of them are going to take weeks to fix.  

In all this destruction, The Beaverton made me laugh - 

What to take to bed with you - not a joke!

 

Pretty neat idea. Never thought of it before.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car.  The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds , all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem...

It time to send letters to Santa

Every year I participate in the Canada Post letters to Santa program. If you have a child who would like to send a letter to Santa and have it returned please read below. Don't wait as we have already received thousands of letters! If you are a teacher anywhere in the world message me and I'll give you the details for teachers. It is a lot of fun and very rewarding.

North Pole (Canada) – Each year, the holiday season puts a spotlight on popular toys and new exciting trends, but one timeless holiday tradition is still going strong for children all over the world. Already, Santa’s post office is reporting letters are pouring in – with the first one received in July, reminding Santa to eat well and exercise in anticipation of a very busy holiday season.

Santa’s Chief Postal Elf Holly T. Elf is reporting that already some 10,000 letters have come in, keeping postal elves busy. An increase of about 10% in letters is expected this year, meaning that Santa’s post office could answer over 1.5 million letters this season in more than 30 languages, including Braille. Santa and his 6,000 postal elves will ensure that each and every letter will get a response in time for Christmas.

“I encourage all the girls and boys to send their letter to Santa soon,” says Holly T. Elf, who started working at the North Pole post office more than 30 years ago. “And don’t forget to include your return address. While Santa knows where your house is, the postal elf team needs your address to ensure your letter will be delivered on time.”

All letters to Santa should be mailed before December 11 to give Santa enough time to send a letter back. Santa’s address is:

Santa Claus

North Pole

Canada HOH OHO

Wikipedia

I use Wikipedia all the time.  I never knew the story behind it.  The fact Jimmy Wales set this up as a non-profit shows what an incredible person he is.  Here is his story:

I always check out these videos to make sure they are accurate.  I check Wikipedia and Snopes usually to see if the information is correct. There was nothing on Snopes discrediting this video but this was found on Wikipedia:

Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known by the pseudonym Jimbo, is an American-British^[4] Internet entrepreneur, webmaster, and former financial trader.^[3][5] He is a co-founder of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia^[6] and the for-profit web hosting company Wikia, later renamed Fandom.^[7]

Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama, where he attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school.^[8][9][10] He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in finance from Auburn University and the University of Alabama respectively.^[9] In graduate school, Wales taught at two universities; however, he departed before completing a PhD to take a job in finance and later worked as the research director of a Chicago futures and options firm.

In 1996, Wales and two partners founded Bomis, a web portal primarily known for featuring adult content. Bomis provided the initial funding for the free peer-reviewed encyclopedia, Nupedia (2000–2003). On January 15, 2001, with Larry Sanger and others, Wales launched Wikipedia, a free open-content encyclopedia that enjoyed rapid growth and popularity. As Wikipedia's public profile grew, he became its promoter and spokesman. Though he is historically credited as co-founder, he has disputed this, declaring himself the sole founder.^[11][12]

Wales serves on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, the charity that he helped establish to operate Wikipedia, holding its board-appointed "community founder" seat. For his role in creating Wikipedia, the world's largest encyclopedia, Time named him one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2006.^[13]

Vancouver City Hall

On a recent walk past Vancouver City Hall, I noticed all these flowers put into the ground.  I thought at first it was for Remembrance Day, but a closer look showed it was in memory of the Indigenous children that were found at the site of residential schools.  

Canada's $10 Bill

 

If you look at the back right-hand side of a Canadian $10 bill, you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa War Memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died last month at the age of 90.

That he managed to live to that age is rather remarkable, given what happened in the Second World War. Born in England , he was one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new German warfare technique - the Blitzkrieg.

He was treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel.

En route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from Dunkirk on HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.

Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy . En route, his ship was chased by the German battleship Bismarck .

In North Africa he served under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox, Rommel.

Sent into the Italian campaign, he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physio-therapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.

After the war, they settled in Chatham , Ontario , where he went into politics and became the warden (chairman) of the county, and on his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa . At the age of 80 he wrote a book about his experiences.

One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official asking him to go downtown for a photo op. He wasn't told what the photo was for, or why they chose him. 'He had no idea he would be on the bill,' his daughter said.

And now you know the story of the old veteran on the $10 bill.

A touching poem for Remembrance Day

Joshua Dyer (aged 14) was tasked at school to write a poem for Remembrance Day.

An hour later (without any help) he produced this..

ONE THOUSAND MEN ARE WALKING

One thousand men are walking

Walking side by side

Singing songs from home

The spirit as their guide

they walk toward the light milord

they walk towards the sun

they smoke and laugh and smile together

no foes to outrun

these men live on forever

in the hearts of those they saved

a nation truly grateful

for the path of peace they paved

they march as friends and comrades

but they do not march for war

step closer to salvation

a tranquil steady corps

the meadows lit with golden beams

a beacon for the brave

the emerald grass untrampled

a reward for what they gave

they dream of those they left behind

and know they dream of them

forever in those poppy fields

there walks one thousand men

Joshua Dyer 2019

Lest we forget