Update on today's post

8:30 AM - update on friend who was stuck in New Westminster.  She left her office at 4 in Burnaby.  At 12:30 AM, she gave up trying to get to Surrey and stayed with a friend in New Westminster!  The Alex Fraser Bridge finally opened to southbound traffic at 3:00 AM!   She is at work this morning!  

We live very near a BC Highway that goes east/west and major road north/south.  There are hills north and west yesterday people couldn't navigate.  I watched the cams and they were still stuck at 11 PM.  This morning, COBS Bread across the street posted notes on cars that were left in the parking lot all night.

Snowmageddon 2022

When it snows in Vancouver, you brace yourself.  I always stock up on groceries and hunker inside.

The snow didn't start here until about 2 PM.  By 5, it was getting pretty deep.  We watched the news and saw some freeways had problems.  It wasn't until 7:30 when Cec went out with the snow blower did we realize how bad it was.  He saw a bus and truck stuck on 152.  I went onto the highway cams as they are at our intersection and nothing was moving.  Everyone was having problems navigating the hills around here.  

I saw some disturbing videos of cars and busses crashing into each other on Facebook.  Then someone posted Google Maps.  Red means completely stopped, yellow is crawling.  Check out Abbotsford, they are all green!

My neighbour who is in Arizona for the winter texted me.  Her friend who lives in Surrey, not far from me was trying to get home from her work in Burnaby.  She had been sitting in front of the New Westminster City Hall for four hours!   The Patullo was obviously bad, then it was announced the Alex Fraser Bridge was closed in both directions. Busses were stuck and Semi's had jackknifed. Nothing could pass.  Tow trucks couldn't get to them.  It sounds like every hill in greater Vancouver was having problems.  

The City of Surrey spread brine over all the major roads for the last two days.  It wasn't enough and I hope no one was hurt during snowmageddon 2022.

Now we wait as it is going to warm up and this will be a soggy mess!

Happy Tuesday

 

Patience visited me

And it reminded me

That good things take time to come to fruition

And grow slowly with stability

Peace visited me

And it reminded me

That I may remain calm through the storms of life

Regardless of the chaos surrounding me

Hope visited me

And it reminded me

That better times lay ahead

And it would always be there to guide and uplift me

Humility visited me

And it reminded me

That I may achieve it

Not by trying to shrink myself and make myself less

But by focusing on serving the world and uplifting those around me

Kindness visited me

And it reminded me

To be more gentle, forgiving and compassionate toward myself

And those surrounding me

Confidence visited me

And it reminded me

To not conceal or suppress my gifts and talents

In order to make others feel more comfortable

But to embrace what makes me me

Focus visited me

And it reminded me

That other people’s insecurities and judgements about me

Are not my problem

And I should redirect my attention

From others back to me

Freedom visited me

And it reminded me

That no one has control over my mindset, thoughts and wellbeing

But me

And love visited me

And it reminded me

That I need not search for it in others

As it lies within me.

Words by Tahlia Hunter

Artwork by Jungsuk Lee

The fun continues in Surrey council

Our last civic election elected a mayor that wants to terminate the transition from a local police force and return back to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  It's causing quite a stir in our city.  As a taxpayer, I want some transparency.  We've never had an audited projection as to the cost of the transition.  The previous council kept announcing numbers, then months later, they would announce huge over spending.  They never did a business plan!  Our new mayor said she would be transparent but so far we haven't had any financial information.

Tomorrow, Brian Edwards, Assistant RCMP Commissioner, will present a report on reversing the transition from a local police force, back to the RCMP to the city council.  The Surrey Police Union has been very vocal since the election as they want to keep their jobs.  The RCMP said the officers could move over to the RCMP but they don't want to.  They were not vetted before being hired by the new police force.  Some of the Surrey Police have worked for 3 or 4 other police forces!  Who are these officers, and why do they change forces?  Makes you wonder how qualified they are.

Our former Mayor announced he will attend the council meeting.  The Surrey Police Union says they will attend and so will the Keep The RCMP citizens!   It should be a very interesting council meeting!  I'm watching livestream today at 7 PM:

Surrey Council Livestream

To cheer you up on a Sunday

These are things that drive me nuts.  I'm sure you can relate:

 

Snow!!!

Weather Forecast for Greater Vancouver:

 Heads up! South Coast snow possible!

Still days away so make sure you tune back in. 1st chance Sunday night, spotty snow. 2nd chance Tues & Wed, more widespread, will depend on the temp.

I dread snow!  I don't like driving in it, I worry about falling in it.  I know it looks pretty but I just stay in.  This week, I've got a hair cut, an eye doctor appointment, life labs appointment and we start Santa letters all by Wednesday!  I have a 4 x 4 with new tires.  Doesn't matter.  If it snows I don't go!

Next weekend we are having dinner with friends in Vancouver!  Let's hope this doesn't happen.  

The Rubik's Cube

We watched an interesting program on the invention of the Rubik's cube.  I remember when Cec bought his cube.  We were in Florida and on the plane ride home, he twisted and turned it.  My mom was with us and she said "he will figure that out before we land", and he did!

The Rubik's Cube was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian architecture professor.  Rubik later used the Cube as a learning exercise to teach his students about 3 dimensional spaces.  Little did he know his "Magic Cube" as he originally named it, would become one of the world's most famous puzzles of all time.

By the 1980's the Rubik's Cube was a worldwide craze selling millions of Cubes every year and cementing its legacy into pop culture.  Featured in The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, a Spice Girls music video and major Hollywood movies, the Rubik's Cube continues to grow around the world.

Crafty people

I have friends who love to craft and are very talented.  I never got this talent and I appreciate seeing what they do.  On our Post Office bus trips, Pauline brings some of her crafts.  She goes to thrift stores, buys items and "creates"!  When I was speaking to her sister-in-law a while ago and told her how much I've missed our bus trips that have been postponed because of COVID.  I told her my favorite craft that I would love to win was Pauline's shirt-aprons.  She buys men's shirts at thrift stores and makes a gorgeous apron.

I got an email from Pauline who wanted to meet for coffee yesterday.  She brought me one of her wonderful creations!

There is a large pocket in front!  Her sewing is awesome. What a lovely gift!  

I really hope our bus trips are reinstated in the spring.  Members donate and we play games to raise money for charity and win great prizes. 

Thank you Pauline!!!!

Black Friday

Are the sales real?  I've heard a lot of controversy over the years, but this year I experienced it.  I am a travel consultant and book travel for friends.  I have two friends that have two different cruises booked with Princess Cruises.  One is ready for final payment, but I said "let's wait and hopefully you will see a price drop".  

Today the Black Friday specials were released.  Both cruises had price increases!  Both original cruises had an on board credits and even with the price increase, no on board credits.  Princess Love Boat Sale was far better than Black Friday!

I spoke with another agent who was going to reprice a Celebrity Cruise and just like Princess, it was much higher today!  

Princess is offering $1.00 deposits on Cyber Monday.  If you want to hold a cruise for $1.00, give me a call.  Hopefully the prices will readjust soon. 

So, friends, beware as these sales can be very misleading!

AND - more to my blog on Twitter, it wasn't just me:

Newsweek article

Way to go Nova Scotia

Every year, Nova Scotia provides Boston with its official yuletide tree as a thank you for the city's response to the 1917 Halifax Explosion!   

An estimated 2,000 people died and 9,000 people more were injured.  Aid from Boston was the first to arrive and response has not been forgotten!

Twitter, what's happening?

I've been on Twitter since May 2009.  I was able to use my name as my handle as I must have got in very early!  I learned about Twitter working in IT as they were all talking about it.  I enjoy following news feeds from reputable networks, journalists from local and international papers and other interesting people.  I rarely tweet, but I "lurk" every day.  I read everything with an open mind and I enjoyed it when they started calling out misinformation and outright lies. 

Since Elon Musk took over, it's been a bumpy ride.  A couple of weeks ago my feed almost stopped.  I didn't know why and it's now speeded up again.  I thought perhaps people left but they are now reappearing.  I don't know who is manipulating the feed, but yesterday I read by a well known journalist "I've never followed Donald Trump and now he's back on Twitter, I'm following him.  I never asked to follow him, someone did it".  I too did not follow Donald Trump before he was banned and look at my feed today:

Someone in Twitter world, made me follow the twice impeached, disgraced former president that lead a coup to overturn the American election!  I also read he isn't going back on Twitter, but obviously Elon Musk wants him to.  I immediately unfollowed and then blocked him.  No wonder he has 86.8 million followers!  Note: in me writing this his blog followers went up by 20,000!   I guess Elon is still adding them to his feed.

Today, our former Mayor, Doug McCallum, goes to court to learn his fate on charges of public mischief by lying to the RCMP.  While, I figure his overpriced lawyer will get him off, I will watch Twitter to find out what the verdict is.  They proved he lied about being "pinned against a car" and Debi Johnston "speeding out of the parking spot" as that was caught on camera.  They have no evidence of Debi Johnston "running over his foot" and the video doesn't show him limping after or telling anyone at the store he was run over.  Fabricated, yes, but lied to RCMP?  It will be interesting and it's in Surrey Court room 101 at 9 AM today!  My friend Laurie will be in the court as she has for every day but the first day.  It was Halloween and she showed up in costume.  She has the green hair and made the front page of The Province newspaper on November 1st!  

Husbands!

 

When I saw this, it made me laugh.  Years ago, I left a note for Cec on the dishwasher.  It was full.   He was still in the shower and hadn't eaten breakfast yet.   I was out for the entire day.  The note said "please turn on the dishwasher".  I came home to another note "I love you dishwasher, I love you dishwasher"!   He really thought it was funny.  We went out for dinner.

I shouldn't ever complain.  Yesterday I had a manicure appointment.  When I returned home, he yelled "the kitchen floor is still wet"!.  He'd vacuumed the house and washed the floors.  He really believes I will get the cleaning lady back!

Utqiagvik, Alaska

When the sun set last night in Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, Alaska, it will not rise again for 65 days!  I can't imagine living in a city with no sun for over 2 months.  I'm sure they love the summer when the sun doesn't set but this must be difficult.  

Cec and I have been to Kotzebue but never to Barrow/Utqiagvik! In 1980, we met Chester Seveck!  We used an airline pass to go as far north as Alaska Airlines would take us.  We made a stop-over in Nome.  

Chester Seveck

"The face (smiling Eskimo face emblazoned on the tail of Alaska Airlines planes) is that of the late Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder and a phenomenal Eskimo dancer, who for years greeted tourists getting off the plane at Kotzebue, Alaska," said state Sen. Willie Hensley, an Eskimo from Kotzebue.

We've also seen Sara Palin's house and there is no way she can see Russia from her porch!  I love Alaska.  If you only cruise up there, you really need to do a land tour!

What is CNN thinking?

Every New Year's Eve, I love watching Anderson Cooper.  First he was with Kathy Griffith and then they replaced her with Andy Cohen.  The New Years antics are so entertaining.  What's going to happen this year?

Both Anderson and Andy have small toddlers at home.  Let these guys have some fun and let the rest of us enjoy it!  Now it's just going to be newscasters and a clock.  How boring!

Alaska 2024

We heard this week Celebrity Cruises will be moving the Celebrity Edge to sail Alaska in 2024!  The Celebrity Edge is the nicest cruise ship I've ever sailed on.  It's a big step above Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean.  It's in another class all by itself.  

Jeanie and I went on her when she was brand new!  The ship and crew are amazing!  You can go back to my posts when I was on the ship, November 28, 2018.  I've posted lots of pictures.

If you are thinking of a cruise to Alaska in two years, take a look at this ship!  She's repositioning from Australia and you can sail her into Vancouver from Honolulu in April 2024.  She will be based in Seattle for Alaska as I'm sure sailing under the Lions Gate Bridge will have to be at low tide when she comes in for the first time.

If you want to see more about this cruise ship:

Celebrity Edge Ship Tour

Charlie's Angels

 

This picture made me think a lot.  Obviously Charles III needs a lot of help and I'm sure these ladies will all step in when required. I like them all but one.  Maybe time will change my views.  

Now back to watching The Crown on Netflix.

Cell phones

 

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. Postage is not required for letters to Santa (in Canada) – but encouraging proper addressing is a good learning experience for all. Santa’s address is:

Santa Claus

North Pole

Canada HOH OHO

Petrol update

At noon today, the gas price at the Chevron and Shell stations at Hwy 10 and 152 adjusted their price on regular from 2.039 to 1.929 per litre.  A .09 cent a litre drop.  This has nothing to do with the price of oil, it was a long weekend and it's called price fixing!   It's about time the government clamped down as this happens every long weekend in BC.

Cross border shopping

It is a long weekend and lineups at Peace Arch Border crossing were over 3 hours on Friday morning.  Now we know where they were all going:

See new Tweets

Conversation

FROM TWITTER:

Richard Zussman

@richardzussman

Trader Joe’s in Bellingham broke their store sales record on Friday. Canadian cross border shopping is not just to pre pandemic levels, but breaking records. #bcpoli

FROM MY BORDER PRICE CONVERTER APP:

Gas prices are from Gas Buddy
Canadian: Chevron 152 Street & Hwy 10
US: Costco Bellingham