John is thinking of the fires on Maui, which are devastating, thankfully not near his place. Heâs in the Okanagan, with sisters and cousin and no smoke. He is driving back later today.
Jeannette will one day send out a member satisfaction survey, to identify any concerns or ways weâd like to improve. We havenât done this for a while. In preparation for October, it needs to be done by the end of September.
Susan says itâs great to see everyone. This is her last day before 1.5 weeks of holidays. She is looking forward to being in town and relaxing and maybe playing pickle ball.
Peachy is getting excited as she is going to Alaska on a cruise on Saturday with Elena.
Micheal sent the schedule of speakers from ClubRunner. As more speakers get booked, he can send out updates. Some reclassifications are included. It is busy at the Banquet Hall, every day since last week, and last night they were here until 11 p.m. It is still set up in the ballroom which is why we met in the foyer (many prefer this as we can hear better). Aiden, Michealâs 4-year-old son is ready for preschool, and Micheal realized that it is very hard to find child care and education. They live at Knight and 33rd, so ideally Aiden would go to Kensington Community Centre Preschool, but Micheal searched all the online stuff for all the centres around, with no success. Then he found the area manager, whose last name is Singh, and used his Riverside Banquet gmail account and instantly got an email back, then a phone call. After explaining his dilemma, the next day he got the registration package for Kensington, and his son is in for preschool, full time for 400/month. Very lucky. He applied for modified collector plates for the1983 Cadillac but needs to fill out forms for regular collector plates, so is waiting to hear.
Debbie T. went to Bard on the Beach and saw âAs You Like Itâ, best show ever! She is feeling sad for Maui and the big banyan tree which was scorched. She participated with SD38 in the Pride Parade with bubbles and lots of fun. The new pride crosswalk at Palmer has now been vandalized 3 times even with a guard. It is devastating to think someone would do this.
Elena attended the officers induction at Mountain View, where they now have over 30 members and was sitting with the Assistant District Governor. It was a good evening and she met lots of Rotarians. She is getting ready for the Alaska cruise on Saturday. Her car was broken into, and ICBC wants to write it off as there is over $5000 damage, needing the glass and locks changed as the thieves used a hammer. She is not buying a new car and is looking for a used car.
Sandra went to see Barbie. She is proud to announce she had her Birkenstocks before Barbie got hers.
Melinda did the packed and successful parade, in her cow costume and Don Dixon was a piece of bacon. They were voted best new entrant. Saturday morning they provided bratwursts, etc. for the Four Winds 5km run. They did Bobâs BBQ and were happy, but exhausted, the next day. Her ex-husband and his wife are here, were in the parade with them, and theyâve taken lots of family photos. Willow is trying to figure out her grandparents. Melinda is going to New York on Aug. 19-27, and is looking forward to seeing her exâs sister and husband. They will be flying all night, then picking up a car and driving to Connecticut and back. She keeps looking for better rental rates and as she gets closer to the date, rates get cheaper through Costco. She is devastated for Maui. Lahaina is gone. She has seen videos from a helicopter, showing the whole harbour and boats that were burning.
Chris M. is looking after Moss (2-year-old golden retriever) and had the best day yesterday as her friend and 8-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl came for the day, had a Burger Buffet and spent lots of time running around with the dog. Moss thought he was one of them and they all played with the same energy and enthusiasm. She also saw the Barbie movie and thought it was great. Olivia and Matt will be back Monday night from New York.
Carolyn was in Victoria to see the kids and stayed in residence at UVic for $75/night. It was basic, but a new residence building, with shared washrooms, but only 3 people in the building. Her kids were just down the street, so she spent all her time there. She has done that in the UK as well, and no affiliation with the university is needed. It was delightful to see how the kids have grown in a month. However, Victoria is suffering, with lots of adults and youth living on the street, having a rough time. At a meeting last spring with the minister, they were talking about âstreet disorderâ, and Carolyn thought they were talking about people with disorders, but she did witness the streets shifting with homeless people and suffering businesses. It was an interesting visit.
Marg had dinners with friends, and a family reunion with 37 from Donâs side, 4 couples who have had kids since they saw them last. The kids ran the entire day and played âone holerâ. Ben saw the Barbie movie with his soccer coach and remembers being devasted when he cut his Barbieâs hair and realized it didnât grow back. The picture of Don as bacon is hilarious. Yesterday he sliced his finger, wrapped it in paper towel and cellophane, realized it was bad hours later, went to Richmond emergency, then to Delta, was promised a two-hour wait, arrived at 5 p.m. and was home at 1 a.m. with 6 stitches. Poor Don! They are going to Green Lake, to a friendâs cabin tonight for days of swimming and kayaking â and finger healing!
Pat was sorry sheâs late although she originally woke up at 6 a.m. with a migraine starting (and would have stayed home if she wasnât supposed to be Sergeant at Arms), reset the alarm and woke up at two minutes to seven! She had a nightmare about her husband being ill and hadnât slept well. Thanks to Bill for doing S@A. She babysat her grand dog last week. She went to Kove for dinner in Steveston and enjoyed the great patio. Her grandchildren are growing and are much taller than she is.
Chris B. saw the Barbie movie, in pink, in Alberta, in a small theatre, not like those in Richmond. She saw Meg One, and Meg Two. Tonight, she is going to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Her grandkids have been here since Friday night. They are as tall as Malcom, with size 13 shoes. Both boys were in swimming for the last 3 weeks. Matthew was in summer games in provincials, a 12-year-old with the 16-year-olds. He likes the breaststroke. They went to âall you can eatâ sushi, which cost $88 for 3 of them. Matthew had 16 sushi and Brodie had 18 sushi and certainly ate their moneyâs worth. Saturday theyâre going to the biggest bouncy house in the world in Cloverdale which costs $50/person for 3 hours. The boys want to extend their stay, but Chris is so tired she has to go to bed at 9:30 p.m. and the boys sleep in. Sheâs leaving for California on Thursday for a rest.
Garth golfed at UBC last Thursday with the two Johns, thinking he had a tee time for 8:40 a.m., but turns out it was for 8:40 p.m. John Newman was chatting up the starter and got them in for the morning tee time! He had a good time in Whistler but was shocked to discover you canât take dogs up the gondola, although you can take dirty bikes. They were dog sitting! They went to Quattro, their favourite restaurant. He knows someone who lost their place in Lahaina.
Peter thinks grandchildren are wonderful to have and entertain, but are expensive. His 12-year-old granddaughter, says sheâll start with Wagyu beef at the restaurant, a $24 appetizer, then wants a steak. For his own kids, he told them prawns were good for them so they wouldnât touch them. There was a fire near Tulameen, which made news as the music festival was evacuated. The fire is under control now.
Bill loves how everyone fills in when we have no speaker. He is in Seattle this weekend. This was his 13th Pride Parade, and it was uplifting to be at the end in BC place, seeing everyone happy and friendly, and to see at least 100 breasts and many tight silver speedos. He urges us to go next year, at least for the - say what? (breasts and penises.) Who wouldn't be up for seeing more Bs and Ps!
Bobby went to dinner last week at Cactus Club at English bay but was seated inside where it was humid and stuffy, so he wonât go again. He is off to Whistler on Sunday for 4 days of hiking and biking and will miss an event he helped plan and organize activities with Kidsplay, BC Lions and Save On Foods. It is for 50 kids who are less fortunate, and Micheal will take over the fun event. Heâs been busy at the hall and is looking forward to time away. He was reminded to tell the story of Hello Fresh (across the street) whose drivers all drive Teslas for deliveries but laid off a few employees. The RCMP showed up a week ago, looking for footage of someone who took a hammer to the Teslas and smashed all the windows. Last weekend, more cars were done. The RCMP didnât find anything useful in the footage. Bobbyâs wife drives an Audi and had a break-in years ago with a cost of $5000 for a window replacement.
Bob identified with Michealâs challenge as his own kids went to Blue Spruce Montessori down the road. He had filled in the application but was told that Gavin had to speak English to attend, and as he only spoke Punjabi with his grandmother, they spoke lots of English during the summer. Regarding sushi and buffet bars, he remembers Uncle Willyâs for $6, (there is one still open in Burnaby), and Pizza Hut on Westminster Hwy for $5 a personal pizza. He had a chip on the BMW windshield, saw a rock hit, then it split. Apparently as it is a leased vehicle, repairs need to be made with original parts, so ICBC said he had to pay the $300 deductible and an extra $480 for an original windshield. Bob had no idea! He had a good week, with the BBQ by Newmanâs from 6 â 10 p.m., but they went to bed at 2:30 a.m. (and mom went to his sisterâs). His daughter is exhausted after babysitting a 13-year-old lab. He is off to Hawaii in September, and so far, it is safe where theyâre going.
.png)
