Rumors vs. Rumours

Month 6 since the whole covid thang started. I must say the crib games between Ritsue and I are getting pretty fierce these days!

What does this mean?

Another day, another Zoom seminar, this time with casting director Tiffany Mak. Very informative should I ever venture into the acting game again.

All her hard work on that one crazy cherry tomato plant is finally paying dividends!

Back on the balcony garden, man that's a big radish!

Same seed pack, but definitely not the same radish!

Nailed it! My cooking skills are getting more and more edible! (Although I needed Ritsue to be the flipper over person)

My omelette  combined with her blueberry jam was winner winner! (but not chicken dinner) 

Finally, it's warm enough to enjoy a cool crisp apple cider out on the balcony.

The moon rising over Mt. Baker, a different sight than I'm used to in the middle of the afternoon. (Look up, look wayyyyyyyyyyyy up)

....and then it happened........
My Teamster buddy Tracy showed up one morning and dropped off fresh shrimp and spot prawns that him and his fisherman buddy had caught the prior evening.

Score!

That night Ritsue turned them into this scrumptious, light and fluffy prawn stir fry. 

Meanwhile, back at the condo farm, the cherry tomato plant continues to dominate the garden.

More free time means still more cooking. Ritsue made this zucchini, egg, radish and enoki mushroom dish, very good.

Next day, I was a little skeptical about this block of tofu sitting in the fridge. (It turned out better than I was expecting, Doesn't mean I like the stuff, though....)

Meanwhile, back in Summerland, junior had stumbled upon some rock which contained some very cool fossils.

Ritsue and I went for some stay at home style fishing, very convenient and the price was right!

There she is, 11 floors down, working hard in the garden, while I'm , well, goofing off as usual. (I new I was good at it, but the covid shutdown has made me an expert!)

This time while the moon was rising over Mt. Baker........

It is true. Not all of the many persons, production companies and trade unions can agree on the covid testing protocols. Last Friday, the season 4 preparation was put on hold.....

.......I guess it will be even longer before we find out that answer to that question and many more....
Rumours? Rumors?.

.......in the meantime, things to keep us busy.........

Seattle Kraken??

So the blog title is a reference to Seattle naming their new NHL team the Kraken. (sorry, don't like it!)
While I am waiting for the return of the film industry and my job in Vancouver, I have become a bit of a Zoom expert. (self proclaimed) I spent 2 days on an Actsafe (course provider to the film industry) seminar on safety standards for supervisors. There was 21 of us registered. It was a fun experience. (that's me in the top right corner.)

While that was going on, in the kitchen part of the home office, Ritsue was showing off her radishes that she has so nicely cultivated on the condo balcony.

....a couple of beauts!, eh?

With no work, and no return to the Good Doctor in sight, it has become the Ritsue show!

Today on the Ritsue show, we watch her one, yes one, cherry tomato p going crazy!

Another day at home means another glance out to Mt. Baker.....

What's up doc? (haha, the radishes are bigger than the carrots)

....another day...........

Meanwhile, back up in Summerland, my daughter was showing off this purple cauliflower growing in the exes garden.

A new addition to my dining room wall, a poster of the 1988 Del Rio (Tennessee) days, their annual fall festival. I had it framed, after all it was my brother Rick and his wife Wendy (Wendrick) who created and hand drew it.

We took a walk down to Byrne Creek Ravine park to check on our rock art. (yay!, it was still there.)

.... another day, another Zoom seminar. This time it was from the acting world. Casting Workbook invited a well know casting agent to answer questions from actors all across North America. It was very interesting, who knows, maybe I'll take another crack at it .........

Later the same day, Zoom Zoom! (#2). This was put on by the MPPIA don't you know. It was another update on the safe return to filming in Vancouver.

A brief escape to the psychedelic world of the car wash......
(I've got to get back to work, omg....)

The days are finally getting warmer, and we'll drink to that!

A very rare special treat on this day. My brother Skip and his girlfriend came all the way to my place from far, far away Kitsilano. (Not really, but it was only the second time he has been here in four years, so it was much appreciated.)

This was the let's enjoy this meal, but we are definitely going for a big walk after, evening.

If you are ever out in the Tsawwassen area, you have to check out the Bass Pro Shop outlet store. It's a real indoor wilderness adventure, for sure!

We were out there for a short visit and picnic with my sis Judith and her husband Les as they awaited their ferry back to Victoria.

The park we were at actually had a view of the ferry terminal.

My son sent me this picture of this old farm house in Summerland which dates back to 1910. (I think). This was the first home that I bought back in 1990, actually glad to see it is still in the family.

I sure junior was just scratching his nose as he reeled in this trout on Okanagan Lake.

The kids rubbing it in my face that they are enjoying an Okanagan summer day, and I'm not!

.......and there we are, the mighty Teamsters 155. ((taken back at a meeting in 2018, (where's Waldo?))
We have a meeting next Thursday, hopefully that will signal our return to work!

Well, tech.......

Morley Moose was back on the loose, for Canada Day!

Ritsue sporting the 2010 Olympic mittens!

It was a reverse parade at the PNE. You got to drive your car through the Pacific Coliseum and enjoy the performers. The line-up to get in was almost 30 minutes, while the parade itself was just over two minutes!

After, we treated ourselves after to an appetizing? $7 hot dog......

.....that Ritsue managed to make a little more appealing.

It was good to get back for some good ole home cooking.

The newest addition to the plant table, the luscious "bloody Mary". It did not survive very long though, if you know what I mean.

Got a little carried away with this week's elk burger concoction......

......the radishes on the deck garden are growing! (No surprise, I am not the one looking after it this year, lol.)

....out the condo window, a nice rainbow setting over New Westminster.

.....the long and winding boardwalk......la la la.....

....takes us to another lovely 5 km stroll of Deer Lake.

Hard to believe part of these lands used to be home to the infamous Oakalla prison. 

....with all the time in the world these days, we got to visit our inner creative selves...tbc...

Got a good glimpse of the "Buck Moon" on July 4th....

.....a better view through the binoculars....

Things are really growing down in Ritsue's garden on the condo grounds!

...... my one argument for not cleaning the balcony glass. (uhhh, because it filtering that bright sunlight?).....

Went for a nice stroll with my daughter in North Burnaby. We ended up down on the water looking towards Port Moody.

You have to cross live train tracks to get there, though.

What's on the other side of that fortress like fence you ask?

Just an oil distribution terminal right on the water, that's all......
I wonder how many people in the Vancouver area don't even know it's there. Oil tankers coming into Burrard Inlet, hmnnn...

Being off has given me a chance to listen to all the old record albums I had in storage. Honestly, I'm really enjoying some of the ones I never would have given the time of day to when I was a younger lad. At press time, lol, I'm on Album 83. Today it was B.T.O., Bryan Adams, and Neil Diamond!

.....the Engelbert tied in nicely with another free concert of golden oldies at the retirement complex across from our building.

It was time to finish a project we started earlier in the month. We headed down to the Byrne Creek Ravine Park to add our........

.....little art project, our painted rock! Someone started the trend on the trail, and we wanted to add our decoration.

Teamster peep Tracy surprised one morning last week with this box of fresh picked blueberries!

Now that's a lot of berries!

It didn't take long for Ritsue to kick it into high gear and start making jam........

..random, my brother called and wanted to know if I still had this picture and if I could send it to him, pic.....

....meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Ritsue's first blueberry jam, and it was totemo oishii desu! (very tasty, indeed)

.....she didn't stop there, next it was this succulent blueberry pie.

......lovely times 2

.....now the weather's better and I'm spending more time watching the world go by on the deck. The film industry is just starting up again, so fingers crossed I will be back to work soon.

.....and when I do, I hope I can safely look as stylish as my bro Skip does at his work at the Carnegie Centre.
(sidebar, this post's title. When I started to add the pictures, I  couldn't think of anything. The last thing I looked online was Well Health Technologies, a company I have some stock in. The end.)