Another Canada Day has come and gone.
My visiting cousin and I started the day with a bit of shopping at Oakridge Mall. We then carried on to Granville Island where the International Jazz Fest is happening.
Granville Island had a host of festivities organized for families. They even had it's own parade but these were all over with by the time we arrived. We hadn't planned to participate in these events because we were on our way to the fireworks display.
While at Granville Island we had a small snack and listened to this wonderful duo of buskers. I didn't get their name but the man in red had a fine singing voice and the keyboardist was very good too!
We then boarded this little ferry boat to go across the water to English Bay.
The small ferry was quite busy.
Once on the other side we took a nice long stroll.
It was already approaching 10 p.m. when I snapped these photos with my cell phone and so the light was not that good.
We were having fun enjoying the scenery and ambience but we had to hasten our walk along the beach to get to the fireworks venue on time. We decided to walk rather than wait for the bus because of how slow the buses can be in the West End.
We walked along the beach past Sunset Beach and turned onto Cardero Street where we walked toward Coal Harbour.Our destination was Harbour Green Park along the waterfront from where we watched the very nice fireworks display.
I took a 5 and a half minute video but don't have time to edit and upload right now. After the display we took our time walking east along the waterfront (out of view of this graphic image). Everyone was taking their time talking to friends and enjoying the evening. We stopped and had gelato and visited with a few women who were also enjoying their evening before heading home. Later we continued our easterly walk past the newly built convention center and Canada Place and beyond to the bus that would take us home. We didn't arrive home until 1:30 a.m. and both of us were completely wiped out. My cousin kept saying how much she enjoyed herself and it was nice to know that she enjoyed her short visit. We've made tentative plans for some touristy things to do next year.
Thanks for visiting :-)
In closing let me wish all my American readers a very happy and safe Fourth of July!
Oh my, the time is going quickly, so quickly. I know I've said that before. Before you know it Christmas will be here!
In the meantime, I've got a lot to catch up on; including reading. I'm still about 13 books short of meeting this year's reading goal of 45 books. It is a goal easy enough to reach but not if you've gone months without reading and are busy with many other things. I'm doing my best to catch up but it won't be the end of the world if I do not meet the goal. I will simply shift some books to next year.
This week I've finished reading the following books:
This was an easy read and had some good tips; especially for retirees in USA.
This is interesting because it gives insight into how a poor Puerto Rican rose to become a US Supreme Court Justice.
This book gives insight into the traditional spiritual ways of Lakota people.
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I enjoyed all three of these books for different reasons and if you are looking for some different kinds of reading material I think all three books qualify for different reasons. Please note if you are interested in reading Black Elk, this is not the book of a similar name, Black Elk Speaks. The book I read is written by a Native American scholar as told to him by a spiritual elder of the Lakota people. The book is not for anyone who rigidly adheres to grammar and finds it difficult to follow stories that are not told in a linear way. You need to be more open and flexible to reading and learning the contents of this book and I've read in reviews that some people just find it too frustrating.
I have a lot of reading material right now that I want to make progress on. Much of it is financial related (debt, estate planning, finance for women, that kind of thing). I also have a few books on my Kindle and my Kobo readers that have been suggested to me by various bloggers (more about that in a future post). I also came across some new to me Kenyan authors that I would like to read. However these books are not in my library system so I probably will have to purchase them down the line.
Here are the two books and on line descriptions of them. You will notice that both of them are set in the same area in Kenya. I'm interested in them because I enjoy all things Kenyan but I also enjoy learning more about those the white expatriates who went to live in Kenya.
The Ghosts of Happy Valley, Juliet Barnes
This is one of the write ups I found about the story line.
‘Happy Valley’ was
the name given to the region of Kenya’s Central Highlands where a
community of affluent, hedonistic white expatriates settled between the
wars. Including the writer Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), the pioneering
aviator Beryl Markham and the troubled socialite Idina Sackville whose
life was told in Frances Osborne’s bestselling The Bolter, the Happy
Valley set’s notoriety was sealed in 1931 with the sensational – and
still unsolved - murder of the Earl of Errol, the investigation of which
laid bare the extent of the set’s decadence and irresponsibility, and
made for another bestselling book in James Fox’s White Mischief. But
what is left now? Juliet Barnes, who has lived in Kenya for many years,
has set out to explore Happy Valley in a remarkable and indefatigable
archaeological quest to find the homes and haunts of this extraordinary
and vanished set of people – grand residences like Clouds up in the
hills that once hosted opulent and scandalous parties. With the help of
African guides, and guided by the memories of elderly expats she tracks
down to the Muthiaga old enough to have first-hand memories of the likes
of Idina and Lord Errol and the lives they led, what she finds - ruins
reclaimed by luxuriant bush, tumbledown dwellings in which an African
family ekes a subsistence living, or even a modest school – is a
revelation of the state of modern Africa that makes the gilded era of
the Happy Valley set seem even more fantastic. A book to set alongside
such singular evocations of Africa and its strange colonial history as
The Africa House, Happy Valley: The Biography is a mesmerising blend of
travel narrative, social history and personal quest.
Paul
Spicer, whose mother was a confidante of Alice's, used personal letters
and his own extensive research to piece together what really happened
that fateful evening. He brings to life an era of unimaginable wealth
and indulgence, where people changed bed partners as easily as they
would order a cocktail, and where jealousy and hidden passions brewed.
At the heart of The Temptress is Alice, whose seductive charms
no man could resist, and whose unfulfilled quest for love ended in her
own suicide at age forty-two.
There is a new movie coming out with Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett and Topher Grace. Its a 2015 American political docudrama film written and directed by James Vanderbilt. It is based on American journalist and television news producer Mary Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power. The film focuses on the Killian documents controversy and the last days of news anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes at CBS News. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and I understand is currently in limited release in Canadian cities and possibly cities in the USA. It should be more widely available at the end of October in North America and Australia.
We had not a bad day weather-wise here though I definitely feel the chill in the air at night. At least I have some scenic eye candy to help me through the next few months. I took these photos a few days ago down at Vancouver's waterfront area.
The water was very choppy but there were a lot of vessels out at sea, many of them pleasure craft.
There were also a lot of sail boats out for the day. The sun was shining brightly on the water.
This man had the right idea and sat and watched the waterfront for quite some time.
"I cannot even imagine where I would be
today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart
full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun." Charles Swindoll
Yesterday I had a package from my blogging friend John of John's Island. We have been friends for awhile now and have come to find we enjoy certain things that speak to simple pleasures in life. One of those is coffee.
John lives in Seattle and I live in Vancouver. Both of our cities share similar weather patterns and the residents of both simply love their coffee. Do you think it has anything to do with all the rain both of our cities get over the winter months?
My wonderful care package; coffee mug included.
This morning I enjoyed my first cup of these "new to me" coffee.
It was very nice!I even got a wonderful mug showing the Seattle Skyline.
It is a dark roast and I usually drink medium roast but I enjoyed this coffee very much. I even drank it black when I normally take cream.
Receiving the gift was a lovely thoughtful gesture.
You meet some of the nicest people through blogging.
Most of my regular viewers will know that we've been having a very hot summer
this year with little rain to speak of. One can see the dry grasses everywhere in a city that is known for lush greenery.
Still you can't beat the walks along the waterfront.
I'm already missing summer, lol. This day in July was one of the hottest days of the summer months in Vancouver. I took several shots into the direction of the sun. I was trying to capture the shimmer on the water.
I'm joining up with Skywatch Friday this week. Why don't you have a look at the various skies from all around the world.
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. Psalm 113:3
Bruce Cockburn is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter who has written many songs and released about 30 albums ranging in styles from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston for three semesters in the 1960s but those of you in the United States may be less familiar with his music.
Perhaps if you have heard of him, you're familiar with the album Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (1979). One of the songs on the album, "Wondering Where the Lions Are" made it to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and earned Bruce Cockburn a spot on Saturday Night Live.
Bruce Cockburn was raised as an agnostic and he became a devout Christian early on in his career. Many of his albums reference his Christian beliefs and his concerns for human rights and the environment. His music also includes imagery inspired by 20th century Christian poet, Charles Williams and the ideas of theologian, Harvey Cox.
On today's short hike to English Bay beach, I took a number of pictures that I've set to the song "Wondering Where the Lions Are". I used some artistic license in putting together sunset scenes with lyrics that reference the "sun's up". I apologize in advance for the quality of the sound recording but the laptop I am using is much slower than my desk top at home.* I may try to correct the music quality at a later time.
However, if the sound turns out to be problematic for you, or you are on dial-up, you can enjoy the photos by clicking here
* I learned it isn't the speed of my laptop that affects the sound quality (music upload) but the hotel's wifi connection is 30x slower for upload than my home internet service....this means, I will re-do the music but it will be a month or more.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. Psalm 113:3
Bruce Cockburn is one of my favourite Canadian singers. Besides "Wondering Where the Lions Are", my other two favourite songs of his are, "If a Tree Falls in the Forest" and "Waiting for a Miracle". I invite you to check out his music.
We walked along the beach past Sunset Beach and turned onto Cardero Street where we walked toward Coal Harbour.Our destination was Harbour Green Park along the waterfront from where we watched the very nice fireworks display.
