Notes from Everland

It is 17 degrees and sunny with a light haze over the island. I am still in recovery mode after my rocking Saturna Island 72nd birthday party hosted by my angel baby girl Chaya and her partner Rick. She invited a local baker named Gord who commutes to the island from Victoria and sometimes works near Priscilla at the island bakery and he arrived with a fiddle under his arm. He played a combination of jigs and popular songs with precision and a real feel for the music. His smile and charming manner were infectious. I felt the spirit of my dad in the music he played and he seemed to sense that. Bettianne baked and brought a “thunder and lightning” pair of sponge white and rich chocolate cakes with the numbers 72 spelled out in the candle placement. I got cheers for acing the blowout of them. Priscilla greeted me with a kiss on the lips and told me her daughter Jesse [who is working in Victoria] sent her love. Joel and Emily Bettianne's two young charges also came and who knew...

Bettianne is a friend of mine. She tells me she loves me with a Zen Master's sense of straight shooting. She is 85 this year and much more active than I am. She is one of the few coming to my birthday dinner which will be hosted by Chaya this Friday. She is one of the island's elders and has lived on a property built by she and her late husband Gord for many years. One of her very successful sons is on site finishing the job at present. They are adding a wing with many bedrooms to host family and friends. She was instrumental in bringing me to the island and when Chaya came to tell me her plans, Bettianne called her cell phone only a block from my apartment and told her " don't forget to bring your father home ." At a children's birthday party one day she enlisted her grandson Stanley to take my used plate to the trash. He is a young man in his mid twenties, and he surveyed me closely up and down before doing what she ordered. I think I told him "...

I am singing the praises of this beautiful little flower I noticed springing up amid the dandelions outside my window for about a month now. I asked many what it was called but it wasn't until Priscilla Eubank and her daughter Jesse showed up for dinner that I got the name. I asked her daughter first and her reply was "That is a mom question." Priscilla came out onto the balcony and I posed the question to her. She couldn't recall the name immediately but said it would come to her...and so it did. In the midst of another question I posed asking about the name of a bird that had landed on my balcony that morning. That question has remained unanswered ever since she delightedly shouted Rose Campion ..confusing me until I saw her upraised finger when the memory of our talk returned. Silene coronaria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search Silene coronaria Prikneus0348.jpg Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranke...

It is 17 degrees and sunny this Thursday morning. And it is a new day for me. Once again, I feel I am beginning my life for the first time. I even had a moment in the bathroom a few minutes ago where Chaya was helping Dylan get dressed, she finished and Dylan strapped on his plastic Ninja Turtles sword, and in that moment I was Dylan’s age strapping on my six gun & holster ready for battle. The feeling and memory swept over me clearly and it was good! This is the first day in a long time I am beginning without blood pressure meds…my doctor released me from that whole process. In fact when we went in yesterday, I went through the ritual of baring my left arm for the test, and to my shock the doctor said “Don’t bother with that!” I joked with Chaya that it was like showing up to the airport with credentials at the ready and being waved right through. We both had a good laugh at that. I have also been cleared of that need to ask the doctor to check my ears. She did so and ...

It is a cloudy Tuesday morning as I segue into my routine. The temperature on the island is 14 degrees with an 80% chance of rain! It is still only 7:39 a.m. though it looks like return to sun for the rest of the week. Chaya delivered my coffee right at the top of her tasks and today she returns to the café. She has just left for work, which I guess means Dylan goes to Meghan/Matt in the short term at least. She stopped to let me know before she went. Last night we went to dinner at Rick’s mom’s place. I was not sure what to expect but I am very glad we went. It was an unexpected pleasure. I had even suggested to Chaya that I stay home, but Chaya was having none of that. I remember the road there as being the one to Rick’s place as well, as his house is next door to his mom’s. I remember the ride because the wound on my neck from the biopsy kept opening and freaking Chaya out to the extent she kept exclaiming “Dad, I can see RIGHT INSIDE your neck!” And it was not a happy exclama...

Last night Chaya suggested we go to the pub at the Saturna Island Pub at the ferry terminal for dinner. She needs a break from constant meal preparation so I said yes. It is always comforting for me to go somewhere, eat some good food and people watch. I am very familiar with these island vibes...they appeal to me. Maybe it is because I have experienced a fair amount of island life over the years but for whatever reason the ambience of folks looking out over the ocean, or just relaxing by the water has always inspired me. I understand these folks deeply, and I don't even have to talk to them to get it. They are my people. After dinner Rick suggested a little drive around the area. So he took us into Boot Cove a vintage Saturna rural area. There are some camp grounds there, some ancient rusting farm machinery, a few cows lounging along the road, and also a couple of B&B hostels. We passed the Breezy Bay B&B and also the Saturna Lodge [which will host my sister Mari...

Things are progressing as they should perhaps...two steps forward, one step back. It's a dance...a poloniase of life. And I am the stumbling dancer not the elegant one. But let me clarify...I am still dancing. Still very grateful for the chances I have been given. The chilly weather continues...I had to turn my heater on this morning. I am not giving up hope, but my faith in a speedy island recovery seems to be losing focus. It doesn't help that the swelling on my neck also seems to be increasing in size. No one is measuring it, but Chaya and I reached a consensus last week that yes, it seems to be getting bigger. This morning I am listening to Handel (Polonaise - from Concerto Grosso NO. 3 Op. 6 in E minor) and Vivaldi - Concerto in C (RV558) and G minor (Carnival in Venice)as I piece together a new blog. Chaya is cleaning house and I am doing what I can to help her. Chaya, Dylan and Rick went to a BBQ last night on the other side of the island, but I stayed home to ...