After three months with almost no Girlfriend Face-to-Face time (very grateful for my friend Lesley in Bordeaux), I got what I’ve been missing this week. Lots of it! A visit with a good friend here on our terrace Monday afternoon, and then I headed to the island for a last-minute-scheduled visit with a couple of friends there. Still ahead, coffee on the weekend with a friend and ex-colleague (from the island) who’s going to be in Vancouver.
To be honest, I’d still like more buddies here in the city, but meanwhile I’m pleased that island friendships have proved sustainable, resilient, and nurturing. Email and Instagram and texting and IM-ing play a big role there, but I’m managing three or four annual visits with several friends, not bad at this surprisingly busy stage of our lives.
So Tuesday morning, I packed very lightly for an overnight visit — taking a minimalist approach to these jaunts means I’m more likely to schedule them regularly and do my part to keep the relationships current and easy and fun for all. I didn’t bother with a change of clothes (clean undies though, yes!!), brought blusher, mascara, deodorant, and moisturiser only. So I wasn’t hampered for bus, skytrain, ferry (free to Seniors from Monday to Thursday — yay!) and walking (I averaged 12K steps each day, about 9 kilometres). Tucked some knitting and sketching and reading material and I was off.
I’ve found a gem of a family-run motel in my old city, very affordable, clean, charming.
Far from 5-star luxury, but I love the simple thoughtfulness, the self-contained economy of this small space — and you long-time readers will know how important that tea kettle is for me. . .
The Buccaneer Inn might be a bit too far from the centre for most without a car, but I like the two-kilometre walk along the seawall. . .
It was windy when I walked it Wednesday morning, and even clipped up, my hair refused to behave and my earrings bounced wildly. . . . (I see that Blogger won’t co-operate to play this short clip, but I’ve posted it on Instagram if you’re interested in seeing wild fennel dance in the wind — unfortunately, even IG can’t deliver that delicious scent)
But all was calm as I hurried in the opposite direction later to catch the 12:25 ferry home — I’m always hurrying as I walk back to the ferry; inevitably either I or my friend thinks of one more topic we haven’t yet covered and the 15-minute margin I give myself gets eaten up with last-minute urgent conversation.
Still, I can’t resist stopping to photograph the wildflowers or the texture of a weathered board or the feathery green of equisetum . . .
Today is my sourdough-making day, and it’s also a day with our Ten. I just saw this on Laura Calder’s Instagram feed, and I’m thinking it might just be the perfect recipe to make with a Double-Digits Kid. Only need some strawberries and whipped cream to make this a Wow! dessert. . .
In other news, I’m trying (again?!) to sort direction for this blog, and perhaps I’ll chat about that with you next week. Meanwhile, are you finishing the week today or beginning the weekend? It’s a conceptual thing, right? It’s TGIF still a big thing for you? Was it ever? Do you make a transition this afternoon/evening or not really observe much difference?
Or we could chat about friendships and transitions and moving. . . Or making meringues. . . Or anything that strikes you as related to this post, widely defined. Comments open now.
xo,
f
