Month: May 2024

We spend the morning at Van Deusen Botanic Garden where the rhododendrons are in full bloom-such a delight, in colors I have never seen before. The Tibetan poppies are my favorite – a shade of misty blue. We walked there, down tree lined streets with beautifully manicured old and stately homes.

Today Isaac will be 4 and Zoe and I have big plans to make a Harry Potter Midnight bus. We have been discussing this for weeks after Zoe found the recipe in her cookbook and wanted to make it.
After leaving the botanic garden, I shop for groceries at the local Safeway then take Lyft to Zoe’s school to pick her up and walk home with her. Lyft was slow and I was afraid I might be late but ended up getting there right on time. The groceries were heavy and Zoe was unable to help as her backpack was just as heavy! But we have a wonderful walk discussing our cooking plans and she tells me all about school.

Step by step we construct the bus and all is looking good. We are so pleased! Into the oven it goes and that’s when things literally fall apart! The bus leans precariously and as we move it out of the oven, it falls over!! Zoe finds skewers and skewered together, it makes it to the table, looking fairly impressive to a 4 yr old. Everyone says it is really delicious and the meatloaf recipe is a keeper.

Sunday was spent at Stanley Park. The kids on bikes are now much faster than us walkers. Zoe took us on a hike through the woods in search of a “face” on a log. We actually found it after many twists and turns in the woods. Stanley park was a busy place and the beach was packed as the weather was perfect. We love the diversity that exists in Vancouver..

We departed Vancouver on Monday morning for Squamish and spent a couple of nights exploring the area, Our rustic cabin at Sunwolf sat alongside the river and it was peaceful and quiet. We hiked up at Whistler to a pond, and explored the surrounding provincial parks in the area. Late spring is shoulder season and we had the place to ourselves. On the way back we stopped for Japanese food and my dragon roll was delicious.

Friday was fun fair day at the kids’ school so after spending Friday with Robert and Isaac, we went to their school where bouncy houses and games and food were set up. The girls performed with their chorus and a dj provided entertainment until evening. It was nice to meet their classmates and their families. So many of the families are Asian.

We spent the evening in the pool watching them show their swimming abilities. All of them are now comfortable in the water, with Kira a little fish. They are so very proud to show their accomplishments.

On Saturday we went to the Sky to Sea Gondola and hiked around at the top. Then spent the evening at the Richmond night market, something I have wanted to do for a long time but got put off by covid and being in Vancouver at the wrong time of the year (only open in late spring to fall). What a fun place that is, with lots of food booths selling a huge variety of Asian foods. Not surprisingly, the market is very crowded!

We arrived in Vancouver on wed. for a weeklong visit to celebrate birthdays and to spend a few days exploring the area north near whistler. We are staying at Sonder, just a short walk from Robert’s place. It has a kitchenette and is operated completely virtually. We spent the evening with Robert and Kira, ate lots of pastries for breakfast and walked the city near the waterfront. We picked up Zoe after school on Thursday and the two of us made our way via Lyft to the sushi class, her birthday present.

What an amazing experience it was to take a cooking class with her. The teacher was young and lively, a “chef” who had spent time in Japan. Zoe loves all things Japanese so this was perfect. She was quite skilled with knives and we created several rolls, made a sesame seed dressing for spinach, then got to eat it all. I have to say it was great fun and I was so proud to be her grandmother. She agreed it was a wonderful birthday present!