Cats, dogs and friends!

Yah, yah, you see a lot of kitties on my blog........love them all!!! This is one of our new ones this year...a sweet young calico.............













The calico and a young black on the car....................














Saturday night we went to David Lau's for dinner with friends and Valorie and Les met us at the door in......gasp!!!.......Boston Bruins Grey Cup t-shirts!!! And they call themselves friends.....????










Miki says no way Jose this year...............!!!!












It was great to see our gang again....Bill, Sharon, Les, Diane and Jill....and Valorie spoiled us rotten, as usual.










Oh - turns out there are TWO kittens under the car......so when we have to use "the nursery" we put the kittens in a cat carrier on our porch where mama cat can still get to them. Too lovely.












Brunch on Sunday was a magnificent feast at Sandra and Dan's.............









Margaritas, great food, great company..........












So fun to see our dear friends again.......















and their patio is the perfect place to spend time over wonderful food. Thanks you two!!!









oh, and they have a house full of dachsunds..........this is the matriarch at 17.......














and another..........












and another...........















You may remember that our street dog Botas spent the summer at Jungle Camp with PM's own dog trainer, Carlos...................














....an amazing guy who currently houses no less than 12 rescue dogs. Botas had a great summer with him on his huge walled property in the jungle.....














But I think it is safe to say this is one happy boy to be back with his gringo moms for the winter.......:-)

Hurricane Rina.....??

We arrived in PM on Wed and spent until dark moving every conceivable movable thing from our front and back courtyard into the house. Car is all tucked into her cover........









The ivy I dug out of a ditch last year has blossomed - literally!! - and grown up the wall, thanks to Diane and Valorie putting in hooks and plant tape!!













I took this one just in case it didn't survive the hurricane........















Our street to the left of our gate.............













and to the right, just to measure before and after damage.......











Mama cat having lunch......she has a white kitten who lives under the car....:-)











There are 7 cats already back for daily feedings.......most of them black.............











See how sweet the baby is....might end up being a Siamese.....











Lovely black and white in the tree....














the kitten nursery.....................












At one point during the torrential rains, we could hear the kitten crying, so brought her in, dried her off and after she was all warm again, put her back with mama.










Yah, Jason calls us the crazy gringo cat ladies......:-)


Rina was a non event - just lots of rain....!!

On our way..............

Jason's loaded truck arriving at the Vancouver Airport.........









Miki at the computer in the airport......Jason dropped us off on his way to work, so we had 5 hours to kill waiting for our flight.














Here she is with her new bff.............what a Canadian girl!!!!











Arrived in Toronto and had dinner with brother Carl and Alice at the hotel. See you in JANUARY, you two...............!!!!!









Then Miki had the camera for the flight......enjoy her shots........























































Finally, that turquoise sea and white sand................ah, home again!!!!!!

Last visit.......

Jason took us to Roma and Linda's (the Brides!!!) Sunday afternoon, where we got to see their new renos......gorgeous!!!!......and then we went for lunch at the Granville Island Hotel. Great food, great company!!!













Then we walked around Granville Island.....there was even a bagpiper there to wish us farewell.........:-)











The market is as crowded and wonderful as always..............










We bought yummy sausages, cheeses and treats for dinner...............













Standing in front of the Burrard Street Bridge and the waterfront.












Gorgeous ivy growing under the Granville Island bridge.......














It was a lovely day to walk around the Island......













Gorgeous sun, lovely fall colours.............











We sat by the fresh water canal and fantasized about owning one of the rooftop condos facing the canal, the ocean and the mountains.....lottery dreams.









Such an amazing city, Vancouver, but very overbuilt and way too crowded for us Parksville folks now. Been there, done that.











Bye dear family and friends - see you in May!