Crimson on the Concrete

When the little red Floribunda finally unfurled its perfectly pointed petals, it fully expected a standing ovation. Or, at the very least, a polite smattering of applause from a passing, well-heeled gardening society.

Instead, it received the rhythmic thump-thump of a stray shopping cart rolling into a concrete pillar.

The rose took a moment to assess its real estate. It was not, as it had wildly hoped as a seedling, nestled in the manicured loam of a grand botanical garden. It was wedged into a partially abandoned, slightly chipped concrete planter on the rooftop parking deck of a thoroughly average shopping mall. Its immediate neighbors were a fading yellow line and a puddle of indeterminate origin.

At first, there was a brief spike of botanical outrage.

I am a complex hybrid, the rose thought, shaking a serrated leaf in the general direction of a parked sedan. I have layers! I have a subtle, velvety gradient! I deserve a dedicated irrigation drip and a small, tasteful brass plaque!

For the first few days, the rose aggressively struck a pose, waiting for the masses to arrive and validate its existence. It threw its petals open with theatrical flair. But the grand total of its daily audience hovered around a dozen people. Most were completely preoccupied with remembering where they parked, marching past the planter with their heads buried in their phones and their hands full of reasonably priced footwear.

But then, a shift occurred.

A thoroughly exhausted retail worker, escaping the fluorescent lights for a momentary afternoon break, slumped against the concrete wall. They looked up, spotted the unapologetically vibrant crimson bloom defying the grey expanse, and let out a long, slow breath. A genuine smile broke across their face.

The rose stood a little taller. Well, it thought. That was rather nice.

The next morning, a very fuzzy, delightfully unbothered bumblebee landed squarely in the center of the bloom. The bee didn't care about foot traffic metrics or the prestige of the zip code. To the bee, this rooftop was a five-star diner, and the rose was serving the chef's tasting menu.

The rose began to reassess its position in the world.

Sure, it wasn't the centerpiece of a highly publicized horticultural tour. But the few dozen weary humans who actually noticed it seemed to genuinely need that jolt of beauty. It was an unexpected, bright rebellion against the asphalt.

The grand gardens could keep their swarming crowds and their frantic, selfie-snapping tourists. The rooftop rose realized it had inadvertently become an exclusive, boutique experience. It was providing bespoke joy to a highly curated audience of stray pollinators and observant wanderers.

It settled its roots a little deeper into the dry soil, caught the afternoon breeze, and decided it was perfectly content. After all, anybody can look beautiful surrounded by fountains. It takes real talent to pull off crimson on a concrete parking deck.

Bits of Our Tuesday

 

This was the first morning that Jay and I slept until 07:00 since getting back. As one ages, it definitely takes longer to recover from jetlag. In Sri Lanka, we were on the other side of the clock. We returned slowly and our flights were from Japan which is 16 hours ahead. Still, it has taken use nearly two weeks to hit our stride. 

Jay started going back to the gym yesterday. He goes to the Bonsor Recreational Centre in Burnaby during senior hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, Tuesday and Thursdays are usually when we drive uptown for errands and such. Today, I switched on the heated steering wheel and front seats when going uptown. My car doesn't get out in the winters, so I thought to use them today because it felt about as cold as winter. Many of the cherry trees agree with me.  We drove uptown but didn't spot many blossoms.  The roof of the Royal City Center is the photo above.

The image below isn't a selfie.  Amazon bought more packages yesterday.  One box had four light bulbs inside.  I have been using Google Home for eight years.  Dozens of the lights were already wifi-enabled. I've been asking Google to switch on and off apartment lights since 2018.  

The ones that arrived are marked as being Matter compatible.  I am keen on learning more about how Matter can improve home automation.  My new Google TV Streamer has a border router for that type of network as well as a connection to the Internet.  Matter is a protocol that automatically links devices in a local ad hoc network within the any space.  I never got around to automate these four lights in the bathroom.  Now they're helping make a Matter network and more importantly they can be switched to any color or shade of white that I choose.

 

Just a Thursday

We drove to the Langley Farm market on Kingsway today. Thursdays are our usual days to do so. This week has felt odd though in that the whole time has seemed like a weekend because Tuesday was off for many Canadians.

 

Sadly, it's just about the end of the fresh, local fruit season.  The cherries disappeared weeks ago and now the plums and prune stock is dwindling. It does seem nice to start buying this year's apple crop.  The selection is good and they crunch so much better when right off their branches (or on modern cultivars, vines.)  We did get some tiny, champaign grapes.  Grapes are the final hoorah for the Okanagan season.

When driving back through uptown, we stopped in the mall.  It was rainy and misty outside.  We wanted to get a few extra steps in today.  We have a lot of seniors in our city and the Royal City Mall is often a place where older people get in some walking when the weather is less than cooperative.  

It's now later afternoon and things have cleared up nicely.

 

Comparison Shopping

The image was taken in our uptown mall a few days back. I'm using it today because we only left the house when driving up to shop at London Drugs. It's nearly across the street from the mall. We have to get uptown for most of our shopping needs in New Westminster. Jay wanted to pick up a few vitamins and supplements to bring back for his sisters. Not only is the selection better here but, interestingly, the cost of particular items can be higher in Sri Lanka. The cost of living is generally much cheaper there but uncommon items, although readily available, can be expensive. 

 

London Drugs was having a sale on vitamins and supplements. However, we only picked up half of the intended four items. For the others, I checked Amazon while in the store, and found they're considerably cheaper to order online, so we did. They'll arrive tomorrow but that is of little difference to us. We don't leave until the end of October. 

We saved CA$8 on two commonly purchased item. That isn't enough to make a huge dent in one's budget, but I'm sure these small savings add up over time. Perhaps after a year of savings, we'll have enough extra cash to take unplanned cruise or trip.

Thursdays are for Errands

I do have to complain about the weather before starting though. The highest temperature we are likely to see today is 11°c. It feels cold and that's not helped by the mist and cloud cover. April showers were supposed to bring our May flowers. Well, we've gotten the flowers but we are still getting the showers too. If given the choice between being hot or cold, I'd choose the former. It should be warmer than this in the middle of May.

Okay, back to our day's events.

 

We often buy fruits and vegetables up at Langley Farm Market.  It's actually in Burnaby rather than in town, but Kingsway is called 12th Street as soon as hits our city of New Westminster.  We have been going to this market for years.  

We drove back into New Westminster and stopped uptown at the Royal City Centre Mall.  Jay and I went in the Walmart first to pick up a few groceries. We had a fairly large full bag.  Jay then went to Goodway's on Sixth Street.  It's just across from the mall.  Goodway's is a small specialty food store that sells whole foods with such items as nuts, grains, dried fruit, and all sorts of international condiments and spices. The store is small and stuffed with items so there's hardly room to turn around.

Rather than carry the large bag, I stayed in the mall while he went to buy a few items.  I decided to take an escalator up to the second floor above the central food court area.  I've been trying to take short postcard type videos of scenes we visit.  Rather than a static picture, a mere 30-second clip can show a little activity and sometimes catch interesting audio.  Although there were quite a few people in the mall, during my 30-second visit upstairs, not many folks were in the central area.  Oh well, with the ease of uploading to YouTube now, I can put it here without much effort.

After that, we came home.  Jay had a noon appointment with our doctor to review routine lab results.  Dr. Huang works out of a clinic that is very close to our apartment and is therefore quite convenient.  He's been our family doctor for a few years after our previous physician retired.

Where's My Crown?

We primarily use Tuesdays and Thursdays to run errands. This morning, we went up to the mall before my 9:00 am dental appointment. Jay also had one scheduled for an hour later. We find it is better to kill two birds with one stone.

We'd not been going as frequently as when we used to have dental coverage through work.  Yet, this year we're covered under the Canadian Dental Plan for seniors.  So, we had new checkups and tooth cleaning done today.  Now that all paperwork is electronic, dental records remain forever, the hygienist said. The doctor did find a place where I should have a filling.  I scheduled that for tomorrow.  Jay also might benefit from a crown, so the paperwork is in for that too.  I hope he doesn't demonstrate additional royal tendencies after getting one.

   

The main mall in town is at a prime location in uptown BC at the corner of 6th and 6th. At present however, major underground work has the majority of uptown dug up.  Having our dentist right in the mall is convenient as we are often there a few times every week.

Uptown Near Sixth and Sixth

We got home from our winter travels on March 16th. In the short time here, it surely seems as though we experienced a whole Lower Mainland winter. Today was the first day which finally feels as though spring might actually show up. The weather was bit clear this afternoon but that means we can expect a low temperature of 3°C tonight. 

Also, the trees have barely budded and things continue to look pretty dreary. This weekend, however, our region's cherry blossoms may begin to provide a more determined demonstration.

   

This picture was taken from the roof of the Royal City Mall this morning. We park up there as there are seldom many cars and it's rather fun driving up the spiral ramp! Our city's main library is right across Sixth Avenue.

Looking Down 7th Street

 

This view has changed due to the addition of the large downtown towers along the Fraser River. They look different from our balcony and because of the angle, they appear closer together. From up on the Royal City Center roof the true distance between them becomes more evident. 

The whole morning looked a lot like recent days. However, later in the afternoon the sky changed a bit and we saw some blue.

Wrapping Things Up

We have the whole, entire week to pack our luggage. Still, today being a Sunday seemed like the beginning of the end. We easily cleaned up after last night's dinner, even while the guests were still here. Today, we did continue to slowly tick off errands and obligations we have to complete before we leave for the winter. 

There were a lot of little things; for example, I ordered some USB memory sticks from Amazon. Jay finished cleaning out the onions from the balcony plant pots. He also turned off the newspapers until our return. (Yes, we still have a printed paper delivered to the apartment!)  

It simply feels as though we are churning through the steps necessary before we depart.  The Internet stop and start have already been set.  I pre-paid many of the reoccurring bills.  Some like the electricity dwindle a lot when everything in the apartment is shut off.  It seems our fridge only has to run 7 or 8/12s of a year.  We did organize some packing but didn't actually pick items or put them in a suitcase.

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We even got our Christmas gift cards from Walmart for our apartment building's staff members. I was thinking how either one or both of us end up in that store at least four times a week. It's most always convenient, although probably a little less so on the weekends because of the crowds.  Yet, occasionally, I do enjoy feeling like part of a mob.

We're pros at wrapping things up for the season.  We've been doing this for more than decade.

Pictures of Everyday

 

I snapped this photo when we were up in the mall today. It was cool this morning and we wanted to walk a bit in a comfortable environment, even though we only bought a few things in the Walmart. 

I've said it here before in different ways, but I wish I'd taken more pictures in my life. Sure, I do have over 43,000 images on Flickr but they're mostly from this millennium. My past is sadly lacking as it was a time when photos were rarer and more precious. Now I can snap multiple images per day, easily and for free. That was not always the case. 

In fact, this afternoon Jay and I were talking about our years in Bahrain. I was thinking about where we bought groceries and came up blank. I'm sure between January 1989 to July 1991, we ate.  Even with front-row seats to the Gulf War, food is never really optional.  Still, I have no pictures of markets or grocery stores.

 

Good Morning, Sunshine!

I took a photo of these slightly bedraggled sunflowers in an unlikely place.  Actually, in the past, I have taken pictures of roses here too.

We park on the roof of the Royal City Mall.  You can see my EV in the background of this image.  There are elevators which descend into the main mall as well as several that just bring customers into the Walmart.

The roof is a rather bland, unattractive area.  Old shopping carts and HVAC machinery are up there.  Oh, there is a kids' play area for the day care crowd but that's at the opposite end from these flowers.  A single car-sized concrete planter is near an entrance.  Things there do well even with little care.  Although today's flowers don't look all that healthy in the picture, I had to reach up in an arm's length to snap this photo.

Royal City Centre

Jay and I have lived in New Westminster, British Columbia for more than twenty-five years. The uptown Mall predates our arrival. It is a couple of kilometers from our place. That sounds pretty close but we never walk. We live downtown near the Fraser River and there's a very steep hill between us and the Royal City Center.

   

Although we drive, we end up there several times every week. We remember the years before the Walmart but have been unable to pinpoint the year that it opened in the space which was formally a Zellers. We often pick up small amounts of groceries and use their pharmacy.  This Walmart is much more convenient than another in the Queensborough part of the city.  I also use the Westland Insurance office in the mall a few times per year. Some of the small shops are useful although we don't often purchase goods at them. 

Post-COVID, the place often seems busy and has a vibrant atmosphere.  I like meeting a lot of the community under the glass roof.

Dracula Might've Been Quicker

 

My doctor wrote out the form for standard blood tests and also ordered a quick EKG last week. The LifeLabs appointment system is supposed to make things easier, so I picked nearly the first time slot available. That was today.  Either they are chronically understaffed or the system does not provide adequate time for the procedures.  I don't think I've ever been seen at my scheduled time.

I finally sat in an inside chair at 1:45 pm although my appointment had been for 1:25.  Unfortunately, the technicians had trouble collecting my blood today. This has always been a bit of a challenge as I have deep and rolling veins. However, they seem to have initiated a three-strike policy now. So when the first girl was unsuccessful, I had to wait for another to be free. It was even a longer wait for the third! The third time is a charm, as they say, for during the final attempt to take from my hand, she gathered enough to fill both collection tubes. Prior, I'd run my hands under hot water at the sink and held a heating pad on my hand for a few minutes. 

My EKG was really quick but I wasn't out of the lab until an hour after my appointment time. Jay had been waiting in the Royal City Mall and wondered if he'd missed me when I returned.

Busting Out All Over

Spring is trying its darndest. 

 

I snapped these in front of the Royal City Centre Mall. I had a bit of extra time as Jay was getting his blood tests done at the lab. He finally got a new cardiologist. His old one moved his practice to another town and dropped patients without so much as a simple notification. Jay needs the results before next week's initial appointment. Luckily, just as our personal physician, the cardiologist has an office just across the road from us.

When is 10 Years Really Only 9.5?

It started off cloudy but later turned into a fantastically sunny day. 

In the morning, we went to the London Drugs uptown so Jay could have two passport photos taken. Jay got his present passport the month that we retired. That was October of 2014. 

He has to renew early because many countries require a six-month validity. We will fly to Berlin in May for less than a month but the rules require we renew before we leave. We have a tiny cruise coming up during the first five days of May and because it stops at a US port, he'll need a passport for that too. 

He decided it was best to get another one right away. We filled out the type-in PDF form on the computer today. He will bring the pictures and paperwork to drop off at a Canadian Passport Office in Surrey tomorrow.

   

While uptown, we stopped in the Royal City Mall too. What a nice day to do a few errands!

Why Were So Many Smiling Today?

 

If one could hear a smile, there would've been a cacophony today. The weather was grand and people used any excuse to get outside. A lot of dogs were happy to have the company of their owners on walks.

 

We went up to Queen's Park just to see some of those happy folks.  We saw all the sports fields busy and even people learning about beekeeping.

We enjoyed driving through the uptown neighbourhoods.  For such a small city, we have some very pleasant streets.  A majority of the cherry trees and magnolias were no longer showing off though.

Below, I snapped a picture from the roof of the Royal City Mall.  This is looking south west and a bit of the Fraser River is far away between the buildings.  We leave for winters but look forward to when this weather arrives eventually in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Routines are Most Enjoyed After Being Broken

I really like how we divide our time between new places and home. Upon returning for the summer, I come back to a fuller appreciation of our habits in British Columbia. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or whatever. We have to relearn how to live at home and part of that included running a few errands this morning.

I missed zipping around in my Kona EV for four months.  First, let me add a note about leaving an electric vehicle for an extended length of time.  We regularly go away for four or five months as Canadian snowbirds.  This winter, we stopped driving the car in mid-November but started using it again this week.  Before going away, I left the battery 80% full.  This Tuesday, I removed the car cover to find it had maintained exactly the same level.  Even though the car automatically keeps the normal battery topped up by the large EV battery, there was zero loss shown on the instrumentation.

 

In this photo, my Hyundai is parked in an uptown shopping center.  We had to run to activate my new credit union debit card by using it in a Vancity ATM.  We also visited London Drugs and continued to the main Royal City Center Mall too.  I had to buy a cheap set of runners at Walmart.  I figure at half the price of a name brand, I can afford to replace them twice as often.

Just as the small household routines that must be relearned, experiencing home's normal things takes on added enjoyment. 

A New Month is Here!

Our earlier drought has led to trees that seem to be holding onto their autumn leaves despite occasional wind storms. (Unlike this AI image I created today.) Still, we are squarely in that sort of twilight between autumn and winter weather.  The weather is fickle with temperatures that might get close to freezing either tonight or tomorrow night.  It's a change that we sometimes avoid when we leave for winter away early enough.

This morning we went uptown to do a little banking.  We visit our branch so infrequently, we had to update the IDs we have on file.  Jay had to write his signature a few extra times to match what he had on record.   We do most everything online.  It seems quite an anachronism for a person's identity to be tied to how they sign their name.  How often do we ever sign for something nowadays?

We stopped at the mall.  Although we park on the roof and use the elevator directly to the Walmart, we often traverse the length of the Royal City Centre for the exercise.  Seeing the shops and the people makes for an interesting extra kilometer of daily walking.  We pop out the front at Sixth and Sixth, the center of New Westminster's uptown activity.

Uptown Errands

 

This morning we had our fireplace repairman come to scope out our new problem. Just as we suspected, the motor in our exterior-wall exhaust fan bit the dust. The unit is originally installed in the late 1980s, so its demise was not totally unexpected. However, it will most likely prove fairly expensive to replace. It seems as though the company has a replacement unit available. We will confirm its installation after seeing an estimated bill. Thankfully, a heatwave is coming to southern British Columbia this weekend!

As Philipe was only here a short time, I was able to drive Jay uptown. He had an appointment at the medical lab on 5th Street for a standard blood test and an ECG.  We parked on the roof of the Royal City Mall and I walked around inside a bit while he was gone. We knew it'd take a bit longer than a normal blood check. While waiting, I took a few photos.

 

The Last Day of May

Jay had an eye exam this morning. I waited for him in the Royal City Mall.

 

After we met up, on the drive home, we stopped at Queen's Park. Finally! Today felt a little like spring because the temperature crossed the 20C threshold for the first time this year. It's about time, this is the weather we should have started experiencing a month ago!