Vancouver

Since the Apple store in Vancouver is 45 miles north, and the only other one is 65 miles to the south, we decided to take my sick iMac to the one in Vancouver. This of course means we need to cross the Canadian/US Border, just 20 miles north of home. As we neared the border, we saw this sign, which tells us how much time we will probably need to get across based on traffic. We, of course, smiled at this because we are proud owners of NEXUS passes, which means we use a special lane that considerably shortens the sometimes intolerable wait times. (Before NEXUS, we waited sometimes close to an hour to get across.)

Once we cross into Canada, there's a Visitor Centre that I've not visited yet, but it looks quite nice. The main difference you notice right away is that the signs to tell you distances are now in kilometers and not miles. Speed limits are also posted in kilometers, so if it says the speed limit is 100, I halve it and add 10% (i.e., 60mph). It was my Spousal Unit who taught me this trick.

You could be in the US, considering all the Starbucks, IHOPs, and other stores that are so totally familiar to us here. The only thing is you can't hand them a buck: they want a loonie (Canadian money) instead. Fortunately credit cards are easy ways around the money problem.

Lots of high rise buildings as we approach Vancouver. The Apple store is located in the Pacific Centre Mall, so we are going right into the heart of downtown. The buses are electric, with wires above them. People seem to use these at a greater volume than we do in the States.

(I have mentioned this before, but you can click any picture to enlarge. I download my pictures in large size and then use the clever sizer to decide how to display them.) We parked in an underground garage that unfortunately didn't have any signs to tell you where you left the car. We carefully checked the few landmarks so we could find our car again. This is our destination, where I went to the Genius Bar. For those who are not Mac owners, this store could be anywhere. Lots of people wandering around in blue or orange t-shirts are the ones who direct you to your destination or sell you some gadget you can't live without, if only you knew.

After finding a coffee shop nearby so I could fortify myself, we waited a few minutes before my name was called for the Genius Bar. We explained the sound my iMac is making, our Genius plugged it in and in the incredible noise of the environment was able to diagnose a defective fan. We already knew this, but we had to leave my baby behind for 3-5 days. We headed back to our car, miraculously located it, and headed home. This next picture is taken at the corner of 11th and Granville in downtown Vancouver. It was the purple and the chocolate that attracted me, I guess.

It is still a fair distance to the US Border crossing, but we headed back south, having made only a few little errors in judgment. Husband had driven virtually all around the building with google maps and knew where to go to find the correct streets. We approached the border with this sign:

The wait times are always longer going across to the States, because they must hire more cranky and suspicious border guards. I don't know what the difference is, but instead of the 25 minutes stated here, we only had to wait maybe two minutes in our special NEXUS lane. We never fail to feel smug as we pass by all the cars waiting forever to get across. I well remember when I would look with envy at those people going so quickly through, which is why we got them in the first place. We had to send them a densely packed four pages of background material, go into their office for a personal interview, be fingerprinted and mug-shotted and then in a few weeks we received our passes in the mail.

They will call us when the fan has been replaced, but until then I am happily using my trusty laptop to keep up with my coffee klatch people and make sure I don't get too far behind! Happy Halloween, everyone! I'm taking my camera everywhere I go today, hoping for some cool pictures to share.
:-)

Poncho Anderson

Eleven intrepid Senior Trailblazers met at 8:00 (in the dark) to decide where we would hike for our "October Surprise." Since this was scheduled to be our last hike in the High Country for the season, I think we were all a little disappointed with the weather forecast: rain. Almost everyone, including me, was ready with ponchos to drape over our gear (click any picture to enlarge). We have a fairly interesting weather situation here in Bellingham. We are right at the bottom of the Fraser Valley which comes roaring out of Canada and Vancouver, meaning that our weather tends to resemble Vancouver's more often than Seattle's. Here's what Cliff Mass had to say about today's weather, written last night:

A warm front is now approaching our area, bringing clouds and light precipitation. Most of the rain will be done with by 10 AM and there should be breaks tomorrow afternoon. The 24-h precipitation ending 5 PM shows modest rain over the lowlands, with heavier amounts (1.5-2 inches) southwest of the Olympics and Mt Rainer. Nothing major.

Well, of course I told my fellow hikers, and eleven of us showed up to hike in the rain! I told them confidently that by 10:00 or so we would no longer be in constant rain. By the end of the very wet day, after being subjected to numerous comments on the order of "sun breaks?"  and snickers, I had to remind them of this important fact: "A forecast is a forecast; it's not a guarantee." That warm front has still not made landfall, and it's 5:00pm.

We hiked up Anderson Mountain for a round trip of ten miles in light rain, mist, darkness at times, and even some snow (see above).  I had a great time and I hope my ten fellow hikers did, too. It was the first extended hike I've done since I banged my shin way back on October 8th. Today, the 29th, marks three weeks, and I didn't have any problems and did not fall or even stumble. I did notice the slippery spots and made sure that if, by some chance, I did fall, I was NOT going to hit any nasty exposed tree roots. Our lunch spot was very dark, down in the trees, trying to escape the wind and rain:

That's me with my totally cool mittens that allow you to stick your fingers out while leaving them on the rest of your hands. Notice Frank behind me; you can see he's a little wet. And it's, well, a little DARK. We didn't spend a lot of time having lunch, since everyone was very cold. But once we got moving again after lunch, we warmed up pretty well. All in all, it was a great day, and I'm here at home now, happy to be showered and fed, and ready for tomorrow.

We will be heading up to Vancouver in Canada to see a specialist about my iMac. Like I said, it's making sounds it never did before, but since I've got AppleCare and there's a Genius Bar there, we will haul my baby up and let you know what happens. I've got my camera ready to show you what the place is like up there in that other country! Until then.

:-)

Cyber coffee klatch

Something weird is happening with all of our computers. All this morning I've been trying to figure out what is wrong with my beautiful iMac (I'm now on my trusty laptop). It started making a sound like a bicycle with a playing card in its wheel, i.e., a loud whirring sound that has never been there before. I have spent an hour or two on the phone with Apple. More about that later.

The picture above? I had to download it again since it was ready for my new post on my iMac, but I just LOVED it when I ran across it. This is the way I feel when I'm blogging with all my friends. It's like we are all sitting around a virtual table and talking to each other about our daily lives. It's so immediate. I look forward to seeing what my cohorts have posted today, each with her (or his) own flavor. And then I comment, and I look for their comments on my latest posts. Although it's not likely that I will ever meet any of you, I must say that without a doubt you are important to me. Not just because I feel like I know you, but because you also know about me.

I will use the rest of my time here to answer questions that some of you have asked. First, how is my leg doing? Well, tomorrow will be my second hike on it since I smacked it. There is still some discoloration but nothing compared to the picture I posted at the end of "Fall Colors." The center of the direct hit is still a little warm and tender, but also so much better.

Second, the yarn story. I am waiting for my bank account to be plumped up a little at the first of the month, and then I'll go down to Spincycle and buy a bunch of yarn and a pattern, and tell you what I'm going to make. I intend to make something for Sandy's homeless people as well as something for myself. To tell you the truth, I don't think it will be $42/skein for the homeless, or even for me, but something a little more durable and less pricey. But I will support my local Spincycle people. Maybe once I tell them what I'm going to do they might give me a bunch of unmatched samples or something, and I can get excited about spreading the word.

I have the faintest mental suggestion that someone asked me a question I haven't answered. Judy, I think of you every day when I go to the gym, because I need the Sweetie key chain with my gym pass on it to get inside. (I won it!) Today I bounced around and worked up a good sweat. Then I went for a massage from my favorite therapist.

And finally, the iMac: it's still in the process of going through a "extended testing" to see if any of the hardware shows up as bad. But in the meantime, my husband and I made an appointment and will be heading to Vancouver, Canada, this Friday to visit the closest Apple store to see if they can replace this bad fan. I'm pretty sure that's what it is, because it hasn't changed in intensity since this morning. It will be fun: it's closer to us than the Seattle stores, and it's in downtown Vancouver! Other than having to carry a cumbersome iMac into the store (in its original box, of course) and having to find a place to park, it will be a great adventure! More later.

Tomorrow I'm going hiking in the rain. I'm ready for anything. Rain, hail, just try me! I'm ready.

:-)

Meditation on yarn

Lately I've been thinking, very seriously, of taking up knitting again (click any picture to enlarge). At the Farmers' Market, each week I've been enchanted with beautiful handspun yarns and I've fondled them a little more with each passing week. The Spincycle Yarn Store has been tempting me the most, so last week I actually looked at some of the yarns with the idea of maybe making something as a meditative activity this fall.

This merino wool/silk blend caught my eye, so I actually looked at the price. Well. So much for meditation: I had to spend a little time catching my breath at the price. I want to know, ladies, is this because it's the best that it costs so much?? It is all local. Here's a short excerpt from their website (under "about us"):

Inspired by the rich colors of their surroundings, and using local fibers, they hand-dye every batch and spin every inch in their messy little studio in downtown Bellingham, Washington. They travel to market on very cute bicycles, hauling all their beautiful yarn and display racks on bike trailers. They are committed to spinning yarn that is both fresh and classic, to inspiring your craft with ever-changing textures and colors, and to advancing the knitting revolution!

I know it's more expensive than most, but to make this little "harf" (hat and scarf combo), I would need three skeins at $42/skein! Is this beyond the beyond or should I shop around? Perhaps I should just mention that I fell in love with the feel of this yarn and had a hard time tearing myself away, although once I looked at the price I wondered if I would be better off, if I want to take up some sort of meditative activity, to attend a yoga class.

My mother used to knit a sweater a week. She taught me to change the way I knit from taking my right hand to throw the yarn over the needle to using my left-hand first finger like a shuttle. It took me knitting an entire sweater to learn it, because the tension is not consistent until you get the hang of it. Maybe it's partly because I miss my mom that I want to remember her by taking up her favorite activity again. Or maybe it's the sun coming up later and going down earlier.

The Spincycle people use local yarns whenever they can, and after learning that they haul their stuff to the market every week on bicycles, I'm pretty sure I should support these wonderful people. What do you think?
:-)

Cybercrone

credit: Flame Warriors by Mike Reed

While I was wandering around at the Farmers' Market today, my pocket rang. Fishing my cellphone out of my pocket, I was struck by the difference in my (and probably your) life today versus what it was in my grandmother's day. She would not have known what I meant by that first sentence, but you did. As I strolled around in the sunshine, I pondered how, if my grandmother were here how could I explain that difference?

When my husband and I moved up here, we both kept our cellphones, and he got a local number while I kept my Colorado one, to ensure that both our old and our new friends could contact us. We didn't get a landline. It's been almost two years now, and we haven't missed it at all. Our internet connection is wi-fi, and if I want to talk with someone I can't raise on my cell, I use iChat or Skype. We have two laptops and two desktops in our two-bedroom apartment, and we use them all.

The granny in the first picture is Mike Reed's idea of an old lady who incites people on the internet. Some of my fellow bloggers might qualify, but I try to keep it down. But I could if I wanted to! I am connected to a whole cyber world out there that is as real to me as my friends at the gym. I may see my fellow exercisers daily, but when Nancy at Life in the Second Half or Rae at Weather Vane stir up some cyber dust, I'm right there with them.

I blog daily, or almost daily, and if by some chance I leave the house without my cell, I feel totally disconnected. It just wasn't that long ago that I didn't mind walking around without being able to contact someone, or be contacted. How quickly all that changed. When I first thought about getting a cellphone, I remember hesitating, thinking how nice it was to be incommunicado, and now... well, that seems so last century.

When I used to travel internationally for my old job, I would often head to the internet cafe in China, Vietnam, or Thailand if I didn't have connectivity in my hotel room. As the years passed, we chose only to stay in places that offered wi-fi in the room, so we didn't need to go out to connect. Little by little, I found that my entire existence moved from the novelty to the necessity of being connected.

Nowadays I feel a sense of superiority when I see people sitting on the bus reading their twitter accounts, because I don't use that. I also don't use my cellphone to text or to connect to the internet. It's partly because I am feeling so connected now that I don't feel the need. But looking back at where I've come from, it seems possible that I could go down that road someday.  I've got a Facebook page, a cellphone, two computers (one portable), two blogs, and a website.

Just for fun, in re-reading that last paragraph, I wondered how much of it Granny would have understood, and how I would have described it to her. Pardon me for a minute while I do a little yoga.

:-)

Short, sweet, Swift Creek

Twelve of us Seniors headed up I-5 and onto the North Cascades Highway to start our trek up the Swift Creek Trail. I should have read this before we headed out (from Hiking Whatcom County by Ken Wilcox):

Despite some recent trail work, portions are difficult, overgrown, and hard to follow. A foot log with cable handline was in place at Rainbow Creek in mid-2006, but a critical bridge was missing at Swift Creek, two miles above Rainbow. Experienced hikers may be able to ford at lower water in mid- to late summer. Check conditions beforehand.

Well, you guessed it: when we got to Swift Creek, there was no way to continue, so we stopped and had an early lunch at Swift Creek and then headed back. One of our hikers had done quite a bit of work on the trail this summer, so he knew where the trail actually veered from the older trail to a more reasonable one. Here's our lunch spot:

 

A total of about 5 miles round trip. With time to spare, we decided to hike up to the natural hot springs and found a man in the springs (not very hot, if you ask me) who said he had been there all day and was cleaning out the bottom. We then headed back to the cars. After some discussion, we decided to try and find the trail to Rainbow Falls, which started out at a very obviously overgrown trail. Some decided to skip this excitment, while the rest (some of us were afraid we would miss a good picture) bushwhacked through brush and fallen logs for about a half-mile before turning around and heading back down, all without a view of the falls. All in all, I'm counting the day as somewhere near 7 miles. I didn't re-injure my leg and was careful when bushwhacking that nothing hit the left shin. This picture was taken at the "hot" spring.

 

Although we had no view from the trail, Swift Creek was truly awesome, and the clouds and the colors in the trees were also very lovely. The trail winds through mossy and very beautiful country. Sometimes the ground sprang back at me; it was like walking on a mattress. But the best views were from the parking lot!

At this time of year, the trees on the hillside look almost like they are on fire. Although they are a little past their peak, I was so happy to get this picture before we headed home. At least I only missed one week and will be there for the last hike in the High Country next Thursday.

:-)

More about food

Little Darling preschool children learning about making bread (click to enlarge)

Today when I went to get some bread and brownies that are made here at the Great Harvest Bread Company, I saw these adorable little ones (the short people in red caps) and their teacher learning about how bread is made. This wonderful store also offers free samples, and I walk by here every day on my way to the bus. I try really hard not to get too many free samples, but this is where the bread my husband and I both eat comes from. He likes something called "Dakota seed" and I like the whole wheat sourdough. The feeling of family is strong in the store; they know me and call me by name as a "regular."

I've discovered that Bellingham, my new home, and Boulder, my old home, have many things in common. Both have a reputation for being different in food consciousness from their surrounding towns. I got a cup of coffee and asked if the beans are free trade. My server assured me that they are and said that here in Bellingham almost every coffee shop (except for the chains like Starbucks) use free trade coffee. At the Food Co-op where I do the majority of my shopping, everything that is carried in the store is supposedly good for the environment. We have the ability to go to a farm a few miles away and pick our own apples right off the tree. Milk, cheese and yogurt are processed within a short distance of my town (mostly in Bow, WA).

All this is uppermost in my mind right now as I continue reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food. Right now I'm reading about how the low-fat craze actually caused people to get sicker and fatter. People followed the dietary guidelines to eat more low-fat foods, and they replaced "bad" saturated fats with polyunsaturated and trans fats. We now know that trans fats really DO make us sick. And Pollan points out that Americans didn't eat less; they just ate the same amount but added more low-fat foods. Here's a telling quote (pp. 51-52):

Play your cards right and you can even get the American Heart Association to endorse your new breakfast cereal as "heart healthy." As I write, the FDA has just signed off on a new health claim for Frito-Lay chips on the grounds that eating chips fried in polyunsaturated fats can help you reduce your consumption of saturated fats, thereby conferring blessings on your cardiovascular system. So can a notorious junk food pass through the needle eye of nutritionist logic and come out the other side looking like a health food.

I'm at the end of Part I (of three), "The Age of Nutritionism," and just beginning Part II, "The Western Diet and the Diseases of Civilization." The last part is "Getting Over Nutritionism." I'll keep you posted. But if you're interested in learning more right now, I found this very good interview on NPR with Pollan. It also has a picture of him, which interested me. He looks like he's in very good shape.

:-)