If music be the food of life...Throwback to 2008. Stumbling across my old blog writings.

Oh my, I just stumbled across a long lost blog I created over a decade ago and am just now remembering that at one time I was somewhat tech savvy and resourceful and maybe even slightly insightful lol!  Somehow back in my earlier parental life I found little nuggets of time to document parts of my world in an online journal of writing.  It really wasn't meant for anyone to read but me.  But, time moves on...I am older, not tech savvy and woefully forgetful, so I am revisiting these writings and attempting to store them again not only in my aging brain but on my reactivated online blog and social accounts. It's a bit scary.   My goal was always to age as gracefully and as intact as I can....mentally and physically.  And now I must admit I have been lacking on both those accounts.  So here we go again.

There is no time like the present....or in my case, the past to begin again!


This is my first entry from July 2008.  I called it  "And So it Begins" 

If Music be the food of life: play on.

Maybe like you I am realizing the older I get the more reflective I have become less to prove but more to learn.
Music has always been an integral part of my world; as essential as food, as constant as the tide.
It gives me balance and it feeds my soul.
I can't really play an instrument (despite several years of piano as a child) and I really shouldn't sing. But I listen, I devour and I try to keep an open mind to all music, artists, genres and in particular the lyrics to songs that intrigue me.
My other passions in life? Wine. Food. Travel.
Put wine with good food, good company in a comfortable locale, then add in live music and welcome to my bliss! 
My hope is to use my blog to share my thoughts, my music loves and discoveries in life so no matter how forgetful l get as I age, the memories and the reason why they were relevant remain with me.

I took this picture in Victoria BC looking west out to the pacific ocean near Beacon Park late on a July evening (summer 2008). I had spent several days visiting the city while my son was at the Conservatory of Music studying jazz piano. He received the opportunity to attend after winning a small scholarship at a recent Jazz Festival with his school band earlier in the spring. Though my husband and I lack any musical talent, our only child is immersed in it and his natural ability and love of playing astounds us each day. At 16yrs, he plays in his school jazz and concert band, plus his rock band which has taken ownership of our basement! His main focus is piano but he also plays guitar, drums, trombone and bass, writes and composes. For him it is as normal as breathing and something he could not imagine living without. He is the light of my life, and I feel so lucky to see him growing into a remarkable, caring and talented young man.
This picture reflects a lot about how I felt as we were in Victoria.
I look at my son and know he is on the edge of something new and wonderful in his life.
There are imposing rocks on the shore and undercurrents that one can't possibly see,
but
there is also a well lit moon to guide and a sandy shore to sink your feet in.
The possibilities, the directions to move are endless.
Where his life, his music, will take him I don't know.
But I know he is grounded and his heart is true and for that I will always treasure the time we spend together and the opportunity to help shape his life and help him grow.
Letting go and letting one find their way is tough for a parent and I'm appreciative and highly atune to that feeling right now as I lookout at an ocean that looks alluring and vast all at the same time.
I can feel the pull of my heartstrings just like the pull of the tides.

Introducing Gladys the vintage glamper

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Gladys.  She arrived this past spring after I convinced my husband she was the perfect 'pet' project for me to tackle. 

  She is a 1967 travelaire 16ft trailer who had spent most of her last few years as a hunting companion and camping shelter here in BC.  She was sturdy and solid but had seen a lot of wear and tear in her nearly 50 years.  I was excited to give her a facelift and a new colourful life with us. 

This is how she looked when she arrived.

She had her original papers and most of the original interior, though the appliances didn't function and on the exterior she was badly dented and beat. 

We gutted her interior saving a few cupboard drawers to repurpose for shelf storage where the small flip down bunker was previously. 

 We pulled out the old ceiling and sealed the roof before adding new acoustic insulation and new panelling on the interior.

All interior walls were stripped, sanded, cleaned and repainted with mildew resistant paint. 

In her new life, I imagined her as a cute and cheerful guest bedroom for extra family company.  For 500 dollars purchase price and a 500 dollar reno budget I thought she would be the perfect pilot project for me to play with. 

Fast forward 4months and here's what she looks like now. 

Gladys, now sports a pair of flip-up sunglasses and a sunny carefree attitude on her exterior. 

 The arms of the sunglasses extend to the sides of the trailer and boast her name and 'summer of love' 'flower power' 1967 'groovy' slogans.  

On the inside she now has a colourful and cheerful bedroom complete with a queen size pillow top mattress.

 

Gladys has 2 lounging chairs and a little spot to place your wine glass and cocktails. I covered the small floor area in the lounging section in a higher end artificial outdoor turf and it does feel really good under foot and is easy to keep clean. 

I put in a new little fridge to hold at least a case of wine and some okanagan fresh fruit and cheese (she is a vintage okanagan glamper after all!)  

The cookie jar is an original from my childhood home and vintage 1960's.  It was my mom's and was a fixture on our kitchen counter growing up.

Gladys also has a retro-looking coffee maker for the morning after enjoying all that collected okanagan wine from visiting local wineries.

On the interior walls, Gladys has cork boards filled with maps and info on the main wineries, touring routes and  history of our okanagan wine region and trails. 

 

We also built a new base to create a raised bed area that  fits a queen or king mattress.

 Underneath the bed area you can store so much now.  (We have a  patio umbrella,  foldable card tables and even a fold up outdoor gazebo in there!)

She was a lot more work than I anticipated and my plan was continually altered on the fly as we went.

 I learned a lot and I will share her renovation and stories on this blog as well.

  In case you are wondering how the name Gladys was chosen...

Gladys was my grandmothers name.  I have fond memories of her in my childhood days of the 1960's.  She was born in England and to me seemed like a story book character full of wonder and  uniqueness in my child's mind.  Friendly, funny, quirky and loving.  Gladys is also my mothers middle name (she has much of those same great qualities by the way) and Gladys is also my middle name as well.  I grew up with the family nick name 'happy bum' and it just seemed fitting to fit it in this crazy little project I dreamt up.  Now I am happy to announce she is almost ready to be revealed to the rest of our extended family.  It's time to start planning Gladys's 'welcome to our family' party soon. I've got cocktails to concoct  and vintage okanagan wine to stock  and I am tickled pink💕

Cheers for now 😊

Paris to Tours

 

After our First few days on our own in Paris it was time to join up and meet with our Intrepid travel group and begin the backpacking adventure through to Madrid. 

 

We took the metro to the 11th Arrondissement to our meeting spot/hotel for the group.  The Hotel Des Arts Bastille was a funky artistic little spot right in the midst of a very multicultural  Parisian neighbourhood.  The area was not touristy and filled with an eclectic vibrancy.  Plenty of cafes, small businesses and many of the locals we met here, were in their 30's, and were studying English and involved in the theatre, arts and music scene.  The hotel had wifi, clean small rooms and just around the corner from the charonne metro stop. We checked in and headed to the corner café to enjoy a drink and ponder our group we would soon be meeting.

From as far as we could tell checking in ahead with the tour company there were only 5 of us booked on the trip and Bert and I wondered and bet on what the group composition would be.  We figured on an Aussie couple around our age and maybe a solo female traveller from the US?  Well we had the mix of nationalities right....but I don't think we ever thought it would be comprised of all solo travellers, and all women...even our Intrepid guide!  Yep, Bert was the only guy.  Our group was aged between 31 and 54.  All single. no kids, and as we quickly came to know, all fabulous, fun and interesting people!   

That night we all headed out and walked through the 11th.arr  taking in the lively Saturday night atmosphere, music, laughter, and chatter filled the streets. We sat at an outdoor café and got to know each other a bit with a meal and a couple bottles of wine.  Turned out we all loved red wine, we all love food, we all love to travel and we all were excited to explore.  Couldn't ask for a better start...the next day we would set out by train to Tours.  

We connected through LeMans, home of the grand Prix.   Great rail station along the way.

Our hotel in Tours was right across from the train station, which was very handy since the rain had arrived just as we did.  The hotel has been owned by the same family for more than 80 years and was originally the family home of the wife.  Their son and daughter law work alongside the couple now who are in their 80's. They greeted us warmly when we arrived.  A well used old grand piano was set up in the small reception room and you could sense this home/hotel was a real CenterPoint for the town and the owners treated their guests like family.  Breakfast here was very good and the café and croissants the best we had come across yet.

In Tours, a meal of Poulet Confit, with grilled tomato and pesto with a blackberry and wine reduction sauce.  It came with frites and a strawberry gelato to cleanse of some of your pallete.  To say it was rich, is an understatement but man it was tasty. 

Our first athletic endeavour on the group tour was a 40km bike ride to the gardens at Chateau Villandry.  It was a beautiful winding mostly flat ride through the city which had great bike lanes to a marked bike path through the countryside.  We debated as a group whether to pass on the bike ride and take a bus instead as we looked outside in the morning and saw the first drops of rain but decided it would be a missed opportunity if we passed.  So Deb the Aussie nurse ran over to the grocery store bought a pack of hefty garbage bags and with a pair of borrowed scissors from the hotel owners fashioned us all 'designer rain gear' and we headed off.

We got lots of curious looks as we rode through showers and then  pouring rain but the bags worked well and we looked like a 'team' out on the bikes.  The chateau grounds were hard to full appreciate but the inner rooms were warm and beautiful.  A wedding /bridal shoot was taking place at the time which added to the ambience.  Again, Us Bikers sopping wet and wearing hefty garbage bags drew a few looks.  We laughed and carried on!

Breakfast at our hotel in Tours