Indiana Jones and the Guy Who Rear-Ended My Car

In the new Indiana Jones movie there are people who are flung off the back of jeeps, who fall into pits with stone floors, who free-fall off waterfalls, and oh, I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the more painful incidents that happened to our protagonists.

Ah, yes, there was an incident involving that atomic blast and a flying household appliance. Ouch, That's gotta hurt.

But Indy and those around him (at least the ones we're cheering for) end up a little dusty and dishevelled, but otherwise apparently feeling fine. What I want to know is...will they be stiff and sore the following day?

Cuz if they aren't going to feel a little uncomfortable the next day, I feel like a major wuss.

Some guy barrelled into the back of my car yesterday with a sudden crunching noise that, let's say, didn't make me enjoy the beginning of my day more. My poor, dented bumper. My poor, discombobulated morning.

Anyway, I was going to rant here a little about how the guy reeked of marijuana, and phoned me up later that day to beg me not to report the accident to ICBC (um, too late there, my new not-paying-attention-in-traffic friend...) and that he'd give me a thousand dollars in cash if I wouldn't. Hmmm...well at least he's not trying to say it wasn't his fault....

But, anyhoo, today I'm feeling unpleasantly stiff along the tops of my shoulders. I'm rather annoyed by this, and I'm hoping it goes away before I have to whinge to a doctor about it.

Hey, I just know Indiana Jones (or any of his side-kicks) would be able to brush off a mere fender-bender without a second thought. I bet his hat wouldn't even fall off.

Garden Tour Day

Garden Tour day finally here.
Happy. Very happy.
Tired. Very tired.
One hundred and seventy five people in my garden today...

The cherry trees were in bloom. The birdhouse Blackcrag gave me is being loved by the birds.

I love having a stone lantern in the Haunted Garden.

That's me, Spider Girl, your garden tour host today.

It's all cheery and pink by the mailbox.

Some visitors to my yard. Just beyond these ladies is the magnolia tree that I planted after being inspired by my friend Fireweed's tree-planting project. That whole area used to be just a pile o' dirt until a month or two ago. It's come a long way in a short time.

My youngest visitor, who was scolded by her mother after picking one of my yellow flowers. "I thought it was a dandelion", she protested. Easy mistake. :)

So many, many cars parking in front of my house. I wish I got this kind of traffic when I have a garage sale. Actually one fellow stopped by thinking it was a garage sale. He was right disappointed it wasn't. Flowers schmowers.

Tulips!

More tulips! (The bunnies didn't get them all after all.)

The pond and beyond.

I love the driftwood in the background--thanks Nik and Linda.

I'm rather in love with these blue and white pots but they belong to my mom. I'm going to very shortly go clay-pot shopping and get something like them for my very own, you better believe. I love 'em.

This is the patio underneath my wisteria arbour. See the little garden mirror peeking out from behind the honeysuckle vines? A very appreciated gift from my brother.

Anyway, the experience of having all these people here was a very positive experience overall.

Pros:

Compliments.

Hearing people exclaim in delight over something I worked hard on.

Finding out the names of your own plants that you didn't know from experts wandering by.

The enormous amount of calories that must have been burned during one hundred and forty hours of digging, pruing, and weeding in three months.

Meeting other gardeners.

Cons:

Dirty fingernails.

Wearing out the knees in your jeans weeding.

Not being able to resist running up the tab at the local plant nursery.

Worrying about the weather forecast for today weeks in advance. (Mostly sunny, one rain shower that deterred nobody apparently.)

This morning, total butterflies in my tummy!

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today, me and three of my best friends in the world left on a trip to Italy....

(And since all I've been doing lately is working and gardening, gardening, gardening as I get ready for the garden tour (which is finally almost here) I thought I'd post a few excerpts from my travel journal for the next little while........)

Nanaimo:

"Pol is right. It IS only a ten minute ride drive from her place to the place where the sea planes leave. But I am impatient, oh so impatient to be off. As soon as we are on that little airplane, our travels will begin."
"This is my first time in a sea plane. It is a quintessential West Coast experience, bringing to mind old Beachcomber episodes, and all the times I've watched with fascination as float-planes have lifted off from Vancouver."

"It was a fun ride. There was an enormous amount of gentle turbulence, making the plane rock and tip as the crosswinds caught us this way and that. We zoomed over ferry-boats, and crossed to the harbour in richmond in twenty minutes, landing with a splash and a roar in the Fraser River."

Here we are at Vancouver airport, waiting for our flight to Amsterdam.

This is Pol's first experience in a big airport. "So far", she said as she peered around, "it's like being at the mall." She practices yoga tree poses as we wait in the check-in line for KLM.

****

"We have checked our luggage before we realize that although the four of us are all travelling together to Amsterdam, Pol has been placed on an entirely different plane for the connecting flight to Rome...what was our travel agent thinking?"

*****

At security in Vancouver: They didn't seem overly concerned with the recent liquid toiletries restrictions. I overheard one of the security guards drawling sarcastically: " Oooohh, toothpaste! This stuff scares the shit out of me...."

Vancouver to Amsterdam:

The first time EVER that I fell asleep properly on an airplane, with help from a sleeping pill from Pol: "I pulled my hoodie over my head like a blanket and drifted and dozed peacefully (if uncomfortably) for over three hours. I feel like a curse has been lifted, I told my friends."

In Amsterdam:

"Pol set the security beeper off with her watch and got a pat-down which she smiled through. "I have to say I really enjoyed that. ", she told us. The security person also asked what the lump in her back pocket was.

"Yoda."

"Yoda?"

Pol pulled out her faithful little green plastic Yoda.

"Ah! Yoda!"

Tai has brought along her Pirate duck as well, trip mascots of sorts.

The above picture is from the very very end of our long travelling day....but technically speaking it was a brand new day before we actually got there. That's the thing about travelling---the getting there takes a looooong time.

Somebody needs to write a book on the Zen of Waiting in Airports.