It's now a week since our lovely friends returned to Victoria and Alan is doggedly measuring, cutting and hammering away at the deck. He and Jim spent six days creating the framework and surface, battling wet weather, scorching weather and the omnipotent inspector. Since the last inspection the day Jim and Jeanie left, Alan has removed the standing posts and re-set them in concrete. That required him to undo a major part of the work done previously. And of course, it was hotter and more humid than ever!! BUT, it's now done and the stairs are about to go in as are the railings.
A week of work for Alan and Jim was a week of fun for Jeanie and me. We sashayed off every day for tourist walks and art gallery viewings; we lunched like ladies and shopped the outlets (only Columbia!); we meandered homeward to put supper on the table most days. The men were generally wiped after their gruelling days in the heat but we did manage to persuade them to go to a great Wine and Cheese Fundraiser one evening. Another evening we rallied the troops and went picnicking as was our wont while we lived in Victoria. Not quite the same viewing potential but fun nonetheless.
On Saturday evening, old and dear friends visited for dinner. Tom and Sheena and daughter Ceilidh came for supper all the way from Hamilton. They will be moving to Vancouver in the summer so our supper was the beginning of a farewell to them although they will, of course, still be in our lives. The evening was very reminiscent of past gatherings with all these good friends....altogether wonderful!
The final evening we celebrated sitting on the boarded deck with a bottle of bubbly before going to the local pizzeria for a yummy dinner. The next day, the inspector came and Jeanie and Jim left. Both sad events for very different reasons!
THANK YOU, JIM AND JEANIE!!!
