Month: August 2021

We’ve heard a lot from anti-vaxxers and it’s getting me a little ticked off.

Some people for reasons of their own don’t want to get the vaccine, and even though I think they are wrong and putting themselves at risk, I respect their decision.

However, I think there is a difference between non- vaxxers and anti-vaxxers. Non-vaxxers just don’t get the vaccine and mind their own business. Anti-vaxxers try to spread their own ridiculous ideas and try to persuade others to join their crazy conspiracy theories. These are the dangerous ones! They persuade one gullible person so they can say “See, I’m not the only one.” Then that person dies from Covid 19 and they have that on their conscience…or not.

I personally heard one Canadian woman tell someone in Mexico that the AstraZeneca vaccine kills pregnant mothers and their babies. What a lot of nonsense. Oxford University who developed the drug has been teaching and doing research for over a thousand years. Does anyone in their right mind think they are going to release a drug to kill a few thousand people?

There are some people who have compromised immune systems who do react negatively to the drug, but it is far safer than smoking or taking the birth control pill.

Here is a link to some more data. Which will be discarded by anti-vaxxers as fake news. Of course, you can go on the internet and get irrefutable proof to back up any crackpot theory that you choose to have. Conspiracy theorists know this…for a fact.

Vaccines have saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the last few hundred years.

And you can add E. Bola, Small Pox and many more to the list.

If you’re on a sinking ship, remember it’s your right not to wear a lifejacket; you’ll still drown but you used your rights successfully.

While I’m writing this I have been looking for some facts to add to the story. There is so much scientific proof out there that these vaccines are safe that it boggles my mind that people don’t listen to them. It may be pride that once you say no, you can’t change your mind. I may be just old-fashioned stubbornness. And it may be followers of that idiot trump.

Supposedly the vaccine also contains a computer chip so that we can be traced at any time. It’s lucky that it isn’t powered by AA batteries as they would need an awful big needle. As soon as you open your phone, iPad or computer, people can track you. I don’t understand why anyone would want to track me anyway, I’m boring.

Rosalie and I are trying to do our bit. We got vaccinated, we wear masks we distance from people we don’t know. We feel that we are not only protecting ourselves but others as well. If everyone got the vaccine this Covid pandemic would be almost over by now.

As a footnote: we just found out that one of our favourite waiters in Melaque has died from the disease. Rest in peace Justo.

I was slightly hungover this morning, but what a great party we had.

Rosalie and I had been working on it for the last couple of weeks making signs, menus, placemats, preparing food and borrowing tables, table cloths and chairs. Mary-Ellen and Bruce, our neighbours, brought us back some bunting from Mazatlan. The girls put it together while Bruce and I supervised. On the morning of the party I hung it all up and it made the whole place so much more festive.

We had invited about thirty people and most showed up. By three-thirty the place was buzzing. Everybody contributed food so we didn’t go hungry. After the appies I recruited Peter as an assistant and opened up ‘Taqueria de Chris’.

I bought a new propane griddle a few weeks ago so was itching to use it. I cooked everything as we went along so it was all fresh. This year I decided to use real beef instead of hamburger and I’m glad I did. Everyone had a choice of that and chicken. We served forty tacos and still had meat left over. We also supplied the lettuce, beans, onions, tomatoes, cheese, pico de gallo etc. for the toppings.

After serving the food Peter and I grabbed a taco each and settled down to enjoy ourselves. Rosalie and I mingled with the crowd and as I went from table to table I realized that no matter what table I sat at, I was with really good friends. It wasn’t us who made the party it was having them there.

I got the giant Jenga game out and watched as the guys had fun with that. There have been a few complaints that the wood need waxing so I may have to look into that; or not, depending on my mood when I next think about it.

Eventually, people started to drift off home and left the diehards behind; that’s when the tequila came out. Rosalie and I were finally alone at about 9:15. and reviewed the day. We decided it was our best Melaque party yet, the weather was perfect, not too hot not too cold and no rain, even the Mexican music was good.

Rosalie was a bit stressed leading up to it but calmed herself down on the day and had a great time. I have to thank her more than anybody for the success we had. Also to our eldest daughter Lisa, who inspired us with the Cricut machine.

This morning we had the job of cleaning up, putting things away and returning borrowed tables and chairs. Mary-Ellen and Bruce jumped in to help once more which made the job a lot easier. The biggest chore was the washing up and Mary-Ellen helped Rosalie with that too.

I’m already looking forward to next years party.

I’ve been wanting to get a DNA test for some time so I sent away for a kit from CRI, an independent company based in California. When I got the kit I did a cheek swab and sent it off. They sent me updates every step of the way until finally eight weeks later I got the results.

My mum’s maiden name was Newman so I wasn’t really surprised when I found that my ancestry was mostly German. Next was British and then French and Spanish. As I looked through the report I was surprised to see that I have a little Italian, Chinese, East Indian, Punjabi, Columbian and…and …and 1% Mexican. I was happy about the Mexican connection.

The report goes back two thousand years and from what I can see my ancestors were from all over the world. For the last several generations though from Northern Europe and Spain and Italy. I truly am a mongrel. Our neighbour said that he once had a dog like that.

The traits that they attributed to me were very accurate. They even said that I had either had brown or blue eyes; most likely blue, mine are blue. 

It would be interesting to see if any unknown kids come out of the woodwork. I will of course deny it and leave the country.

The other thing I like about this is that I can see what my medical tendencies are. The ones they gave me are very accurate. It said that I tolerate alcohol better than most so that’s a good thing. That I’m prone to heartburn and indigestion; yup that’s true. I have a slightly increased risk of psoriasis but less chance of getting eczema. Important to know.

I have enhanced long-term memory, but Rosalie disagrees. Enhanced mathematical ability; yeah right, that’s the only one I found a bit off. I’m likely to be an endurance athlete. Yet I find I’m puffing just running to the bathroom. When I was younger I did a lot of cross country running and was good at that so I suppose it’s true. I have a high pain threshold, which comes in handy when Rosalie disagrees with my long-term memory. Normal or strong body odour. Sorry for that to anyone who gets too close.

All in all, it was an interesting experience, especially the bit about being 1% Mexican. Next, I want to find out what famous (or infamous) people I’m related to.

We hadn’t seen our daughter Lisa and her family for two years because of Covid, so decided to take a trip to see them. We left the campground at 5:30 am to catch the 7:45 Duke Point ferry. It was a long weekend but there was still space when the ferry sailed.

We arrived at Harrison Hot Springs just after noon as the traffic between Langley and Chilliwack was stop and go all the way. Lisa and Peter were waiting for us at the local pub and after lunch, the four of us hopped on the boat and headed to Echo Island on Harrison Lake where their cabin is.

They had just renovated it as a water pipe had burst and just about destroyed the whole place. Part of the renovations included adding solar panels for power. After homemade pizza for dinner, we sat outside drinking wine and chatting. Then we got a surprise visit from our grandaughter Katelyn and her boyfriend Max who were camped across the lake. They weren’t expected until the following day but wanted to see us. Of course, Lisa and I stayed up later than Peter and Rosalie as we had a lot of catching up to do.

The following morning it was cloudy and raining so the solar panels weren’t providing power. At this point, the backup generator should have kicked in to recharge the batteries but for some reason, didn’t. Peter couldn’t even get it started manually so we decided to go back to their new home that they had just moved into in Rosedale. Again Lisa and I stayed up late drinking wine and chatting.

Lisa loves to do crafting and has a whole garage as her studio. Rosalie has been trying to find a new hobby to keep her occupied so was looking for ideas. Lisa had a spare Cricut machine and very generously gave it to us. But first, we had to have lessons on how to use it with Lisa as our teacher. We had a project in mind so spent the whole day having fun.

The studio has everything for crafting including a laser cutter, hot press, a baby chop saw and a huge variety of other tools. Some of the things she makes are quite amazing. She works hard as a financial adviser so deserves the best fun stuff.

She even made us personalized drinks mugs. They look like tin cans but boy, do they ever keep stuff cool? It was hot in Rosedale but Rosalie had an ice cube still leftover from the previous night. And of course, she personalized them with our names.

There was a lot of smoke in the air from all the fires and we could hardly make out the mountain view from our bedroom window.

Whenever we go to visit them Rosalie makes one of her world-famous lasagnas as we know they love them, especially Peter. Katelyn and Max came for dinner on our last evening when it was being served. Peter pretended to be a bit put out as he didn’t want to share. Anyway, there was enough left over for him for later.

All good things must come to an end so we had to come home. We checked the Tsawwassen ferry schedule and all sailings were booked. It looked as though we might have to stay another night. Peter suggested we try Horseshoe Bay. I was surprised to find that there was a lot of space on most of the sailings. After a hasty shower, we said our goodbyes to Peter, (Lisa had already left for work.) took off and caught the 11:05 am. And so, home!