We have returned from our trip to Ohio.  After 2 weeks the first job was to mow the lawn.  I had paid someone to do it the previous week so not that bad.

Today I spent on my knees weeding the front flower beds.  I am not sure why we plant annual flowers.  If I left well enough alone, the beds would be covered with clover and a peculiar little purple ground cover that I have to dig out every week all summer.

I think next year we do not plant flowers.  Instead I will encourage the weeds and even fertilize them.  I suspect they will die off.  Apparently only hated plants flourish.

But then that is me recovering from a couple of hours on my knees (fortunately with expensive knee pads) pulling weeds.  What is a weed anyway except a plant that you did not plant.

Pat and I are just back from a very interesting party tonight.  A friend of ours organized a party for his wife’s 70th birthday at a local winery.

Now this couple are noted for their great parties and unusual events.  They had friends come from all over including England.  Total of 57 guests.  Paul had arranged for a local band and an award winning chef from Calgary to fly in and prepare a multi course meal.  Wonderful food.

It was held in an outdoor covered patio beside the vineyard.  Great location, unfortunately after 8 weeks of hot drought weather, late this afternoon the temperature dropped and when the party started it was pouring rain.  It was dry under the cover but cool and no chance to walk the vineyards as we have done at other events at this location.

But here is the interesting part.  Paul contacted everyone before hand and had them provide him a secret from their past.  He then made a list of the guests down one side and 25 of the unusual secrets down the other and everyone, as they were drinking wine, mingled to try and match which secret went with which guest.  A great mixer as you could walk up to a lady and ask her if she had bathed nude on the dunes or did that person meet the Queen on her yacht.  By the time we sat for dinner everyone had chatted with everyone.

And, as I said the 8 different dishes served were fabulous.  Just too bad that the weather did not cooperate

We spend many evenings on the patio watching people tee off from the whites on the Par three tee box well behind us while dining or just relaxing.  Pat has become quite the expert on a good swing.

So many times we see someone take perfectly good practice swings and then practically fall on their ass on the real swing.  Pat can now predict if the ball is going to hook or will be scuffed or will be perfect.  Apparently hammering your club on the ground after the swing is a possible tell.

She talks about the body shift and the follow through like a good training pro.  Always amusing.

We had a great day.

Our local Miata club took 10 cars to join in a Shriner car show with 300 classics on the beach in Parksville.  (Apparently if you pay the $20 entry fee, you did not actually need a 1933 rebuilt hot rod.)

This past week on the Island was very hot, but today it may have been 28 C but with an overcast of smoke from the BC interior, very comfortable.

This is a car show mainly for people who just like cars.  You have the $300,000 exotic rebuilds, and people who brought their 1955 Nash Rambler in original condition, and people like us who just like their cars.   A chance to share car experiences while facing the beach in Parksville with people who all love their vehicles.

Sean’s father Doug is a big poo-bah for the event, so we get a chance to chat with him, busy as he is.

Obviously with a 2008 non-modified Miata we are not about to win an award, but our club had 10 cars in a row, so garnered lots of attention.  We maybe even signed up a few new members.

Interesting day but, Yaddah Yaddah, not the point of this blog.

Last week while working in the basement (where it was cool) I watched a documentary about the future of food.   William Davis who wrote the book Wheat Belly has a following in the US such that  people sign up paying big money to have feasts of Gluten-Free, Meat-free, vegetarian meals.  The concept of the documentary is that this is the future for mankind.  Everyone interviewed extolled how their life was so much better, the sex was better,  their view of life was great, and aside from the fact that their friends found them boring, everything about the diet was wonderful.

Meanwhile, our local Thrifty Grocery Store had a special on Friday to celebrate the BC long weekend.  Rib Steaks at half price.  Big juicy steaks with lots of… well let us call it juicy parts.  So I bought 2 for a total $15, and BBQd them both.

Now Pat and I can only manage one of the steaks but the other will form a strip beef salad tomorrow.  And I made a nice rosemary bread to go with the baked potato, and Pat prepared fresh yellow beans.

I BBQd the steak so the outside was charred and the inside was raw with blood dripping down our chins when we cut it (OK, not quite, but I added this detail so Lois could tell Michael).  And the bread was devine.

If the future is meat-free and gluten-free… it is a good thing I am old.  Wonderful meal to end a great day.

When we were first contemplating retiring here to Paradise we were assured of two things.

1. Do not need a snow shovel or snow blower because it rarely snows and if it does you can just whish it away with a broom.
2. Do not need air conditioning because it never gets hot.

Good thing we ignored this advice.

This last winter I used the snow blower every other day for a long period.  And forget about sweeping it away, when it falls it is like concrete.

When we were having the house built we could have chosen the more popular in floor hot water heating but went with a forced air system with a heat pump.  This has the advantage of air conditioning.  Granted over the years we have seldom needed the AC but this summer it is rewarding us in spades.   Record heat wave this week.  Where are friends with in-floor heating are suffering we are sleeping soundly in gentle 70 F.

I even rescheduled the group hike yesterday for a morning start so we were in a bar sipping cool ones by lunch.  Easy to be smart when you have a refreshing sleep.