PAUL'S PETLESS PANORAMA PALACE

POST # 62

This post will be short and sweet, well short in any event. The reason? I am currently sitting at a public computer terminal in the Grand Forks library and the time limit is only one hour. So right up front I am going to apologize for any spelling mistakes and/or grammatical errors, because I don't know if I'll have time to do my standard three or four edits. I may be able to extend my time, but it all depends on how many people show up.

It's the morning of February 28th, the last day of the month and here I am for the second time in a year visiting Grand Forks. I arrived a few days ago after a long journey from Washington, and the worst part of it was not being able to stay at the Vancouver bus terminal from 2am to 6am while in transit. Thankfully there was a 24hour place to hang out in during that time, so at least I was out of the weather.

When I arrived in Grand Forks, I was greeted by Dorothy who is the mother of my friend Tim, who lives in Calgary. I am currently staying at Dorothy's place, which is the above named "Paul's Petless Panorama Palace" as it is located on Panorama Drive and has a commanding view overlooking the valley below. Although I am petless ( a petsitter's holiday) there are a variety of song birds, pheasants and a multitude of deer roaming around in the yard, so they more than make up for the pet free zone.

Dorothy has recently sold her house and has moved into a senior care facility in town, and I am here to help her with anything that she needs done for the next couple of weeks. Yesterday I drove her to Trail to visit another son named David, and afterwards I popped into the Trail hospital, which is the place that I was at last year having my two leg operations. I have to say that I had mixed emotions walking through the front doors, but all in all, I am glad that I went. I was hoping to run into some of the staff who helped me last year, in order to thank them again, however there were no familiar faces to be seen. Still it was a worthwhile visit, and I think Dorothy enjoyed the drive and of course the time to spend with David.

I have also had the opportunity, thanks to Dorothy, to be able to dine with her and others at the Silver Kettle which is where she now lives. It's a wonderful chance to spend time with seniors, and hear some of their tales of the past. I even listened to one of our dinner mates tell a story from back in 1941 in which someone she knew had an accident in which his leg was broken in three places. Back then things were different, and the poor soul had to have a large portion of his leg amputated due to the onset of gangrene. He ended up with a wooden stump to finish out life on. I count myself fortunate by comparison. I'll be looking forward to sharing a few more dinners with my new found friends, during my time here in the Forks, and I imagine that there will be more interesting tales told in the future.

The anniversary date of my big tumble down the hill is rapidly approaching and I have been invited up to visit my hill this coming Sunday, which is a day short of the anniversary date, but it's close enough. It will be good to have a visit with the owners Bev and Brian, and of course all of their pets, including Sadie, Bob, Blueberry and Mr. Bumples. No doubt I will have more to say about that visit in a future blog.

I'm looking at the clock on the computer and it's ticking away rapidly, so I had better do at least a quick proof read to try and discover any glaring errors, prior to posting this entry.

OK, it looks pretty good for now, so I will post away. If I happen to get more time later today to add a few more thoughts I will, and if not, I'll be back here on March 7th to continue with the next news.

Happy trails,

Paul


The Thoughtful Wanderer