A beautiful summer night in Vancouver

Wow! We had the most beautiful day today with clear blue skies and sunshine well into the evening. These are the days that position Vancouver as the best place on earth to live.

I spent most of the day at home as various trades people were coming to start or finish jobs at the house. However, I did manage to lay under the umbrella for an hour and read my novel, “The Bastard of Istanbul” by Elif Shafak. My UK friend Karen said it was recommended in a review she had read so I bought it at Heathrow and started to read it en route to Toronto after my May trip to Turkey. The story holds my imagination captive and provides an in-depth look at the family life of a somewhat atypical Turkish family as well as a perspective on the Armenian discussion (hint: the bastard is female!)

Tonight, I had a light supper of cottage cheese, raspberries and walnuts and then took the dogs to the beach. Everybody I saw or met was happy, smiling and generally enjoying the balmy summer night. It is on nights such as this that J will want to sleep out on the deck, overlooking the ocean, under the stars. Not me … I don’t want to wake up to Mr Bear, Mr Raccoon or Mr Skunk beside me (especially not the latter!)

I love summer and sure hope that as the years progress we will be spending more of each year with balmy nights – and warm, sunny days. Turkey, Spain, Italy, France – I’m not fussy where at this stage, but winter blue skies and sunshine are the key criteria. And for those of you who would suggest Calgary …. forget it! I mean W A R M!