Anyone who knows me had an experience, early in our relationship, when I didn’t recognize them the second time we met after initial introductions. Initially, I imagine, I seem rude but, fear not, don’t take it personally, all of you are in good company. I don’t remember faces, definitely don’t remember names and would have been terrible in sales. This personal flaw has been going on since I was fifteen and very certainly isn’t going to get better now, in my sixties.

Case in point, apparently as I understand it, as the story goes, a new girl came to my high school and sat behind me the whole year in english? Socials? I can’t remember the details but, at the end of the school year party at Maury’s, she said hi to me as I was going out a door and I looked at her like I had never seen her in my life, and didn’t respond. Yes, I was a bitch in high school but, in my defence, I had shallow priorities and was probably stalking some boy in the class all year.

Very quickly after that party in 1973, she and I became close friends and eventually rented a basement suite together on Dunbar. That girl who I was so rude to has since become one my closest friends for almost fifty years. She is a recently retired public health nurse who has spent her career running immunization and postpartum clinics. She and her husband had the infinite kindness to quarantine long enough to come and visit us for a couple of days this week. We hadn’t seen them in two years.

Now you all read this journal and probably think I exaggerate the whale sightings we get here. Especially when I can’t produce photographic evidence. But my frustrations that we never know when the whales are going to appear, and often don’t have the camera handy when they do, were validated when our dear friends visited this week.

After yesterday’s afternoon walk around the island, with the requisite visit to the beach, we returned to the house for happy hour. Husband was first to notice the spouts out the window. So we moved our gin and tonics to the “winter deck” to watch the Orca travel to Dodds. They weren’t particularly close but still whales. I suggested it was all part of the experience we try to offer our guests.

It was time to move indoors again for appies and wine. Way too much conversation going on for me to keep track of what was going on outside the window. But, as we normally do, our guests were placed in the chairs facing the water. It wasn’t an hour in and wife jumped up and, dare I say, screamed “whale”. Two humpback whales were right next to our deck and one had stood on its nose and flashed his tail. Right in front of her. The whales were travelling close to the island heading south. It is time for the humpback to be migrating to Mexico for the winter and I like to think they stopped by to wave goodbye. Needless to say, our friends were thrilled and no I don’t have picture proof.

My friend knows me well and brought a stack of new books for us to read. Seven to be exact and I haven’t moved, since she left, as I read my first. I have fallen deeply into the world of the Bletchley Circle women and the second world war. What a great book! The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

My winter quilting material has now arrived as has my three pounds of garlic which needs to be planted. In addition to reading the new books, the newsletter is ongoing and to anyone who at any point in time wondered what we would do all day when we moved here, I can again assure you that filling our days is not a problem.

I have the good fortune to continue to have tons of friends, from all the different stages of my life, who have forgiven me for my poor first impression. Many of you follow the blog and support us emotionally year after year. Through all of our trials and tribulations you can be assured we take strength in knowing you are out there, following along in our life, as E continues to defy all odds. We treasure you all and look forward to the days ahead when you can safely see a whale off

our deck too