Day 32, Post-Op Lady Dar Bye Bye Bus Blues: Monday, October 17th!

Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value. -Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist (17 Oct 1915-2005)

Hello The Sisterhood! Just took Lady Dar to the bus so I imagine she is en route to Vancouver by now. Back home to find The Destructo Cats already pining for her. Have changed my appointment with dermatologist to November 3rd, in the morning, before I see my hip surgeon that afternoon, so all worked out well in this regard. Lonely already! Love and Cheers, Dad/Patrizzio! Pics: Greyhound Woman; abandoned felines!

Thx for the encouragement. Surgery is likely a long way off. Not good with pain. T3 with codeine upsets my stomach but with gravel makes me a space cadet. Had a real episode after 6 weeks on the latter for shingles. Tried 5 other drugs before finding the one which gave me relief. Let me know if you ever get shingles. Hope you hit the vaccine. 

Babysitting. All's quiet on the front here. Frank went with Beth to watch her hockey game, 8:45, other side of Edmonton. They'll be late. Watching last episode of the Hunger Games, part 2, The Mockingjay. I read all the books. If not back may watch Joy. 

Girls took me out for dinner last night to Chianti's in Olde Strathcona in Edmonton. It was an early 70th celebration. My bday isn't officially until Nov 6. Surprised me after with tickets to go see Kenny Roger's final tour. They had kept this secret for almost a month. The girls & I have always loved to sing along to his music, especially The Gambler. His voice is still great. Getting physically frail though. Sat through most of concert. Linda Davis was showcased. She is fab & looks gorgeous!! Mom of female vocalist of Lady Antebellum.

Hi Maggie! I remember when you were in such terrible discomfort with shingles, a few years ago, or so., if I recall correctly  My mother-in-law has suffered from them, mainly due to heat, when they were traveling to Hawaii or Texas. Your dinner and "secret" concert sounded wonderful.

Lady Dar is off to Vancouver this morning. I'll drive her the few blocks to terminal as it is raining steadily here. Cats don't like it. I let them out when I was first up and they didn't stay out long, even though much of our back patio is covered. Our two rain barrels are filled to overflowing. Hope to install two more, next spring, with even larger capacity. Lady Green Thumb was able to water our small vegetable garden, xeriscape landscaping in front yard and other potted plants for most of the spring/summer from the two we already have. Cheers, Patrizzio! 

Pic: Stationary bike in Rumpus Room. Note small stool I use to make it easier to clamber aboard and cushion on chair. Often sit there when we are watching Netflix or other recorded programs. Need it to keep my hip from bending more than 90º. Portable so I can take it with me when elsewhere in house or going out to friends or cinema.

My shingles was April of 2010, right after return from AZ to AB. Had it for 5 1/2 mos. They couldn't find a drug to get rid of the rash & the intense pain. Went through maybe 6 drugs before found the miracle cure!! Yes, I have heard body must always be at 90 degrees when sitting etc after hip?? How do you manage that? When sleeping?? Hope C has a good trip. Where does Lady Dar come from? You must be managing well on your own. I would need Frank, I think, to help me & keep me on track for rehab. 

Okay, so my three girls took me out Sat night for an early 70th birthday( not til Nov 6) dinner to Chiantis on Whyte Ave in the Olde Strathcona district of Edmonton. Following the meal & after giving me a gorgeous Stella & Dot watch, they said they had something else which I for sure thought was the Stella & Dot reversible circle scarf I was coveting!! 

This is the video of what followed which was a total surprise of 4 tickets that evening to attend the final tour of Kenny Rogers with Linda Davis. The girls & I used to sing along in the van to Kenny music when we took holidays. Our fave was The Gambler. Can believe they kept this a secret for a month!! I was blown away!! Best bday ever!! M💜 

Hi Stella & Dot Woman! Enjoyed your dinner movie! With respect to 90º rule, it really only applies to sitting and bending, not lying flat on one's back or stomach. Lady Darjeeling, Lady Dar for short, was her nickname when in India last year and decided to keep calling her that until another new one is coined!

Just finished 30 minutes on the stationary bike and will do my standing exercises once I've finished this message. I tend to break the daily program into "chunks", to rest my new hip while I do household chores and attend to correspondence, read or play with the kittens. In 2010, after my right hip was replaced, Cora Lee flew to Mexico. I'd only been home for little more than a week so I had to become independent by force of circumstance. As well, I know that my full, speedy recovery depends on how disciplined I am about doing all the prescribed exercises regularly. By spreading them out of the course of the entire day they don't become onerous and I can also gradually increase difficulty and frequency without overdoing things. Cheers, Patrizzio! 👍����

Hi Jos, Pam and Patrick; Are you playing bridge Tuesday night, Pam? Here is where I live.... Patrick and Jos have been here so I'll be brief. I'm at Tiffany Gardens. Once you turn into TG, turn left, go over 2 speed bumps and my place is the one with the light on and a bike out front with 2 white plastic chairs in behind. There are two visitor parking stalls at the third speed bump but they are occupied with two trailers being used by window workers. You can park in the stall just before the two trailers (stall number 86 but it will be dark so you won't see the number easily). See you tomorrow night at 6:30! Pam Hi Spumoni, et al: If you are playing Pamela, why not meet at our place and we can all go over to Pam's together. Say around 6:15 pm or so. Please confirm. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Patrick, I would like to play bridge tomorrow night. I am going to a yoga class at 5:15 in Naramata though. Not sure whether the class is 1hr or 1.5 hrs. I can pick you after the class finishes. Would that work? I am curious…how long does the bus take to drive to Van? What is the cost of a ticket? It may be my new way to get to Vancouver, rather than flying. By the way I enjoy your emails immensely:) Pam

Hi Pamela! If you book online it is about $45, one-way. Trip takes about 6 hours but this can vary, depending on where you are leaving from. If from Vancouver it takes longer as bus goes to West Kelowna first and then a transfer to another vehicle for run back to Penticton as that bus then goes on to Vancouver. Weather and traffic also figure as you might expect. Still Lady Dar finds it a good way to travel as she can enjoys napping, reading and, of late, knitting.

Very pleased that you enjoy my messages as I keep a detailed log and your billing, (Based, in large part, on number of paragraphs in each message and images attached!), will arrive at the end of the month. I held off sending out invoices until I knew your construction was well underway as I figured you might just pay it, thinking bill was from another greedy contractor attempting to break the Bank of Alberta! No free lunches or email messages either, in this digital age. Cheers, Patrizzio!
 
Hi Pam, Thank you for hosting bridge tomorrow night. I have a yoga class at 5 tomorrow night. I am not sure whether the class is an hour or 1.5 hours (1 hr, I think). I can pick up Patrick, Corinne et al on my way to your house after my yoga class.Would that work? What is your telephone number in case I get lost?
See you tomorrow night. Pam

Hi Yoga Woman!Thanks again for offering to drive but as far as I'm concerned, come by our place when you are finished doing the Bhujangasana, or, for those non-Sanskrit speakers, the Cobra Pose. Whether that is at 6:30 pm or slightly later, no never mind. Josinta can either wait here, with me, [Lady Dar left for Vancouver earlier today, to volunteer at the VWF for next week and a bit, so, obviously, she won't be bidding tomorrow evening!], or go directly to Spumoni's where they can begin to stack the cards against us! In any event, let's confirm who will be doing what, where and when! [Who's, (Which Blue Jay, that is), is on First?] Cheers, Patrizzio! Sounds good. See you tomorrow night. I'll see you all tomorrow night at Pam's place around 6.30pm. Jos

Hello The Sisterhood! Watches are now synchronized! Pamela will collect me when she's finished levitating and we'll see you both at Spumoni's place. Have the wine chilled and the cards white hot for Breakfast at Tiffany's! [I assume we'll drink so much that everyone will need to stay overnight!] Cheers, Patrizzio! Looking forward to it! Pam Hi, I just found out that all three parking stalls before the 3rd speed bump are OK for parking. So we're good to go! Pam

Hello Of'ies, Had a good hike today, was wet, but still beautiful, some very nice views of Summerland's Trout Creek Valley with all the vineyards and the trestle. And ... delicious treats at Summerland Sweet afterwards (hey that rhymes ...). Please see some photos attached.

For coming Thursday we will be going up Mt Laidlaw. It is a bit new terrain, i.e. we have done this before but some of us did a lower elevation loop and the others went to the top. It is not a difficult hike, ~7km with elevation gain ~ 400m. There should be plenty views!

Mount Laidlaw is on Highway 3A just west of Kaleden. For the trail head we will probably take Sheep Rock Road from Hwy 3A for 3.7 km then turn right onto Marron Ridge FSR. If you have a higher clearance vehicle for Marron Ridge FSR please bring it. I understand the road should be in good shape.

We will, as usual for Thursdays, meet at HH at 8:00AM, Summerlanders can meet at 7:40AM at the IGA in Summerland, then make their way to the HH in Penticton. Hope to see you there! Aart 


Hi everyone, [My apologies for not sending this out to you 5 days ago when I drafted it. Cheers] It's hard to believe that within three weeks our cask will reach it's 5 year anniversary of distillation (Nov 3,2011). I've just been in touch with Patrick Evans at Shelter Point and the following information will hopefully bring you up to date on everything including some important decisions we still have to make.

Angels Share and Alcohol By Volume:

 
While we won't know for sure until bottling how much product was lost to the "angels share" Patrick advised that a similar cask to ours recently yielded 226 bottles (750 ml) at cask strength from their cask so I think we can expect a similar result. Since our group previously decided to bottle ours at cask strength of 63% a.b.v. to reduce applicable excise taxes, this will mean that each of our twenty shareholder(s) should receive 11 bottles. 
 
Finishing:

 
After 5 years maturation the original intention was to finish our cask contents for a limited time in ex-sherry barrels. Patrick now advises that there is an acute shortage of available ex-sherry barrels and there are also considerable risks of sulphur taint due to prolific use of sulphur candles in purging ex-sherry barrels. He has indicated that other cask groups have finished their barrels in used port barrels and he has sent us a sample of one that was finished in a former raspberry port barrel for two years.While a bit heavier in tannins this might be an acceptable alternative for us to consider even if our proposed finishing time is only 3-4 weeks rather than two years. Once I receive the sample I will invite a few SOCOG volunteers to do a comparative taste of this sample versus the last sample (4 yrs old) from our cask # 188. We can then decide whether to go this route or just bottle it at 63% cask strength straight from the cask. Let me know your thoughts.

Bottles & Labels & Delivery:

 
Shelter Point uses a heavy duty standard 750 ml bottle for its artisanal whisky production and they've offered to bottle our cask in the same type if we want. (bottles,bottling,corks and capsules) Having seen their bottle, I've accepted their offer on your behalf.

It is our responsibility to provide personalized artwork for labelling to be submitted in specific format and it all needs to conform to BC Liquor Distribution Board and CFIS standards. I've suggested that we just adopt the normal labels that are used for the Shelter Point Whisky yet provide the additional indication on the bottles that it was bottled at 63% cask strength and the product is from SOCOG Cask # 188. Hopefully they will be able to accommodate our request and this will keep any additional costs to a minimum.

As previously indicated. Patrick offered for him or his staff to personally deliver our bottled order to us in Penticton. I've gladly accepted his offer as it will save us a few hundred dollars. Perhaps we can suitably thank him with a private event if the delivery situation allows? I will be away from mid December to mid January so several options are currently being considered for distribution of bottles to shareholders.
Costs:

 
In 2011, each 5% shareholding originally contributed $250 for their share with the expectation that another $250 payment would be required in late 2016 to cover applicable provincial and Federal taxes plus any residual costs e.g. labels, delivery etc. We won't know the actual taxes & final costs until the bottling has been completed and all bills are paid however each shareholding is requested to send me their $250 payment before November 7th as follows:
Cheque Payable to Kevin Ritcey Mailing Address: 100 Lakeshore Drive W Unit 511, Penticton BC, V2A 1B6
 

Six of our shareholdings are jointly held by 2-3 individuals e.g.. # 9; 10, 12,13,14,17, & 20) and I would ask that you collect your respective contributions and remit one payment on behalf of your group. See the attached SOCOG Ownership list. Please let me know if any contact information needs to be revised. Any surplus funds not required will be refunded pro rata to the shareholders. Please provide your feedback, comments or concerns regarding any of the above. Cheers, Kevin.

Hi Jugos! Trust you are both well. I assume you have seen the notice from Kevin. I gather we each owe $125. Is that correct? Let me know how you wish to proceed. Give me a shout about final payment when you've a moment. Thanks and Cheers, Patrizzio!