Vacations

"Do you have plans for vacation this summer?"  That's the best conversation opener these days at the bookstore.  The answers are always interesting.
I'm sure you've all been wondering what our summers are like here at the store.  So, let me tell you the whole scoop (or part of the scoop).

  Jeff, our manager,the guy with an eternal smile on his face, is off to "see North America".  He and a friend are going on a roadtrip through New England.  They fly to Boston and rent a car, visiting 7 states, covering over 1100 miles in 10 days.  This is the 3rd trip in this quest.

 
Rhoda is the one responsible for the TWU clothing, including the designs.  She had an adventure of a lifetime.  In May she spent 10 short, packed days in China, immersed in a cultural experience "I will never forget.  The architecture in Beijing was amazing; visiting the Pearl Market was a blast; seeing the hectic traffic in the city of Changsha was nothing short of scary."  She met some terrific people who are committed to making life better for some of China's disabled and abandoned children.

Mel Buhler, our textbook teddy bear, oh, I mean manager, had just one thing to say (being a man of few words):  "Four weddings and a funeral."  That's his summer in a nutshell!

Beth is our "queen in the counting house, counting all our money..." (and that's as far as I'll take that rhyme...). No "cushy" vacation for her.  She and her husband will explore "another" Gulf Island, Savory Island for a week in the sun and surf.  If you're not familiar with Savory Island, you'll need to know that you have to take a water taxi from Powell River to the island where there are no stores -they have to take their own toilet paper and everything else.  "It's like Survivor".  Good luck, Beth.

Marj, the shipper/receiver for the store, doesn't do vacation haphazardly.  Noooooo!  She went to Maui with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and 3 year old granddaughter.  If it wasn't the beach, or the wonderful weather, it was the 2 hour sunset cruise on a sailing catamaran that took the cake!  She has more vacation  to  take.
Then there's Niki, who makes sure there are interesting books in the store and is the one who makes sure there's lots of great books on sale every day.  She's the "daughter" that went with Marj to Maui.  Yeah, how could you beat a  2 hour sunset catamaran cruise for some fun!

And me?  The plan is a motorcycle trip on the long weekend in July to William's Lake on our Yamaha Venture Royal (new to us, but it's a collector) and if that's comfortable enough, we'll ride to Saskatoon for a cousin reunion.  Marg reminded me that mosquitoes are horrendous in Saskatchewan and it could be a REAL mess on the visors, etc.  We'll see.  Maybe the car would be dandy after all!

What are YOU doing for vacation?  I'm sure your adventures could outdo any of ours.
Anyway, how about those Canucks!!!!!
Naomi

I promised an update....

Since that first blog, when the wisteria vine was just bare twigs and the sun shone warmly, fooling us into thinking that summer was here, the campus has become even more beautiful.  These are some of my all time favorite flowers.

The gardeners on the maintenance crew planted a new "garden", which makes the circle in front of Mattson Center and RSC look so fabulous.  The Rhododendron bushes are in their glory right now!

This is how Neufeld Science Center looks this week.  It's painted now but I don't know if these are the final coats. 

The North Fraser dorm is another matter!  It looks like a disaster area!  I suppose that's good news to whomever will live there next fall.  It can only get better:
It's Friday again so, here's wishing you all a great weekend.

Just asking..."What is one thing you think of that always makes you smile?" (Kobi Yamada)  For me?  being cheek to cheek with my grandchildren.

Where's home?

Summer is often a time of transition and the idea of "home" can become elusive.  Where  IS home?  How important is it to be home?  I guess the answer to those questions will vary with each one of us.  
For me, I will always be FROM Saskatchewan even though I have lived away from there 3 times longer than I actually lived there.  Apparantly, where you lived when you were 11 is where you feel at home. 
For one of my daughters, there's going to be a different house for her family this summer.  Ben, her husband has finished Med School and will they will be moving to Kingston Ontario for a couple of years. It probably won't ever be HOME for them but they will make it homey.  
For another of my daughters, home is changing from Courtenay BC to Victoria in a month or so. Not all their children are happy about the transition- one in particular is feeling somewhat displaced by the plan to move. 
 Another daughter has made a new home near San Francisco.  She can make any place home. 
The home my husband and I live in is not their home.  None of them grew up there and have no emotional attachment to the house except that's where we live and that's where they bring their children, who attach no other place to Grandpa and Grandma. 
Where is your home?  Are you home?  Are you glad to be away from home?  Do you wish you were home?  Are you making your own home?  Is TWU as much home as anywhere right now?  We'd love to hear where you actually are, where do you wish you were, are you loving where you are. 
It's a great weekend coming up weather-wise.  BBQ's will be out this weekend, I'm sure.  It will be at our place. 
These were the musings in the bookstore today.
Naomi