A glorious tree and rose I passed today in this lush city today. (click to enlarge)

Go Raptors! What an exciting game. I watched the last half with Margaret, who’s a big fan. Heart racing. Not that I care, but … it certainly is exciting. And it’s nice to win.

Good times in Vancouver. A painless flight to get here; I worked on a big editing job the whole way, pattering on my computer until we landed. A beautiful day here yesterday; a long walk for me on Commercial Drive, and a lovely dinner with old friends. This morning, pouring rain, and I awake at 5 a.m. with jet lag. And paranoia. I had not heard from a dear old friend with whom I was supposed to have lunch today – had tried email and text and finally, the other day, a phone message at her office. Nothing; silence. So at 5 a.m. I wondered if I’d somehow offended her and reviewed what had transpired between us until I figured out what I had done wrong and wrote, in my mind, an email of apology. When I turned on my computer at 6.45, however, there was a long note from her; she’d been on one of the Gulf islands, had no internet and spotty cellphone service, so sorry, was devastated to miss our lunch, let’s do it next week.

So much for Paranoid Pamela. There’s a lesson here, but I will pay no attention and the next time this happens, I will again assume it’s my fault. That’s how we roll.

As soon as the teeming rain stopped, about 11, Margaret and I took the Skytrain downtown to the Van. Art Gallery, one of our favourite activities, though today there was no special exhibit and much of the modern art that was there I found … uninspiring at best and an absurd waste of time at worst. An interesting exhibition, though, of modern photography from India; there was a fun “set” there of the kind of elaborate background Indian photographers used in the 19th century. Hence the two of us posing.

Took Margaret for lunch nearby, eating outside, then a bit of shopping, then off to meet Bruce. We spent the afternoon poking around Granville Island and had dinner on the island, again outside near the water in the sun, with the smell of the sea. Divine. Makes me so happy to be on my old stomping grounds. I lived in this picturesque city for 8 years.

Not in Milan or Bologna this time. And next he’s off to China – without me!