Blue Highlights in our Evening walk, a Jazz Vespers performance and Tupper's Visit

Quite a few blues turned up yesterday in our evening walk, in an afternoon jazz performance and even in Tupper's morning visit.   Let's go backward in time to share some of them with Sally's Blue Monday meme.

Evening Walk Along False Creek

The light was ebbing around 8:30 but our eyes still picked up the blue in this sailboat.

Bill spotted this child's slipper.  How perfect.  Not only blue but smiling just like Sally :)  We put it back on the railing in the hopes mom will retrace her steps and find it.

 But first, we checked to see if it fit Black Jack.  Her expression told us it was a bit too large.

 But if she's in Bill's arms, she'll accept pretty well any turn of events.  Must be something to do with his blue eyes :)

 A False Creek Ferry came by.  We take them often,

 and their theme colour is definitely blue.

 The ramp to the ferry stop, a person hurrying by in a blue shirt, reflected apartment buildings,

 rippling water, a powder blue railing..

 and a little more time with the reflections added up to quite a number of blue hues.

 The ramp with access for the disabled was out of order.  I hope it will be fixed soon.

The reflections on the glass over this sign make it a bit difficult to read, but it gives an overall view of False Creek.  We live just behind David Lam Park.  The water to the left  takes you to English Bay.  I never tire of exploring the many nooks and crannies of Vancouver's seawall.

 Quayside Marina's sign becomes more and more blue under evening lights.

 Even the garbage bins get into the "blue" act.

Reflections in a blue side view mirror were just around the corner from the turnoff homeward.

Jazz Vespers at St. Andrew's Wesley

We rode our bikes through city bike routes.  Here, Bill locks them up.  Phew!  His hat is blue.

After months of illness, I still have a surge of "happy" when he walks toward me looking so strong and fit.

 The concerts are free (donations accepted that go to the musicians) and open to everyone. (Bit of blue in the bell of that saxophone.)

I feel they are one of Vancouver's best kept secrets.  The blue "disabled access" signs are an important blue.  Several disabled people are regular attendees at these concerts.  The atmosphere is kept casual and low key.  Wander in, listen for a while, and slip out again is just fine.  It also absolutely warms my heart that Black Jack is not only accepted..

 but welcomed enthusiastically.  This lady (in her beautiful blue-and-orange-patterned dress) helps with the organization of Jazz Vespers, but she stopped for a few minutes of lovin'. 

Below, Kristian Alexandrov (pianist and leader of the quartet) talks with Rev. Dan Chambers, the liturgist before the performance.  Absolutely superb musicianship and some brief but intriguing words between each song from Rev. Chambers made for a stimulating and pleasureful hour.   I always leave these performances feeling refreshed both musically and intellectually.  Yesterday's concert was one of the best I've heard.

The three other members of the quartet were Joel Fountain on drums, Ben Harries on bass and Tim Porter on guitar.  This performance was unrehearsed (in the true spirit of jazz, as explained by Kristian Alexandrov) and the level of communication between the musicians was astounding to see and hear.  A lift of the eyebrows, sometimes just the slightest inclination of the head, and the melody would pass from one to the other.  I sat in awe.  

Just as they were beginning their first song, there was an ear-shattering crack and the people in the second pew had quite a rude shock when it suddenly split apart.  I've never every seen (or heard!) anything like it.  Bill terms such an event as "catastrophic failure." This man (nice of him to wear a blue shirt) had been in the broken seat.  He wasn't hurt and moved quickly to the 3rd pew.  (We were in the 1st one.)  As you can see..

 his sense of humour was in good form.

After that rather shocking moment, the musicians quickly settled into a deep focus on the music. (Note Kristian's blue cuffs.) 

 Lots of blue in those gorgeous stained glass windows.

Ben Harries performed some solos that were breathtaking.  (check out his blue light)

 A beautiful sense of comradeship.. 

 and intense communication between the musicians..

 led to such pure enjoyment..

 that everyone, including the reverend, was swept up by the mood.

 Black Jack relaxed on Bill's knees..

 and was delighted to receive some individual attention from drummer, Joel Fountain and his partner, after the performance.

I took a few shots of blue high-rises and blue skies behind..

 the church, as we prepared to get back on our bikes for the ride home.

 A last shot with only the tiniest bit of blue had to be taken to show you these delicate roses. 

Tupper

Just updating you on Tupper (the seagull we have named for her upward pointing tail).

She  met me in the morning (no limp whatsoever) and followed determinedly until I shared a few of Black Jack's treats with her.

 Then she flew to her favourite lamp standard to watch over the playground in the hopes that 

chidren might drop a few morsels of their food for her.  I took these shots from our balcony..

 while Black Jack basked in the sun.

 Tupper stretched up tall whenever she thought she saw a crumb.

I'm just happy to see her alert and moving beautifully, both on land and in the sky.  Happy Monday, everyone.  Thank you to Sally for organizing all of us to pool our blues for sharing.

Art, a bike ride, a walk and crossword #7

Another walk and another crossword completed (#7) and all part of a good day in my city (Vancouver) that I'll share this morning with Sundays in My City (thank you, Unknown Mami).

We did this one pretty quickly.  Bill is still a bit shy about his newfound expertise :)

The more I think about it, the more I realize that having a café in an art gallery is a brilliant idea.  Many galleries have a place where you can go for refreshments but it is set aside from the viewing rooms.  At Harrison Galleries, we sit with our lattés and treats and the art changes around us often enough that we are stimulated, but  not so often that we lose the feeling of being in the midst of art that is growing on our  consciousness.  I read H.M. Saffer's bio a few weeks ago and am in awe.  Graduate work in economics, chef/owner of three restaurants (two in France and one in Spain), professional musician and producer and all the while continuing to grow as an artist.   

Venice ll by H.M.Saffer 

This work had just come in by Paula Blackwell.   I showed one of her pieces in Friday's post.  She uses a torch to fuse beeswax and pigment in her quest to represent the beauty she sees in nature.  I've left the edges of other paintings showing behind it, and have to add that no photograph can do her style or any art justice.  The other paintings were waiting to be hung in one of the other small rooms and separate spaces where happy customers enjoy their refreshments.  One never knows what to expect when entering the Harrison establishment.    

After we left the gallery, we biked to this spot along False Creek.  I was on a mission.  Bill drinks an organic orange juice that comes in a carton and I drink almond milk that also comes in a carton.  Those cartons are extremely difficult to recycle and the product is not available in any other container.  Has anyone else encountered this?  I flatten and save them until we have enough to make a trip to one of only two places I have found that accept them.  A lot of effort to do my small bit for a planet that I love.  There's Bill holding the bag.  We locked up the bikes and walked from this point along False Creek.  There's another thing I'm wondering about.  The bike path from this point on and for about the next kilometre or so is made of uneven stone that is really, really bumpy.  Whose idea was that?  Black Jack gets bumped around in her basket and it just isn't comfortable for any of us.  The good thing?  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a walk.  Below, Bill holds the bag :)

Our trusty bikes waited for us, 

and we walked past the marina (that's the Granville Bridge in the distance)..

and along the bank that was lined with tiny little mauve flowers..

to our recycle destination.  Black Jack likes to walk along that ledge and Bill obliges :)

I love all of the textures (as long as we're not cycling over them).

As you can see, the path is well used.  I wonder if anyone else complains about the bumps.

Our walk took us past this pond.

I looked back and realized that we could see our apartment across False Creek.  (It's tiny in comparison to many of the high-rises.)

We have finally dumped our cartons and are now on the way back to the bicycles.  These are just some pretty sheds that we passed.  There was a huge effort by someone to beautify them, but sadly, a little bit of graffiti as well. Bill looks happy to finally have his hands free. 

There's that pond again.

The seagulls use this as one of their prime bathing areas.

Beautiful irises by the pond.

I was distracted a lot yesterday, and many of my photographs were poor because I kept forgetting which setting my camera was on.  Still, I caught this goose on the fly and something about the whirring landscape behind it was pleasing, I thought.

Another photo mistake but it gives a sense of take-offs and landings at the seagulls' airport. 

Reflections in the pond made it a very green space.

A little girl told me about the goslings around the corner, but when she said there "were too many to count" I thought she was kidding.  

We only saw one pair of adults.  Foster care, perhaps?

It was a strange site to us, but perhaps this little one thought the people standing around were a bit odd as well.

We walked a little bit further and I looked across the water to spot a tiny orange car on the Cambie Bridge.  (The recycle place was about halfway between the Cambie and the Granville and we are now facing home.)  I thought of Orange You Glad It's Friday and..

zoomed in to capture that taxi.  By the time next Friday rolls around there will be lots of other oranges in my life, so for now, I'll just say that oranges seemed to pop up quite a lot through the rest of this post.

 Below, the reflections of t-shirts worn by two people walking above that stone wall.

In the distance, some geese flew in formation..

I tried to capture those tiny little purple flowers but this turned out more like modern art :)

Ripples and sailboat masts.

and quite a bit of blue

kept the modern-art-carol-style theme going.

We passed some apartments (I wonder how these people feel about being right on a popular walk and bike route) and loved this sculpture peering out the window.

Bill noticed the grasses growing up between the stones and I noticed the continued..

orange themes everywhere I looked.  It was just at this point that we met up again with our bikes and continued the rest of our trek home by wheel.

Revived after supper, the day was just too good to be indoors and we went out for a short..

walk as the sun set.  This is the view looking back to where we had been.

You have now had a fairly comprehensive look at two sides of False Creek.

A little run..

for Black Jack..

and then it was time..

to leave yet another gentle view of the Granville Bridge behind us and head home to read aloud to each other.  We are currently enjoying The Summer We Read Gatsby.  It's a few shades lighter reading than we had been tackling, but then again, that's what summer reading is for.  Just another day in our beautiful city.  Perhaps you will take a few minutes to read about good times in other cities at Unknown Mami's blog meme.  Thanks for stopping by here on your way.