I’d celebrated Christmas with my parents all but two years of my life.
But with both Mom and Dad gone in 2025, joined my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne for the Yule in La Quinta, California. This was their 4th winter renting a beautiful place from Canadian friends.
Loved it!
The Mediterranean climate is perfect for year round cycling and hiking.
YES it’s a bit odd celebrating the traditional Great White North Christmas in a town at 20C.
The municipal park is nicely decorated for the holidays. We walked Charlie there once or twice a day.
Highlight for me was FREE COFFEE at City Hall !
This is ME awaiting my next free Latte. 😀
Actually the grub was pretty good at home with Rob doing much of the cooking and kitchen clean-up.
Breakfast
We only ate at a restaurant one time. Home cooking is the rule.
When we wanted an orange, we picked one off the tree in the back yard.
I spent a fair bit of time at the library.
La Quinta place names are mostly Spanish. There’s much recognition of the sacrifices of military. And the First Nations.
We had a hot tub about every second night.
California should probably just become the 11th Canadian Province. 😀
Consider me won over to the snowbird annual vacation.
We’ve also scheduled Christmas dinner for January 11th in Calgary.
A few years after my parents, my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne decided to move to Parksville, as well. They bought a 2nd house. AND got married in that Parksville home.
Randy and Val made long trips from Calgary, especially enjoying the annual Sandcastle Building competition and LIVE music at the Park.
I was born and raised in Calgary, the high prairie. Ocean and rain forest were a big attraction for me.
Most mornings, I’d get up for dawn and take coffee down to Rathtrevor Beach.
DEAL Closed. Occupancy by the new owners before the end of August 2025.
My family owned this small, cute single level home in Parksville, B.C. for the past 20 years.
Rob & Yvonne put it on the market for CAD $599,000.
Starting out or slowing down……this centrally located Parksville cutie is sure to please. It features 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, an open plan design, solid hardwood floors, an updated kitchen with granite counters, an updated bathroom, skylit entry, crawlspace construction and an attached garage. Sit on your deck and enjoy your lovely backyard that is surrounded by hedges and quite private. It’s a very short walk to shops and Parksville’s famous beach. This home has been well maintained and is move in ready.
Weirdly, as executor, my name is currently listed as owner of Dad’s truck. (I’ve not owned a motor vehicle for much of the past 25 years.)
I still consider Calgary to be home.
Of course I’m totally disappointed with recent Provincial conservative governments. Current premier Danielle Smith is too Trump-lite for me. For example, as I post, the rate of measles in Alberta is even worse than in Texas. Smith encourages ReTrumplican misinformation on all kinds of topics.
On the other hand, born and raised in Calgary, I consider anyone NOT born in Calgary to be some kind of vermin. 😀
Unwanted immigrants.
If Trump was in charge of the 51st state, he’d spend a lot of taxpayer money to have Canadians attacking other Canadians. In Canada.
We could round up the invaders and drop them off the other side of the Alberta border. 😀
59 years is a long marriage — especially with such rotten kids. 😀
Dad’s decline had progressed rapidly over 4-5 weeks. But we were all accepting of the end.
Mom moved on to a new life. She had plenty of medical problems and frustrations, but was still living independently in her own house at age-96. I was her sous chef.
Unexpectedly, sharp pains in her legs began in the middle of the night. We called the ambulance at 7am. And Mom survived only 1 night in Nanaimo hospital. I was very disappointed hospital staff did not do a better job of pain management.
Mom was clear to everyone that she was ready to die at any time. She’d made peace with the eventual end.
But, in Parksville, we were shocked and depressed with how it happened so quickly. Dad’s end at home was much more peaceful.
Mom and Dad had outlived most of their family and friends. But they will both be missed in Parksville.
As Mom’s vision deteriorated over the years, happily, she was still able to play cards regularly. Use the computer and watch TV.
She and I both listened to audio books, non-stop.
In their retirement years, Mom & Dad traveled a lot, especially to Mexico. We had many excellent trips together. While Pete the Jack Russell was alive for 19-years, we always drove.
Baja
Mom was the administrator (and my boss) at Altadore Gymnastics Club. We had plenty of memories together of fun at the Gym and travel for competitions.
Her retirement gift from Altadore was a greenhouse — which she set up at our place at Crawford Bay near Kootenay Lake. Mom got into gardening there.
Due to winter weather and fishing ➙ Mom and Dad finally moved out to Parksville on Vancouver Island. Made new friends in the retirement community.
Rob and Yvonne later decided to retire to Parksville, as well. Randy, Val, and I started spending more and more time on the Island. Our family holidays were always in Parksville.
Mom’s main exercise was walking until mobility issues finally slowed her down.
Rest in peace, Mom.
Mom & Dad bought insurance in 2014 which paid for most of their funeral expenses. In fact, all we had to do was make one phone call to a 24 hour / day number and most of the arrangements were made for us. It simplified things immensely when we were grieving.
In addition, they’d simplified their estate as much as possible. We still had one investment that required probate, but the rest was very easy.
My Dad ran their maintenance department for years. Later, my brother Rob took over.
My brother Randy and his partner Val live in the Coop now.
I post as there is a massive construction renovation happening. All units are getting new front and back decks. And I saw plenty of work being done on the roofs, siding with new insulation, windows and doors.
All good ➙ BUT it’s a mess while under construction.
It’s a massive complex.
I recall playing tag in the original construction site when we were kids. It opened 1971.
It’s a Trudeau era non-profit housing cooperative. In 2025 it might just be the best value housing in Calgary. Here are the benefits for tenants. This coop worked. Socialism at its best.
Here are a few photos of the mess in C block May 2025. 😀
Sometimes you really don’t want to see how the sausage is made. 😀
Rick McCharles 