The Girls are here!

The girls are here with Mom and Dad, (Dad is on a 5 day fishing trip right now after helping with some big chores around my condo for a couple of days). The girls are having fun, it was rather hot for me the first week, so I didn't participate at all, but this week is cooler, so I can get out a bit more with them. Jenni and I are sorting out a few boxes of things in the garage and going out in between the rain showers, deluges, when we can.

Here are the two girls, at one of the condo gardens, most neighbours have beautiful displays, all very creative. Calli immediately saw the stone bench and said, "this would make a good photo Granny!"



Well yes, the two girls in bed, sleeping soundly in their tent! Where is the tent?




Right here in my dining room! The love it! Marin had a lovely blow up mattress/ sleeping bag from Grandma, but she is a mover and a shaker in the night and tended to come off it, so we tried the tent....they loved it!




At the end of the complex is a big rock with an indent which gathers water and very interesting "bugs"......so we had to take a photo here complete with their windmills and Granny of course!

At the end of the complex is a chain link fence, it has three beautiful honeysuckle bushes climbing up the chain link - Calli thought this was another perfect spot for a photo!

My First MEME:..............

This photo represents 2008 and is 39 years in the making. Not Colin and I, but the fact the lighthouse is at Peggys Cove, Halifax and I dipped my hands in the Atlantic on the North American side finally. I came to Canada in 1969 and it was a goal to be able to dip my hands in both sides of the Atlantic. Romy and I had hoped to take a tour of the Maritimes upon retirement, but that wasn't meant to be, and so I had to make the journey alone, visit my son and finally reach the goal, it was a satisfying but poignant moment for me.

This is my meme............as Bean asked.............

Five people to tag.........stuck already, I don't know people who blog other than Beans' friends.

Question: What was I doing 10 years ago?

Wow, it was a tumultuous year for us, plus an exciting one. My friend went to Switzerland and I helped take care of her house, garden, cats and dog. Jenni saw Riverdance, and Romy and I saw Yanni, both concerts in Vancouver. Romy and I went out west to a lake where we heard that the pelcians migrate to nest. What an incredible sight, hundreds of them sitting on one piece of an island waiting for the ice to melt, more flying in as we sat and watched for 6 hours. Romy flew to Trenton, Ontario to an RCAF re-union, some folks he hadn't seen in 40 years.

Next we took a trip up a mountain in our Toyota 4 runner, that was an amazing experience and then for Fathers' day, we arranged for Romy to go up in a Harvard and do loops right here in Williams Lake.

The traumatic point was down-sizing and moving from our beloved lakeside home to renting a log cabin. Although surrounded by trees and a wonderful view, it took some adjusting, but was very convenient being on a hillside on the outskirts of town. We then bought a 20 foot trailer, our first RV, I don't think our old tent or tent trailer back in the 60's counted? We loved camping, spent every free hour and vacations with it til mid October! Visiting, Saskatchewan and Alberta, all of BC and of course time in Tofino. For Romy's 60th, we drove to Boundary Bay airport (Vancouver)for another Harvard flight. Such a thrill.

Jenni, Colin with their friends were home for Christmas, they and our best friends, Marie, Bill, Sylvia and Bert. Our log home really took on a wonderful look with fir boughs and red bows etc. A great Christmas and a busy, fun and wonderful year.

Question: What was I doing a year ago?

Having had some bad health for a few years and adjusting to being a widow was taking up a lot of my time. But I flew to Montreal for 4 weeks over Christmas and the New Year. I flew back January 9th, it was a bumpy landing and the pilot said there was an imminent storm coming. I didn't waste time, dumped my suitcases, and went for groceries, I was in the house with them about 15 minutes when the snow started flying.

My flight was the last one for 3 days! Snow, high winds and a temperature of MINUS 37! Welcome home indeed! In May Colin, Jenni and family spent two weeks in Tofino. Later Jenni came and helped me get the trailer spring cleaned and ready for camping. We spent a weekend with Adam's family at their Green lake cabin, and in August I camped 6 weeks on Canim Lake. Had a garage sale, went to weddings and birthday parties and then flew back to Montreal with my best friend Marie to babysit my two granddaughters for two weeks while their parents roamed Europe. Marie and I had fun, but was tiring!

The year was one of discovery as a widow and a single person again as the pain and grief eased. Discovering who I am, who I want to be, what I want to do with the rest of my life, find out what/if I had goals interests for the future took time. My health was not good and the deteriorating back is causing problems with my ongoing heart problems, controlling the pain has been difficult. Although very lonely sometimes, being ones' own master can be very exhilarating as well. 2007 was definitely a defining year for me.

I made many discoveries - that only my health can stop me from doing anything I want to do.(well maybe money a little bit). That a birthday celebrated with phone calls to the campsite from my children and campers singing a Swiss happy birthday song, complete with yodelling at 9.am in the morning, holding out a glass of wine brought me to tears. That watching shooting stars and satellites grace the night skies while sitting around a campfire in complete silence, with 8 awed European tourists was truly moving and the companionship "touching". All had never seen such a dark night sky in their lives, it was their turn for tears.


I found that getting the munchies and stoppying at a far out country corner store, can lead to catching a glimpse of an ad on an old bulletin board. It was the "old school writing" making me curious. The store let me use their phone (cell was out of range) and the phone call brought me to a house in the backwoods and to a cache of old Barbies and Polly Pockets for a small amount of money. That money, turned into riches, as I heard the joy of my granddaughters as they opened up the box in Montreal, and just recently again to see the hours of fun that discovery brought them and me.

The year ended on a low note as I couldn't make the flight to join everyone in Montreal for Christmas, but I count my blessings and am grateful for a pretty good year and I finally did make it,3 months later, not only to Montreal but to Halifax too.

Question: 5 snacks I enjoy.

1. Cream cheese,cocktail sauce mixed together, crackers and fresh shrimp.
2. Thin sliced smoked salmon on toast with capers and onion slices.
3. Strawberries and evaporated milk.
4. Jenni's homemade hummous with chips.
5. Jenni's homemade salsa with cilantro etc.

Question: 5 Things I would if a millionaire.

1. A clinic for Colin, a second car for Jenni and her flyboy.
2. Help the local SPCA with a bigger building.
3. Take my friends/family to Tofino.
4. Find my mother-in-law a place to rent on the ocean/lake for the summer with her sister and hopefully me too!
5. Visit my sponsored child in El Salvador with my kids.

Question: 5 Bad Habits

1. Stay up too late.
2. Put off organising pictures, film, tapes etc
3. Won't go back to dentist to get teeth fixed (involves anaesthetic) ergh!
4. Eating too much "instant/ready-made" foods
5. Let tv interfere with other things

Question: 5 things I like doing

1. Watching my grandchildren, anywhere, anytime.
2. Being in Tofino with my children/grandchildren
3. Being at the ocean
4. Travelling (especially to the sea)
5. Watching wildlife, sunsets, especially birds/ducks/ etc.(at the ocean!)

Question: 5 things I'd never wear again.

1. Apparently stirrup pants?!!!! I thought they were back IN style???!!!!
2. Bikini...even with my 36-24-36 body, I was very self-conscious at 21.
3. All in one culottes.........ever been in a hurry to go to the washroom?
4. Fur
5. Fake fur....until I know it was definitely synthetic...

Question: 5 Favourite toys

1. My teddy bear, he now sits on my dressing table, he is 59 years old.
2. RV trailer and 4 Runner "on the road again"
3. My digital camera
4. Binoculars
5. Computer

Phew...that took some time...as for toys, I went back in time to my 3rd birthday. I was at the seaside, at a wonderful big old english hotel situated on a cliff. It was very old-fashioned, had revolving wooden doors to the garden which smelled of nivea cream. Oh my, so nostalgic. In the afternoon, there was tea/cucumber sandwiches and cakes served in this beautifully furnished "drawing room", usually around 30-50 people there, and there was an orchestra playing.

As I sat there, the band played Happy Birthday for me, and I had to walk up to the maestro, who handed me my teddy bear which was quite big, maybe half my size at the time. I froze and just couldn't get my legs to go back to my Mummy!

It was August and Clement Freud, son of Sigmund Freud was courting my divorced mother. Clement came, picked me up, Teddy clutched in my hand and took me back to the table where a huge birthday cake was now waiting, with lit candles etc. It fed all 40 or so people there at the time. I have never forgotten that birthday and damn I just gave my age away!!!

A meme: small biography.........voila!

Snow, Snow and more Snow.......

Surprise, surprise, I don't have much to blog about in winter time, but some people thought I had quit blogging completely, so here is "the wall". My back little yard has this round brick retaining wall, the snow forms some neat patterns on it. If you look at the bottom left of the wall, the fourth "blob" of snow as you move to the right, is actually higher and the circle of the wall is larger! Good eye sight! Well, that is not the wall, it is an upside down old milk churn, sitting on a small log.

I put it upside down to drain sometime during the summer. There is an indent in the bottom and rain water accumulated in the indent. The birds just love to drink and bathe in it, maybe the rusty iron in the water? So I left it there and of course, forgot to put it in the garage for the winter.

Consequently I use it as an indication of just how much snow has fallen, even with the thaws, it is a good 3 feet!



My truck and snow this morning, what a disaster! My great neighbour to the left of me, "Smitty" shovels the snow into the road for me. Sure enough, "Smitty" left for Vancouver yesterday for a month! Maybe he heard it was going to snow heavily! I hope they arrived safely, as only one highway was open and apparently it, too, was closed for most of the day, the other highway being closed for the weekend due to Avalanche hazard! They may still be stranded somewhere along the way. However they did have a cooler of food out of the fridge and I also noticed those distinct cardboard boxes of home-made wine going in, (ha, my well trained eye caught that right away!).. so I know they will be warm and have enough to eat and drink while waiting for highways to re-open.

I sure missed "Smitty" this morning as I shovelled very carefully, pushing the snow into the road, and not lifting the shovel, hoping my back would be okay and my heart rate stayed steady. As it was minus 24 I came in to warm up and then went back out to clean off my truck, just in case the plough does come and clear it off. So far at 4pm it hasn't! My back is now complaining badly, I just finished making some home made chicken soup, so it is now time to ease the back onto the couch, put my feet up and hope the spine recovers!

We did have some sun today and its a balmy Minus 23 with the windchill right now, wow warming right up from minus 24! ha ha ha. Please laugh, you have to have a sense of humour this winter in Canada at least, if you happen to be in Arizona while reading this, well......er.......call me, I have a message for you, that is unprintable here!!!!



Finally folks - my couch!!! - well what else people can I blog? I haven't been anywhere, done anything, just been ill since before Christmas. I have been feeling better now over the past 4 days, so there is hope yet! And, yes, that is a red/white/blue Union Jack fleece blanket on my couch, its light and warm and the Queen said she didn't mind me putting my feet on it. The deep red one is for when its past Minus 20, for some reason my house seems colder in those temperatures, even though the thermostat is not changed. Notice the "minus 20" blanket is IN use!!

Also the scratching post/house for Harriet is pretty hard to miss at the patio door! Harrie likes to flop on the top of the post and "chatter" at the birds on the fence between condo's. Birds sit under the patio roof there as they eat from the feeders at the smoky neighbours house which is attached to mine. Ed feeds them all winter long, and there are about four or five brave souls that stayed here all winter and so far, are surviving. Very entertaining for Harrie and I.

Hopefully I will continue to feel better and really would like to see an early Spring, that would be very nice!

Grannys' adventure in Montreal

Thank Goodness for friends, without my BF Marie I couldn't have had two wonderful weeks with my granddaughters.

It was quite the adventure and we were just so darn tired, being so "busy" all day is getting a little tough for my age. Marie took up the slack and handled the big jobs, like leaning over the sunken bath tub to scrub those two munchkins. She could hand them up and over to me once done, but there was no way I could lean over and help with the ablutions!

My camera disappeared about 9 days into the adventure, such a terrible shame as I had some wonderful pictures of on the plane, arriving and Calli and Marin holding hands walking through the big mall etc. I believe it went in the recycling bin which was then emptied into the big one outside and hauled away. Losing the pictures still makes me sick.

After a good clean up, it still wasn't to be found, not inadvertently put in with toys etc, lost in the mounds of washing we did, I think it was pushed off the counter and into the bin.

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This is a picture of Calli as she was dancing for me and "Auntie Rie" on the last day of our visit She loves to dance and sing. She was also such a huge help finding things and showing us how "Mummy" did things. She went to school every day without any problems and was full of her school day on the ride home. It was delightful.



This one says it all....Mummy was home, just like she said she would be on the day marked off on the calendar. Both girls never complained or cried for Jenni and Adam, they knew that this was the deal.....Jenni had prepared them well, and we kept up with their travels and how exciting it would be and they were content with that.



Jennilyn is just as happy to be home too, I think the tears shed when they left were by the parents and not the girls! Lots of sniffling going on in the back seat as I took them to the airport.




Marin looking a little camera shy, she was also tired and ready for her bed, but Granny had just bought her new camera to replace the old, so she tried hard to pose for me. She is so darn cute, I just want to hug her all day long.




And here is Adam (Dad)...he had two days to recover from too much beer, sausage, cheese, lack of sleep, jet lag and unpacking all his wine, liquor and beer, and still managed to look dashing and good looking as ever at 4.30AM on his first day back to work......I owe, I owe, so off to work I go, sang the Seven Dwarfs....



Here is Marie being welcomed home by her grandson Cole who came to greet us with Grandpa, as we only left with one suitcase each, he was overwhelemed by all the luggage we brought back! We did manage to get shopping in!!! Luckily Jenni and I always have luggage, coolers in transit to borrow back and forth, so it worked out well this time.




This was what greeted me at my condo, ice and snow on my windscreen. Had to brush and hit it with the broom to clear it off, so I could venture down town for groceries. What a scary sight in early October!



One couldn't tell it had snowed that day from this picture when I returned again to the complex after picking up my mail and getting groceries.

It was so warm in Montreal, we had fabulous weather except for one, very, very wet day. I just wish I still had my pictures to show it all. They were of the girls eating at their favourite restaurant, watching all the puppies and kittens etc at the "Safari" pet shop and choosing their own variety of popcorn at the big store in the Mall. Pictures at the Eco Museum with Uncle Colin who came for 3 days to visit, it was a very hot and humid day, all the bears, wolves, lynx, caribou, cayotes, were all panting and looking extremely exhausted, just like Granny!


Another picture I took was when we went to Toys R Us to look for something for their new cousin Sofia....Calli headed right to the Halloween Costumes with Marin in hot pursuit. BOTH girls, sorting through the costumes one by one, it was priceless, born shoppers like their Granny!

The school trip to the apple farm was a highlight as well, we got lost on the way from the school to this farm. We had a map which just showed five roads, but no indication of mileage on them....what looked like a quick five turns in a subdivision, turned out to be 20km. Calli was panic stricken in the back, but with Auntie Rie checking the map and my memory kicking in well for a change, we managed to get there, just as all the other parents were finishing off a muffin and a glass of cider. The tractor was a little late, so we got in a slurp of "cider" and a muffin, no way was Marin leaving without a muffin....that girl likes her food! Marin had so many apples in her bag, she was dragging them along the ground, as she couldn't carry them any longer, but she was determined to fill it to the top, which weighed in about 8 lbs!!! and refused help "no, do it mmm'self" such an independant tyke that one!

All in all great fun,...my bedtime went from 2AM to 9PM, and the evening cup of tea (rum/coke for Marie) went from 8.30pm to around 4pm!!! Such good girls and no trouble at all, but it was the "busy-iness" and lack of sleep that caught up to us "oldies but goodies" in the end!

I wouldn't have changed it for the world though and to top if off, Adam and Jenni had such a great vacation, the Blog pictures she just posted are amazing.

I haven't heard from Marie this week, she is probably still sleeping.......catching up.....and so comes the end of my most excellent adventure!

Canim

Here is my favourite camping resort..........and a picture of a super dog and his owner parked beside me on my birthday as I opened up my trailer in the morning.

The family sang their Swiss version of Happy Birthday to me, which translated says, take a drink, take a drink, we toast you on your special day etc. The Dad even yodelled a little, it was really special. They then handed me a small glass of wine, well it was only 9.30AM..........but you know, you can't disappoint people......ha ha ha, so I drank it and then had my Weetabix!!!



This is a view of devastating effects of B.C.'s beetle kill. All the red trees are now dead and have to come down. It is now spreading into neighbouring Alberta. One tiny little black beatle, bores into the tree, undetectable until the tree turns red, by that time it is too late to save them...next year these ones will have the needles fall off onto the forest floor and it will be like toothpicks all over our forests. Environmentally, economically and of course, dry fuel for forest fires, it is a complete disaster.



A couple of sunset shots, so brilliant, but hard to catch on my digital.







This is 19ft Keystone "Springdale Lite" model caravan/trailer, rv. along with my Toyota 4 runner. It is the perfect size for me. I have a shower/small tub and toilet with a door, then a sink and mirror, opposite my permanent double bed at the back of the rv. Then past the bed is a full fridge and counter top and cupboards, the door to outside follows this, and then there is the table and padded bench along the one side. On the other side opposite my bed is the afore mentioned sink, then a tall wardrobe plus drawers, then the stove, double kitchen sinks and long shelf. this shelf holds my tea kettle,toaster oven etc. I have a big window at the table and bench, which is wonderful and is lacking in many trailers/caravans.

The table/benches can collapse to make a 3/4 bed for someone at the other end. Calli slept there a couple of times now. I really should try and take a photo of the inside, as its very roomy looking and light walls, light wooden cupboards with an Aztec design on the curtains and bench seats.

Then there are views from my "spot" looking out towards the marsh, the lake, in between the two rentable cabins. The big tall peaked house is the owners, with an office. The red roofed building is the Lodge with fireplace, sort of a dining/lounging area which we can all use. I could order evening or breakfast if I wish, (expensive), but it is not a restaurant, but it is licensed.

The campers, whether Cdn or European like to cook their fish(mostly rainbow trout and char) over their smoky firepits and then retreat, after their dose of fresh air, smoky fish dinner, complete with mosquitoes, to the Lodge and have a nice relaxing couple of drinks and "shoot the breeze' for a while before back to the campfire, to stare into it for a while before bed.

I can't believe how long I sit and stare into a fire, it is so mesmerizing, (did I spell that right?) I like to sit and watch the sunsets of course, but once that sun falls behind the hills, the bugs come out for about an hour and are really annoying! I usually retreat to my to my cosy nest, drink hot chai and knit or read for the evening.

The marsh and lake are abundant with all kinds of birds, ducks quacking, the bald headed eagles soar, osprey dive and fish, the herons and sandhill cranes make the most awful sounds for such graceful birds, like the baldheaded eagle with its piercing screech and whistle, such a weird sound for such a majestic bird. Grebes, Scaup, Shovellers, Mallards, Gadwalls, Harlequins all kinds of ducks I have seen along with far too many Canada Geese...........sometimes it is quite the cacaphony emitting from that Marsh!

Enough that I had to invest in a new pair of binoculars to watch as I listen!











A beautiful rainbow in an idyllic setting, unfortunately I didn't have my scuba diving gear with me to go and find that pot of gold!



Rudi's white plane, and his son in law's yellow Cessna 180, super cub I think it is called,tied up on the dock.

Yes, certainly a great way to spend a few weeks, I am driving back out there as soon as this blog publishes. Enjoy late summer and talk again soon!

Grandmas birthday

Wow, so long since I blogged. July was a great month with the 90th birthday party of my Mother in Law, Stella being the highlight. The location was at a nephews rented property (we all wanted to buy it, but it is not for sale!)we had lots of room and all the children had fun in the lake etc. and below....

Here is the birthday girl next to her brother Mike, then Ruth from Winnipeg and Aunt Alice from Vancouver. Minnie in Alberta couldn't make it unfortunately, but they did see each other at the big Huska wedding 3 weeks earlier.




A wonderful skit put on by daughters, granddaughter, in-laws and outlaw girls.




That is Angie, Romys eldest sister and Angie's daughter Michelle with hands hiding her face!




Ethan and Castin put on a wonderful Ukrainian dance complete with the high jumping and cossak moves, to the tune of "Rasputin". At most gatherings, we play this music and form a circle clapping, then anyone can go "into the middle" and perform....its great fun and some of the men are pretty sore the next day from "performing" their wild cossak moves!

Tofino Trip

What a holiday we had this year. I left home in fine sunny weather, and this first picture is on Hwy 1 near Kamloops. Across the Thompson river is a container train, one container to a railcar, it was very long and snaked its way around the contours of the hills.



Two hours later I encountered not only snow on the side of the road, but a snow squall which lasted all of 10 minutes, as you can see on the windscreen. This was before the Toll Booth on the Coquihalla Hwy. Luckily it blew over and I descended back into sunshine into the Fraser Valley, to meet up with Jenni and family who had flown in the day before and were visiting family in Chilliwack.



The next day was warm and sunny, and we enjoyed a great ferry trip across the Georgia Straits to Vancouver Island. Jenni and I as we made our way back to the car as we pulled into Nanaimo.



Ah, Tofino at last, the minute I walk through my suite out onto the patio and see this view.....its like "coming home"....roar of the ocean, the surfers, the waves, the ocean breeze on my face, such a wonderful feeling.....



As we arrived a day ahead of schedule, our two suites weren't available, so the hotel put us up in this villa, the only accommodation available that night....shucks!
This was the view from the master bedroom, which Jenni and Adam shared with Marin.



The table full of Easter goodies that I was unable to bring to Montreal for Easter. Most of this was from Oma and Opa - (Bert and Sylvia) and some from myself. Adam is looking at a Risotto Cook Book, Calli and Marin have clothes, purses, chocolates from Switzerland and Lindt Rabbits etc. Also a large tin of farm animals, a book and a plastic cloth which had the farmhouse/barns/stables imprinted on it, so we could move the farm animals in and out of barns, etc. This was a big hit with both girls, thank you Oma and Opa! Oh and all the home made jam too for Colin and J/A, 24 jars in all!




After settling in, getting groceries and picking up an extra spade, we hit the beach, as it was sunny for the first two days although a cold wind. This is Adam hogging the bucket and spade again, the girls were so patient with him using their toys all the time!



Marin loved her bucket and spade, her boots came up to her knee and she found walking a little more difficult, but she would just wander over the hard packed sand, digging here and there, quite happy and amused herself.



Dad and girls after a great lunch at the Wikaninnish Interpretive Centre on Long Beach. The Centre has a super restaurant, jutting out on stilts over the rocks with glass windows all round. There is a gift shop, a movie theatre showing short films on the westcoast etc, and a big gallery of sea life, whales, dugouts etc. The girls enjoy it as we do. From the carpark up to the centre is a long boardwalk, which gives us incredible views of Long Beach and as you reach the lookout and the centre, there are wooden seats along the rails to stand and look out at the ocean. Also a memorial to all the Merchant Navy personnel who have lost their lives in wartime ploughing the ocean with their priceless cargos of food and supplies.



Standing on the seats, looking down at me on the boardwalk below them. Calli has taken a liking to the little dog in the carry-all which was one of the easter gifts, but Marin was kind enough to share.




What a character, Marin was busy washing her toys, tray, hands, forks, glasses etc with a handi wipe. Handi-wipes are a great distraction for a good 15 minutes when waiting for a meal to appear! However, Marin obviously had had enough of her star status for the day, as you can see and just couldn't figure out why her "tickin and fies" were taking so long. She also asked for "dip pease" which translates to ketchup! The waiter was enchanted.



After a great meal, the "ticken and fies" eaten and ice cream finished, it was time to enjoy the sunset, incredible view and the whole family together, it doesn't get any better than that......of course I messed up that picture of the whole family together, typical!




The girls on my patio steps, with the inevitable pen and writing pads in hand.
Calli surprises me with her spelling and writing. I thought she was drawing something and she hands me one piece of paper and she had written " Dear Granny, I went to the parc and I love you very much, love Calli and Marin". Her spelling is so good and I was bowled over by her reading. Okay I will stop bragging now.....



Another similar picture, a bit pale, but Calli was still fighting the "bug" we all "enjoyed" for 3 days each! Calli unfortunately had it for 7, which lead to two hospital visits. Colin is sitting on the hideabed behind them, which we hadn't put away yet. Sometimes the girls come over to our room and watch cartoons from the bed, and Colin and I sip our morning tea and look at the ocean!



Sunset making long shadows............that was a cool evening as well.....





The barnacles, clams, mussles, clampits, starfish, sea anemones etc all clutching to the rocks with the tide out, an amazing abundance of sealife to observe......



Jenni and Marin hiking up to Romys bench at Sunset Point, well, actually as you can see Marin was taking a break from all that climbing over rocks and things.....nice to have your own sherpa along at all times!



Marin checking my soduku on the ferry back to the mainland, having dropped Colin off at Comox airport and Adam having flown back three days before that, it was just "us girls".



Marin enjoying her breakfast the following morning, getting her energy up for the summer clothes shopping trip at the mall that day. Mr. Moose is a constant travelling companion.



Poor Marin sitting quietly watching cartoons as Mummy struggled to close the suitcases and call the Porter. She came down with a cold the evening before and coughed all night, poor little pumpkin. Her eyes were so watery, but luckily it didn't develop into a full blown cold til the flight home was over.


Once again the truck was loaded to the brim and off to the airport we went. We unloaded four suitcases, one stroller, two car seats, diaper bag, big purse, Callis toycase, two girls and Mummy! Wow how empty and so quiet my drive home was. The girls managed to get the early and direct flight home and Dad was waiting to meet them. So it worked out well.

So another Tofino holiday comes to an end. Delayed flights, having to change planes due to mechanical problems, cold/wet weather the first week. Five of us smitten with the "tummy" bug, which kept us close to our rooms. And, to top it all off, my debit card was "compromised" by clever crooks who started cleaning out my chequing account in Montreal within hours! Credit to the Fraud Section of my Bank for quick action on that! And, poor Calli having to make two hospital visits,as she couldn't stop throwing up, even though most of the day she felt fine and wanted to eat.

An eventful two weeks, but it was fun, we had some great talks, discussions, playtime, meals and wine. Adam showed us his culinary skills a few times, although I don't think the Naked Chef, Nigella etc play with their live crabs in the bath tub before throwing them in the boiling hot water...but you never know!!

A great holiday in our special little corner of the world, filled with poignant memories but also a happy place to make more. Can't wait til next time!