After ringing in 2024 with champagne and balloons on the dance floor, we spent a quiet New Year's Day together, and then enjoyed what may become a new tradition - a belated 'Christmas' gift exchange. Elahe prepared a delicious meal and hosted as we exchanged gifts with her mom and sister. Every gift was thoughtful, generous, and well chosen. The birthday of a great friend is a good excuse to have a wonderful time together, so I was pleased that Karyn and Elahe were able to join me in celebrating Joe with a trip back to the '80's at the Lougheed Village Bar for the biggest "Back to the Future" fan I know. The Indiana Jones pinball game capped the evening off perfectly. Friday after work, Bashi picked up pizzas and brought them to share with us as we chatted and enjoyed a couple of beers. The following day, the three of us walked and checked out an open house at New West Quay. Even though it was only the 6th, Elahe surprised me with a "Happy Birthday" serenade along with a candle on some baclava after dinner at "Pasargad Restaurant" as we celebrated my birthday month with friends. That was followed by beer and pool at "Cat & Fiddle Pub". We attempted to visit Mom the next day, but were stopped at the entrance to Langley Lodge and informed that only one designated primary contact per resident was allowed to visit due to a Covid outbreak in the facility, so we had Dad deliver the chocolates we'd hoped to share. After braving the Langley Costco on a Sunday, we spent five hours at my Dad's visiting, playing games, painting, and enjoying a meal. The girls are growing up quickly, so I appreciate our time together. After hearing so many wonderful things about her, I got to meet Elahe's close friend, Nazie Joon, when she hosted us for a delicious dinner. There was just enough snow before we left for the island to remind us to take the forecast of more snow during the trip seriously. After a cold and windy ferry crossing, I was happy to have all-wheel-drive for the drive home, as the highway was covered in snow and ice much of the way and lanes were no longer visible or distinct. We made it safely to Park Place around 11:15pm, only to discover that the temperature inside the house was down to just 6.5 degrees! Elahe calmed my anxiety with reassurances and the distraction of new household items that she'd intended to surprise me with throughout the week. I discovered that despite the fact that the switch was not visibly 'flipped' out of place, power surges the week before had simply tripped the breaker. Even so, it took several hours for the house to reach a more desirable temperature, so I plugged in an electric blanket for Elahe, and we slept most of the night on two living room couches in front of the gas fireplace. Elahe's first visit to the historic Kinsol Trestle was my first time seeing it in the snow, and we very much enjoyed our walk in the sunshine. We made quick detours to see how the other half experience their high school years at Shawnigan Lake School and Brentwood College School. Knowing that more snow was on the way, we checked out Bright Angel Park while the trails were still clear. After four or five very cold days ("feels like -20"!?!), it warmed up enough for it to snow a lot, creating a beautiful wonderland outside the windows. Throughout it all, we kept warm, cozy, and happy with plenty of hearty meals, coffee, tea, baked goods, and drinks by the fireplace & candlelight. Elahe spoiled me for my birthday, showering me with gifts, food, attention, and her incredible love. Roast beef with Moroccan spices, Purdy's chocolates, panettone, & wine. In celebration of my birthday, we spent a three day / two night getaway exploring Salt Spring and Pender Islands while staying at Poets Cove Resort (featured in a separate blog post). We returned to Burnaby before Elahe's niece went home to California so that we could spend some quality time together. After a rainy walk along Ambleside's Seawalk, we warmed up with coffee & almond croissants at Crema, then had a spicy dinner at Indian Fusion. The following evening, Bashi treated us all to a wonderful dinner at Saray Turkish Cuisine. Afterwards, I was surprised with another birthday cake, complete with knife dancing by Bashi and Dorsa! While belatedly celebrating my birthday with Karyn, Avery, and Joe at Browns Social House on Wayne Gretzky's birthday, Elahe once again surprised me with a different delicious cake! Sports are always more fun with a friend... and when your team wins! On the 28th, I visited my Mom while she slept, then watched the 49ers' come from behind win in the NFC championship with my dad. After that, I was surprised with an ice cream cake, bringing my birthday month to six surprise cakes, and seven total desserts because of the initial baclava! I watched eight movies in January. We began a new series; I followed the NFL playoffs through a Kelce lens, and I turned Elahe on to another recent favourite.
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Elahe and I caught a morning ferry to Salt Spring Island and checked out several locations around the island, including Ganges town (pictured above) and Fernwood Point Wharf (pictured below). We checked out Salt Spring Cheese, sampling their wares, and ended up enjoying delicious mango and chocolate goat milk gelato. The Salt Spring Brewing Company's tasting room was the perfect place to eat our packed lunch with a delicious flight of four beers. We took an afternoon ferry to Pender Island where we checked into Poets Cove Resort for a wonderful two night stay in an ocean view room. We had dinner at HUB at Hope Bay on my birthday. We very much enjoyed having the outdoor hot tub for our private use. We had a much more comprehensive look around Bedwell Harbour, and spent a leisurely morning enjoying the view with coffees on our patio. We had savoury crepes for lunch at Slow Coast Coffee. We spent time exploring the island's many sites: Gowland Point, Mortimer Spit, Hope Bay, and hiking Mount Norman. Before heading back to the resort, we decided to check out "downtown" and have double burgers at Copper Otter. We had the hot tub all to ourselves again on night number two. The highlight of our final day on Pender was the Oaks Bluff hike. We continued to explore Pender Island and hiked some other trails, including Mt. Menzie, before enjoying fish, chips, and beer with a view at the Port Browning Marina Pub in front of Hamilton Beach. Before heading to the ferry to the mainland, we decided to grab a quick coffee from Vanilla Leaf Cafe. We then unexpectedly met long time friends of my parents on the ferry, so I had a nice extended visit with Marg and Chris Brown.
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