We began the month of June by playing tennis and walking to the beach. At some point I picked up a copy of The Jane Austen Book Club that has sat untouched and unread on our bookshelf for years; I have no idea when or where we acquired it. Reading it sparked an exploration into the world of Jane Austen. This rabbit hole led to a surprising array of films that unexpectedly feature Valley Girls, Bollywood dance numbers, and even zombies. As usual, we walked everyday. I continue to enjoy both the multitude of flowers and the curios I spot along our routes. Our own yard is quite a nice place to be as well. Lisa and I hiked around Crofton Lake for the first time. We took a meandering route to the top of Cobble Hill Mountain. UFC 250 featured several excellent, entertaining fights. We stumbled upon an entire fairy colony in Tom Bannister Park. Sometimes it's important to "treat yourself!" Yes, we do like ice cream. We hiked up Cobble Hill Mountain again. We've enjoyed watching the squirrels, deer, and birds behind our home, but are frustrated that they are eating so many of our strawberries. Summer season means grilling season, but pizza remains good all year! We continued to take advantage of our easy access to beaches, parks, and community trails as well as to our local tennis court, where we played four times in June. We checked out some more television series, but none clicked with us. As the weather improved, we spent more time outside in our yard and on the deck. Unfortunately, some of that time had to be devoted to re-staining our wood deck and fence. Our neighbour, Alan, pressure-washed it for us so that I was left with only minor sanding before beginning to re-stain the fence, gates, and deck. Of course the weather didn't cooperate, so the job is still not completed. The June 20th UFC Fight Night produced some good fights. We watched films that weren't Jane Austen related as well, but only "Burden" stood out. Fortunately, I had better luck with my novel selections. I did a lot of reading in June, enjoying all of it. We returned to the Cowichan River Estuary. June 27th's UFC Fight Night provided more entertaining bouts, especially the five round Poirier-Hooker instant classic. I have greatly appreciated that the UFC has continued to run events during the Covid-19 pandemic, but am really looking forward to the (scheduled) return of other major North American professional sports leagues next month. We ended the month with a trip to the Cowichan Bay Estuary.
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Aside from a few conversations with neighbours over the fence, we went another month with very little contact with anyone outside of our household. Fortunately we have easy access to an abundance of spacious outdoor areas and very few cases of Covid-19 on Vancouver Island. With travel still not an option, we continued to enjoy local walks daily. We checked out the trails in Duncan's Centennial Park. At home, I continue to enjoy Lisa's cooking and company, as well as a drink now and then. We made a trip to the estuary. It continues to be a strange time. As we follow the news more closely, we have stopped generating our own news. Our lives are more predictable than ever: we walk daily, admiring the beauty of nature, and then we stay at home together alone. We do not make new friends. We do not see old friends. I do not plan new trips. Perhaps we consume more sugar and alcohol than usual - is that news? We continued to explore nearby parks. Lisa did more cycling in May. When the sun's shining, there's no better place than on our deck! The UFC was the first to bring live sports back to North America and UFC249 did not disappoint. On Mother's Day, Lisa and I hiked Mt. Prevost for the first time. We were happy to get an early start, as the afternoon temperatures reached 30 degrees! We wished our mothers "Happy Mother's Day!" from afar. Just days after experiencing hot sunshine, we had plenty of rain. These were the ominous clouds about twenty minutes before we were hit by a torrential downpour that temporarily turned the roads into rivers. The weather during the second half of the month was inconsistent and ever changing, but never bad enough to prevent our daily walk. At times it was beautiful. We made another trip to the estuary. We found some new television series to enjoy. We highly recommend both "After Life" and "VEEP" (we watched all episodes of both). We watched a dozen movies this month. We made yet another trip to the estuary. Our local tennis court re-opened on the Victoria Day long weekend, so we were finally able to play for the first time this year. There were times that felt just right. There were days that felt long and lonely - days that required napping. I spent quite a bit of time reading, too. I was happy to find some enjoyable reads that provided entertaining escapism. We hiked the Kinsol Trestle Loop Trail for the first time, discovering great swimming holes for hotter weather. Before the end of May, we made a trip up Cobble Hill. Being aware of our relative privilege usually makes me humbly grateful, but there are days when this knowledge just makes me feel guilty for feeling down. How can I complain when so many others are in far more dire situations? As usual, it is often nature that provides us a balm for our weary souls. On that note, I think we'll go for another walk...
The beginning of the year featured mild weather, including sunshine, showers, and rainbows. After suffering a terrible 6-2 loss to Russia early in the tournament, Canada earned both redemption and the gold with a dramatic 4-3 win over the same Russian squad in the World Junior Championship final. In addition to our daily 4.5 km walk of the neighbourhood, we made our first trip of the year up Cobble Hill. The snowfall on the night of January 12 wasn't too much... ...but two nights later we received 36 cm overnight! Local Stacey Bruce captured this image of icicles at the Cow Café. I tend to watch just this one college football game each year; it did not disappoint as the highly touted quarterbacks put on a show. Of course I watched Conor's triumphant 40 seconds long return to the octagon in UFC 246 - WOW! The NFL Playoffs offered plenty of surprises as the Titans unexpectedly eliminated the Patriots and the top seeded Ravens, while the Saints surprisingly bowed out early to the Vikings. I also falsely anticipated the Seahawks beating the Packers. In the end, it will be the 49ers' league leading defence facing the Chiefs' #1 rated offence in Super Bowl 54. Hopefully I'll be able to watch while in Moalboal, Philippines. I'm so spoiled that it often seems that everyday is my birthday, but on the 21st, it really was... Our friend Karyn was gracious and kind in turning our visit on the 24th into a belated birthday celebration for my 47th. The following day I had lunch with family at Brogan's Diner in Langley. There was live singing and they gave me a huge complimentary piece of birthday cake. Afterwards we played a board game together. Someone wore herself out dancing with her big sister. That evening we enjoyed dinner out with June & Auntie Janet. I continue to enjoy watching movies... ...and managed to do a little bit of reading. Today we set off for another adventure!!!
We welcomed December with our second Christmas celebration of the year - the CDMS Christmas brunch at the Cow Café - and it even snowed! Duncan is "The City of Totems". For a change of pace, we did one of our daily walks around Duncan's downtown, checking out the totems, the Christmas décor, and the art. We once again ventured down the hill for the Cowichan Bay Christmas tree "Light-Up" at the Maritime Centre. We were still hiking Cobble Hill well into December. In a very short time span, we managed to enjoy quick visits with Auntie Janet, Michelle, and Karyn before flying out of YVR. We then flew to Dubai to enjoy an eleven night cruise aboard the MSC Lirica to Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. During our return to Canada, we both became ill. I developed a nasty cough which lasted for the rest of the year. We returned to the Lower Mainland on the 23rd, in time to spend Christmas Eve with relatives on Lisa's side of our family. We then had Christmas dinner in my parents' new condo. On Boxing Day, we surprised my dad with an open house 75th birthday party with many of his friends. We returned home on the 27th, but unfortunately my congestion and cough continued to plague me. I was finally up to joining Lisa on a walk on the 30th. We continue to read and watch movies, even while on planes and ships! I made this collage recap of our 2019 using one photo from each month.
We began the month by hiking up Cobble Hill. We explored the Glenora area, including walking from Glenora Trails Head Park to Glenora Riverside Park and to the Holt Creek Trestle Bridge along the Cowichan Valley Trail portion of "The Great Trail". We enjoyed time at home, and walks throughout our community, including three more trips up Cobble Hill. We were pleased that Shaun and Debbie were able to join us again this year for the Remembrance Day service at the Cobble Hill cenotaph, followed by lunch and drinks at our place. The sea lions stayed the entire month, basking in the sunshine.
The Grey Cup was the only CFL game I watched this year - congratulations to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers! Lisa joined me to watch Keith Urban's halftime performance. There's always time to check out some movies. I did some reading, too.
After spending most of the month in the Mediterranean, we belatedly celebrated Thanksgiving when we returned to Canada. Celebrating means enjoying some tasty food. Clear Fall days can be spectacular, and we returned to find the leaves in riotous celebration of autumn. We returned home to Cowichan Bay to considerable fanfare, with a very impressive welcome party. Lisa never wants a birthday celebration, but her special day was recognized and acknowledged - we even had a mocha cake log from June. Our neighbourhood likes to celebrate Halloween, and we once again had many trick-or-treaters and plenty of fireworks. Of course we watched some more movies in October.
August picked up where July left off, with community walks, tasty food, and refreshing beverages. We saw the band "Black Angus" at Cobble Hill's "Music in the Park". It was great to do our old "bike & hike" to Gordon Bay with Debbie. Afterwards, I was able to chat with Dick and Al at the market, before having dinner and drinks with Shaun and Debbie. Lisa and I hiked the Khenipsen Trail to the Mad Dog Trail, up "The Spine" to "The Bench" on Mount Tzouhalem for views across to Cowichan Bay and out over the Salish Sea. Our tropical plants are loving the summer heat! We celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary with a trip to Gabriola Island (which I already documented with a separate blog post). Thanks to Lisa there's always a lot of yummy food at our place... ie. homemade pizza, spicy Thai peanut, and Pad Thai fried rice. Our dessert game continues to be on point, too. Despite all three main fights ending differently than I'd hoped, UFC 241 was a great card that provided plenty of entertainment. We enjoyed time at home and I continued to unpack and hang more things on our walls, as well as prayer flags on the pergola. Our daily walks took us throughout the community, including beach combing at Cherry Point, discovering new neighbourhoods, picking lots of blackberries, strolling the Village, and climbing Cobble Hill. We also hiked the spectacular Stoney Hill loop trail again.
While waiting between Wednesdays for new episodes of "Suits" and "Yellowstone", we tried six new (to us) television series, with half of them making the cut for continued viewing. We especially liked "Atypical" (watching both full seasons in just two days), followed by "Ozark". Surprise! I watched a bunch more movies in August. Summer reading is always fun. Now we're getting an early start on the Labour Day long weekend by heading East... (stay tuned!)
We celebrated Canada Day at home this year - CHEERS! We continue to enjoy our walks throughout the community. We hiked Cobble Hill near the beginning of July. We checked out the festivities at the 34th annual wooden boat festival. UFC 239's great card produced some entertaining fights, including the quickest knock out in UFC history. During a rainy week, we took advantage of some sunshine by playing tennis with Shelley and Wally, and then enjoying a barbecue lunch and some cold drinks on the deck. Lisa and I played together three other times this month. For many years, the soccer pitch was my favourite place in the world, and it had been far too long since I'd participated in a real game. After 12 years away, my return to the game was a huge success - I scored a goal and played all 90 minutes in a winning effort! It also seemed fitting to be playing at U.Vic. after at least 26 years. Most importantly, I did not sustain an injury (but I was sore and tired afterwards). Unfortunately, my second start resulted in subbing myself out after just 30 minutes due to a very sore quad that still hasn't healed. We checked out Mill Bay's marina, public pier, and Bamberton Provincial Park. We spent a lovely afternoon poolside at Ryan and Leigh's. Damali Lavender Farm and Winery We hiked Cobble Hill again mid-month. I forgot to take my camera to Robin & Lou's celebration of summer party... but we were spotted in the background of someone else's photo! We spent a nice afternoon visiting with Anna on our deck. We once again hiked Cobble Hill towards the end of July. UFC 240 provided more Saturday night entertainment. We paid our first visit to the Cowichan Bay Estuary. We hiked the Stoney Hill Loop Trail for the first of what will likely be many times, as it offers incredible views for a relatively easy, short hike. We continue to watch movies most evenings. Reading is a year-round pursuit. I spent a lot of time planning and making trip reservations, both for a Fall trip to Sicily, Malta, and Gozo, and for an awesome 23 day vacation to Philippines for next February.
Photographic evidence of me sharing beer. After Shaun made some minor repairs to our bathroom cabinet for us, we were happy to host another fun evening with him and Debbie. We do enjoy good food! The weather was finally good enough to entice us to bike 'n' hike to Gordon Bay's "Point" for the first time this year. Beers, burgers, fun, and games at Shaun & Debbie's! The improving weather allowed for more local hikes, including a trip up Cobble Hill. We were happy to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with good friends. Over the course of the month, Lisa and I continued to bike 'n' hike to The Point at Gordon Bay. While running some errands in town, Lisa and I noticed that Jakes was offering a $10 burger and drink deal; we were very pleased that Debbie was able to join us for some mid-week day drinking (and lunch). Shaun once again generously provided his home repair expertise, replacing the rotted base of our garage door frame. Afterwards, Lisa prepared a delicious meal for the four of us before I righted a significant wrong by showing the other three "The Last Jedi" for the first time. On Good Friday, Debbie and Shaun had us over for barbecued steak and Shaun tried his best to get me hooked on online gaming. This month I watched 18 movies, including several good ones that were "based on a true story", and read 12 novels and 2 travel guidebooks. I especially enjoyed I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen. The big news and development, however, is that we purchased a home in Cowichan Bay and will soon be moving! We will take possession of the house in May or June. We have listed all three of our local properties for sale and are looking forward to no longer being landlords in the Cowichan Lake area. As for our new home, it is much newer, more efficient, closer to amenities, and less maintenance.
It was pretty wet and miserable outside during the first week of February, which had me dreaming of far off lands. As usual, I was monitoring the "YVR Deals"... and this time there were two flight deals that we were able to take advantage of: one to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the other to Paris, France. With international flights booked, I have been spending a lot of time researching and planning these future trips. Our domestic flights and accommodation are booked for our visit to Brazil. I really enjoyed Super Bowl LII; it had tons of offense and scoring, including a touchdown reception by Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles. I was also pleased that the Patriots didn't win yet another championship. Kona came to stay with us while Debbie and Shaun went away for the Family Day long weekend. Despite a forecast that called for snow, it was a beautiful, sunny weekend. On the evening of Family Day, we had a chimney fire. Our neighbour and I were able to deal with it before the fire department arrived (they drove past twice before realizing which house to stop at), but it was sure scary. The stove pipe turned completely red where the internal burn was and sparks were coming out of our chimney. After throwing about a dozen cups of water into the stove, it finally cooled down. While I was doing that, our neighbour was spraying the garden hose at our exterior chimney. I then went up on the roof with the hose to more thoroughly spray the chimney, the cap, and the roof, ensuring that a little bit of water got down the chimney. The fire department stayed for quite awhile monitoring the heat with a temperature imaging camera, and they did a quick "clean" of the remaining creosote. After that scare, we didn't light a fire at all the next day, instead keeping pretty much to our bedroom which is smaller, easier, and cheaper to heat with electricity than the whole house, while waiting for a WETT certified inspector to be available. Once he'd had a look, he gave us the all-clear to resume using our woodstove, but we also had him install some upgrades: a new fire shield, and double insulated piping right from the stove up - which allowed us to eliminate the small bend that made sweeping difficult and that caused this problem. Over one weekend, we had four cords of wood delivered. Unloading, moving, and stacking all of the wood was tiring and hard on my back, but now we're already prepared to stay warm for all of next winter. We binge watched the entire series of the US version of "The Office". We had the roll-up door on our shed re-inforced and repaired so that it is now in better condition than when we moved here. As usual, I enjoyed following the Olympics and marvelling at the wonderful acts of skill and athleticism. Canada's athletes once again made the country proud, winning a record high 29 medals. We acknowledged Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year, but both came and went without much fanfare. We hiked to Bald Mountain's lower lookout on Valentine's Day. We spent an enjoyable evening visiting, playing games, and having a tasty dinner at Debbie and Shaun's place on the 17th. The second half of February was quite a cold spell, with night-time temperatures dipping as low as -13 degrees, and daily highs below zero some days. We also received three more snowfalls. We spent most of our time indoors and did a fair bit of reading. In contrast, my parents chose the perfect time to enjoy cruising the Caribbean for twenty days!
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