In case you weren’t aware, here on the Island (and in Western Canada in general) we have been living under a “heat dome” – a period of extreme heat. Extreme for just about anywhere…and especially deadly for this temperate climate, where almost nobody is prepared to deal with temperatures like these. I was relatively lucky…it only got to 37C (but felt like 42C) where I live, at the peak of the heat event. Still – without air conditioning and only a tower fan – I struggled to find relief. You can read more about it here.
It was so hot I took my first dip in the cold Salish Sea. Commemorated with this selfie. It only took me 13 months of living on my new island home to finally do this. Yes I am a gigantic wuss, spoiled by the warm sea surrounding Barbados. No, my hair is not green (it’s dyed purple actually) – it’s a reflection from the tree I am sheltering under.
As you can imagine, not much cooking was done…or if I did venture into the kitchen, it was at 6 am (when it was a relatively “cool” 26C) to prepare some food to get me through the day. Salads were featured, and here is one of my favourites – I don’t have a name for it other than “watermelon salad”. There is something about the combination of the peppery, nutty arugula with the sweet watermelon and the salty feta, accented by the acidic glaze…I could eat this salad all day.
Watermelon Salad
I don’t really have a recipe for it either, but here goes:
Put cubed seedless watermelon in a salad bowl
Add arugula, as much as you want
Throw in some crumbled feta cheese (I used goat feta, in this picture)
Drizzle with balsamic glaze
Enjoy!
This salad is so juicy it provides much needed hydration while satisfying what little appetite you can drum up, in the heat.
Just before the heat dome arrived I decided I would have a signature cocktail for this season, at Chez Badass. No, I did not drink it during the extreme heat. Imbibing alcohol during extreme heat – likewise mixing alcohol with extreme cold – is a terrible idea. But for the days of the summer when temperatures are more moderate, I would like to offer you this:
Pink gin and tonic (Excuse the pathetic past-its-prime lime slice – it was the last lime in the house.)Pink Elephant? I see what you did there.I don’t know what makes the gin pink. I can’t discern a specific flavour either. Just tastes like gin to me. But better because, well…PINK!I do love how the drink has this slightly iridescent pink/blue quality to it. Hard to capture in a photo, but trust me it’s there. It’s like drinking unicorn tears…over ice!
Does anyone actually need a recipe for a gin and tonic? In case you do:
Pour 1 ounce of pink gin over ice into your glass
Top off with tonic water
Add pathetic lime slice (highly optional)
Please sip responsibly, and never in extreme temperature conditions!
The weather has since cooled off, thankfully. And cocktail hour is once again an option at my house. Also, cooking with heat. And the wearing of clothing that hasn’t been drenched in cold water and wrung out, first.
And, as always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post (or both, if you are so inclined!). Donna has done some amazing research on 4 ways to put the same dish on your plate this month! Remember: if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tag #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!
Finally! After what seems like forever, I can reveal the true purpose of my recent trip to Ucluelet. It wasn’t just for some R and R. It wasn’t just to get out of town. It wasn’t just for some pampering. It wasn’t to once again take in the majestic west coast of Vancouver Island. It wasn’t just to visit my fishy friends one more time, at the Ucluelet Aquarium. It wasn’t just to watch the sun go down. It was for THIS:
My daughter and my newly minted son-in-law’s intertwined hands, revealing their wedding rings.
Here’s some of what you didn’t see (but I was DYING to show you):
My Mother of the Bride dress with totally impractical shoes for a forest wedding (I ended up wearing them only to dinner). Good thing I packed my Birkenstocks as well!I was so happy to have found these special earrings, at the Flying Fish in downtown Nanaimo. Cristy’s Jewelry Designs.My gorgeous corsageThe beautiful, happy couple in their element: the rainforest and the Pacific west coast. Photo Credit: the talented Tofino photographer Marnie Recker.I started amusing myself by taking sneak photos over my shoulder, during the photoshoot at Wickaninnish Beach. What a relaxed and happy day! I can’t stop smiling. I don’t think anyone noticed what I was doing. Do you?At some point my daughter plopped her flower crown on my head. Look who’s tragically hip now! Photo credit: Marnie ReckerI love the reflections of them in the wet sand. Photo credit: Marnie ReckerBack at the Black Rock Resort. About to enjoy some blackberry and white chocolate wedding cake, from Wild Poppy, a gluten-free bakery in Ladysmith. So delicious!
This wedding elopement was so low-key, relaxed and joyous. As all weddings should be. Besides myself, the groom’s mom and step-dad were also guests of the happy couple. And that was it. A perfect day in a perfect setting that perfectly suited this young couple and their values. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of the both of them. Congratulations to you both!!!!
Black Rock Resort, UclueletNo need to sacrifice the view in the name of cleanliness or relaxation.Sequoia candle. Indigenous women-owned and operated company.Watching the sunset, moonrise from my deck.The Wild Pacific TrailTrail viewsTouching branchesTree topsPlenty of benches for ocean-watchingInteresting looking clouds. Dinner guestTreatment room for my massage/facial package. 90 minutes of uninterrupted bliss.Seaflora products used. Locally made in Sooke. Organic. Sustainably harvested by hand. Kennedy Lake Provincial Park, nearbyKennedy Lake views. See you and Ucluelet again, in July!
Last week was not that great in family news for yours truly. After having a wonderful time in Tofino, I came home to find out that: my Ontario brother-in-law (my late husband’s sister’s spouse) was in the hospital with cancer in multiple places in his body; one of my Dutch uncles had died after a long struggle with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases; and my baby sister (who lives on the mainland of British Columbia) had passed out at home and was taken by ambulance to hospital (she has multiple health issues that she is dealing with, including being treated for breast cancer). Well, at least I don’t have any health issues at the moment…or so I thought.
Smite me now, Universe!
Let me give you some background. Last September, I noticed that I was having some issues with my eyes. I kept seeing what looked like little black bugs dancing in the corners of my vision…but these weren’t real, I soon realized. And I had a huge floater in my right eye…so huge I nicknamed it my nictitating (or 3rd) eyelid. It would travel slowly back and forth across my entire field of vision just like…well…how I would imagine a 3rd eyelid would.
This is what I mean by a 3rd eyelid.
I called a local optometrist for an eye exam. After a thorough workup, he said he didn’t see anything troubling but was going to pass on my information to the eye doctor’s office upstairs just in case and that I should expect a call. Which happened, and soon I had an appointment to see her the next month. It’s now October. More tests during my appointment…nothing major was found I was told, and I was sent home with instructions to call back in 3 months, for a follow-up.
By now the “black bugs” had disappeared, which means they probably didn’t but my brain just got used to them and starting ignoring them. However my “3rd eyelid” was still very much active. I dutifully called in January at the 3 month mark and was told the eye doc was booking into March. Which begs the question: if the office knows they are booking 3 months out, why didn’t they make my follow-up appointment when I was there in October? Hmmm???? Oh well.
March comes and I get a call that due to unforeseen circumstances my appointment has to be moved to April. OK, I go in April…have all the same tests done again…doc says I have blood in my eye (Very nonchalantly, I might add. Is this my floater?) and she wants me to see the eye surgeon who comes to the island every Friday from Vancouver.
An appointment is made for May. Then cancelled by the office and an appointment made for June. Then cancelled by the office and an appointment made for July. Whatevs…me and my 3rd eyelid are used to this, by now.
Then last Friday (to cap off the week of bad health news, I guess), I get a call from the eye doc’s office apologizing for the short notice but the eye surgeon has an opening today, he thinks I might need laser surgery, and could I be there in 2 hours? Sure, I said (hiding my shock that we went from nonchalance to needing laser surgery in an apparent heartbeat). You need to have someone drive you home as you will have drops in your eyes, they said. I was planning on walking over, I said. Will that be OK?Yes, they said.
Off I trudge to the clinic (25 minute walk away from my house). Where I am told the doc is 45 minutes behind schedule, given a pager by the tech (henceforth to be known as The Gatekeeper) and told to wait in my car (thanks, Covid!). But I walked over, I said. Luckily there was a chair positioned outside the doorway, so I sat down in the vestibule and started reading a book on my phone. Almost 2 hours later, and after watching multiple individuals with ringing pagers approach The Gatekeeper to be let in, it is finally my turn.
I stand in the front of the door with my noisy pager, and The Gatekeeper stands in the open doorway facing me.
I was just ringing your pager to see if it was still working, he deadpans. I crack a tired smile and give him the finger shake my fist at him. He hands me a brand new mask and tells me to head upstairs to the eye doc’s office. Where I undergo more tests and am given the previously foretold eye drops. Then I wait yet again (inside this time) to see the man of the hour – the eye surgeon – thinking that he is going to look at my test results, discuss treatment, and a further appointment will be made.
Tell ’em, Bailey
Yeah. No. That’s not what happened.
Doc comes into the dark exam room, where I am sitting and looking at a computer screen filled with Day-GloTM images of the interior of my eyeball. He examines my eye, all up close and personal.
I wanted to see you today, he says, because if we waited until July I’d be seeing you in the operating room.
Oh, really?
You have a retinal tear and I am going to do laser on your eye to sear it shut.
What!? Right now!?!
Yes, right now. I’m going to lower the back of your chair. Lean back and tilt your head up. I’m going to push on your eye...
Next thing I know he is pushing his finger in between my upper eyelid and socket like he wants to pop my eye out (spoiler: he does want to), and is shining a bright light (the laser) in my eye with his other hand.
No let’s go over the risks of the procedure. No here’s a waiver for you to sign saying you understand the risks and won’t sue the ass off me later. No see the receptionist on the way out to book the laser surgery. It’s Wham Bam, thank you for your eye Ma’am! time.
Thirty long painful seconds later, it’s done. I had but mere moments to contemplate whether or not I was locked in a dark room with a madman who gets his jollies by blinding the people trapped therein, with his trusty shiny laser light. I had absolutely no time to come up with a conclusion let alone a possible escape plan.
I was helped back up to a seated position and told my vision would be black but would come back. Which it did, very quickly. Still in somewhat of a state of shock, I was told an appointment would be made for me to come back in 6 weeks for a follow-up. (Ironically, for the same date I was supposed to be seeing him for my oft-delayed first visit.)
He sends me off with this post-laser dictum: And don’t pick up the boxing gloves for the next 4-5 days, OK?The tear needs time to heal.
I stumble home, in a daze. What the fuck just happened to me?
Everybody is a comedian, in Canadian healthcare it seems. Which reminds me of what a nurse in Emerg told me last fall, when I was there for esophageal spasms (a long boring story culminating in a gastroscopy, severe gastritis and hiatal hernia diagnoses, and daily acid-control meds). He offered me something called a “pink drink” or “pink cocktail”, I forget which – a concoction of pepto-bismol and an analgesic, to ease the burning in my food pipe. (Correction, thanks to my sister the nurse: It’s called a Pink Lady).
Throw it back like a shot of tequila, he says. I know you’ve had experience with those.
OK, he’s right. But how did he know? The man only just met me.
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. It might be too soon to call but I think my 3rd eyelid has gone bye-byes.
p.p.s. This is my 3rd post in 4 days and I am not even doing a blogging challenge. It may never happen again. You might be sorry or relieved to know this. I’m not sure which one I am.
p.p.p.s. Maybe I should have subtitled this “A BC Healthcare Story”. BC healthcare seems to be as relaxed and casual as everything else is, here on Paradise Island. I’m definitely not in Kansas Ontario, anymore! 😉
Last weekend I headed out to Tofino, to stay at Green Point Campground at Pacific Rim National Park. My friend and blogging buddy, Donna, had booked a site and let me know there was at least one other site available, and would I be interested in joining them? WOULD I???? In a hot minute, I had my site booked too. Then, in the most incredible coincidence imaginable, another friend and blogging buddy Erica/Erika let us know that she and her husband were staying there too. And their site turned out to be the one RIGHT BESIDE MINE. If we had tried to scheme and plan and pull this off, it would be next to impossible as this campsite is harder to get into than it was to score tickets to The Tragically Hip’s final show.
My home for 3 nightsHammock set up, with Erica and Chuck’s campsite in the background. Note kindly left on the picnic table by Erica, letting me know they were down on the beach. Tent interior. Due to the campsite’s BARE policy, all food had to be locked up in your vehicle or a food locker (provided every few campsites). I decided not to hook my car up to the tent, and instead use it as my food locker. So my memory foam bed ended up in the tent instead of the back of my car, due to space considerations. View from “indoors”
After meeting Donna and Richard at Tacofino for lunch, and setting up and settling in at camp, it was time to hit the beach!
We found Chuck and Erica!The sky, sand, and water combo was stunning.
The next day was a bit drizzly and Donna and I went into Ucluelet to check out the downtown and the Ucluelet Aquarium. Amazing place!
Mr. Giant Pacific Octopus put on quite the show for us.We also stopped at a delicious local bakery (Zoe’s, to fuel up for our next adventure), that had this sign posted outside. Cute Schitt’s Creek reference!And here’s why. Within seconds of us vacating this area, they descended upon it. Looking for crumbs.
Speaking of birds stealing your food: Donna, Richard and I had to defend ourselves from some very aggressive sparrows outside of Rhino Coffee, in Tofino. I had my doughnut in my hand ($4 for a doughnut??? But man, it was good!), turned my head for one second and felt something pulling at my treat. It was an asshole sparrow, grabbing a chunk of doughnut in midflight, and then retreating a few feet away to gobble it down enjoy it.
You can bet I kept my eye on these cheeky assholes Steller’s Jays, once back at the campsite.The evening ended over at Chuck and Erica’s for one of our delicious, communal camp meals.
The next day was spent beach walking and exploring.
Donna, the intrepid beach walking buddy.Remains of a tree, washed up on shore.There are always surfers to be found on Tofino beaches. Year round. Donna and I played around with taking simultaneous selfies. Like a simultaneous orgasm, but waaay less work. 😉We eventually met up with everybody else and went off to explore the rocks exposed by low tide.Nature is a talented gardener. Gorgeousness.
Ever since I was a little girl reading picture books, I have been captivated by the idea of walking the shore and exploring tidal pools in search of marine life. But in my land-locked former home, there was no opportunity…until this trip! At almost 62 years of age, I finally got to live my childhood dream.
Giant Green AnemoneRed sea stars and goose barnacles and clams and mussels (and probably a whole buncha other things too).
After returning to camp for another delicious communal meal (Chuck’s homecooked BBQ ribs were amazing!), it was back down to the beach for another sunset.
Filled with peace, gratitude and wonder in heart and soul…
Sadly the next day it was time to go home. It was another gorgeous day, and the drive home was filled with spectacular views, like this one.
Kennedy Lake reflection. What a beautiful island I live on!Colour me windblown, wind burnt, and completely happy with this adventure!
It’s that time of year when the weather is almost always nice, and that means a whole lot less time is spent indoors. Especially in the kitchen. A wonderful excuse to break out a sheet pan dinner! And luckily I have 2 pans because I needed the other for a crafty thing I was MacGyver-ing in preparation for future camping adventures: homemade fire starters. Very useful to starting fires here on the Wet Coast, where wood and tinder are sometimes too damp to facilitate a quick and satisfying campfire. Hey, those S’mores ain’t gonna roast themselves, ya know?
As usual, I came across something on Ye Olde YouTube that sparked my interest. The video is here:
Try to ignore all the bullet adoration in the intro to this guy’s channel. I did.
I watched the video and gathered my supplies. Then I got to work.
Note my improvised double-boiler, for melting both the petroleum jelly and the candle wax. Will the MacGyvering never end?! 😉Cotton rounds soaked in melted petroleum jelly and ready to go into freezer to quickly solidify, in preparation for the next stage.First dip of rounds in melted wax.Starting the 2nd (and final) dip process.
These fire starters turned out great, and they burn heartily for more than 10 minutes after being lit with a single match.
The same afternoon I made these, I also made a delicious sheet pan dinner, inspired by this YouTube video:
The actual recipe to be printed off can be found here.
I hustled off to my little local grocery store and was disappointed that they didn’t have any fresh green beans in stock. They did however have some delectable-looking bundles of asparagus in the veggie section, so I made that swap. I think it turned out at least as good, if not better.
I also used sambal (Indonesian pepper paste) instead of cayenne pepper because I think it tastes better. Asparagus ready to go into the ovenShrimp tossed in spices and lemon peel.Finished! The sheet pan dinner, almost complete…Now complete! Served on a bed of some deliciously-nutty brown rice.That was mmm-mmm good!
Have you ever made a sheet pan dinner? Chime in, in the Comments below!
And, as always: please feel free to let my co-host Donna (she is dishing up some food for thought, this month!) or myself know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post. And remember if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tag #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!
One year of waking up to seeing this view from my balcony while sipping my morning latte.
Dawn over the Salish Sea, with mainland mountains in the background.
One year of enjoying the freedom and…ahem…adventures that come with renting an apartment. Update: the Stompy McStompersons moved out at the end of February…and though others have since moved in, the noise from above is almost non-existent, in comparison! Heavenly….
Crazy M has been mostly quiet – so quiet that I wondered if perhaps she had finally been committed or incarcerated somewhere. But no…I have seen her driving in and out of the complex recently.
S (“Good Neighbour S”, I have dubbed him) continues to offer assistance and lets me know he is “on guard” and ever watchful of strange goings on in the building as well as Ye Olde Parking Lot. Speaking of…
About the only complaint I have currently is of meeting the same couple of old men in the hallway – enroute to the parking lot where they like to unfold lawn chairs in the shade of the arbutus trees, and take in the fresh air, daily. They continually apologize (4 times now!) for not wearing masks (as they are supposed to) when encountering me in the hallway.
Wearing as mask (as mandated, in apartment common areas) means never having to say you’re sorry, too.
One year of missing my family, and friends-that-feel-like-family… left behind in Ontario.
Surprise flower delivery this week from “The Boys” – my good friends Kenn and Jonathan – who moved into my old flat at my former building, back in Ontario.
One year of being able to spend more time with my daughter and her man.
One year of soaking in the stunning beauty of my new home (too many posts to link – feel free to explore on your own, by looking back at my posts of the last year!)
One year of walking down to the beach (5 minutes away), and finding treasures like this:
Sand art, artist unknown. At Departure Bay in Nanaimo.
One year of getting used to a much more relaxed vibe amongst my fellow citizens of Vancouver Island.
Graffiti seen, on one of my walks to and from the local shopping plaza. I’ve heard BC called the Left Coast and the Wet Coast, but Leaf Coast is a new one to me. It fits actually. Just ask the Party Bros. 😉
Two things that stood out for me immediately upon moving here:
There are SO MANY LIQUOR STORES here. Seriously, there is one a 10 minute walk up the street from me, and another one a 5 minute walk down the street from me. And there is one on just about every shopping plaza on this island! They are open from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week. And they offer loyalty programs!
The pace of life is so much slower and nicer here. It’s like stepping back in time about 50 years. People actually stop to talk to you (yes, even in a pandemic)…from random strangers to clerks in stores. They make eye contact and engage you in genuine, unhurried conversation. Once the shock wears off it’s actually very, very pleasant.
So many things have changed for me since I retired and moved here. Yet despite it all, I have remained the same as ever. Steadfast, unchanging…
Bwahaha!!!! 😉
I love living here. It was the right move at the right time, for me.
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. next week brings the June edition of the What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge, on Wednesday June 2nd, hosted by Donna and yours truly. Mark your calendars. Can’t wait to see what what’s on your plate!
This was my home last weekend. Donna and Richard’s vehicle and set-up are behind me. My living room.My cozy bedroom.Miracle BeachMy stand-up board, “Nauti”…in kayak mode.My first time, kayaking in the ocean.My camp coffee makerIt makes damn fine coffee.Donna and I split up the meal duties. This was breakfast the morning I was in charge: baked oatmeal and crispy bacon. Made only AFTER watching the sunrise on the beach, of course!And what a wonderful sunrise it was. After breakfast it was time to go back to the beach, for a beautiful walk. Sand dollars (living and dead) can be found all over the beach. RIP, Sand Dollar. Time was carved out for a visit to Hammockville. Trying out one of my homemade fire starters.It worked very well. This was the start of a beautiful fire. The morning we left was cloudy but dawn was still gorgeous.These assholes sea lions woke me up with their barking at 4 am. A deer couple came down to the shore to check out the assholes sea lions too.Mergansers also wondering what the assholes sea lions are barking about.Asshole sea lions aside, it was a fabulous weekend at Miracle Beach Provincial Park. I’ll be back!
Way back in April, I had an entirely different post planned out for the May “What’s On Your Plate Blog Challenge”. Last week however, it dawned on me that this month’s challenge falls on Cinco de Mayo (click on link to see what May 5 is all about and how to celebrate), so I decided my initial idea could keep. This month I am bringing you a Mexican-themed dish instead.
I was hoping to make it something to do with tacos….I do love me some tacos. I even ordered a tortilla press, so I could make my own from scratch (and gluten-free). However, it was not to be as my tortilla press did not come in on time. Es muy malo!
Instead, let me bring you my version of a deconstructed burrito…aka a burrito bowl.
It all started with a pork shoulder that had been taking up valuable freezer real estate for far too long, and now needed to be turned into something, STAT. When I bought it, I had been thinking of pulled pork but that obviously hadn’t happened. I came across this recipe, for carnitas…and with that, I was off to the races.
Finished carnitas, fresh out of the broiler
I wanted to make some of those tasty pickled onions to go with it, and that led me to this recipe. (And you better believe I will return to it for the Barbacoa 😉 ).
Well worth the walk to The Bulk Barn to pick up coriander seed and whole allspice, to make these pickled red onions.
And lastly, I had to find a recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice (my fave!). Here it is, and it turned out wonderfully. This is how it all came together on the plate:
My burrito bowl! With black beans, salsa, sour cream and guacamole added too.Alas, no frosty margarita to accompany it, only a glass of white wine. This dish was delicious!You may have noticed in the above photos that my balcony spruce-up for 2021 is now complete. My privacy screen is now up. And my comfier cushions arrived too! Now all we need is a few more degrees of heat for optimal balcony enjoyment to commence. In the meantime, I just grab a sweater and a comforter. And splash hot sauce all over my burrito bowl. 🙂
Thanks so much to everyone who enjoyed and/or participated in last month’s inaugural blog challenge! My, that was fun! Hope you had as much fun as Donna and I did. Check out Donna’s post for this month, here!
As with last month, please let us know what’s on your plate at your house, in the Comments of either Donna’s or my post. And remember if you decide to blog or Facebook or Instagram about it, to use the tag #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge so we can find you out on ye olde interwebbs!
Happy Cinco de Mayo, from my hammock in the woods of Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park!
I’ve been visiting Dollarama a lot lately. Partly because the weather is great and it’s a lovely walk to my local dollar store; partly because I am gearing up for an adventure that I will document on Ye Olde Blogge within a week or so, and what I need to complete my project can be found there, on the cheap! And mostly because I think Dollarama is a great little store staffed by lovely people and there are so very many cool things to be found there.
On my latest visit, I noticed that they sold devotional or prayer candles there, and that reminded me of this thing that I came across on my internet wanderings that I really, really wanted to buy: a devotional candle with a drag queen’s face plastered on it, instead of the usual saint-type personage. Here’s what they cost at Ye Olde Amazon:
That’s right, folks. For a mere $60 and change CDN, you too can own a prayer candle with St. RuPaul adorning it.
So I got to thinking: could I make myself a drag queen prayer candle, for less? Why yes, of course I could!
Prayer candle: $1.75, with all of the labelling soaked off. Photo of one of my favourite drag queens stolen from found on the internet and printed at home: free.Stick on “drag jewels”: $2.00No drag queen worth her rhinestones would be caught on stage without her earrings.Those eyes are following me. Not today, Satan. Not today.Total cost of my Bianca del Rio devotional candle: $3.75 Satisfaction: priceless
Thank you, Dollarama!
Well, that killed a coupla hours. Including the walk to and from Dollarama. What can I say? It’s gonna be a loooong week until the finale of Season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race airs…
