On my last full day on Vancouver Island, the three of us (Mizz J, K and I) got up early and hit the road to Tofino!
We stopped along the way at a picturesque mountain lake.
I think this is called Kennedy Lake.
Tofino straddles the tip of a peninsula on the west coast of the Island. One side is quiet inlet.
Calm waters of the inletTofino Totem Pole
And the other side is a paradise for surfers.
The surf at Chesterman Beach. Yes, there were many surfers in the water (2 in this photo) on Groundhog Day, February 2.Admiring the view and soaking up the sun.One of the many pretty shells to be found on the beach.
Both sides of Tofino are beautiful and cool.
We drove downtown and parked near this place as we just had to see what it was all about.
A large gallery featuring the works of native artist Roy Henry Vickers. Loved his stuff. Someday I will be back and buy a print or twelve… Inside the gallery.
We also visited a series of stores, surf-related shops, and restaurants inside and just outside of the downtown. And there were flowers blooming outside! On Groundhog Day!!!
Crocuses blooming already!
I loved the signage of this coffee shop:
I had a London Fog here and it was so. damn. good.The wildlife at the Wildfire Grill were very assertive. The restaurant had signs up, warning people of crow thievery. They just came for us. With their buddies. (OK, so we encouraged them. Because of the novelty. We’re just the kind of people that like birds landing on our picnic table and staring at us.) Like a scene from The Birds.
We also did a short walk on the Tonquin Trail, that led to another beach.
Sign at entrance to trail.As the day drew to a close we visited another beach – Long Beach.Beautiful Long Beach scenery.
And so ended our last day together (for a while). It was a glorious one, filled with sun, surf, art and togetherness.
Vancouver Island is such a beautiful, magical place. I’m going to let the pictures do the talking, mostly.
It is filled with lovely souls – such as Donna, from Retirement Reflections who generously filled me in on the Island’s wonders.
Always a treat to meet bloggers you follow in real life!
Donna and her charming husband Richard also took the time to show me a lovely walking trail between Qualicum Beach and Bowser area.
A very accessible trail designed to accommodate as many community members as possible.One of 1,000s. A gorgeous tree on this trail.
And Donna lent me some great books to read up on Vancouver Island fun attractions, facts and figures!
I learned a lot about the history and attractions of the Island from these!
On Mizz J’s day off work, we hit the road to do some exploring.
First up: Little Qualicum Cheeseworks at Morningstar Farm. A “dairy/berry” farm, and a delight for agri-tourists, like us!
Love the no smoking sign.Helpful signs everywhere explaining how the farm works for us non-farmers.Robot pushing the feed closer to the hungry cows.Curious goat says hi.Miss Thing from the maternity pen also says hi.Potted flowers blooming outside farm store entrance. Complete with painted mandala stone. This is February 1, people! In Canada!!!Lovely treats brought home from the farm store.
Entrance to CentreIt was tough to get a good shot of the many birds housed there (including eagles, hawks, and ravens) through the wire mesh of their enclosures. So here’s a resident turkey, for your viewing pleasure. There was also a garden area, showcasing native (and some non-native) plants to be found on the Island. Seen here: oregon grape, heather, and kinnick-kinnick.
After a delightful visit, it was on to the next: Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville.
We were delighted to come across many bunnies on our way to the beach. They let us get quite close.Beach view. Overcast but still lovely.As with most places on the Island, we were in awe of the beautiful, giant trees.
After such an attraction-packed day, it was time to head back to Mizz J’s for a well-deserved soak in the hot tub.
Exploring the beauty of Vancouver Island with these two rascals.
I’m on Vancouver Island at the moment, visiting with Mizz J and her man, who moved here last September.
So, instead of just more of December (colder and with more snow and ice), I thought it would be nice to show what a west coast January looks like.
Well, it’s kinda GREEN. Here’s some shots of Cathedral Grove, which we visited on Saturday.
On the short trail around Cathedral GroveNothing to see here. Just another damn tree hugger. Just kidding. K volunteered to be used for size reference. He’s over 6 feet tall.Crystal clear mountain-stream fed waters
After Cathedral Grove, we went to Englishman River Falls.
Lower FallsUpper Falls. Once again, K volunteered to stand near for size reference. Better him than me!The lushness of green growth on the Island
Yesterday we went to the Medicine Bowls, near Courtenay.
Water rushing down the road to the BowlsCan confirm. The rocks were super slippery. I was pretty uncomfortable since I couldn’t trust my footing. It was slow and careful going.Upper Bowls areaLower bowl. Apparently people swim (and some die!) here in warmer weather.
When the sun went down, it was time to meet up with K’s mom and stepdad at Royston Towne Pub (“The Roy”), where they were hosting open mic night.
K’s mom and stepdad. Wonderful musicians. So talented.Unleashing the Kraken and getting in shape for all the rum punches to come in Barbados. The best reason to be on Vancouver Island in January or any time.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge, hosted by Su Leslie at Zimmerbitch. Go check her beautiful blog out!
Sick! That’s how I started off my 2019. As opposed to Sickening.
One of my goals was to take 10,000 steps per dayevery day in 2019. I don’t think I have even taken 10K steps, YET!
It started already on December 31, with a headache that just wouldn’t die, and swollen neck glands. I was determined to tough it out. But instead I got sicker each day, until I just let the flu virus have its way with me. So I stayed home and kept my germs to myself (as we should always do). If I couldn’t thwart the evil bug any other way, I was determined that THIS ENDS WITH ME.
During my self-imposed isolation from humanity, I kept myself amused by catching up on RuPaul’s Drag Race on Netflix, between naps and coughing and sneezing and shuffling to the kitchen for drugs and more drugs. I had watched Season 1 way back when and then Season 8 last year, and had a lot of catching up to do, obviously. I found when I was watching Season 8 that I was getting quite frustrated and pissy. It was like joining a new group (with its own language) and not getting any of the in-jokes. Heck, I couldn’t even determine WHAT they were saying, half the time. Let alone what they meant by it. I felt like an outsider.
This, at least, I could understand.
However, now I am pleased to report that I have earned my certificate in Drag-ology. Yep, this past week and a half has been like going to Drag Immersion School. There are still a few terms I am not 100% clear on the meaning of, but I am sure they are probably dirty. Yes, because I have learned that drag queens are mostly dirty shady, sickening, fierce lady-boys.
I could listen to Alyssa Edwards give commentary all day. Don’t judge. (Also, I believe the correct quote is “Look how fucking orange you look, girl.”)I mean, just look at her face!
But watching them givesme life so I don’t really mind.
I heart Bianca.
Just so you don’t think I was totally lazy while ill, I was also determinedly growing in my eyebrows. It was and continues to be exhausting. Constantly using your left hand to slap the tweezers out of your right hand is SO. VERY. TIRING. Ugh.
Perhaps I should just do this instead:
Or I could use an Elmer’s glue stick and erase them completely, then draw them back on, drag-style.
Welcome to 2019. I hope you are doing better than me – I’m currently fighting off a virus with the help of Tylenol Cold & Flu* (extra strength).
So, while the medicine is making it possible to sit upright and type, I thought I’d share with you what I’ve been thinking and planning for this next turn around the sun.
I’ve decided my word for this year is RECORD. I just don’t do enough of this and I’d like to see that improve in 2019.
To that end, I purchased this uber-cute Hobonichi planner, from Japan:
Hobonichi Techo A6 for 2019 – small enough to throw in just about any purse or tote bag. Filled with beautiful, fountain pen-friendly paper…
I came across a couple of booklets and packs of stickers at Michaels, and used them on the planner to help set my intentions for 2019.
Stickers decorating the inner cover.
And on the other side of the inner cover:
More reminders/inspiration on the flipside.
And here are my intentions, for 2019:
Turning the pages to a new year with new intentions…
My intentions are pretty modest, therefore do-able. I have realized from a couple of months of being on WW that I am not going to lose weight quickly. I was 9.9 pounds down just before Christmas and a bit chagrined to see the scale going down in 1/2 pound increments, week after week. But now I’ve come to realize that this is just how it’s going to be for my age and metabolism. And 1/2 pound per week is 2 pounds per month and that’s 24 pounds gone in a year. Which sounds pretty amazing to me, after all! Attitude: adjusted.
My other intentions include teaching myself how to paint with watercolours, racking up 10K steps per day on my Fitbit, making a record of each day in my Hobonichi (no matter how terse ), and tracking my spending.
How about you? Any great plans for 2019?
Rock on,
The WB
*Not a sponsor of this post, although they could should be!
Hoo boy, it IS mostly dark these December days so I’ve been taking advantage of what daylight there is by hauling my sorry butt outdoors whenever I can.
Sun peeking over a riverfront building in ye olde Village on the River.Sun and shadow painting the path.
I’ve been noticing seed heads and pods and all manner of lovely wintery things on my walks.
Bullrushes caught my eye.And this: Blown milkweed pods at side of railroad tracks.
When it gets dark, it’s time to head home and throw on as much light as possible.
Let there be lights!!! Welcoming Yule…
Also: when it gets dark, it’s time to celebrate and visit with friends.
At my friend Mizzus J’s (far right) retirement gala party. Interesting story – Mizzus J and I met at work at a lab many years ago. Mizzus K (middle) and I met at work (another job, another lab) years later. Mizzus J and Mizzus K met for the first time at late hubby JD’s 50th birthday party and hit it off, resulting in Mizzus K working for Mizzus J (who now owned her own lab). Now Mizzus J has retired and Mizzus K has accepted the position of President. I feel proud and happy to have been a part of this!Visiting JD’s best man and his wife, who have become “lifers” in the Friends Department. Clearly my selfie game is not strong. Yes, M has been queried about playing Santa and is considering making it a post-retirement hobby, visiting nursing homes and such. And Mrs. M is not averse to becoming Mrs. Claus, and making it a duo.
I am not a night creature, anymore though. It’s damn hard for me to leave the house once the sun goes down, in the winter months. My natural inclination is to slip into jammies and wind down my day as soon as it gets dark. Like 5 pm. Seriously.
So no surprise here: I am ecstatic to welcome back the return of longer days and shorter nights, for my personal productivity if nothing else!
Getting too old for all these late winter nights. My eye makeup went the distance, even if I pooped out after several hours of dancing and celebrating.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly blog challenge hosted by Su Leslie, at Zimmerbitch. Check out her blog, to see how it’s done!
Wishing you all a happy New Year and a fantastic 2019!
As I am preparing to acknowledge and celebrate the Winter Solstice again, for the 2nd time, I’ve been watching a bunch of YouTube videos on the subject so I get an idea on how this was done historically as well as what people are doing now.
It’s very eye-opening, how many beloved Christmas symbols and practices actually arose from earlier religious practices and were neatly folded into the Christian celebration of Christ’s birth (spoiler: most probably didn’t happen on December 25).
For instance, the following arise from pagan traditions, and were co-opted by Christians:
“Christmas” colours – red, green, gold, silver
Yule log
Wassailing
“Christmas” tree
“Christmas” lights and candles
“Christmas” wreath
Hanging of mistletoe
Don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking Christmas. I grew up with this holiday and have many fond memories of magical Christmases with family and friends. But I’m at a stage in my life where Christmas is more a remembrance of those I’ve lost and as such, more reflective and less celebratory. It’s just not the same anymore. I don’t have any little people in my life right now – and may never have and that’s OK – so Christmas is no longer all that and a bag of chips, for that reason either.
(Plus I’m not a Christian so there’s that. I guess you could say I grew up as a cultural Christian, rather than an observant one. Historically, the Christian religion has only brought strife, division and pain to my immediate family… only my one sister has found any solace in it.)
But celebrating the Winter Solstice really resonates with me. I am becoming more and more tuned to the natural world once again so marking the shortest day of the year and welcoming a new solar year just makes more sense for me than a Christmas or New Year’s holiday celebration.
So I’m busy working on my intentions for the Solstice, and also learning what I can about this ages-old tradition of humans (especially those from northern Europe – the bulk of my genetic background) marking this special time of year.
This week, I was watching a cute video in which a guy played himself and a long-lost Viking explaining how to celebrate Yule. Video ended and I dove into my journal to write some thoughts down. Meanwhile, YouTube cued up and started playing another video (as it does) that I had not selected to view. In it, a cute little 20-something blond girl (hair in a braid, even) is discussing the myths of Santa Claus, etc. Innocuous, right?
Wrong! This video, produced by something called Red Ice TV, quickly devolved into a neo-Nazi, white supremacist rant about how us (Us? Not sure I want to belong, now) “hard-working, resourceful Northern Europeans” have had our culture appropriated by “lazy southerners” (Huh? Code for people of colour and Jews, I think) and we need to take back Yule traditions and make Christmas WHITE again. (Which doesn’t make sense, I know, but that’s what little Miss Hitler said.)
HOLY SHIT! I couldn’t have been more shocked if the video had turned into some wild porn orgy instead. In fact, I could have handled that a lot better than what I saw and heard.
I can’t stop thinking about it and that stuff like that exists on Ye Olde Interwebs, to infect people’s minds with hatred. I mean, I knew intellectually that fake news and hate speech exists in cyberspace. I had just never searched it out or come across it in any way until this week.
And now I feel so dirty.
I’m not going to link to the offensive video, as I don’t want it to get any more views than it already has.
All I can say is: Be careful out there, gentle readers – I’d hate for you to come across vile filth like this.
Straight teeth again! Pleased is an understatement.
Last week I finished almost 2 year’s worth of orthodontic treatment on my poor old choppers. Due to my nightly gnashing, they had gone from being relatively straight, to a right mess.
This is how crooked they were:
Every which way but loose (and straight up and down). Pushed in, pushed back, pushed over top of each other…Photo taken by the Ortho before starting treatment, January 2017. During my (thankfully, short-lived) brown period…
Once upon a time, I DID have straight teeth:
As a young teenager. Check out the granny glasses! Yep, it was the early 1970s!
Forty-five years later, I love my smile again. My overbite was corrected too.
You can bet I will be faithfully wearing my retainer every night from now until the end of (my) time, to protect my investment.
But the wind and rain soon stripped the trees and I struggled to find whatever colour was left:
Berries in the gloom
And then it wasn’t long before this happened:
Winter wonderland drive to work, November 13
And I did manage to capture one spectacular sunset:
November 14 Red and Navy sunset
But the snow didn’t last, and we were back to dull skies, clouds and rain and a dearth of colour:
Mill Run Trail, November 25
Clearly I wasn’t the only one that felt November needed some brightening up:
Well, this is one use for a poppy after Remembrance Day I suppose…
I noticed many things on the trail that I just walk on by, when the foliage is rich and lush:
I walk by this all the time, but this time I really noticed this stump and the stump behind it.The shapes of these oak leaves caught my eye as well.The beauty of a feathery pampas grass head…This scene, although kind of desolate, speaks to me.I don’t know what these are, but I do like the look of them…also that they provide some welcome colour!
And while I was noticing all these beautiful and delightful things, I felt like something was noticing me as well:
Eeeek! The trees have eyes!
I went to the Orthodontist’s office on November 26. Soon I won’t need to visit them anymore as I am almost at the end of my Invisalign treatment (yay!). This time, it was full-on Christmas decor:
A tree dedicated to the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, of course! (For the hockey-mad clientele.)A corner dedicated to the Nutcracker Ballet, with Nutcracker and Mouse King (For the rest of us?).A view of the main treatment area.
These were some of my impressions of this overall mostly dreary November.
Hope yours was more colourful!
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge that anyone can join. Please visit Su Leslie at Zimmerbitch, for more information, and to see what others are posting.
Not interested in being sexually appealing to anyone anymore, but am def interested in being stronger! Plus, it’s a cute shirt.
When I was reviewing my progress towards my goals way back in September, I realized that once again I had proclaimed I was going to take better care of myself, and once again, I was not doing the same. So I reflected a lot on why that might be so. I mean, I know what I need to do (lose weight and move more), and I certainly know by this time, how to do it. Yet, nothing was happening. Which means two things, to me:
It’s a problem with my head more than my body.
I need help to be accountable to myself, as I have proven over and over again that I can’t stick with it when I try to do it on my own.
I turned to the Tarot for guidance, using my new Simple Tarot deck. I drew a 3 card spread with this question in mind: What do I need to know about starting a weight loss/fitness program?
Card 1 – Do it
Card 2 – Don’t do it
Card 3 – How to decide
Tapping into my own intuitive processes, for clarity of thinking and decision making.
As you can see, the cards told me what I already suspected: I could change my fortune by taking better care of myself or I could anticipate unwanted changes in my health; and the way to proceed forward was by using my intellect to strategically analyze the problem and my options.
So I spent a week or more researching differing ways to achieve my goal. I even drew up a little chart, listing all the ways I could do this across the top (on my own, Noom, Weight Watchers, MyFitnessPal, SparkPeople), and the attributes of each down the side (things like cost, syncing with my FitBit, online vs. meeting options, food and exercise diaries, etc.). Setting up this chart helped dramatically, in being able to see and compare all my options.
After this exercise, it was clear to me that Weight Watchers (WW) was the best option for me, in terms of what I considered important (a physical meeting and weigh-in, syncing with my FitBit, an app on my phone etc.). I was able to tap into a 50% off sale, so I signed up for a 6 month’s membership.
I was kinda surprised by this because, going into this exercise, I was against going back to WW. Decades ago, I went to WW for a long, long time – a long time because I could not hit the lifetime goal weight they had set for me. It took me many months to realize that it was unachievable for my body type, and eventually I had to get a doctor’s note to have my goal weight range altered to be one that was suitable and healthy for me. That left a long-standing bitter taste in my mouth about this program.
Going through the strategic exercise and doing the research on what WW was all about NOW made it the obvious choice, despite my lingering feelings about my past experience.
Seven meetings later (6 weeks on the Freestyle program), I am down just over 8 lbs. It has been quite easy so far. I’m enjoying the app, which even comes with a barcode scanner that tells you the point values of a food product. All of the leaner, healthier foods are 0 points (fruits, vegetables, chicken and fish) and there is literally nothing I can’t eat, if I want to. Which makes the program very easy to stick to. Forgot lunch and need to pick up something through the drive-thru? No problem. Want a glass of wine? No problem. Want popcorn and M&Ms to munch on while attending a screening of Bohemian Rhapsody? No problem.
Obviously I need to be making healthier choices on the regular, but it’s nice to know I can do these other things occasionally (and I have) as well, and still be achieving success in working towards my health goals. Because nothing gets my inner rebel activated faster than telling me I CAN’T do something.
I’d like to need to lose more weight in order to be my healthiest, but for now I am just taking it day by day, week by week, month by month. I’m on a learning journey, I have decided. I haven’t set a goal weight yet – although at my last appointment my doc very kindly and without prompting gave me a note stating what SHE thinks is my healthy weight range – she must have run into the same problems with WW, at some point! I’m prepared to unpack any psychological hurdles that come up as I continue on this path. I’m journalling as these things come up.
For fitness, I am exercising every day via YouTube videos (mostly JessicaSmithTV), walking, and hiking.
And best of all, I’m having fun doing all of these things. There is no hardship involved, this time. Not at least so far.
