Skiing frenzy

Dan & I have been skiing every day since Christmas! We went up to Hollyburn (Cypress) on Christmas day for a couple of hours. What a great way to spend Christmas! The next two days we skied at the new Whistler Olympic Park - I was practicing the runs just in case they need me in 2010... We were up at Hollyburn again today. I think my legs might want a break tomorrow.

Any way, I've had a great Christmas! I love hanging out at home and having an easy going day! We might have to do this again. I did visit family and friends the week before Christmas. I spent about 8 days on the Island. I didn't take the car which made it really relaxing - I let the train and bus folks do all the work.

Christmas Joe

Joe would like to wish everyone a very

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year
filled with lots of shortbread, love, pie, peace, fruit cake, happiness, and gingerbread!

Updates

Thought I'd do some catching up...

At the beginning of December, I went to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. What an amazing and fun concert!! I first heard of them about 3 years ago. They do mostly Christmas music, but they also have some other stuff that appears to be based on classical music. They make music with classical, rock, Broadway and R & B twists to it. Their first set was like a rock opera - there was a story to the music they played. The second set was a variety of Christmas music and the band was having a great time playing! They played here with members of the Vancouver String Choir. I think they use local string musicians for all of their concerts. There are samples of their music on-line, check 'em out.

I've been volunteering at a couple of places. I help out in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life office. (This is the event Rene and I put together a team for each year, and then we come around asking you for money.) I asked them if they ever need help around the office doing odd jobs and, boy, did they ever jump on that. So far, I've done stuff like binding sponsorship packages, installing software, mapping out addresses, looking for postal codes, etc. There is a great group of people in the office and I love going there.

I also just started with the David Suzuki Foundation. I'm the assistant to the volunteer coordinator. So far I've helped with a name tag template and entering volunteer info into the database. I'm excited to see what else I end up doing and to learn as much as I can while I'm at the Foundation.

I'll also be working at Cypress Mountain a bit. I think I'm going to be a Host in the downhill area - checking to make sure everyone has the right lift pass. I'm doing it mostly to get myself up the mountain more to do some cross-country skiing.

Happy holidays to everyone!

Christmas traveling

Having all this time off does take a lot of the pressure off of Christmas! I am enjoying Christmas much more this year than usual. Shopping was easy. Although, don't think that the malls are empty while you're all at 9-5 jobs. No way! That's one thing I've noticed the whole time I've been off - an awful lot of people are off during the day! I thought I'd have the stores to myself, be able to make dentist and doctor appointments with ease, drop in for a physio session... Nope. Everything is still packed. Physios and other health professionals have full schedules even during the day. Stores are crowded. Parking lots are zoos. Timmy's has a line up all the time.

Any way, back to Christmas. I had time to do lots of baking. Which also means I had time to do lots of testing of the baking... Uh oh. Not a good thing since I can't do as much running as I would like. Apparently, I've now got exercise induced asthma. I've had mild asthma since I was a kid, but it's been flaring up a bit in the last couple of years. Along with that is this EIA. Not sure where it came from, but I sure wish it'd go away. Any where from 20 to 40 minutes into a run, I start to feel like I'm getting motion sick - makes it a bit tough to run. Definitely not a good thing when I've got a half-marathon in Phoenix in a month and a full marathon in Vancouver in May. This was going to be the year I properly trained for a marathon and ran it pain free. So much for getting any training in... The specialist wants to do a bunch of tests and get me on some drugs that will help, but I can't see him again until after the half-marathon. And who knows when I'll get appointments for the tests knowing the lineups in our health care system. I sure hope the drugs work fast when I eventually get them so that I can jump into marathon training with both feet even though I won't be ready for it.

Ooops, off topic again. I'm writing this in Victoria at my sister Karen's place. Instead of visiting my family over Christmas, I decided to visit them this week. I came over to the Island on Friday and stayed with my brother Greg in Nanoose. We went to visit my aunt and uncle on Thetis Island on Saturday. I don't see them too much. It's hard enough to get over to one island, never mind going to another one once I'm here. (Lazy excuse, I know...) I love going over there - Auntie Joan is a great cook and usually has something for me to take home. I love care packages! I caught the bus to Victoria Saturday evening. I'll be heading up to Courtenay on the train tomorrow. I haven't taken the train since I was a kid. I'm looking forward to it. I checked out the bus as well. The train is $13 more for the same trip!! I really should be taking the bus, but the train just sounds so much nicer. I'm going to splurge. I'll hang out with my sister Janet in Courtenay until Saturday and then it's back to Vancouver. It'll be my first ever Christmas in my own home!! It'll be so nice to not be traveling! Well, almost no traveling. We will be driving up to Squamish on Boxing Day to see Dan's mom and to do some cross-country skiing. Guess I can't hang up the car keys for as long as I'd have liked, but at least I'll be waking up in my own bed on Christmas morning.

One nice thing about traveling right now is that the buses and ferries aren't that busy. The ferry on Friday night was pretty empty! I haven't seen it like that for ages on a Friday night. It was great! Same with the bus ride to Victoria. I'm hoping for more of the same tomorrow on the train. I'm sure it'll be quiet since it's a Tuesday. The bus from Courtenay back to the ferry (on Saturday, 22 Dec) is probably going to be PACKED! Yuck! I'd have left a bit earlier, but a woman I grew up with is singing in Courtenay on Friday night. I've never heard her sing professionally (high school musicals don't count...), so I'm staying for that.

I'll quit babbling on. I think this is getting pretty long, so I'll save some stories for later. I'm getting hungry too, so I think I'll go shower and wander over to Cook St. village to find a nice little coffee shop. Yep, I sure do like this lifestyle...

Only 14 more days!

Wow! It's December already! The eleventh of December to be exact! I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last wrote anything. This won't be much - I'm just writing to say that I'm still here and things are still amazing!!

A few things I will elaborate on in a later post... the two places I'm volunteering with, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, The Cat's visit to the vet, 1st annual Oh Run All Ye Faithful, and anything else I might have missed mentioning.

It's late and I'd better be off to bed.

PJ Day

Today is dedicated to Tanya. I'm spending the whole day in my jammies!! I woke up this morning and realized it is one of the few days where I have absolutely NOTHING planned!! I never have days without some sort of commitment - physio, volunteer stuff, running, cycling, etc - so today is a treat! I've been organizing our bills, getting the Christmas decorations ready, doing some laundry - all in my PJs. I did put on a pair of sweats and a jacket (temporarily) to take the recycling out though. It's a little too chilly to run out there in pajamas.

Dan & I went to my brother's place on Friday in Nanoose Bay (just south of Parksville on Vancouver Island). Greg won a drop-in session at the climbing wall in Nanaimo, so we did some climbing on Saturday. Arms were a bit sore yesterday...

Pool

Ahhhh, just woke up from my nap! Not sure if the chlorine in the pool makes me tired or if it's maneuvering around all the people who lack a bit of pool etiquette... I was swimming in a lake all summer, so I'm not used to the pool. There were four lanes when I arrived - one for slow swimmers, one for fast swimmers and two for medium swimmers. As I observed the different speeds of the swimmers in each lane, I didn't see much difference. Although, the fast lane was definitely fast. I decided to go in the medium lane next to the fast lane - it looked the least slow of the three remaining lanes. It wasn't bad. There weren't that many people, so there was enough space to swim around anyone whose idea of "medium" speed wasn't much different from "slow". At 9:00, they collapsed all 4 lanes into 1 and used the pool for two aerobics classes. At this point, quite a few people either left or went into the classes. There were still a few of us swimming laps in what was now labelled a "medium" lane. Then there were the men who must've had wives in the classes. A group of them stood at the end of the lane chatting for a while. Made it a bit tough at the turn around. They eventually left for the whirl pool.

I decided it would be smart to leave before the classes ended. I headed for the showers - there are four in a row in the women's change room. There were two women there already, one at each end, so I took one of the middle showers. These are open, not in individual stalls. It turns out the two women know each other and now have to chat around me. Not a big deal. Oh, but they are also sharing shampoo and stuff. So now they have to constantly walk around me to pass each other items. Why they weren't in adjacent showers, I have no idea...

I got out of there fast and got dressed. Time to dry my hair with those hand dryers on the wall. They have some installed higher on the wall just for that. Very handy. However, it seems that they are to be used to keep you warm while you towel off and get dressed, not for your hair. I was standing there with wet hair and my hairbrush looking for a free dryer. The one by the sinks (that is at hand level) was free. I attempted to bend down to dry my hair under that for a while until a taller machine was freed up.

I'm hoping I'll eventually learn the system so I too can follow proper pool etiquette.

We forgot the marshmallows!!

We burned two great big piles of brush at the cabin this weekend. The perfect fire and we didn't have any marshmallows to toast!

Actually, it was too hot to get any where close to the fire. I'm sure we could've toasted the marshmallows from 10 feet away.

Right before we left on Monday, the wind picked up and blew down a birch tree across the driveway. We got a bit spooked and took off as fast as we could. The other birches and the cottonwoods were swaying a bit too much for our comfort. Luckily, the driveway loops, so we were able to get out without having to clear a path. We'll deal with those branches on our next visit. Unless Bogey drags them all off for us.

Happy Halloween!

Joe would like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween filled with lots of treats! For those of you who don't know Joe, we met in Las Vegas in 2004. He joins me on adventures (running, biking, hiking, etc). I've got quite a few pictures of him up at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14339&l=fab30&id=599796113. I think you can see these without having a Facebook profile.

It's sunny!!!

Wow! What a difference the sun makes! I went for a walk this morning, vacuumed, did the laundry (and hung it on the balcony to dry!), flipped the mattress around, opened all the windows to get some fresh air, cleaned the cedar bits off the balcony... However, it's stopping there - I'm not doing the windows, floors, or bathroom! (Oh, I suppose I will clean the litter box too. And then I'll stop.) Amazing how the weather affects our mood. I spent most of the rainy days in front of the computer doing nothing. What a waste of time... It would sure be nice if this weather stuck around for a while.

Just a short post today - time to go play outside!

Crazy week of running

What a week! It started with the Victoria Half Marathon (21.1km) on Sunday, followed by the Turkey Trot (10km) on Monday. My quads were screaming at me to be sensible and sit down for a while. But, how can I miss out on things? I had to go to the Wednesday night workout. (A killer 30+ minutes of speed work on the track plus the warm-up and cool-down.) Somehow, I made it through the hour and actually felt good! I think my legs just gave up and went with the flow. They stopped harping at me once they realized I was going to put some effort into the workout instead of taking it easy around the track. Friday was a nice easy hour of run/walk. I thought Saturday was going to be a fairly relaxing day doing the Navigate the Streets event - an urban race where you have to figure out 10 clues and find the checkpoints. Once you get to the checkpoint, you take a picture of the team (me & Kathy - Runners without a Clue) and the checkpoint to prove that you were there. There was way more running involved than I thought! We probably covered 10-12km on foot, the rest on transit. It was tons of fun though and we're looking forward to next year! The week was finished with a run to Science World yesterday (16.5km). I think it's time for a break from running. Tonight we're going skating!

Holey pipes!

So much for my plumbing abilities... Replacing the taps in the bathroom sink was pretty easy. So was replacing the drain once Dan loosened the drain pipe and took it off. Putting that piece back on again is a bit of a problem though... I guess the pipe below the sink is rather old. (I've never touched the pipe there in the 10.5 years I've lived here and I doubt if any other owners did any plumbing work either, so it's been undisturbed for a long time.) All of our playing around has rubbed off some of the rust and corrosion that has built up. We ended up rubbing a hole right through the pipe from the wall. So, now I need a real plumber to come over and put a new pipe (or piece of a pipe) going into the wall.

Anyone know any good plumbers around Burnaby...

The balcony is done!!!

In between the rainy days, I've managed to get a second coat of stain on the deck! I've got all the boards back in place, the mess cleaned up, and all the outdoor stuff out of the living room and back where it belongs.

For 2-3 weeks, we lived with a kayak, deck chairs and a bunch of other stuff from the balcony in our living room.

It didn't all fit in the living room though - some of it had to stay out on the balcony. As you can see, the other kayak had to be propped in a corner to keep it out of the way. There is also the storage box that wouldn't fit in the living room. Every time I wanted to move a section of boards, I had to do a little shuffle with the boards and the box.

We have three sections of deck boards that needed cleaning and staining. You can see two of them here. I scrubbed top and bottom and stained both sides. (The bottom only got one coat of stain. We thought it would help them last longer, but I wasn't going to do more than one coat.)

We were lucky and had enough dry days to get one coat of stain on everything. (Including me...) We weren't so lucky with the second coat. I had to wait for the boards to dry out a bit between rain showers before they could be stained again. As well, I had to guess when there would be at least 24 hours of dry weather after staining so there would be enough time to dry before the next rain shower came. I didn't always guess correctly. Once section of boards was rained on within half a day. Dan was able to prop that section up against the building so the stained side was protected from the rain.

It all worked out in the end. Everything is back in place! No more kayaks in front of the couch, plant pots on the coffee table, drop sheets on the balcony... Betty the Cat is free to go outside again - no worries about bleach or wet stain getting on her paws now.

Next project... Replacing the taps in the bathroom sink...

Slimy Green Stuff

Wow! We're half-way through September already!! It's been another busy couple of weeks. September started with a sprint distance triathlon (Vancouver Triathlon) with two friends - Kelly & Suzanne.

Swim: 750m Bike: 18.8km Run: 5km

We had great weather for it (except for the short downpour just as I was going out on my bike...). The sprint is a perfect distance - not too hard, but long enough that you can challenge yourself. The day of the triathlon was also Suzanne's birthday (Happy Birthday!). What a great way to celebrate!

The following weekend was the Coho Run - a scenic 13km run (usually 14km, but the route was changed due to the damage in Stanley Park) from Kits to Ambleside. Pretty much all of it is along the water or through the park.

This week has been devoted to cleaning and staining the deck boards on the balcony. What a mess! The boards have never been cleaned in the whole time I've owned this place (10 years) and they had a thick coating of slimy green stuff. I was using water & bleach to clean them. (Yes, I was using bleach... Bad! Bad! Bad!) The Cat came out to see what I was up to and sat in a puddle of bleach water. I was a bit worried that she'd end up with a blonde butt, but she seems to have avoided any embarrassing fur catastrophes. The boards are now stained (and so am I - the red-brown colour goes nicely with my hair...). I'm hoping the rain holds off long enough to get another coat of stain on them...

Canning

Ironman was AMAZING!!! So inspirational to watch all those people! (Not inspirational enough for me to sign up for 2008 though...)

I made the "mistake" of buying some peaches, apricots and tomatoes on our way home. I've just spent 4 days trying to can, make jam, and freeze everything. Alot of work... I hope it all tastes good when we eat it in the middle of winter. I have finally got it all cleaned up. Now I'm making a peach/pepper relish for our family get-together tomorrow. I've never made it before, so I hope it turns out okay... My aunt (my Mom's only sister) has invited all of us to their place on Thetis Island. Even with all of their family and all of our family, I think it'll be less than 20 people. That's a nice number - makes it easy to visit and catch up.

The slow lane

I'm finally losing the rush-rush-rush mentality of working life! I had so much going on in July, I didn't feel like I was taking a break at all. Things have slowed down in the last couple of weeks. Now I have days where I get up, take my book to the balcony, and only move in order to stay aligned with the sun (or shade - depends on how I feel). Sometimes there's a mad rush at the end of the day to get the dishes done, laundry washed, or some dinner made so Dan doesn't think I've been sitting on my butt all day... :)

We are heading to Penticton this weekend. We're going to be watching our friend Rainy participate in Ironman for the 9th time! Amazing person!! I watched the event 2 or 3 years ago. It is incredible what people will put their bodies through! I am in total awe of all the athletes who participate. The most inspiring part of Ironman is watching the regular people cross the finish line - the people with families and full-time jobs; people who don't have coaches, nutritionists, or physiotherapists following them around 24 hours a day; people who have more than 2% body fat and don't own the most technically advanced laces for their running shoes or the latest high-tech swim goggles. These people know they won't be winning the prize money, but they have something inside that is highly motivating for them. When you see what they put themselves through, you know there's definitely something else that keeps them moving their bodies forward no matter what.

Then there is the cutoff time... It is heart-breaking to watch someone who has put 110% of themselves into the event for 17 hours (not to mention a year or so of training) come in after the 12am cutoff. There is no finisher's medal or t-shirt if you cross the line 5, 10, 30 minutes past midnight. You are recorded as "DNF" - did not finish. I can't watch at that point. I have to leave at midnight.

Scuba gear

I'm selling all of my scuba gear. If you know anyone who's interested in all or some of the following, let me know. There is less than 20 dives on all of the gear and the regulator and BCD have been recently serviced.

• White's Nexus shell dry suit (valve on forearm) (med) with bag
• Evolution boots (size 7)
• Whites pro 1 piece fleece underwear (med)
• Aqualung wrist compass
• Seaquest Balance BCD (med)
• Apeks ATX 40 regulator with Mares Axis octopus & SPG
• Apeks Quantum wrist computer
• 34lbs weights
• Aqualung Redline 1600 gear bag
• Save a dive kit, slates, flashlights, books, etc.

Time flies

Phew. I can't believe it's been 10 days since I last posted something here. Time is just flying by. I was talking to a running friend this week - she's a teacher and will be back at work soon. It seems like the kids just got out of school and now they're already going back. I'm so glad I took a year off! Imagine if I had only taken the summer off - I would not be a happy camper right now knowing I had less than 3 weeks of freedom left! Speaking of time flying... I noticed that Costco is putting out their Christmas stuff already! That's pushing it a wee bit.

I've started reading through the Harry Potter series - I'm on the 4th book now. I've spend most of this week reading. We rode over to the Island again last weekend. Dan, my brother, his partner and I participated in the Bike For Your Life event in Parksville. Greg, Laura and I did the 70km route, Dan went for 120km. Greg was very kind and gave us a ride to the ferry afterwards (otherwise, it would've been an extra 30km...). This weekend, we'll be at the cabin in Birken. On Sunday, there is a Slow Food Cycle Sunday event in Pemberton. It's a nice easy bike ride through the Pemberton area to checkout the local farmers, buy produce right from the farm, and a chance to learn about where our food comes from. The authors of the 100 Mile Diet book will be giving a talk before the event! I just read it, so I'm looking forward to the presentation.

Next weekend is Dan's birthday! We'll be spending it in Penticton watching Ironman and supporting my friend as she completes her 9th Ironman!!

Near deer experiences on a bike

It's not the cars that cyclists need to worry about in Comox, it's the deer! I had one almost jump on me because I startled him. (Not as much as he startled me!) And another one ran out in front of my bike (glad my brakes work...) and hit the side of a car. He tumbled a bit, but got up and ran back into the bushes. I quit watching the traffic so much and started checking the bushes as I rode along after that!

Last Tuesday I rode from my place (north-east Burnaby) to Horseshoe Bay and then from Nanaimo to my brother's place in Nanoose. It was a pretty good ride, but riding through North and West Van at lunch time is quite an experience. Lots of traffic out there! Wednesday I rode from Nanoose to Courtenay. I took the old Island Highway - what a beautiful ride! I hung out with my sister in Courtenay, visited some friends, and went to my 20 year high school reunion. I really wasn't sure about this, but I ended up having a great time. It's amazing how things change but stay the same...

Dan rode up on Saturday to join me in Courtenay. My aunt and uncle and a cousin were also in town, so we had a visit. It's always fun to see family! I don't get to see them enough.

The big attraction for everyone this weekend was the Filberg Festival. Dan and I spent some time checking out the vendors and listening to music. The highlight was getting second row seats for Bruce Cockburn on Monday! Dan & I had to catch a ferry right afterwards, so we hopped on our bikes and peddled towards Nanaimo. My brother and his partner met us half way and rode with us back to Nanoose. Greg offered us a ride to the ferry from his place which we gladly accepted!! After riding more than 350km this week, my butt was happy to sit in a car!

Water therapy

Another beautiful day to swim at the lake! Suzanne and I had Sasamat all to ourselves! We went across the lake and back - about a kilometre. A very relaxing way to start the day. Especially when it's followed up by coffee and tea at Tim H's...

Dan & I went to the Hope Music Fest this weekend. Saw a great variety of local bands - Incognito, Valdy, Doucette, Prism. This is our third year - it's always a great weekend.

I'm off to the Island tomorrow. I'm going to ride my bike to Nanoose and spend the night at my brother's place. Then it's up to Courtenay to see my sister. I've never done a long ride by myself, so it'll be a new adventure for me!

Lakewater Level 1 certified!

Dan & I finished our canoe course last week. We are now officially Lakewater Level 1 certified! (We even have nice certificates to prove it!) We are able to paddle a canoe around on flatwater and actually make it go where we want it to go. The course covered tandem strokes, canoe safety theory and the essentials of controlling your canoe with confidence. And we didn't fall into False Creek!! That is a very good thing. Have you ever seen the water there?? ICK!

On the last day, the instructor wanted to demonstrate a canoe over canoe rescue just so we knew what it was. (He didn't actually teach it, that's level 2.) Dan & I were the demonstrators. We stayed in our canoe and Dan held it steady with his paddle. I was the lucky one who got to reach into the water (past my elbows), grab the upside down canoe, and pull it onto ours. I didn't mind the task itself, but putting my arms in the water.... Scary....!!! I seem to have survived and the funny colour has finally washed off my arms.

Here is a picture of us canoeing on Murtle Lake June 2006. We're in the yellow canoe.

Whistle while you work...

It turns out that cleaning can be fun! Okay, I know it's weird... I was cleaning the house yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. It was a beautiful day, hot & sunny, and I was inside scrubbing the bathroom and vacuuming. But, I wasn't doing any of my usual grumbling about wasting my Sunday afternoon. Instead, I was enjoying what I was doing because I knew that I'd have lots of time today to play! I went out and played this morning. Rainy, Suzanne & I went swimming at Sasamat Lake! Joe was our support in the kayak. It was beautiful!!! Water was warm, lake was calm... It was so peaceful. I'm looking forward to many more mornings out there.

First official day off!

Phew... It's tough being off work!! My plan was to do absolutely nothing this first week. That's not quite how it's turning out...

We had a great weekend in Birken - had a couple of bike rides, cut lots of wood for the fire, cleaned the house and yard. Betty the Cat enjoyed chasing mice and even took a few steps outside. She's an indoor city cat, so I wasn't sure what she'd think of life in the country. I'm sure she'd take to it quite nicely if given the chance. The best part about the weekend was that I didn't have that nagging thought about having to go back to work!!

Today is my first official day off work for the next year! I woke up for a while when Dan left for work this morning. I read my book for a bit and then decided to sleep a bit more. After a couple more hours of sleep, I read some more... I decided to get up around 11:30. Yep, it's tough! However, I've been doing laundry all afternoon. So much for doing absolutely nothing. Maybe tomorrow...

The First Weekend

It's Friday night - my first evening after finishing work for a year. The idea to blog came from a friend at work who wants to know about all the things I'm going to be doing in the coming year, even if it's just a note saying I stayed in my jammies and did nothing all day.

In response to the three most common questions I've had when people hear about what I'm doing...

• No, I am not independently wealthy, nor did I win the lottery. I will have to pay attention to what I spend and will most likely take on a part-time job or two.


• No, I am not travelling for a year. I will be going to Vancouver Island. That is the only definite travel plans I have at this time. Oh, and I will be going to Birken. There may be other trips - they just aren't planned yet.


• I will be doing whatever it is I feel like doing! Running, biking, swimming, reading, cross-country skiing, drinking coffee, baking, visiting friends, fixing things around the house, taking courses, making jam, organizing my pictures, cleaning the closet, sleeping, hanging out with The Cat, etc...

Any way, it's the Canada Day long weekend and we're going up to Birken tomorrow morning. We're not quite packed yet, so I'd better go. G'Night...