Snow is Canadian

It snowed today in Victoria. Wet snow that formed a pretty coating on the leaves, still holding on to some of the trees and bushes.  But it didn’t stick to the roads.

In anticipation of the weather the college had sent out numerous e-mails about snow protocol. Had I not been aware I might have trekked to work to find no one home!

But it didn’t snow much. I was at the University of Victoria and heard a couple of students gleefully state that this was only the second time they’d seen the stuff. One wondered if snowflakes looked the same everywhere. 

As I drove home I saw a mother standing beside some preschoolers madly trying to create something with the sticky but quickly melting stuff. Kids here don’t get much chance to play in it. One of my colleagues, who grew up in eastern Canada, laments that her kids have no idea how to make a snowman!

Victoria is a nice place for older folks but kids growing up here are missing out on an essential part of being Canadian – a good snowball fight! 

Edmonton Nov. 17

Karen

Karen and Andrea, July 2013

Twenty five years ago I met a woman named Karen Harries at our local Safeway store (which is long gone).  In fact, I  remember we met in the produce section.  With her was her 2 year old daughter, Stephanie. I had Andrea with me, who was the same age.  She told me she had put Stephanie's name on the wait list for the neighbourhood playschool and I should do the same. I had never thought about playschool but now I was considering it.
That was Karen.

And so began a lifelong friendship, not only between Karen, her husband Bruce and I but between her daughter Stephanie and my daughter Andrea and later her son Lucas and my daughter Stefanie.

The Harries lived a few doors down the street from us. Our children played together, walked to school together, went halloweening together, had a lemonade stand... We both had a nanny and our kids hung out at each other's houses after school. And Lucas ate all our cheese!

Andrea and Stephanie were best friends. They went to the same schools, played on the same soccer teams, walked their dogs together, refereed together, hung out at each other's houses. Our family visited the Harries at their ranch in Naramata, BC.

When she was in elementary school, Karen introduced Andrea to her passion, horses, and frequently took the girls riding at the stable.
That was Karen.

Karen was a leader.  She was the President of the Greenfield Community League, the Greenfield School Parent Advisory Committee and taught Sunday School at St. Paul's church when our kids were young.
That was Karen.

I don't know how she did it all, being a teacher is enough and she did more than just teach. She took school kids riding and she participated in drama and other extracurricular activities.  Many times I witnessed her telling a student to be respectful.  She kept her students, and everyone for that matter in line.
That was Karen.

Some people are just neighbours but Karen made sure we became and stayed friends. When our family was in crisis many years ago she insisted we stay in their home.
That was Karen.

And boy could she talk. She packed a lot into her life but she always had time to talk on the phone or at the door, when picking up the kids. I can still hear Karen's incredulous 'what?' in many of our long conversations.
That was Karen.


Years ago I had been hiking in the mountains and mice had nested in my car while it sat in the parking lot. We cleaned out the car but a smell persisted.  Karen and I went for coffee a couple of days later and I put on the air conditioner.  The smell was putrid. Karen was determined to find the source of it smell.  She dug in the glove compartment and under the dash.
That was Karen.

Andrea became a french teacher and Karen mentored her as she did other students and young french teachers. She had them over to her house or went out for coffee with them.
That was Karen. 

Whenever there was an event in our lives, a party or birthday and she and Bruce were invited they always came, no matter how busy their lives were.
That was Karen (and Bruce).

She got her Master's degree a few years ago, something she had wanted to do for a long time. She was intelligent and blessed with common sense.
That was Karen.

Tragically, Karen succumbed to injuries from a horse back riding accident and passed away November 7, 2013.


My dear friend Karen was smart and beautiful and really cared about people. I miss her terribly.

Fog!

Living on the coast presents new kinds of weather systems I never experienced in Australia, despite my proximity to the ocean. 
One issue is temperature. For those of you who know me well, I tune into the Weather Network every evening to find out how I should dress for work the next day. It's about the only TV show, besides Modern Family (which now that I think about it will be the theme of an upcoming blog) I watch. So, in July I dressed as per the given temperature but I was usually overdressed. That's because the temperature near the water is always cooler than the temperature inland where I live and work.
So, just like the temperature difference so is the air different by the water.  It was a clear sky and sunny at home and work (15 minutes apart) the last two weeks of October but about 8 degrees cooler with dense fog by the water.
This is all fine until you need to travel off the island.
The ferries are seldom affected by fog. They sail but blow their horns every 5 minutes or so. Just ask my mother who lives on a small southern gulf island.
But trying to fly can be nearly impossible as Keith found out.  It's hard enough we live apart but when he arrived at the Vancouver airport three weeks ago he was told no flights were flying into Victoria, the airport was closed due to fog. Frustrated his only option was the ferry. He finally arrived, albeit 5 hours late.

Vancouver International Airport

We went for a hike up Mt. Douglas and guess what we saw? Nothing... but fog!
The following week Iwent to Vancouver on business but the Vancouver airport was closed. So I took the Helijet, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that usually flies out of the harbour but due to the fog flew out of Victoria International Airport.

The San Juan Islands

Over the Strait of Georgia

Vancouver

Despite the fog being a nuisance it was spectacular to see from the air, truly like a downy blanket. Islands popped out of it. As it got dark, the lights on the islands underneath shone a luminous glow through it. As we approached Vancouver the Lions Gate Bridge was peeking out of it.

About to leave clear Vancouver Harbour but arrived in fog in Victoria

Inconvenient yes but eerily beautiful!

Earthquake!

Well not yet or at least not a major one. 
Apparently every day there are micro quakes registered on the island and a fault line was recently discovered under downtown Victoria. Nevertheless one has to be prepared for the big one so... 
On Thursday, October 17 we were part of 'Shake Out BC'.  For those of you who, like me, have never experienced an earthquake preparation drill it's is much like a fire drill.

Here's what you do:

At the sound of the air horn, at 10:17am:

•Drop, Cover and Hold On

Me under my desk

 

•Remain in your safe position for approx. 1 minute

•After you hear a long blast of horns, emerge from your safe position

Leaving our office

•Evacuate your building to the assigned Emergency Assembly Point (EAP).

 

 

 

The mustering station

 No it wasn't ground shaking (haha!) but a good test and way to get some fresh fall air. Now I am dealing with the fog... next blog.

 

Women of Rock

I'm settling in to work and life in Victoria. But across Canada the weather is getting cooler and the leaves are falling so I hope you won't mind me harkening back to the warm, lazy days of summer.
It just so happened that the group of women who I've hiked with for 8 years planned a trip in Glacier National Park, just off the Trans Canada Highway near Revelstoke, at the time I would be driving to Victoria following my daughter's wedding.

Vistas galore

For some of the long time members of the group the trip was a return to a place they had lots of stories about, mostly mice tales (pardon the pun). Fortunately, we made new stories that didn't include any four legged creatures despite a mother grizzly and her two cubs lurking about the cabin.

The WOR

We all congregated at the A.O. Wheeler Hut. Like most Alpine Club of Canada huts it was named after a former member, who lived around the turn of the 20th century. The hut was that old, rustic with charming ambiance. This year there were twenty something of us from all over Alberta.

Forget put on your big girl panties. Put on your high heels and climb that mountain!

Glaciers in every direction

Lunch, blister tending and rest

It was a few days of laughs, wine and catching up with old friends and meeting new ones along with the requisite blisters, sore muscles and sunburn.
It was over too fast as we all departed for the trip home, and me to my new home.
I hope to trek with these women again next year.

Finally!

Thanks for the concerned e-mails from those of you who read my last blog and were worried about me. The root of my negativity was my accomodation not the job or Victoria. I'm really enjoying my position and the people I work with and my new city. I was just tired of moving around and not having somewhere to call home. In two months I had lived in 4 places, not including hotels and a hut (while I was hiking). I was also missing my husband and family in Edmonton.
But now we have finally moved into our home. Keith just left after 5 days of unpacking and organizing furniture and boxes. The truck arrived with our stuff from Edmonton on Friday. Going from 2400 to just over 800 square feet meant that not all of our furniture fit, much of it is in storage, but the essentials are here.

Overwhelmed by paper

Boxes, boxes and more boxes

We're renting a main floor apartment condo for the year while we suss out Victoria and Keith looks for a job.  Having a nice space with our own things and personal touches makes a world of difference. 
I'm finally starting to feel relaxed. 

Exhaustion

I am tired. Very tired. 

In five months I got married - as did my brother Michael and daughter Andrea - three weddings, two of which I was intimately involved in the planning.

I accepted a position in not just another town but another province, albeit the one next to Alberta, but in a huge country like Canada it might as well be another country. And, as you know if you have been reading my blog I sold my home of 27 years and in the process my daughter Stefanie moved out and got her own place. This was a huge change for her and I felt it.  I rented a condo in Victoria that I will move into at the end of August but for now I am staying at a friend’s condo as they are away, my third new ‘home’ in two months. I am living out of a suitcase, well actually several suitcases, and feel like a vagabond.  And my husband is still in Edmonton!

After two years of pretty much being on my own schedule I am at a job by 8 am every morning and there until the work is done for the day, meeting new challenges and new people several times a day. 

In the process I am discovering a new city, the streets, the shopping, the amenities. Today I found a walking path around the circumference of a public golf course. As the saying goes, I killed 2 birds with one stone.

There are moments when I ask myself why? Why am I living in a strange place? Change is difficult, it takes an enormous amount of energy.  I don’t always feel well, maybe the lower elevation or just adapting to the new environment. Despite my positive outlook people are not always welcoming. Work has its problems.  The sun does not always shine.

But I’ve made it this far.  I drove back to Victoria from Edmonton and was welcomed by my Aunt Jude and Uncle Jack along the way, they live in Chilliwack. 

 

Me, Aunt Jude and Uncle Jack enjoying a salmon dinner

Then my cousin Angela and her family who live in Langford, a suburb of Victoria, had me over for dinner on Wednesday with my visiting sister and her two boys. 

 

From left Luc, Nic, Chris, Graham, Jennifer, Angela, me and Matt enjoying another salmon dinner

My Mum is coming over tonight.   

 

My Mum

After 30 years of not having family, other than my children nearby, I now have family very close. 

Life right now has its ups and downs. But despite the stress of everything new, so far I am moving forward, day by day... and hopefully yawning less. 

An amazing day

If you’ve been following my blog you know that my daughter Andrea got engaged at Uluru in Australia last year while she and her now husband Jason, and my now husband Keith, were visiting me.  

Getting dressed

Andrea and Jason decided to get married in 2013. They chose a venue that autumn which instigated 9 months of wedding planning. All the work and arrangements culminated August 3 with a beautiful day for everyone involved. In a summer of weird weather even Mother Nature obliged.  

Andrea and Jason wanted a personalized marriage ceremony with someone they knew guiding the ritual so my Mother, a retired Anglican priest, presided.   My daughter Stefanie was the Maid of Honour and their attendants were close friends who they had known since childhood.

My Mum before the ceremony

The ceremony and reception all happened at Murrieta’s, a classy restaurant on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton near where they met at high school. It was a small and intimate affair attended mostly by family and close friends. 

Gorgeous bride and attendants

Getting ready to remove the garter

Cutting the cake

Me and my siblings

By all accounts it was a success. Everyone complimented us on the occasion. The party went on until the wee hours of the morning. When the restaurant closed at 2:30 am the bride, groom, Maid of Honour, her boyfriend, and my husband and I walked a couple of blocks to our hotel, past wolf whistles and cheers from the kids spilling out of the bars.

On the dance floor

My expectations were exceeded.  Everything fell into place and everyone seemed to have a good time.

It was a good finale to a long but magical day!