Bad Blogger!

Not great at keeping up to date these days. Still haven't found my cord to transfer all my great pix onto my computer so that takes some of the fun out of it for me. Busy busy time tho'. Lots going on - including bringing our boat over to the coast yesterday. The plan was to take it all the way to Port Staleshen (towards Sechelt) but after 4 1/2 hours of motoring against the wind and some big rolling waves, we pulled into the Gibsons Marina - if only they'd let us stay:) It wasn't a bad day - lots of beautiful scenery along the way, but not quite as mild as we'd been assured by the marine forecast. We're going to try again in the morning to get her to her destination. I'll post a couple pix from G's blackberry (a bit grainy but better than nothing?) Also, we bought these chairs for our fireplace room last weekend which I think are quite lovely and different. I LOVE different! Hope you're all well...

Serendipity!

You know how, in life, when you're on the right track, things just flow? It seems moving to Gibsons is one of those things. Things have been just falling into place quite naturally and sometimes quite surprisingly. For example...We had learned that there would be quite a long wait to get our sailboat over here as all of the marinas are full up and there are wait lists. We had decided that we were going to bring our boat over to Secret Cove (the only place that had a spot available. very pretty BUT is over 40 minutes drive away) and wait there to get in closer to town. Last weekend we went to Gibsons Marina to see if they would even take our name on the waitlist (they'd refused before Christmas) and they did but assured us that we would not get in this year. The next day, the woman that I'd spoken to called to say a spot had just come available at another marina - only 10 minutes away from our house! We can move over as early as March 1st! Now we just have to wait for a calm day. Only one example - but one that increases our quality of life in a huge way! Yay:) Happy Friday to you!

Boot Camp kicked my butt!!!

What a perfect day to start boot camp. It was actually hot out there! Very fun tho'. So good to feel those muscles that have been on a bit of a summer vacation. I'll be going 3 mornings a week for 10 weeks so should see and feel some pretty positive results.
Fantastic weekend spent with friends/family. George and Barbie's birthday was on Friday so us two couples (including Superman) went out to Grub for some delicious food, drink and other shenanigans! The apres dinner prosecco meant a bit of a headache Saturday morning but...yumm!!!
Saturday night we went to celebrate another Virgo birthday. Our hostess with the mostess friend Kathleen prepared a fabulous Italian themed dinner and the loverly Dre did some very creative decorating. Who knew you could create a seaside escape with some blue outdoor lights, a trampoline and a chandelier? I'll have to get a copy of some of the pix. I'd never tried Osso Buco before but I certainly will again. Amazing!!! Creamy risotto, tomato and bocconcini salad - all so delicious! I paced myself this time with the drinking so no hangover the next day:) Besides, I was much too busy singing my heart out to some pretty crazy oldies. There was one couple at the dinner party who were kinda newbies (K's friend from the past) and I think they were a little overwhelmed by G's performance of Delilah (complete with props!) - as well as some other really crazy loud singing and dancing. Sooo much fun - my cheeks were sore from laughing so hard! Sunday brought more hot sunshine, some mellow reading on the back deck and then a trip out to the boat to give it a good scrub and then enjoy the waterfront views/reading/chatting/napping.
I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life, a home that I enjoy, a sailboat that I never dreamed I would own and the presence of mind to appreciate it all - every day! Thanks to all of you who are on this journey with me!

My life these days...

Well...I'm exhausted! But if you think I'm complaining, you've got another think coming:) My days have been filled with
swimming at Kits pool in the mornings,

swimming at the lake with good friends,

sailing with my family
and hanging out with my 11 year old (soon to be 12!) nephew (I have been able to keep up at work as well but it's great to have flexible work hours).
It's been a fantastic summer so far - I know I'm spoiled - but also know that I'm enjoying every moment and appreciating all the gifts that life is bringing to me! How's your summer going?

Updates - finally!

Wow! It's been an incredible several days. I'll try to make it interesting...

Saturday

George and I golfed in a tournament with some friends in Tsawwassen. It was intensely HOT but there was plenty of cold beer and adequate golfing (by me). I ended up with a 110 on a 69 par course. I know that doesn't sound great but for me...it rocked!

Sunday

BeautiControl Spa Party - which means six lovely ladies in my living room eating juicy cherries, grapes, strawberry shortcake and chocolate brownies while having mini-facials, manicures and foot moisturizers. I ended up signing up to be a distributor so stay tuned for more info on this really great product.

Monday

George had to work in the morning so I went for a swim at Kits Pool and then we ended up going out to the boat in the early afternoon for a sail. We managed to hide behind the sail for the first bit as the sun was pretty brutal but once again, the beer was cold (don't worry - we're very responsible sailors).

Check out my new beer holder!!! That cruise ship was pretty far away but still freaky - they're so HUGE (& we're so not)!

Tuesday - CANADA DAY!

We had our annual neighbourhood block party. It was pretty fun! We have a very multi-cultural street so there's always lots of great food. We had also applied for and received a community grant (they're very easy to get so I highly recommend you trying this in your area) and this year's community project was these pretty birdhouses. Everyone had a go at building and painting them and now they're adorning all of the trees on our block. I hope the birds enjoy them! The evening ended with a firepit in the street (we'd closed it off to traffic) and a good old-fashioned singalong.

Wednesday
True Colors Concert at Deer Lake Park
This - for me- was amazing!!!! I think I'll fill you in on the deets tomorrow. I saw Rosie O'Donnell!!!!!!!!! Pix to come...

Monday, Monday...

I went for my first swim of the year at Kits pool this morning - what a fabulous way to kick-start the week. It took me a good 10 minutes to convince myself to jump in and when I finally did, the water was perfect. Not cold at all as I was expecting. As I say every year, if you haven't been, you must go. It's so beautiful and really - the best Vancouver has to offer - with the ocean and mountain views... The only thing I'd ask is, "hello mr. handsome lifeguard - please don't be all friendly and chatty with me as I'm clumsily swimming past you and trying to clean off my foggy goggles!" I never said I was the most coordinated girl in the pool:)
We had a fantastic weekend on and around the boat. Saturday we just hung out there and fixed up a few things. It had been a few weeks since we'd been out and we wanted to get it into shipshape (I can use that expression for real now!) before my nephew and sister-in-law came on with us yesterday. They were our first official guests on the boat (meaning we actually left the dock) and it all went very well. My nephew Ryan is pretty fearless so the only challenge was to keep him out of the water. Everyone had a job to do (our boat is too small to just have people lounging around watching the scenery) which worked out great. We had to be very careful of the tides as we can't get back into our slip at a very low tide so all was timed out perfectly. We ended up being out on the water from 10am-1pm. Sue and Ryan left promptly after docking so George and I did our clean-up which takes about 45 minutes and then enjoyed the rest of the aft. just relaxing/snoozing/snacking/snooping at other boaters...

My captain!

We didn't get home until after 6 - just in time for George to bbq up some delicious buffalo burgers! Yum.

Monday, Monday...

Well...another successful sailing adventure under our belts! Saturday was such a beautiful day and we were out on the water for about 3 1/2 hours-feeling a little more comfortable with the tacking and jibing. No ferry incidents, a good amount of wind but not too scary and some cold pacifico (check out this pacifico ad campaign - so cool!) at the end of the day while cleaning off the boat. Had to rush home to attend our neighbours dinner party. The drive back home seems to be hit and miss traffic wise. Our neighbours - two doors down - invited us and a few other neighbours for an Armenian feast! Shish kakobs, tabouleh, rice pilaf with mushrooms, peas and chicken, salads and a semolina pudding dessert! Way too much food but oh so delicious. The homemade merlot was also outstanding. The only problem was that we were sitting outside and I was fr*@kin freezing!!! Had a nice warm bath before bed and all was well:) Yesterday was a mellow day. We have a new staff starting at the store so I went in for a few hours and then did very little else:) Clean sheets tho' which is always a perfect Sunday bonus.
The countdown is now on for Paris so I'm packing and re-packing. The challenge? Look pretty and stylish while trying to be practical at the same time. (we will be doing a LOT of walking!)
I bought a great pair of Skechers which are a bit prettier than running shoes and are oh-so-comfy (and are my favourite colour to boot)!
Watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding last night. I forgot what a cute movie that is. Made me laugh , made me cry.
Happy beginning of the week to you...

We Did It!!! The Holly Mist Inaugural Sail!

WOW! It's taken me two days to even begin to formulate the exultation of our first ever sail on our 27ft Sloop, the 'Holly Mist'. We headed out on Friday night and had our first sleep on the boat at Thunderbird Marina. It took awhile to figure out how to get comfie in this new space (there are a few options) but eventually had a pretty good night's sleep. First thing in the morning, after a quick coffee and a chocolate chip cookie (or two:), we checked over the boat to see that all was where it needed to be, and crept slowly and quietly out of the sleepy harbour around 8:30am.

Less than 15 minutes out of the harbour, we put up the sails and were literally swept away by some pretty big winds! We were cruising at 7 1/2 knots with the genoa full and feeling a bit out of control. (We'd never gone faster than 5 knots in our training last year) The side windows were getting splashed and the sails were wet! Nothing like trial by fire:) Finally I called to George that maybe we should try to slow it down a bit so we let the sails out to a broad reach (lessening the winds' pull on the boat) and got a little more control. What an adrenaline rush! It was such a beautiful day. Once we'd slowed it down a bit, we just practiced tacking and gybeing for about an hour and then eventually the wind died down altogether. We had to start the motor up once to get out of the way of the Horseshoe Bay/Nanaimo ferry (phew - so glad that worked!) and had some cold beers and munchies and watched the fish jump while trying to make our way around Passage Island with very little wind.
About 3/4 of the way around the island, George finally gave in and started the motor, as we really weren't making any progress, and headed back into the marina. What a pleasant surprise when two seals met us at the entrance to our dock and guided us in, looking back to see if we were following, right into our berth!!! Magical:) We were pretty exhilarated and glad to have that first sail under our belt.