Dream Flight.

We discovered when we were planning our trip that

our credit card gives us free entrance and free meals

at the Westjet and the Air Canada lounges. So once

we were checked in for the trip, we totally indulged!

This was such a bonus as I was personally so very

anxious about getting on a plane to fly over the sea.

Partly because of 9/11, but mostly because of my

vast and dangerous food allergies, making travel hard.

With extra epiPens and a bag full of Reactine, we set

off and found the lounge to be quite the experience.

There was a number of food items to choose from and

as we didn't know what the onboard food would be,

it was lovely to enjoy 2 bowls of warm chicken noodle

soup, fresh bread, fruit, veggies, spring rolls, cookies,

and ginger ale. Dh had some items I couldn't eat too.

There was several hours to kill and this worked well.

The lounge was comfortable, with big windows to see

planes arrive and take off, and soft jazzy music in the

background. We talked, took photos, relaxed and by

the time we were ready to board, the anxiety was gone.

The YEG sign at the airport. One thing we laughed

about was having to walk out to he the "prop" plane

for the 1st leg of our trip. It was just dropping us off

in Calgary for our connecting flight but it still felt funny

to be on such a big trip yet we had to walk to the plane!

Once we were in Calgary, we took the tram to the gate

and a short time later, we were on our way, in the air!

The trip in total was late afternoon our time and we

landed in Paris, France around noon the next day.

We did lots before we left, making sure that life,

work and our home were all in order so we could

truly enjoy without any worries. It's always a lot of

work but worth it to ensure we can focus on the trip.

💗 Chy 💗

 

Overseas Dream.

We left Canada on Sunday, January 26th.

Though I have been to Europe, my lovey

has not, so this was a big dream come

true. We even had a sunny, warm day.

Never do we travel with a large suitcase

but this trip is both a long vacation for us

and a business trip for dh. We even hope

to add in a anniversary celebration as it

was a big one in the Summer but we've

had so much on the go, we didn't get to

truly celebrate. So what better way to do

this then take a trip to another country!

💗 Chy 💗

Vacation Days.

It's 8:45 am in our cottage, and not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse! Today is the first day of my little vacation, which ended up coinciding with everyone else in the house. I'm the only one awake and only because we were originally going to head over to Costco at 8:00 am to pick up more cool items for the next few days. But this bed is too cozy right now to leave, especially as it's cool and quiet. So here I write, while everyone else sleeps. No complaints.

Had a chat with my boss a few weeks ago and vacation days came up. Turns out, everyone else in our hospice is amazing at taking days off, except for her and I. She informed me that I have the most days logged and should start to take them soon. I thought I might have 4 or 5 weeks but was quite shocked to learn that I actually have 10 complete weeks to use up! That's 2.5 months I could take off. But won't, because there is so much work to do right now in settling in to our space and re~opening all our programming. I think I'll take the bulk of it in little chunks, save a big chunk for Winter and use up a bit when we head to the coast for our son's wedding in September. The little chunks I'll centre around long weekends/stat holidays to get a nice rest in. Tomorrow is a stat (Canada Day), so with today, tomorrow and Friday, then the weekend, I have a nice little stretch to be lazy, or in my case, be slightly lazy but get a few things done on my task list! I'll check emails in the morning and late in the day, and my work phone will be off. I may take a few days next week to but if the weather is still so hot, I'm not going to get outside work done. At that point, I'll keep those days for another week when the weather is reasonable and I can work outside. My plan.

Are you good at taking holidays?

Or suck at it like me? Do share ....

Namaste.

~ Chy

Our Little Island.

Years ago, we ventured out to the West Coast for

our holidays but we went further than the places

we normally visited to see family and trek around

the place we at one point had called our "home."

It's been more than a year and a half since

we took a true vacation. Last November,

we did travel to Ottawa to present in the

House of Commons. Not a holiday, though

we did fit in some time just for us and we

did tour around on our off time. Amazing!

The last year has been tough in so many

ways. We kept putting off a little holiday

until we could get to a place that going

away would be fun, not just an "escape."

Finally, we're here. We've worked hard to get

through the tough experiences, explored, grew,

moved forward and took time for a lot of deep

reflection. A true work in progress for us forever.

Vancouver. Crazy how flat it looks from the sky, 

except for the downtown core. Our eldest son

and his fiance live right in the heart of it all. A

great place to visit and for the two of them, to live.

But here's our little piece of Heaven, our

second home, our dream, our haven ....

our little island. Not for everyone as it's

a true hippy experience. For us, peace.

~ Chy

On the Ferry.

Part of our trek out to the tiny island is a trip on

the ferry to get us from the mainland to the cottage.

Not a huge ferry but then it's not a huge island!

Ferry exhaust as we chug along 

and a steam horn warning.

A final goodbye to our beloved island.

Pretty fall colors and the last of the morning fog.

A tiny white rental car is just ahead of the big truck,

beside the ambulance that brought someone over

and they did a transfer right at the docks. Once the

patient was handed over, they got back on the ferry.

Interesting growing spot!

Churning water as we move away from the dock.

So sad to leave. Can't wait to be back.

To the Market we go!

One of our favorite activities when we visit this tiny island is the famous Saturday Market. People arrive by sea plane and ferry to visit each Saturday. Everything must be handmade, baked or grown organically. A neat variety of products and every time we come, we see new ventures into "home made". We purposely plan our treks to this island so that we arrive on Saturday morning, giving us time to enjoy the Market in the afternoon (it ends at 4 pm each week) and then we stay at least 10 days, so we get 2 Saturday Markets in by the time we're gone. This time, we also had a chance to visit the new Tuesday Market, a smaller version but still a great time. Last week, when we arrived, the rain had started and the wind had really picked up, so a few stalls had already packed up to leave early, so not all the vendors were present. We still enjoyed it but it was eerily different without the sound of laughter, the smells of fresh baking and the eclectic music that is normally present. 

After a week of sun and calm breezes, warm temperatures

and clear skies, today we woke up to fog and cool weather.

So far, no rain. But not as warm as we had hoped. We'll

still head off to the Market and hope the weather changes!

Do you like to visit Farmer's Markets?

What is your favorite thing about them if you do?

Stunning.

Hi everyone!

We live next door to an incredibly vibrant city, famous for our sports stars (think Gretzky!) and our intriguing and popular festivals, all year long! Both my dh and I grew up here but we chose to move to a small suburb just a few minutes away when our children were young, to access the best educational system in our province and provide our children with a safe, small town upbringing. We both feel very fortunate to have the best of both worlds ~ a city with everything you could ever need right next door to our quiet (but growing) hamlet. I love both options all the time.

Right now, both communities are blanketed in a soft layer of snow. But today, someone sent this amazing photo to me and I just had to share. Taken in the fall, it shows the river valley in the city. And one of our favorite places to stay ~ the "castle" in the forefront is the Fairmont Hotel McDonald. We've stayed a few times when we've been involved in things like the Folk Fest or other arts based activities that we needed to be closer too than home was. Always we are treated like royalty there and it's hard to leave after so much pampering. Now I have this stunning photo to cherish. I can't wait to have a break and stay at the castle again one day. So many good memories! A perfect spot in a great city!!

Do you have a favorite castle to stay in?

Or a favorite spot just to get away?

The Mouse is in the House!

Thirty years ago we visited Disneyland

as part of our Honeymoon to Cali and Mexico. 

We had so much fun, we ditched hot and dusty

Mexico and came back to fun Disneyland!

But we didn't buy Mouse ears the last time.

This time, we were on a mission and are so happy

with the two sets of ears we brought home. 

A reminder of our Wedding and Honeymoon, 

and now a reminder that we've survived 30 years!!

Ready to go!

The house is organized, the bills are paid, work is done for the next 10 days and our bags are packed. We need to choose our seats, print off our boarding passes, send our granddaughter's Easter package, buy a few groceries for our youngest dd who is staying home and reformat my camera cards. Tomorrow, I have one counselling session with a family and other than taking our grandson to preschool in the afternoon, it should be a quiet day. We leave the house at 7 on Saturday to get to the airport, go thru security and be ready to board for 10:30 a.m. Arriving in L.A. by 1:30, it's a coach ride to our new home for 7 days. Sun and fun, all the way!! 

I'll post if I can but pictures will likely have to wait until I get home. 

See you on the other side!

Thyme.

The cottage on Salt Spring 

we stay in is called "Thyme."

This is the doorstop someone 

made for the owners. 

Love it!

Cozy Cottage Tour ~ Part 1..

Welcome to our "second home." This is our 3rd visit to the cottage in the last year & we're planning one more before the year has ended. We've been here in the spring, summer & winter but not in the fall yet. 

Such a peaceful place to relax, write, quilt & renew ourselves. The cottage is just 700 square feet, with a great room, complete with a fireplace, a very large kitchen (bigger than ours at home), large bathroom with laundry & an upper loft that has a second bed in it. Cozy but at the same time spacious, with a large veranda out front & a hot tub to the side. 

The bedroom is cozy with just enough space. Beautiful french doors that lead out to the veranda. We like sleeping with the curtains open so we wake up to the beautiful ocean view. Cool when it's hot, warm when it's cold out. And a lovely window seat to read or just sit & watch the deer wander through the garden. 

More pictures to follow as I share our Cozy Cottage Adventures with you this week!

Exactly Eight ....

 ....  more weeks until we ....

.... pack our bags ....

.... hop on the plane then off ....

.... for a trip across the sea ....

.... to our favorite place on earth!

Okay, not quite "across the sea" but

we do go across the strait, 

from Vancouver Island 

over to Salt Spring Island.

Just 8 more weeks to a place of

peace, tranquility, renewal and rest!

Where is your favorite place to 

visit in the world?