Getting there...

I have been following my second cousin's blog for some time now.  Even though we don't know each other very well, we often have to comment on the similarities we share.  The latest one being, not having written our blogs  since September.  I had to chuckle when I checked to see if she had written recently as I was gearing up to get back in the saddle and sure enough there was " The Dirty Bohemian" with a couple of entries over the past few days.  She, like me, feeling like she had to explain her absence....busy, has been writing and working and studying.....Funny how we feel like we have to explain ourselves.

Since my last entry I have been busy too.  I started doing some stuff on ebay, trying to make some money for the travel fund by selling off stuff in my cupboards, fun.

There was the sudden loss of a dear friend in September which took the wind out of my sails and has left all of us that knew him dumb-struck and numb,... still.

There was a health problem with a parent that turned out fine but was stressful at the time.  Relieved.
.
I haven't been able to get back to the joyful place where the writing comes from, but it is coming back slowly,
that familiar need to express daily life in the written word.

The words will come.

Be patient.

Ten Thousand Steps

About three weeks ago I signed up for a fitness challenge we are having at work.  The 10,000 step a day Challenge.  I received a pedometer and a little log book to keep track of my steps and distance over a period of six weeks.

How hard could it be?  I asked myself.  I thought this may be a good fitness "fit" for me as the shift-work makes it difficult to have any kind of regular routine, and a person can go walking any old time, right?

This first two or three days were somewhat disappointing, I averaged about 5000 steps a day.  On one of my shifts I decided that, every break I took, would be spent doing laps around the abandoned 2nd floor.  There is no one down there at night and the big hallways are divided by smaller hallways making it easy to zig-zag your way around and put on some miles.

The first couple of laps were kind of fun and I was surprised at how long I could walk before seeing the same office twice.  Yeah me!

By the third lap, I was starting to feel a bit silly.  Have you ever been in a Pet Shop and seen one of those Hamster Habitats?  They have endless feet of transparent tubing that allows the hammies to do a lot of walking and actually think they are getting somewhere.  At first it seems very cute...their chubby little bodies waddling to and fro......but after you watch for a while it becomes apparent that this has got to make them just a bit neurotic....

The third lap made me feel just like one of those chubby little neurotic hamsters...

The quietness of the dark offices became a little, well.....spooky.  Post nuclear holocaust, office building, kinda creepy.....All  I can hear is the squeaky steps of my running shoes on the freshly waxed floors.....and then, I start thinking, I can hear footsteps behind me....and begin to wonder if I am going mad!

By the time I was on the sixth lap, I was expecting to see, around every corner, those horrifying little twin girls from the movie "The Shining" you know, the ones with the pretty dresses and the bows in their hair.

After 8883 steps I retreated to the safety of the elevator and the sanctuary of our lunch room.

 

Time to find better ways to accumulate steps.

Wanted: One Good Mouser

Note to Self:  When packing up, in preparation for leaving the Island house, remember not to leave a bag of bird seed on the table.  Perhaps storing it in a coffee can, or at least a cupboard, would be more advisable.

About three weeks ago, a heavy truck loaded with tar, was on the ramp at Nanaimo Harbor, hoping to drive onto our beloved Quinsam, on his way to Gabriola.  Word has it that the truck was over-weight and that it lost control in the curve.  Apparently, it broke through the barrier taking the pilings with it, and then plunged into Nanaimo Harbor, driver and all.

Fortunately, the driver, ( I will name him Dufus ) was rescued unharmed .  The truck, however, was in the water and had to be lifted out with a crane.  There was a lot of damage and this resulted in all Gabriola traffic, having to board at the Duke Point terminal which is about 20 minutes further, and a huge pain in the ars for everyone.

I came over on Wednesday, the last day of this dreaded diversion, and my commute was a whopping 7 hours.  Granted, the weather and the scenery was beautiful, so one can not complain too much, but I was eager just to get to the house and relax, after all that travel.  Finally we departed, the Quinsam completely full of happy Gabriolans.  A staff member of the Quinsam came over the loud-speaker and apologized for the delay in service.  She then continued to say,  " All passengers please be advised, that tomorrow , service will be back to normal, from Nanaimo Harbor Terminal".  Every car on the Quinsam began honking there horns and the people standing out on the deck were cheering and clapping!  The woman on the loud-speaker returned to say, laughingly,"We couldn't agree with you more!"  I found myself laughing out loud and wondering what it must look like, to see this little ferry honking and cheering it's way across the water to Gabriola.... Islanders.

Apon arrival at the house, the first thing I noticed was, of course, the bag of bird seed that I foolishly left on the table.  Yes, of course there was a giant hole chewed through it, and yes, of course, there was seed everywhere.  I knew immediately that I had just successfully stocked up the mouse population for the winter.
What I did not expect to see was a neat little pile, I mean, a meticulously stacked little pile of un-eaten bird seed on my pillow.  In my bed!  Between the two pillows, another, perfectly stacked little pile.  Freaked out, but too tired to care, I vacuumed it up and went to bed.

The next morning I was putting clean bedding on bed in the guest room and found, slightly horrified, two more perfect piles of uneaten bird seed.  That's when I started to hear the "Jaws" music in my head.  I turned slowly and headed to the 3rd bedroom......lifted up the covers.....

I am now Janet Leigh , screaming in the shower in Psycho!
More perfect piles of hoarded seed.

Not long ago, I had the perfect solution to this problem.  His name was Tookymoo.  He was a native Gabriolan and a Six-toed Mouser.  He could hold a mouse in his clutches like a gambler holds a good poker hand.  Unfortunately we lost him in February at the age of 17.  I will tell you all about him another time, because , his, is a story in itself.

I sure am missing him now.

I am sending a little prayer out.....

Please, send me another Six-toed Mouser.

Where Did I Put My Glasses?

To Do List for Wednesday:
- go to bed
- sleep
- get up
- make tea
- read e-mail
- drink a smoothie with strawberries, mango and yogurt
- exorcise......
- write blog
- go to work

Well I accomplished the first 6 items on the list.  It seems that when there is any shortage of time in the day the exercise is the first thing to get exorcised.  Oh well, running, swimming, jogging, blogging.....whatever....
I am sitting happily on the patio, slurping a strawberry/mango wowser and working up quite a sweat, I'll have you know!

I entered my kitchen this morning, after work, and was startled by my new appliances.  They arrived just before I left for Gabriola, and I am still not used to them yet.
"Who are you two gorgeous appliances?"  I mutter, "Am I in the right house?"
The stove is so beautiful, ( compared to the old Admiral ) that if I could put wheels on it , I would put on some great shades and drive it down the street. Waving at people as I go by, like in a parade.

While we were at Lennard Island, I stupidly, misplaced my favorite reading glasses.  They were my late husband's Ray Bans , I had lenses put in them for me, and liked having that little, personal part of him with me throughout my day.  I didn't  keep much of his stuff so I am a bit panicked by this. My friends on the island are aware and keeping they're eyes open for them.  I'm sure they will turn up.  I think I put them somewhere in the guest house, maybe they are between the couch cushions.....
I have to stop sending them an e-mail every time I have a hunch of where to look....(Lucinda, check the couch) ...I know I am becoming pathetically annoying.

So , in order to write today's blog I must make do with the shabby, drugstore, readers I have laying about.

These are the red ones that are missing one of the nose pieces and make me look like a Sally Jessie Raphael wannabe.  Uggg.

These ones are cool because they fit in a case that is no larger than a fat pen.  They unfortunately have a tendency to slide down my nose if I move too much which makes me resort to moving my entire head from side to side, like a lizard, if I want to read.

Which way to Woodstock?

Get over it....move on.

On a lighter note, while on the forest walk at Lennard Island, I gathered a bunch of beautiful sage-green lichen.

Here it is posing between some beach pebbles that Tony and Lucinda gave me a while back , the shells we gathered last weekend.  Why I brought it home, I have no idea.....just liked it.  Maybe I knew subconsciously that I would find a yarn store in Tofino and purchase this.....

....glorious hand-spun.  Wool, mohair and silk with beachy glass beads all through it......

Now if I could only read the label....

Friends by the Light

We had the most wonderful weekend with our friends, Tony and Lucinda, at the Lighthouse that he keeps off the coast of Tofino.

Tony and I met at work and became fast friends, spending most of our shifts together talking about what we would do if we weren't doing that job.  We talked about writing and painting and how great it would be to make a living at something we love to do.

Eventually I took a relief position  in another department ,and Tony did the same, and we weren't able to share those long 10 hour shifts together any more.  Which made the job just a little more mundane.

One summer, Tony was hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island and decided to stop by the Lighthouse there and talk to the Keeper.  He was told that they may be looking for people to act as relief Keepers, to cover for holidays and such, on the few light houses that dot our coastline here.

He applied.  I think it took a lot of guts to even consider giving up a secure, well paying job for something so different.  At the same time I was very envious and curious, not even being able to imagine a life away from the dependence of the dreaded "day job"......

He stood at the edge of the cliff....discussed it with the wife.....thought long and hard.... and jumped.

He is now the principal Keeper at the Lennard Island Lighthouse.
Lucinda is able to spend three months a year there and between his vacation and hers, they are able to spend quite a lot of time together and have found a way to make it all work.

They picked us up in a Zodiac at the pier in Tofino on Friday afternoon.

They showed us the way to the crew house where we would be staying.  The main buildings are all joined together by these elevated concrete walkways.  The handrails are all painted in glossy, red, marine paint.

This is the little house that we got to stay in.  It was exactly like my Grandmother's house when I was growing up.  It felt like being thrown into a 1950's time-warp.  Very tidy, very simple, too cool.

This is the view from the bathroom window.  Lucinda laughed when I mentioned it.  She said, it seemed like ,  every light house they had been to, the best view was always from the can.

We were treated to pizza that evening, pick-up from Tofino.  They give the pizzas to Tony assembled in the pan, to be baked at home.  The best pizza!  He brings the pans back when he returns to town.  We sat around and talked about what it is like to live and work here....the adjustments, the isolation.....what a unique life this must be.

Saturday morning brought us to the beach to look for shells.

Followed by a hike through the trails that circle the 22 acre island.  We had two dog-friends with us which made me really miss having a pooch to share a walk with.  They make it so much better.

                                                                              Heidi

                                                                   .....and Molly..
There was a little pocket-pooch with us too but Frodo preferred to stay home and hold the fort.

We then went to climb up into the Lighthouse.  The boyfriend really enjoyed this....I don't like heights and chose to stay on solid ground.....chicken.

Tony and the boyfriend at the top of the Light.

A quick trip in the Zodiac to see if there were any crabs in the traps...but all we got were two very large starfish.  Despite the bust, we went on to share a feast of perfectly barbecued filets, a bounty of crab that Tony and Lucinda had , asparagus....potatoes....
Perfect company, lots of laughs, we had the most enjoyable weekend.

Thank's for sharing your piece of paradise with us.  It will take days for the effects to wear off.
It is a weekend we will always remember.

I Gotta Guy

It doesn't matter where you are, could be at work or at a pub, maybe with a group of friends....You tell them that you need something , like new tires for your car, or tiles for your bathroom, and there is always someone who says "Oh, I gotta guy".

Well, here on Gabriola it turns out that I too, "gotta a guy".
His name is Henry and he lives around the corner and down the road. He has a small engine repair business and became my go to guy when my lawn tractor packed it in last year. We hit a rather large rock with it and knocked the axle, drive shaft thingy out of whack.  I thought I was a goner.  I almost cried.  I can't manage this place without it .

Henry had a sign on the road advertising his business and we brought the tractor to him to look at....
He wasn't sure that it would be able to be fixed but offered to do his best.  We left it with him .

A month and only 300.00 dollars later , we got the old girl back , tuned up , oiled and lubed , new blades.
She is running like a dream .

I then brought him my chainsaw , which had seized up completely , and I left a message for him yesterday to see if it was able to be fixed.  It was a small chainsaw....a Barbie chainsaw.....I liked it.

He calls me back.

Ring , ring,
"Greetings from Gabriola" my standard answer here on the island.
"Oh brother, that's just pathetic" he says jokingly.
He continues, " It's a good thing you called today because tomorrow, I'm taking off to the Peace to do some moose hunting with my brother-in-law".
"Oh, lucky you" I say, "Have a great trip.
"Ya I have to get away from you people" he chuckles, meaning , part- time summer residents and tourists.
"I'm gonna try bring back a live one and set it loose on the island" he says.
"I would love to wake up and see a moose in the yard!" I laugh, "By the way, any luck with the chainsaw"?
"Nope, seized up, can't be fixed, you'll have to get a new one".
"Have a safe trip Henry, thanks".

What's a girl with out a chainsaw?.....

This morning I got up and started raking up all the grass I cut yesterday.

Rows and rows, piles and piles, until I felt a muscle behind my right shoulder blade go, twink.
So I finished what I could and decided to finish mowing the back 40 with the tractor as this will probably be my last chance before the fire department decides it is  too dry to use gas operated power tools.
It happens every year.
Got it done.....put the tractor away.
Glass of wine on the porch.....dirty feet.....happy heart.

Tomorrow, the Boyfriend is leaving work early and boarding a sea plane from Vancouver to Nanaimo.
I will be waiting on the dock like Ingrid Bergman waiting for Humphrey Bogart.
We are going to Tofino where we will be picked up, at the pier, by friends in a Zodiac and then whisked away to spend the weekend at the light house that they keep.
I know.
Crazy fun!.
Can't wait.

Wednesday on Gabriola

First of all, I would like to apologize to all six of my readers for being such a neglectful blogger.
 It was not for a lack of things to write about.
 Being new to the blogosphere, I am very unsure of how much to reveal....how personal do I want to get?  So, when in doubt, error on the side of caution, that's my motto....anyway, all is well....back to the blog.

On Tuesday I was released from work at 5:15am and made a B-line for the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal to catch the 6:20 to Nanaimo.
I had a nice snooze in the truck and woke up 95 minutes later at my destination, happy to be one of the first cars to unload.
 I gunned it to the Gabriola Ferry Terminal to try to make the 8:20 sailing.  The MV Quinsam was already docked and loading and I was stuck in a line-up for the toll booth.  I was the 3rd from the last car to board and landed on the Island in just 3 and a half hours.  That, I believe is a record for me in all of the 19 years I have been coming here.

A month has passed since I was here last.  It is shocking to see how quickly nature wants to take over when there is no one to keep it at bay.

Weeds have taken over the garden and are trying to take over the front porch.

I found this owl feather on the porch as well.....there was obviously a party going on at my house while I was away.

There is always a spider waiting for me in the kitchen sink.  A big , black , pulsating spider.
I don't mind mice , snakes , rats or ugly babies.
I cannot stand spiders.
When I see one , my brain can't process it.  I just have to walk away.
I don't hate them.  I don't want to kill them.  I can't even imagine scooping one up in a tissue and flushing it down the toilet . When I see it move I have a weird reptilian , paralysis responce and indescribable sounds come out of me.
The spider removal method I have come to is this:
-drape a rag or paper towel from the counter into the basin for spider traction
-turn on the tap, just enough to make the bottom of the sink wet but not enough to wash the spider down the drain.
-retreat to a safe distance
-tell the spider about the evacuation drill
-leave

Usually the spider is gone when I return.  I don't care to know where.

I decided to snip the flowers off the Milk Thistle that grows in one area of the property  to prevent it from spreading.
 I noticed that there were many more bees this year and that they were getting very annoyed with me.  I decided to clip only the flowers that were ready to go to seed and leave the good  flowers for the bees.  They do good work pollinating and we should help them every chance we get.

Check out the blackberries that those bees made possible!

I can't wait to pick these when they are ripe.  This is the first year this bush has produced fruit.

I mowed and mowed and mowed.

Then a rest on the porch with a glass of wine and the Sounder.

A very good day.

Cheers!