Morgane's New School

We got a phone call today telling us that Morgane has a place in the alternative school in Montreal that we wanted her to attend. Ecole Elan is near Parc La Fontaine in the plateau. We had put our name on their waiting list last month before leaving for Vancouver. Hurray! So when Ghis goes back to Montreal, he will look for a place close by.

Today we went to the Museum of Anthropology. Morgane is a great observer of art. I love this museum - when I'm there I can imagine when this province was populated by aboriginal peoples who incorporated art and stories into every part of their lives.I am fascinated by old photos that show how things were before all this was destroyed - before residential schools and before all the potlach ceremonial gear and other artifacts were taken away. It's great to educate Morgane about all this. She loved the carving of the Raven on the Clamshell. It's the story of the first people - Raven found them inside the clamshell. Morgane is also intrigued to find naked statues and carvings and photos. It's a bit confusing for her - what is private and what is not?

Yesterday we had a busy, but quiet Canada Day. We spent the afternoon with my parents and the evening with our friends, Jerome and Lynn, and their three girls.

Back to Vancouver

We loved Hornby, but finally left. Knowing our island time was coming to an end, we sprinted to Victoria for our last night and also visited the Tall Ships Festival. Morgane was very impressed by the boats. She insisted on trying out every one of the top bunks. She also went to pirate school and charmed everyone as the cutest pirate EVER!

We're back in Vancouver and summer has hit hard. Yesterday was at least 30 degrees, but we spent the whole day at Kits Beach, right until sunset. In the pool, by the ocean, Morgane and I were even cold! We ran into a couple of old friends and colleagues from ten years (eek!) ago at Coast Mountain Sports in Vancouver. They came to the beach, too, along with their friends and a little girl named Sierra who happened to share Morgane's birthday (just one year apart) and she also had the same hat, shoes and water bottle as Morgane.

We ate with Anthony on a terrace near the beach. He and Ghis had basil pizza that unfortunately had no basil on it. Anthony and I had good drinks with mint and lime and rum - what is that called again? All the while, we watched people on a rooftop terrace across the street because they were having fun dangling little toy spiders on very long strings and making people who happened to be walking by jump and scream.

Tuesday is Canada Day and there will be lots of celebrations around here. Tomorrow... who knows? But I do want to get back on a trampoline!

Hornby Island

Here we are, at yet another of my FAVOURITE places! We were blessed yesterday, getting here. We left the beach near Tofino around three and somehow got on the last ferry at 6pm with ten minutes to spare - and we were the second-last car on! Then I called and found that Seabreeze Lodge had an empty cabin for us and prices don't go up till July 1st. So, we arrived and found that on Monday nights they have a lovely home-cooked buffet with lemon-meringue pie for dessert and on top of that, they had a new margarite-making maching so we just had to try it.

Morgane was happy to see the kids' park and the horse. We were happy to see the view (straight out of our cottage and also our bedroom window) and the grass tennis courts. It's super quiet except for the quiet calls of birds. An eagle flew over my head while I was outside (cooling off after a hot tub). All we see from here is the ocean and in the distance, Texada Island, and the snowy peaks of the mountains on the mainland.

Today Morgane found a friend, but right now she is taking a much needed nap after our long day of travelling yesterday. When she gets up, perhaps we'll go exploring a bit. But staying here is pretty nice for now.

I used to come here as a kid, as a teenager, as a young adult. It's great to be back. It hasn't changed much, but I have.

Tofino, day 3

Went to Roy Henry Vickers' gallery this morning and Morgane chose her three favourite cards - all traditional first nations artwork - none of his more colourful pieces. Then we waited until the local Saturday market was set up. Ate a whole-wheat cinnamon bun. Then we went to Wickaninish Beach where Aboriginal Day was being celebrated. Morgane and I bought some bead necklaces and she had fun blowing bubbles and doing crafts. A lot of the craftspeople were weaving with cedar bark. There was a draw orgainzed by the park and I won us a lunch for two.

At the beach, there were lots of people trying to surf, but none very good. Apparently there was a competition at another of the beaches. It's great to be staying in town. I love going out walking. I hope I'll feel the same way when we live close to everything in Montreal.

We still want to take a water taxi to Meare's Island and walk on the big tree trail. I also want to take surfing lessons. And there's a great store in town that sells only sustainable clothing.

Tofino, day 2

Tofino is great. This morning, on the beach, Morgane was enamored with little olive snails that she found just under the sand. She must have dug up and relocated about a hundred to her snail resort. She also touched some seaweed and played chicken with the waves.

In the afternoon, I walked around town and discovered a lovely bookstore with lots of great picks and good kids toys too. The weather was pretty good and we had a view of many snow-capped mountains. Tonight we had a nice dinner and a locally-baked cake for dessert. Tomorrow I want to check out the market (every Saturday), and then we are going to celebrate the solstice or aboriginal day with celebrations at Pacific Rim National Park. So, we'll get to see some first nations dancing and other stuff, and all this on the longest of all the beaches (I think!). After that, I still want to take surfing lessons and take the water taxi to go walk with the great trees on Meares Island.

Tofino!

We're here in Tofino - hurray! It doesn't get any more west coast than this. I am looking out our window and I see the beach. It's 8:30pm and totally light out. Tomorrow I want to see the local surfers, and maybe even try! We are staying in these funny little cottages that look like bee hives or mailboxes. Super location. Tomorrow we'll move into town.

It looks like it might be low tide in the morning. If it is, we'll have to go looking for interesting shells. The seaweed that I saw washed up is very diverse and I'd like to take a picture of this ocean salad. Then, on Saturday, a First Nations' celebration.

Quick Update from Nanaimo

Yes, we brought a lot of stuff and we had to find a creative way to carry it out of the airport!

Time is still flying by. We just spent four days on Gabriola staying with our friends and observing them working hard to their organic bakery. We spent a lot of time eating wonderful scones, fabulous pizza, and of course, bread! We also spent a great day at the beach - so far we've seen orcas off the ferry and at the beach we saw seals and many starfish, even babies. Also jellyfish and Morgane's second least favourite animal: crabs. Her least favourite is sharks. She saw a bear when walking with her grandpa down their street in North Vancouver, but that didn't seem to bother her. Good thing she wasn't with me! I would've climbed a tree because I've been skittish since being chased by a bear, years ago.

Today we came to Nanaimo and went to the farmer's market where the Slow-Rise Bakery (our friends) were selling their bread. They had a line-up practically the entire time and sold hundreds of loaves and scones. At the end, they had only two loaves left.

Tonight we have a family room at a hostel right in Nanaimo, great for walking around. Morgane bounced up and down when she saw her bunk bed. She's learning a lot on this trip. She seems to have learned how to do a British accent while playing with our friends' kids.

Bonus: at the market today, I ran into the coordinator of my program at UBC and his wife and two kids. Turns out he makes bread, too, and they know friends who know our bakery friends. Our bakery friends are doing a good job of luring us back to the island - they have a housesitting job lined up for us, but we haven't decided on our plans yet. We just want to kick back and have a big sleep tonight.

Day 4

Already! Rain, rain and more rain today. I don't even want to go to the beach. We went to UBC where I found some nice books. Then we took Morgane to drop-in gym where she played on the trampoline (me, too :)) and the bars, etc. Then we got some lunch at Capers (and my chocolate cake!). Now Ghis is going to play squash while Morgane and I take it easy here.

Day 3

We woke up and Ghis came over to meet us at my parents' house. We went to the wave pool which Morgane adored! She spent most of the time trying to surf. Before that, we went to MEC and had a super lunch with real cider to drink and the best key lime pie. After that, we went to the library (the new one) in Lynn Valley and took home a pile of kids' books and DVDs. Then we had a great dinner of halibut that my stepdad, Glen, made us. After watching Charlie and Lola, we headed back to Lawrence and Wendy's to sleep. My mother fell in love with Ghis' iphone and now Ghis has promised to help her shop for and set up a new computer.

First Day in Vancouver

On our first day in Vancouver, Morgane woke up and quickly became friends with Lawrence's kids. They liked the gifts we brought them, especially the little iguanas with sticky tongues that pick up toy flies. Morgane and I got dropped off at the seabus and we took it over to Lonsdale Quay to meet my friend, Claire, who lives in London, but was here visiting her parents. When I got to the place where we were supposed to meet, she wasn't there yet, but my best friend from highschool, Jennifer, was there! We all got to spend a few minutes together, like when we were fifteen.

Then Claire and I and our three kids took the bus to Capilano mall where we ate and let the kids play at Go Bananas. Morgane was pretty tired, so the outing didn't last too long. The two of us decided to take the bus up to Grandma's. After a short stop at the mall (and the toy store), we took a taxi for the last stretch. In the cab, Morgane commented that she wanted to go to India. The taxi driver asked, "What did she just say?" because he was from India. He said it would be too hot right now.

Grandma was happy to see us. We hung out and slept over while Ghis played tennis and had a nice dinner at Lawrence and Wendy's. Their hospitality is amazing!

The move is complete. The trip begins.

Okay, okay, I'm writing. I'm writing. Everything happens so fast when we're on the road. We seem to have less time to collect ourselves. Hopefully, that will change.

Monday, we moved the last stuff out of our house and into storage, handed over the keys to our house and caught a plane from Montreal to Vancouver where we will spend around six weeks. We had a good flight despite the fact that a storm came up while we were waiting in line on the runway. The rain poured down and the winds shook the plane while lightning flashed in the sky. But it cleared up quickly and the rest of the flight was uneventful. Except for the huge, noisy man who kept trying to pick fights with everyone. The hockey playoffs were on - the finals - so the staff kept the TVs on for as long as possible while the plane was landing. We didn't get to see the final goal though.

Lawrence came to pick us up at the airport, and luckily he had his truck which was big enough to carry all of our luggage. We lost a few things while getting on the plane though - a bottle of wine and two bottles of organic maple syrup. We had forgotten that you can't bring liquids on a plane anymore. In fact, we had also brought Morgane's scissors (which they let us keep) and Ghis's knife (which he went back to check-in). My mom and stepdad also came to the airport

Let the Adventure Begin

We've sold our house and are heading across the country to spend time in Vancouver this summer. We're going to put our stuff in storage and look for a place to live when we get back. Almost ten years ago, we travelled from B.C. to Quebec with most of our belongings (and our two huskies) in our car, and I wondered: will we ever be this free again?

Now we are going to do it again. We are having a huge garage sale (like the one I wrote about ten years ago where I sold everything, even the toilet paper). Then we'll be on the road again, heading across Canada with one twelve-year old husky and our five-year old daughter. No more house. No more suburbia. No more debts. Free.

Why My Companion Thinks I'm Crazy

My daughter was using my big scissors and she cut her hand. Nothing too serious, but it definitely required a bandaid. For two days, I noticed all the bandaids I put on her would mysteriously come off. So, before bed, I was thinking about how people prevent their dogs from ripping out stitches and licking their wounds - they put those big plastic collars on them. I wondered to myself why they don't make something like that for kids. And suddenly I had an image of a person wearing one of these. So, at this point I opened my mouth and said to Ghis, "I have the perfect idea for a Halloween costume."

He said, "Do you realize I'm listening to this show on the radio right now?"

I said, "Oh, sorry."

"What did you want to tell me."

"Well, I know what I'm going to be for Halloween."

"You do realize it's April?"

"I'm going to be a dog wearing one of those huge, plastic collars."

How Early Can You Go Kayaking?

Actually these are from last November. Ghis is still trying to find the kayaks under all the snow.

Our Latest Snow Friends

Crazy Bubble Blower

Bubbles

Today Morgane was in the bath rubbing a bar of soap over her mouth and then blowing bubbles. Crazy kid! The snow is finally melting a little bit. I have the urge to go out and shovel it all onto the bare patches on the driveway so that it melts more quickly. Okay, I have already been doing this! I used to laugh at the old men in Quebec who do this every Spring, but now it feels like a way to have some control over the weather.

Ack! More snow. Okay winter. You win. At least it's beautiful and bright. I walk down the streets and it looks like the pictures from when I was little and the snowbanks towered high.

Skating at Rideau Canal

February

Why is there that useless 'r' in February? If February is so short, why does it feel so long? Why do we have so much snow? Why am I complaining? I love snow! I just can't stop fantasizing about it all melting, dripping off the roof, turning into water, seeping into the ground, making the grass green, so that we can go play at the park, play tennis, ride our bikes and throw the frisbee around.

Today I had my first ever acupuncture treatment. Afterwards, I felt a little better, but maybe that's because I no longer had to lie still with needles in my back! No, it didn't hurt, and luckily, it was just in my back because I don't think I could stand to see needles in my stomach. In one spot, I needed two needles to do the job. I will go back next week for more and see how I feel after that.

Tomorrow: cold with snow. maybe Morgane and I will have an indoor pool party. With lemonade and beach towels. Really, if it's not too cold, we'll go skating. She's skating without her push-thing now. Bravo, Morgane!