Hello All,
It's been a long while since I have written here. I know that most of you are on facebook, which is an easy way to keep tabs on each others comings and goings, but I have always been a fan of the art of writing letters...so here we are again.
September has arrived and with it comes the clouds and the rain with only an occasional bout of sunshine. Our tans have faded and night fall comes much faster now but I still love this season best. Fall to me has always been more of a new year then January- it feels like a better time to start new projects as we make changes in our menus and our closets.
Spring and Summer were wonderful here and we got outside as much as we could and explored lots of new places on the island, however, our first camping trip this year was to Oregon. We took the ferry across to Washington and drove along the coast which was familiar in its greenery as it shares much of the same foliage as we have here. The views were breathtaking and reminded me a lot of Cape Breton with the winding highway along rolling landscape and the ocean set against dramatic cliffs.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side as it rained for the entire weekend and there weren't any waves at all so Matt was disappointed- but we made the best of it and had a great time exploring. The 'no tax' in Oregon made for some very inexpensive shopping and Matt got a long board to add to his collection (or in surf lingo his "quiver") We stayed at a different campground each of the 3 nights and as always had a fun time looking at small town USA and all of its wonderful characters.
We did have some fantastic weather for our next two camping trips! In June we spent a night at Sombrio beach the weather was sunny and warm and the waves were just right. We had the nicest neighbours who shared s'mores with us, I dropped mine in the sand (but I ate it anyway and memories of sticky fingered campfires at Brule came back to me with each grain of sand I crunched...so it was worth it!)
For Canada Day weekend we decided to camp somewhere new and so we made the drive to the interior to check out Strathcona Park, which is the oldest Provincial Park in BC (100 years old next summer!) and the largest on Vancouver Island. The drive was amazing- all the trees and flowers were in full bloom and the snow capped mountains in the distance were the perfect backdrop. We didn't book ahead and were very lucky to even get a site at the campground! The place was packed and noisy and we decided that although it was beautiful we will only go back when we can book a few days to do it right, as there is much to see and we'd like to add a few more Strathcona adventures to our memoirs! Della Falls, which is the highest falls in Canada (eight times higher than Niagara) and amongst the top ten in the world, is located inside the park so we'll have to make a trip when we're in top form as it's meant to be quite a hike.
We had a few visitors this summer which was so much fun, especially since I got my very first car, EVER, in April! I suppose that is pretty big news, for me since I haven't ever really needed a car until now. It was great to be able to pick up friends and family from the airport to go sight-seeing and take day trips together.
Our first visit was from my dear friend Yamuna. She and I met in Korea years ago, where we were teachers at the same school and lived across the hall from one another. Yamuna is from Calgary however she is a bit of a gypsy and has been travelling for 10 years! She has seen almost every corner of this earth and has some fantastic tales to share. She was taking a weekend course at UVic in Shamanism and extended her time to come and stay. After 6 years, it was wonderful to pick up where we left off (drinking a beer outside of a Korean 7-11 I think....) and to be able to rekindle our friendship which has held strong all these years. Time didn't allow for us to get too far away from Victoria although I was able to share the magic of Sombrio and introduce her to some of our friends here at our dinner party.
We also took a quick overnighter to Vancouver where Yamuna caught up with some of her other pals and I spent the day working with an incredible company I discovered.
Outstanding in the Field, a Santa Cruz based company, are a 'mobile restaurant without walls.' On the road their team travels by (bright red) bus across the USA every summer (with a stop or two in Canada along the way) setting up farm or beach dinners as a celebration of a place and to honour the farmer and other producers of a region. I had no idea quite what I was in for- I was told only to wear clothes I didn't mind getting dirty and to bring a black sun-dress for the event. It was the biggest adventure my new car and I have had yet- taking the ferry to the mainland and then finding my way to UBC Farm - after leaving Yamuna in a cafe downtown! It all worked out perfectly and I was soon standing in a hot and sunny field helping to set up one long table for 200 guests!
We had a detailed meeting with the evenings chef who gave us all of the necessary information on each of the 5 courses (which we had to relay to our tables upon service) what local farms the ingredients were from, in which sustainable way the fish was caught etc. AND to create added pressure...we also had a meeting, of equal amounts of information, with the winemaker who was providing each of the 5 wines paired with each course! It was a very exciting evening for everyone involved and such a unique experience.
The company has a trailer with the tables, chairs and linens that travel with them- they rent very few items from each city they stop in- and they have what they call "The Tradition of the Plates" where each diner brings a colourful plate from home to dine on. Each course is served 'family style' on a platter for 8 people to share and the same wine glass is used for each course. Once dessert plates have been licked clean, the sun has nearly disappeared and the mozzies are biting...the dinner is officially over and we then tear down everything and pack it away neatly as the bus moves along to the next city!
As for me, I said good bye to this great team of people after a very long 10 hour day and navigated my way back downtown Vancouver to find Yamuna! We missed the last ferry and 'slept' in my car at the terminal to make the first boat the following day. What an adventure! If you are interested you can find out more about OITF here: www.outstandinginthefield.com
It was on the day that I was taking Yamuna to the airport that I received a phone call telling me that I was out of a job. They had come to realize that their business model had never been set up to include stand-alone studios and they didn't have the time or energy to put into marketing it. I'm sure I am not the only one thinking that perhaps they may have considered that before going to the trouble of starting it.
Unfortunately, the hospital here in Victoria had still not opened its doors to us and while they hope that I will still be available to run that when and if it happens- for now we part ways. They did offer me full time employment, to oversee all operations out of Mt.Sinai hospital in Toronto, several times in fact- but after just moving to Victoria a year ago- it seemed like bad timing. It was a difficult thing to say 'no thank you' to that one I'll be honest. I do wish that I could be closer to my family and friends...
The next highlight of our summer was a visit from Linda and Kieran! (Matt's mother and son) It was non stop from the moment they arrived to their red-eye flight back to Toronto. We had a fabulous time in Victoria visiting places Matt and I had yet to see like the Butterfly Gardens and Butchart Gardens.
We even managed to squeeze in a trip to the coast to camp and get Kieran in the surf for his first time!
He didn't enjoy it very much in the end...there were a lot of tears and upon viewing the photos he claimed that he wouldn't be surfing again until he was 10 years old! Poor little guy- he loves to swim but I think this was the first time he'd seen the water actually moving towards him (little waves) and it must have frightened him.
It was so great having family here- especially for Matt to have his loved ones here for his birthday! Linda and I somehow managed to sneak in the making of a surfboard birthday cake and pressies that we surprised Matt with after an amazing Italian dinner downtown.
Come back soon Linda so we can do high-tea!
I suppose our summer wouldn't have been complete without a visit from Monica! It was almost a year to the day since she had been to Victoria to see us. This time was very different as we didn't have to take the bus and walk up the giant hill to our house dragging luggage! Monica and I met in an airport 5 years ago on our way to Vegas for work and as fate would have it we wound up as roommates and the rest is herstory.
I think I was a much better hostess this summer than last and was able to share with Monica a little more of "my Victoria"... Parliament (check), an afternoon of floating around Thetis Lake (check), amazing tapas in cute restaurant downtown (check), catching up for hours and hours and hours of non-stop chatter (poor Matt!).
Worlds collide at Canoe Pub as 2 of my excellent friends, Monica and Jordan meet!
It was quite strange how the moment Monica left, the rain came and summer was over, just like that. I had been trying to get all of my ducks lined up so that I could attend 'Western Academy of Photography' this year, which is a very intense 10 month professional photography/photojournalism course here in Victoria. I was accepted to the school, had my interview and was very excited to start. Unfortunately, I could not get all of the funds together and so I'll have to re-focus on this for next year. I know a few people that have graduated from that course who now have excellent photography careers. I look forward to attending. In the meantime I have my nose to the grind trying to find work- I don't know if it's Victoria or if it's me- but the jobs are scarce.
Matt on the other hand couldn't be busier- his business is growing and he has had to hire a couple of guys to help him recently!
As a final note- we are moving house this week! We knew that the place we are in now was nothing more than a transition and the timing couldn't be better... the baby upstairs, that was born on the evening we arrived in Victoria last year, is now a very active toddler. He likes to start his days (around 6am) by running from one end of the house to the other over and over while he exercises his growing lungs and practices banging on what we imagine to be a drum...of course all of this takes place (for some odd reason) right above our bedroom! Its been wonderful living here- we were the first tenants in this brand new suite- but it is essentially a glorified 'basement suite' and so it is time to move on.
Our new home is a 20 minute drive north of downtown Victoria in a town called Sidney. It is where the airport and ferries are located and it is right on the ocean- in fact it is known as Sidney by the Sea. The property is sort of a bungalow with a front yard full of old trees and a backyard where we plan to plant a vegetable garden. We will have the upstairs and the basement suite is occupied by other tenants. Its an older home- I believe it used to be a cottage as it has that feel to it- the ceilings are wooden with exposed beams and the 3 of the 4 walls in the living room are windows- we think it was a sunroom. The home was recently purchased by a man that Matt does a lot of work for and he offered it to us. The entire unit has been remodeled with hardwood floors throughout, new bathroom, new kitchen and lots of other little details that you can see as soon as we get some photos of it. Our bedroom has a patio off of it that looks out over the backyard and you can smell the ocean in the air. I will send out our new mailing address soon - so you can send us some love sometime- or of course if you want to show up for a visit...you'll know where to find us!
I suppose that gets us back on track with you- and now its your turn! We'd love to hear your news and updates so email, write, send an owl with a message or of course drop by- we'd love to have you!
Many thoughts and much love,
Matt, Wendhi and Ruca xoxo
