Wednesday 18 July 2012

la gioia d'estate

The Joy of Summer! A few days of crappy rain in the beginning of July really helped us Vancouver folk embrace the consistently sunny days that followed. Then the sun helped us predictably push all memories of bad weather out of our minds and remember why we love living here so much. Summer in Vancouver is a dream come true, after all.

Backyard bounty

Old-time tradition of crepes

Glorious view on my bike ride to work



The delight of this past weekend was a four day relax fest on Hornby Island, thanks to Molly and her family's cabin. It took three ferries, but there were no massive waits and the weather was beaming down on us.


Our pad wasn't equipped with running water so we had to take ocean showers and use the outhouse. I was more than happy to revert to peeing in nature, a habit I got from New Zealand.


There was a lot of beach involved. We went to three different ones, and each one included lying around and snacking like beached whales. Amazingly no one suffered any burns, despite the abundance of pale skin.



 

The first night, we didn't feel like cooking so went to the local pizza place, which turned out to be a sweet grassy picnic area with a pizza kitchen, cafe, garden and artsy clothing store rolled into one. We were famished and gobbled 3 larges between the 5 of us. Award goes to the four cheese pizza!


The evenings were just as splendid, although a tad windy. We 'suffered' through magnificent sunsets every night, as we sat on the rocky point amongst all the locals and summer homeowners.

Artsy shot courtesy of Ken


 

Obviously this wouldn't be any trip I'd go on if the food situation wasn't deliciously intense. Everybody had to make a meal so there was pesto pasta, smoked salmon on bagels, lots of soup and hummus, and this bad boy here, french toast.

 

On a slightly overcast day we decided to actually use our legs for something and did a walking trail at Helliwell Park, which winds around the beautiful coast and into the peaceful woods. Nice to get the blood flowing!


For our last night the wind gods were kind and we had a fire on the beach with veggie dogs for dinner and the good ol' classic dessert of marshmallows on a stick. We stayed beyond the sunset into dark and the fire was so cozy I almost made camp on the beach. Good thing we left though, because halfway home it started to pour!

 

After a leisurely morning and cleanup, it was time to zip back to the mainland. Everything about this weekend worked out so well without any stress or planning. Even the ferry times we didn't bother to check, and barely had to wait.

Bye Hornby!


A fantastic first for summer adventures around BC. Can't wait for more!

Monday 2 July 2012

June Homecoming

It began with two birthdays in a new house:

 

Reunion and mango cake. Happiness!


Welcome to the Balkan House, summer home to the JK's and BJ's:


Three out of four Balkan inhabitants don't work much, so these housewives often take to exploring the new neighborhood.


A lot of our antics happen in the kitchen.


One day Ken upped the cooking intensity by buying a barbeque.
So this happened:


Sunday roast is a good tradition!


Sometimes we let others share the love with us. This love took the form of falafels.


Outside the house, a lot of fun things happen too, such as fun dancey concerts...


...summer solstice at the beach...


...and a shirtless Canada Day!


Things should get even more interesting as the summer (hopefully) heats up!