Settling Into Cabin Life

the bathrom, pretty standard

the kitchenette area - Stormy is in the window seat

the wood stove can really crank the heat out!

the kitchenette is pretty small but adequate

the living space

the storage space up overhead

the sleeping loft - just a few feet above my head is the roof

Well, after a few weeks hiatus, I reckon it is about time I posted an update. I was in Whitehorse for Christmas with my daughter and came back to Victoria on the 29th, and packed up to move. It didn't take long to pack, as I didn't have the mass of stuff I used to have before the fire. It took just two trips in the van to get most of it out here. I made a final trip yesterday and brought the last few things. It hasn't been without incident, of course. I had asked a friend to help me load and unload on Saturday, but she was pretty hungover and didn't show up until a few hours after I was ready to go. Once she got there we headed out to Sooke, only to receive a rather frosty reception from the landlady who was miffed that I was making her late for a scheduled dinner. We hadn't arranged a time, and she said nothing about it in her many emails, and I hadn't promised to be there any specific time, just sometime in the afternoon. She rushed me through the lease, and then took off.


I wasn't moving much furniture, but the one thing I couldn't manage on my own was my mattress. I could drag it here and there, no problem,  but once I arrived at the cabin, it would have to be lifted up over the loft railing to get it there, and as stubborn and strong as I can be when I want to, I cannot physically lift the mattress up to the loft alone. Impossible, at least without a pulley, which I did not have. The next-door neighbors offered to come out and help me, taking anything I couldn't fit in my van, in their car, and would help me with the mattress. Great. Wonderful. Thank-you. The only problem was when the time came the next day, they came to inform me they had forgotten a friend was coming to town from Vancouver, and they couldn't help me. Great. Wonderful. Thank-you...they did help me load the van, but I could have done that on my own. I needed help getting that mattress up in the loft! The landlady had already informed me she does not work on Sundays, so I couldn't ask her. I left Victoria in a pissy mood, tired of people who break promises. They were not the first. I didn't even attempt to drag the mattress in, but figured I could throw my foam pad I used in the van for the night. And then I laid down on it, on the hard floor and realized that was NOT an option. My hips would never forgive me. So I curled up on the loveseat with Stormy and spent the night tossing and turning there.


I paid for internet access and telephone, neither of which were working when I got there, given that I did not see any jacks, and while there were two wireless networks that showed up, one didn't work and the other required a password I did not have. Great. No phone, no net. What am I paying for? I'll find out in the morning, or so I thought.


I realized that night I had not deposited some cash in my bank account that was needed to help cover the rent so went off in search of a Scotiabank. None in Sooke. Great. The nearest one was in Colwood, about a 20 minute drive away. Fine, I'll go in the morning, as it was a holiday yesterday and my rent wouldn't be coming out until today. I got up the following morning and drove to Colwood, only to have both bank machines tell me they are unable to accept deposits at this time...WTF? out of envelopes was my guess, but who the hell knows. So then I was forced to head into Victoria to go to the bank there, WAYYYY farther than I wanted to travel yesterday. Once there, I decided I might as well finish cleaning the apartment, and that would save me from going into Victoria another day to do it. I rented a carpet cleaner, borrowed a vacuum cleaner and I was off like a herd of turtles. I finished up in short order, returned the vacuum, carpet cleaner, and my Shaw boxes (cable, tv, phone). The line was ridiculously long and it took me a half hour to get through it.


So then I was finally on my way home about 3pm, and went off in search for the landlady to find out just what I needed to do to get the internet and phone working, along with a bunch of other questions I had but did not get to ask as I was rushed through everything with her. She was nowhere to be found. There were 5 phone numbers posted at the office to call, including two cell phones. No one answered. There was an emergency number on my lease. No one answered. There were two different doorbells to ring for service. No one came. WTF? I tried for hours, walking back and forth to the office each time. Hours turned into two days. I had important things to do both on the phone and the internet and the landlady was MIA. I was super pissed. Where in the hell did she go? And why in the hell isn't anyone answering ANY of the phones? I ended up driving into town (Sooke) for cell reception so I could make the calls, and get someone else to do on the internet what I couldn't. They didn't come home last night, and were not around all day today, and finally pulled in about 8pm tonight. They weren't home long before the landlord came over and sorted things out. The internet and phone cables were behind a bookcase, and the phone was not currently hooked up for my use. The internet was working, but the landlady had turned off the modem when she left yesterday morning and didn't think about my desire to use it...sigh...


I did have beautiful moving weather, not too cold, and blue sky days. A rarity this time of year, as it has been raining for weeks, and today it started to rain again. The cabin has a tin roof, and the rain sounds awesome on it. I may change that tune however once a downpour comes while I'm in bed and the roof is just 3 feet above my head...


I am all unpacked and settled in, and Stormy seems to like the cabin, particularly the many windows he can look out. The one problem is he has not yet figured out how to get up into the loft yet. I brought him up a few times, but he slept downstairs last night. I missed him, as he always sleeps on the bed with me. I reckon he might figure it out one of these days, but the nearly upright ladder isn't easy for kitties. I put his kitty condo next to the ladder, hoping he might leap from there somehow, but so far, no go.


So here I sit in my cabin in the woods, overlooking the tiny Poirier Lake. Life is good.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Yup, brrrrrr. I am in the Yukon for Christmas with my daughter. It was 11C when I left Victoria. It was -37C when I got here on Friday. Brrrrr. I refused to buy another winter coat, having one in storage on the other side of the country, and not needing one in Victoria. So I borrowed one, but it's a little snug so I have taken to wearing several layers instead. For just going from car to building it isn't too bad, but I would not want to be walking far with my layers of clothes. I remember this kind of cold, of course, having done 3 years in the territories and 5 in Labrador where the weather is even worse. The house my daughter is living in has heat included, but does not provide the renters with access to the thermostat. So when it gets colder, you can't crank the heat. It isn't freezing in here, but definitely chilly. I have 4 layers on at the moment...they have a fireplace but have been having difficulty getting any firewood delivered, as everyone is backed up on orders or out of wood altogether and not delivering until February. We've been burning pallets and buying firelogs at the store/gas station.


I am really enjoying spending time with my daughter. She is working today and tomorrow, but is then off until I go back. We want to go sledding in the Carcross Desert at some point when the temps go up to something a little more reasonable, like -20C or so. It is supposed to get up to -17C on Christmas Day - I can do that.


I had a potluck with some old friends on my birthday, just one friend with her kids came, but that was okay. It was great to catch up with her and she was taking off for Costa Rica the following day. The others I still have time to see. I'm going out for lunch with a couple of them today, along with my daughter. I drove my daughter to work in the cold dark morning so I could have the car.


The roads are completely covered in ice and snow, and won't see daylight until spring. They rarely plow and folks just keep driving over the new snow. They don't get much all at once, and rarely with any wind, so it is straight down packed snow. When they do plow, they scrape close to bottom, but just on some streets, so the rest you have a huge drop to the road, sometimes 6 -10 inches. The same from some driveways. I think the city is in cahoots with the truck and jeep sales to sell more 4-wheel drive vehicles, but that is just my conspiracy theory. My other theory is that they don't give a shit, and don't care if you do, and will tell you to go back to where you came from if you do. It was the same mess in Yellowknife. Someone I met who worked in that dept tried to convince me it just wasn't in the budget for snow clearing. Um, you  have winter 9 months of the year, and it isn't in the budget? What is? hedge trimming in the 6 weeks a year that something grows? Stupid answer.

Let's just say I am looking forward to returning to Vancouver Island to warm up again next week. I have to start packing right away to move into a cabin in the woods for a few months. I don't own much, so it shouldn't take too long. I am truly looking forward to the cabin in the woods, by a lake. It's in Sooke, which is a pretty area for sure. There is a natural hot spring nearby that feeds a 2-person hot tub out on the deck. I just turn on the taps to fill it and drain it when I'm done. I can't wait to soak in that under the stars at night. There is also a wood stove, something else I'm looking forward to. There are tons of windows in this place, unlike my current dungeon. It has been interesting figuring out what is important in a rental and what isn't, and how it differs between people, in different locations, and the place I am in life. I hated that I had no privacy at my current apartment, mostly because of the nosy Brit who gossiped, complained and smoked endlessly while she paced the parking lot, on the phone or talking to anyone who passed by. I also hated that I got almost no sunlight and needed lights on all day just to get around. The new place is flooded with light, and has an awesome view of the lake. Spring will be on its way before I know it, and flowers begin to bloom in February and March in southern Vancouver Island.


I have decided to hunker down in the cabin for 4 months while I hopefully await visa paperwork to go through on a job I am interviewing for next month. I have passed all of the rounds of questions and interview screening so far, and will do a full interview with the employer the third week of January, after which they will either offer me a job or thank me for my time. I'm hoping for the offer, of course.  There is a lengthy visa application to go through, so they guesstimated it might take 2-4 months.


For now, I am bundled up to enjoy winter in the Yukon. It could be a whole other ball game this time next  year.

Roger Waters: The Wall Live

As always, remember to click on the photos for a larger size to see more detail. Thanks!

Epic. Loved it. Sang my heart out. Spent the first half in my seat with my 8 friends scattered throughout the Wall-crazy crowd, talking to another guy who lost his 6 friends in the crowd. After intermission, two of my friends found their seats next to me, and we roared through the rest of the show. The getting home part is where things went a little crazy. We found ourselves separated but had planned for that or so I thought. There were 9 of us, two cars, two hotel rooms, 4 beds. We gathered at my place on Thursday to have a pre-trip meeting as it was a larger group and we had some border newbies we needed to tune up for the crossing. Apparently some were not listening and others did not share the information with those who did not attend. I even had a power point presentation on my big tv...it was fun and we all enjoyed it, had some laughs. In any event, we agreed we would each get a hotel card so if we were separated, we could just show a cabbie our card and ask to be brought back there.




Well, some folks lost their card. and we separated into several small groups. I was with 4 after the show, but lost two on the way from the dome to the shuttle pick-up spot. So then I was with two, one of whom was pretty out of it, and we waited for about 20 minutes, no word on the shuttle, no cabs, and the roads were parking lots with traffic clogging them. So I suggested we hit the road and try to walk to somewhere traffic was flowing and empty cabs might be as all of the ones near us were full, and we were on a sidewalk with hundreds of other people looking for a cab. My amigas did not agree in the pissing rain, so I headed out and walked about 3 kms in the pissing rain and finally got a cab. I went in the totally opposite direction, and didn't even THINK about looking at my blackberry maps...got on a street with no exits until about 2kms down, and that was only through a pedway that was about 200 steps above the road...pant, pant, pant. I met some folks along the way - some Californians waiting for a ride from the Glass Museum, which I passed, wishing it was open! I finally climbed up the pedway and got a cab about 5 minutes later on a busy street. It was not easy. I had seen about 5 pass me down on the lower Dock road, but no one would stop. They all had their lights on, and no one inside. Jerks. I called a few cab companies, no one had a cab free and the wait was 2 hours...WTF? So that's why I kept on walking. Flagging one down was probably going to be the only way to get one.




I was drenched, and arrived back at the hotel wondering where everyone else and found 5 of them in one of the hotel rooms. 4 had gotten home after waiting an hour for the rest of the crew (dumb idea) in the pissing rain, when our friend M. finally flagged down an empty school bus and paid the driver to take them home...as 30 other people crowded onto the bus behind them. The bus was apparently some kind of shuttle, but couldn't get to any pick-up points in the traffic. So picked them all up and off they went. The 5th one that was home waited for an hour for a cab too, and finally got a ride with someone else who she was chatting up after the show. They got home about 10 minutes before I did. About 5 minutes later two more showed, up, having gotten in with a shady crowd for a ride and having to ask them to let them out again, then finally hailed a cab home. The final gal made it home when one of the security guards at the Dome saw her quite out of it and packed her off in a cab for the hotel, paying the fare. How we managed to all get home within just a few minutes of each other is beyond me! We were just happy everyone made it home safe and sound, albeit SOAKING WET.




After some hotel room partying, gambling in the casino downstairs, we eventually all turned in, 5 and 6 am for some. We hit the road just before 10am, without the second car who wasn't ready when we were, stopping at Burger King along the highway for hangover grease, and made it to the Port Angeles ferry right on time. The other car just made it by about 10 minutes, having taken the highway the wrong way, headed through Seattle and then crossed on the small ferry west to the highway that took us to Port Angeles. Smooth ferry crossing, everyone was tired, but wired, and shopping in the duty free liquor and cigarettes. A 40oz gin for $9.99, and a carton of cigs for $15...criminal what we pay in Canada.




And then we landed in Victoria and got flagged at the border for a code 7 again - DRUGS! Which we didn't have any of as that was well covered in the pre-trip meeting, and included in the power point. I refuse to take anyone across the border who tries to take weed or other drugs with them. I can't have a criminal record to do my job, and they all know this. So we were pretty relaxed about it as none of us had anything on us, knowing the risk. Maggie the search dog had a sniff through my van, but came up empty for anything currently there. She did however, smell an older smell of herbs from days gone by....the border guard was really nice, and gave the gals a break on the duty free liquor they brought as we hadn't been across for 48 hours, which is required to bring it back duty free. He packed up Maggie the dog and we were on our way. Tired, wired, but intoxicated with such inspiration from the fabulous show we all experienced together. Thank you Roger Waters, for bringing us The Wall. I had an amazing time.

a surprise

A good friend of mine for many years sent me this today in the mail. Thanks D! I love it!

Road Trip On The Horizon

The gang is about to hit the road again on Saturday - this time bound for Tacoma, Washington. We leave on the morning ferry to Port Angeles and then drive straight to Tacoma. The show is Roger Waters: The Wall Live. There are 8 of us confirmed to go and one ticket left. It's going to be an amazing show, as someone from Pink Floyd certainly knows how to do. More when we get back.

Beacon Hill Birds

After feeling a little shack-whacky, staying in because of the rainy days, I decided to don me rubber boots and get out there. I drove to the park (it's a bit far) and parked Karma, and no sooner had I parked than two peacocks came running over. I had just enough time to snap some close ups. They kind of followed me about in the park, so I had ample opportunity to take some good photos. I also came across some hybrid ducks. Notice the golden brown duck compared to the usual brown of the female black duck. There is also a male duck with a thick white neck band, more of a patch of pure white. I also saw another male duck with a spotted patch on his chest.

It was a bit misty rainy out there, but it felt great to be outside. Victoria has so many gorgeous parks and ocean front, I love it. I took the last shot on Dallas Road, with the mountains in Washington looming across the strait.

Santa Claus Parade

the Town Criers

not often you see a clown with a walker...

from the clown academy

the Lady of the Lake, and her first and second princesses

This is an organization that is part of the Mason's, for young women

well that was a first for me - playing the electric guitar in a marching band.

I went to the local Santa Claus Parade last night, here in Victoria. It was at night, so my first nighttime parade. All the floats were lit right up, and I have to say, there were several really nice floats, and they looked so pretty in the dark with their vibrant colors. I went with my friend A. and her husband and their wee one, 2 years old. It was his first parade and his father enjoyed watching his son's reaction to the parade just as much or more than the parade. Wee one would call out to the floats/trucks "see you tomorrow truck!" and "Happy Christmas!" So cute! The weather was perfect, no rain, no wind, and just crisp enough to feel like its the right time of year for a Santa Claus Parade. The streets were packed with excited folks. The papers estimated that last year they had between 50,000 to 60,000 come for the parade. This year, they estimated that about 65-70,000 people came out last night. We were standing opposite to where the television crew was set up, so I think we probably showed up in a lot of their footage as the filmed the parade as it passed by. I took a ton of photos, but am just posting a few here. My Canon rebel takes great night photos.

T'was a lovely fine parade. Then my friend A. and I went out for a girls night a the house of another friend's. Five women, several bottles of wine (and my beers), a bowl of jello and a birthday cake later. Today I'm feeling the jello...