rain

Furniture Arrived!/Building a Basement

November 4, 2017 — Leave a comment

Oct 20, 2017 – Furniture and stuff has arrived!

Two sea-cans made it to the Island safe and sound. Thanks again to everyone who helped us pack back in Regina. We couldn’t have done this without you.

We thought we has everything organized, packing the things we needed to use at the suite by the doors of the sea-can, however it wasn’t so easy getting things out (especially when we were trying to sort things in the rain). It’s all okay as we where able to pull out enough stuff to get by.

 

Oct 22, 2017 – Rainy days!

The rain for the first few days would come and go but we were still out and about. Jax hated his doggie rain jacket so it may be the last time he wears it. When we first put it on he wouldn’t move from the couch and was very confused. I think he prefers to be wet.

On what must have been the rainiest day of the week Jim decides we should go register for our BC medical cards and I agreed. What I didn’t know is that we were also going to apply for our licence too which of course needed photos (didn’t tell me we were getting our drivers too). Anyway the result is that on both our medical and driver licence cards pictures (which have a 5 year expiry) we look like a drowned rats, thanks Jim!

There is a park in town called Askew park. It’s almost like a little rainforest in the city limits. The fall colours here are so beautiful and have lasted at least 2 and 1/2 weeks. As soon as the rain let up we took Jax for a walk through the park and he loved it. All the new sights and smells for him he was a pretty happy boy.

 

Oct 24, 2017

 

The rain cleared up and our builder Dan got an amazing amount of work done.  The  basement forms were removed, weeping tile and services rough in installed and then the site was backfilled. It’s really moving along!  Walked over from the suite to check out the build and witnessed this beautiful sunset. Pictures really can’t do it justice.

“Winters on the island”

July 25, 2016 — Leave a comment

Posted by Jim

We spent January 2016 on the Island enjoying the hospitality of our good friends Carl and Janine and their lovely suite. Although we were greeted by a wet snowfall on arrival, it was minor in volume and only lasted a day or two before the green grass became fully visible again. It was unusual to see Palm trees (which grow here) weighted down with the wet snow. This was the only snowfall we experienced during our stay here.

The climate is quite temperate here with the temperature range quite narrow in the winter. We experienced high temperatures of 5-10 degrees C in January, but the lows rarely went below 0.

While many days were cloudy and drizzly, the scenery was so different than what we are used to at this time of year. I have a simple saying to describe it: green and clean, vibrant and alive! With the wetter conditions, the flora and fauna always looks its best, giving everything an effervescence that’s a joy to experience over the winter season. The roads and vehicles are always clean, and with the mild weather people are out and about, compared to the hibernation effect provided by a Prairie winter. In Sask. I don’t see my neighbours for 4 months!

As we mentioned earlier snowfall is rare in the low coastal areas of the island, so driving is seldom inhibited by road conditions, or visibility concerns, except for, at times, some foggy conditions. Winter travelling in most of Canada usually requires caution and pre-planning, along with a winter survival kit on the Prairies. On the island we found that we were able to enjoy the outdoors or travel in the dead of winter without the typical concerns of driving on dangerous roads, or being subjected to freezing conditions. “Bundling up” on VI is simply putting on a sweater or rain jacket.

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Winter activities are much easier in the mild climate. Walking and hiking are possible every day, and on sunny days we saw people golfing in shorts. Cycling, motorcycling, sailing and boating are year-round pleasures.

Cycling is especially prevalent on the island as in can be done year around. This also applies to motorcycling too so Wanda and I really look forward to an extended season of riding.

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If I could only use one word to describe winters in VI, it would be “gentle”. While we may get nostalgic and miss the beauty of a fresh snowfall, an enjoyable Christmas trip back to the prairies or a short trek to the mountains will remedy that.