tofino and beyond...........

hi blog fans, debi here, i know debbie's been trying her best to keep her blog up to date but her comp is broken so im stepping in. plus she is working so it gives me something to do. so if you are sitting comfortably i will begin (this entry will be VERY pic heavy, i've went through everyones pics and tried to pick out the best). lots has happened since i got over here, i arrived on the 27th of april, seems like so long ago! i spent one night in our new wee house then headed of on a family road trip adventure. think i might be better doing this in sections, so first stop is tofino, vancouver island. debbie's family traded in there rental car for a people carrier so we could all fit in, its a good job me and debbie hadn't seen each other in a while cause we spent lots of hours squashed up in the back

waiting to start our adventure

on the ferry to vancouver island

catching up on all 4 months worth of hugs

so we got to our amazing house on the beach in tofino and wasted no time in getting in the hot tub! me and debbie were in tofino 2 years ago but staying in a shared room in a hostel just didnt come close to this trip

our lovely house

we took a dip in the sea, it was FREEZING!

tofino is renowned fro its beautiful sunsets and it didnt disapoint

we had lots of family meals, mostly thanks to stephen and wendy

cookin up some mushrooms i believe

chillin in the house

boozin in the house, one of our favourite pastimes

one night we had a bar-b-q on the beach, the weather, location, food, company were all perfect, it was ace

debbie digging the fire pit

our house is just behind the driftwood fence

veggie burgers all round

stephen and wendy surprised us with an amazing sea plane ride over the whole area! it was so cool and we even seen grey whales! awesome!

me in the back of the plane

it got very cold in the plane above these snowy mountains

we landed in the middle of a lake for a wee lunch and beer break

debbie went for a paddle, it was freezing!

this is the beach we were staying on

the island we could see from our beach

having a beer in the sun, just for a change

view from the pub, strawberry island. this boat house used to be the ferry in vancouver before the lions gate bridge was built

just before we ate our combined body weight in yam fries, the left overs did us for dinner for 6 people!

one night we went to the hotel next to our house for cocktails

one night we made mojitos

debbie peaking to soon after a game of kings

one day everyone headed out walking in the rain so me and debbie stayed behind and made cocktails

other holiday activities included hackisac, skim boarding, and pointing at star fish

some hackisac action

heading home with our goodies from the rental shop

billy the ninja

yeah we are that cool

the lesser known sport of star fish pointing

me chillin outside the house

out exploring the beach

we did lots of other things including visiting the botanical gardens and walking through rain forests in the rain but they dont seem to have uploaded so i'l leave it there just now. debbie's home from work and has the snuffles so im going to go and look after her and give her lots of hugs

the old black rums gotta hold of me

Its Thursday the 30th of April and i am sitting in Tofino looking out at the sea as it rolls onto Chesterman beach. I am doing this from the comfort of waves end, the wonderful Douglas fir house we are staying in. Between me and the sea is a wooden decking, hot tub and some tall trees. Music fills the air and intertwines itself with the voices of my family. My tummy is full of culinary delights and the fridge is well stocked with beers and rum...'table for four?' seems a long long long way away.

Since i last posted life has been pretty fast paced and busy, i even managed to get myself a little bit stressed. I now live on east 6th ave, a couple blocks from commercial drive where i work. Debi lives with me and my family are over visiting. Finding the place was a whole other story, my eyes went pretty square from scrolling through hoards of posts on craigslist that were too expensive or didn't want couples or were out of town or didn't want people for the short term (we are coming home in september). I viewed a couple places, the first one was really nice but it was a room in a house and the people were not willing to let us move in without meeting debi first. as she wasn't scheduled to arrive until the 27th this was a little awkward. The next place was nice but came unfurnished and i didn't fancy another bank breaking trip to ikea. After these and many an ignored email i was at a bit of a loose end but not too concerned...these things always work themselves out. My parents, brother and his girlfriend arrived on the 18, i took the night off work...my first satuarday off in 5 months ! and met them at the airport...i had to fight back the tears and i couldn't remember the last time i had felt so emotional....most probably at another one of these many leaving and reuning events that seem to have become a big part of my life. I seen them coming round the corner on the plasma screens and made my way to the area where they would come out. Hugs all round and no tears. magic.

I got to be a tourist all over again, my parents hotel was right in the center of town and with their room up on the 28th floor the views were spectacular. il let the pictures do the talking but i had sooooooooooo much fun showing everyone around vancouver and the weather has been amazing.

When i was reaching a peak of worry...it was thursday and i was leaving for tofino on the tuesday...cutting it a little fine...i got an email from one of the many landlords i had contacted saying sorry for the slow reply she had just adopted a kid. I viewed the place and really liked it, the woman liked me and knocked $50 of the price making it an irresistible $650 a month including internet and tv. I snapped it up and after a few hic-cups involving lack of contact and taxis i moved in on monday and scooped debi up from the airport that night. it was a very busy day but i am extatic that i dont have to commute to 71st anymore. it was a nice place with a lot of nice memories but its just tooo far !

Il get some pictures of our new place up when i get back, it is pretty small but very cool, i love it.

right now im relaxing in Tofino, yeasterday my brother and wendy surprized debi and i with a seaplane ride !! i had no idea until we got onto the dock so no time to get nervous. It was absolutely spectacular, the views were amazing, im going to do a picture post after this one (just uploading the pics to flicker now) so you will see what i mean.

Its now sunday and its taking me a while to write this blog. thing is we keep doing stuff and i just dont have enough time to write about it all ! so i will publish this now and not bore you with too many details....

well as you may of noticed i haven't written a blog in a very long time. i just want you to know not to loose faith...its in the pipeline. iv been having an amazing time recently. met loads of really cool people and my family arrived today for a visit, so everything is ace. my laptop however has broken, hense my lack of blogging ! but soooooon, just hang in there for a big entry !

St Patricks Day !

We went to the Blarney Stone in Gastown. It was a really good night, nice place good music reasonable drinks...we even danced !! Here are some pictures:

we started off at Gregs work, it was a $20 cover but he let me in for free...its all about who you know !




this frying pan has a mysterious face burnt into the bottom of it


on the bus down town


at the blarney stone


fake tattoos !




we acquired some hats




very mature...






can't remember what was so funny !





In other news i got trained on the bar at work on Monday night, it was pretty confusing because i haven't used a coffee machine etc before but i think i have it down...well for now, i have more training next week so that will get me sorted. It got pretty busy and i ended up stayin til 11 to help out so thats another 5hours clocked up :) got sent home a little early last night cos i was feeling under the weather. feel a lot better today though so it should be ok. although since Anna has left iv got lumped with the door shift on sat night....i hate the door!! its so hard to estimate how long people will be, some leave right away and others linger like a bad smell. Hopefully it won't be too busy...

Im looking forward to Alices birthday on wednesday...its the highlight on my social calendar ! We are going to go to a craft fair tomorrow (thanks for letting me know about it Debi) so il manage to pick her up a nice wee summin summin ! Not sure on my shifts next week but i mentioned i wanted it off so hopefully it will be ok. ok im off to call Debi on skype, catch you later x

Ah, you're drunk, you're drunk you silly old fool,

hey, happy st Patrick's day ! i thought i would get into the spirit of it this year since they love there roots over here in Canada. So on Sunday despite the rain and lack of company (Greg was working and Alice is made of sugar) i went to the St Patricks day parade. I ended up bumping into a friend of Gregs who i had met the night before in the pub he works, she is Irish and knew most of the people in the parade so it was like having my own personal commentary ! I also managed to grab quite a few free things - badges, stickers, shower gel, a beer cosy etc which is always a bonus. I never thought id say this (or admit it 'out loud') but when the bagpipes started up i got goosebumps and a lump in my throat...perhaps im pining for home ! The parade was really good and i throughly enjoyed myself...even though it ended up snowing !! here are the pictures and a couple of videos :)

this guy had shaved legs and his 'kilt' was practically a mini skirt...not cool


the police did a pretty cool display at the start where they were weaving inbetween one another like synchronized swimming but on bikes...they clearly have nothing better to do !?




a wee video of some pipers












mountys and scotsmen !


beaver




some pretty horses




but lets all spare a thought for this guy, who's job it was to follow said horses scooping up there poo...in the rain..






recognize this guy ?


ok so maybe i shook hands with the beluga....




Irish dancing on a float...as you can see by this point it was snowing !




This sign said dance like noones watching which is kinda my moto but cos of the way the banner is folded it looks like it says 'dae like noones watching' very scottish !


this man is famous...he reads me the news...its like jon snow in vancouver


scottish flag !


and a few random pics from the last week for good measure:
Alice and i checking out a tea shop to see if its good enough to go there on her birthday


apparently this is how i walk after i drink rum !




greg killed a zebra


il need to make this last wee bit brief because i have only had 2 bits of toast today and im staaaaaarving so i need to go make some food. so neeews:

i am now being trained on the bar at work, i had my first training shift on monday and it was a lot of fun but its pretty confusing cos i have to do take out orders too and its just a little bit too multi tasking to learn all at once ! plus they do quite a wide range of drinks. but it is different and fun and good to be on that side of the counter. plus i get to keep any take out tips, bonus ! i got the menu home with me so i need to learn it all and i suppose i should practise opening wine ;) so bar work means more hours which means no need to search for a 2nd job, wooop. So far this week (thur to mon) i clocked up more hours than the last 2 weeks put together !!. my next pay cheque is gonna be niiiiice...although most of it is going to rent and bills :( i did get $60 in tips from the weekend though so im off out to spend that on drinks tonight since its st paddys day ! i'll try not to go overboard because i have been eating super healthy and im on day 11 of my 30 day shred so i dont want to ruin all that in the name of the irish ! iv got muscles !! i even moved into a new notch on my belt today...good times.

iv been getting lots of mail recently which is AMAZING. Thanks for my daily naughtical facts Stephen !! i posted home a few things today to get you all excited about your holidays...as if i need to hype it up even more !

well i better go...i wasting away !!

over and out x