Friday, September 13, 2013

What I Did Last Summer: The Illustrated Lists

List the First
  • Started a new job.
List the Second
  • Headed to Ontario with Hubby days after starting the new job. (Thanks to good friends who don't mind getting up before the sun to take us to the airport.)
Hubby and I at the airport. Not too bad considering Hubby had to work all night the night before our trip. Neither of us got much sleep.
  • Visited with his family and my family.
  • Reunited with university friends and mosquitoes at a sweet waterside cottage. Who knew we had such cut-throat croquet players in our little group?
  • Accompanied my niece on her first drive.
  • Watched my nephew kick ass at karate practice.
  • My niece and I were pretend judges at a fake karate tournament.
  • Short overnight trip to London for....
  • Pearl Jam concert!
On our way to the concert.
What a middle-aged woman wears to a rock concert when it's too hot to wear what she planned to wear. NYDJ capris courtesy of my Mom!
Note the woman in the background. See her striped dress? That's what cool, fashionable women wear to a rock concert. She looked great, and nowhere near as sweaty as I did. 

The morning after.
Note the new Pearl Jam t-shirt worn with white capris I borrowed from my sister.

List the Third
  • Hubby and I returned to Vancouver Island with my niece and nephew. (As I mentioned in a previous post, it didn't rain at all here in the month of July. Sad news for farmers, gardeners and green lawns, but perfect for me. (Because it's all about me, isn't it?) This summer marked my niece and nephew's first trip to the island. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Though I'm sure they wouldn't have minded a couple of rainy, indoor days. At 16 and 13 years of age, they are rather attached to their electronics.) 
  • Attack of the teen-aged berry thieves.
  • Seals, starfish, sand dollars...
  • Bunnies and deer and... a snake! Oh my!
  • Evening walks around the neighbourhood.
  • Classic Cruiser parade.
Vintage truck belongs to the local Canadian Tire.
I'll bill them for the advertising space. 
  • Discovered Roosters really do have Teeth.  
  • Was introduced to "Video Game High School".
  • Introduced my niece and nephew to "Ghostbusters" "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Shaun of the Dead".
  • Never did figure out the appeal of "Big Brother". 
  • Discovered I don't mind "Amazing Race Canada". 
  • Coombs, Cuckoo's and Goats on the Roof.
Look! A Goat! On a roof!
  • Parksville Sandcastle Competition and a stroll on the beach.
  • Fish Tacos! (Meh.) 
  • Spaghetti Tacos! (Awesome!)
  • Air-popped popcorn
  • Pancakes and Tannadice Farms bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon.
  • Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Mmmmm. More Tannadice Farms bacon.
  • House elves! (I miss having teenagers to sweep my floors and wash my dishes.)
  • Beachcombing at Kye Bay.


  • Live crabs were wrestled.
  • Gelato, gelato and more gelato at Benino Gelato.
  • Hiked though the woods and down to the beach at Seal Bay.
  • Walked the beach at Goose Spit.
  • Lunched at the Filberg Park Tea House
  • Saw "The Wolverine" ... Take it off Mr Jackman! 
  • Walked the boardwalk and enjoyed the company of the whiskey jacks at Paradise Meadows.
Honest Mr. Conservation Officer. We weren't feeding the birds. They just flew onto our hands for no reason!
Or maybe they stopped by to check out our shoes!
  • Five fingers for all!
  • Visited friendly farmers.
  • A cougar sighting
  • An almost bear sighting.
Photo courtesy of L at Sleeping Cougar Acres. The bear was wandering her property within hours of our leaving it. It left the above as evidence.
  • Swam in the river. 
  • Another swim in the river.
  • Ran an earring sweatshop featuring child labourers in our dining room (after ages at the bead shop selecting materials).
  • Set up the tent in the yard for a teen camp-out.
  • Farmers' Market.
  • Market Days.
  • Korean food. Our treat, then theirs.
  • Two trips to the chocolate shop. Or maybe three.
  • Several trips to the art gallery.
  • Jelly bean roulette. 
  • Bedtime story!  Not quite like the old days, but close enough. 
List the Fourth
  • Left Hubby to the peace and quiet and flew back to Ontario to return the teens to their rightful owners.
  • Wrestled a seal head into my carry-on and a tayberry plant into my checked luggage. Both survived the trip. Wasn't sure if the teens would. The 4:30 am wake-up call was a bit rough for them. 
  • A happy reuniting of the teens with their mother, their grand parents, their cat and their dishwasher. 
"You missed me? Did you go somewhere? Play with me."
  • Discovered "A Very Potter Musical" and the sequel "A Very Potter Sequel".
  • Winery visits, family visits, perch, broasted chicken, blueberries.
  • Colasanti's! Remember when they sold plants?
  • Started a container herb garden with my niece and nephew in spite of lack of plants at Colasanti's. 
  • More air-popped popcorn.
  • Shopping with my Mom.  
  • Shopping with my sister and niece.
  • Mario Party!
  • Ratatoullie! The dish not the movie. Cooking with the teens is fun! (Until the big knives come out. Then I panic.)
  • Steaks and summer sausage from local grass-fed cattle. Meet the meat.
List the Fifth
  • Returned to Vancouver Island...eventually. Unplanned delays allowed for...
  • Beer and snacks in Calgary.
  • Really late arrival at Comox Airport.
  • Barely awake reunion with Hubby.
  • Back to work. I didn't quite forget everything while I was off gallivanting. 
  • Hiking and movies and meals out and lazy weekends off.
  • Labour Day Weekend wedding...
  • ... which pretty much brings us to the present.
Wow! What lists! I'm particularly impressed with all we managed to cram into the two weeks with my niece and nephew. And there's so much more we could have done. Now that they know where to find us, I hope they come back and visit us again soon! 



















2 comments:

  1. Happy you had a great summer ... and love the lists! Made me feel like I had a little vacation as well. You are just so cute ... are you looking forward to fall and winter? Stay in touch please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jan! Fall and winter in the coastal rainforest. Not my favourite time of year, though now that I have weekends off (tra la la) I'm feeling much more optimistic about the rainy days ahead.

      (I keep thinking of things to add to the list while I'm out and about. Usually by the time I get home to update I've forgotten what I want to say.)

      Delete

Thanks for commenting. Your words of wisdom will appear once they have been previewed by the spam monkeys.

Your patience is appreciated.

Laurie the Monkey Queen