Another Item Off the List

It was a pretty amazing day from start to finish!

Exercise:

It’s great when you’ve told someone you’re planning to run as then you actually have to go out and do it! I headed out right away this morning for a 4km run. I’ve been really slow all summer and so figured it would take me about 28:30 to do this. I don’t know what happened, but I was back to my winter/spring speeds and managed 4.15km in 26:46. I know this is still super slow for most people, but I was happy😀. It was a 6:27/km average. I was a sticky, sweaty mess, but it got done.

Unfortunately I didn’t plan this out very well and realized I had to go out again tonight for an 8km run as it sure won’t get done tomorrow! It was much slower, but it also got done:). I had headed out to the dyke to do this one as I just wanted flat! I was starting to die and there weren’t as many people around as I was expecting so as I passed the 3km post I walked and was revising my plan. A woman running went by me and right away I felt bad that she had seen me start walking. I got running again and actually got to run with her for a km. Her regular running buddy had come down with a kidney infection. I think I may have slowed her down a bit, but it sure was nice to have someone to chat with and she got me out to the 4km marker:)

Family:

We stopped in to the cottage to see my aunt and cousin. It was great as it seems like it’s been way too long since I’ve seen them! The cottage is so beautiful! I don’t think I would get anything done though as I’d just be on the deck enjoying the panoramic water view all the time!

My cousin has done a beautiful job of decorating and is now almost done her room. I can’t wait to see it finished!

Eating:

My parents and I had lunch together at a bistro right in the Nanaimo Harbour. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it was called. I had the seafood salad.

I have to tell you that this was not worth the $17.50 they charged for it in my opinion! The only seafood is what you see on top and the rest of the bowl was just lettuce. It tasted good, but I expected a lot more seafood. I always find that though- you either get great food or great ambience, but you rarely get both:(

Travel:

My parents have given me an awesome ten day boat holiday, but at this point I had to head for home. I had originally thought I would take the ferry home and have my friend Brenda pick me up, but then my parents suggested I take Harbour Air. Taking a float plane ride has been on my bucket list for a lot of years!!! And today,…it got ticked off! I left the bistro and walked down the dock and boarded the plane. I think I grinned for the entire 20 minutes of the ride! It sat 11 people and there were only nine of us on it. I got a window seat and didn’t have anyone beside me so the view was awesome the whole way even though I was right beside the wing!

It was so neat to be able to see what the pilot was doing!

It didn’t hurt that he was super cute too!

Even with the one hour ride home on skytrain after landing in the Vancouver Harbour, I still saved myself about an hour and a half of time and it costs about the same as taking my car on the ferry. I may never take a ferry again!

Errands:

Even though I was tired by the time I got home I had to immediately go out and renew my car insurance and pick up a quilting pattern for my aunt in Nova Scotia.

I took the opportunity to pick up some buttons as this shop is moving further away!

Well, this along with laundry has been my day!

Words:

A few days ago my mom had told me that she was proud of how I have changed my life. The fact that I found myself thinking of this tonight on my run really illustrated the power of words for me. I love that she told me that as some days it is a struggle not to slide back into my old habits! I’ll have to remember to ensure my words leave a positive impression too.

Have fun!

AJ

An Out Day

It was a nice combination day with some lazing and some outside activity.

I spent the morning just hanging out with my mom and reading blogs.

Eating:

My dad got to choose the restaurant and we ended up here.

My dad had been here with my uncle for coffee and donuts and so wanted to try the food. He had the supreme cheeseburger and really liked it. It sure looked good. My mom and I split the cold turkey sandwich and coleslaw. I used the cranberry sauce to add some moisture and my mom used it and coleslaw. It was a very dry sandwich!! Sorry for no picture, it wasn’t worth it.

Shopping/eating:

So last fall I went to the Gluten Free Expo in Downtown Vancouver and had tried some products by Bake My Day. I was excited when I heard they were located in Duncan as I knew that was somewhat close to where my parents dock their boat. Well today, I made them drive around until we found this bakery. LOL I didn’t expect it to just be someone’s garage. 🤣It was set up as a full fledge bakery though.I was excited because I knew they had things that were gluten free and dairy free. It turned out only their tarts were ready made and gluten free and dairy free. They had six kinds that were safe for me and I bought one of each to try.

The first I tried was the lemon curd tart (top right). The lemon was sharp and tangy. The pastry was a little heavier than I would like but definitely not the worst I’ve had. My dad (who hates everything gf/df says the lemon was good, but the pastry needed to be done more. My mom says the lemon curd was wonderful and she wouldn’t know it was df/gf.

The baked lemon with raspberry tart was a surprise because the lemon was sweet and the raspberry was tart. I was expecting the opposite and think I would have enjoyed that more than the combo it was.

The final tart, again with a cute heart, was a strawberry rhubarb tart. It was a nice surprise as it had a hint of an orange citrus taste. The rhubarb was still slightly crunchy and it was a very yummy tart.

The caramel apple was the next to be sampled. I loved the little Apple on top. My dad says it’s a very distinct flavor and he liked it. I liked that the apple was still a little crunchy and it had a good cinnamon taste that was present but not overpowering. My mom liked the seasonings and was impressed the pastry didn’t taste like typical gf pastry.

The chocolate caramel had a delicious sweet topping that was a little crunchy. It was definitely sweeter than the other two. I liked the contrast between the tarter chocolate and the sweet topping.

The pumpkin (the bottom left) was very creamy tasty. I was a little surprised it didn’t have more of a cinnamon flavor.

While it was super nice to have a tart and to have choice in tart, I have to admit that I would probably order the lemon curd tart if I could only have one as you couldn’t tell it was gluten free and dairy free!

Sightseeing:

After the bakery, my dad had a couple of errands to run so my mom and I wandered the tourist section of Duncan. It was a super cute area with lots of outdoor decoration!

We went to a couple of stores. The first was an antique store that was lovely, clean, bright and smelled great!

We hit another store that contained a bunch of arts and crafts from a variety of artisans.

It was in this arts store that I found the perfect sign that describes my exercise today.

The third and final store we went into was so cute! I really love stores that have space in them so I don’t feel like a bull in a china Shop.

I founded the cutest West Coast growth chart for my friend’s baby. I’ll have to get it wrapped up and mailed to Regina.

We ended the day with a drink at a brew pub. I think it is the first time I have ordered a drink that I just couldn’t drink. I didn’t like it at all, but the decor was awesome!

Socializing:

We had to be home by a certain time as my parents go for Wings Wednesday with people from the marina and we couldn’t possibly miss that.

I had tuna steak on salad as the waitress said that was the safest thing for me to eat. Most of the table had wings, but my mom had wonderful looking nachos beside me.

It was an awesome final day, but I can’t believe I have to go home tomorrow:(

Once again my dad has a boat full of people so I must go be social.

Have fun!

AJ

A Run with a View

Yesterday was a quiet day.

Exercise:

I got out to do my 50 minute Squad Runner mission first thing. I wonder if there is ever going to come the day that I do t doubt my ability to run that?? I kept telling myself that I could run slow. I had no problem doing it, and I even did extra! My mom obviously thinks I’m a better runner than I actually am as she had me run all the way to the end of the road- up and down all of these hills!

It was a nice view when I got there though!!!

I wandered back slowly with my mom and picked blackberries as we went. Thankfully she had brought coffee with her so I could use the mug to hold the berries. They were so ripe and sweet they melted in your mouth!!!

Knitting:

We were supposed to be going out but my dad is still having trouble with the power system in the boat so he dealt with that- solved one but got another:(. My mom went to close the fridge door and realized the freezer wouldn’t close it had so much ice so she spent the day defrosting the fridge. I stayed out of the way and did some knitting and finished another pattern repeat. That’s two done and two skeins gone too! I might need more yarn😳

Movie:

I watched a new movie on Netflix last night called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. I had read this book a long tome ago and loved it. Thankfully, I loved the movie too! Definitely worth watching!!!

Socializing:

My dad, of course, had the back cockpit full of people again last night. I came and went:)

Well I’m off to start my adventures for today:)

Have fun!

AJ

Moving Again

Well I am again ending the day somewhere different. Got up this morning to find my parents itching to move. I thought we were going to Salt Spring Island, but we ended up back at Ladysmith Maritime Museum and Marina. It was a very smooth ride though the smoke got worse as we went. This is where my parents moor their boat. We had barely tied up when my mom was off for a shower. It is nice to have amenities again! I spent quite a bit of time here last year, but this is my first visit this year. It is nice to catch up with everyone:)

Knitting:

I did work away at my knitting and got 3/4 of a pattern done today. I have definitely not done enough on this holiday though!

Reading:

I have spent a lot of yesterday and today reading. I had read some blogs reviewing RS Grey’s Not So Nice Guy and read that, but then moved on to The Allure of Julian Lefray and The Allure of Dean Harper, her other two books.

I enjoyed both of the books and they were quick, light, summer reads. Neither of them really went how I expected them to though! I really enjoyed the friend aspect that ran through both books as they are centered around the same five characters; however, I found the romance just too abrupt.

Product Review:

I had picked up a dairy free, gluten free chocolate bar to try. I’m not sure why because I’m not a big chocolate fan, but I have eaten over the last several days.

I have to say the chocolate seemed good, but it didn’t have as strong a pineapple or coconut taste as I was expecting. I think I will stick with the Sassy one for my rare chocolate indulgences.

Socializing:

We have of course had company since we got here as my dad is a social butterfly.

One of the cutest visitors tonight! You can go see lots more pictures of this cutie on the Seafire Blog.

Have fun!

AJ

Eating

Another lovely day on land and water.

Exercise:

I started the day with a run around Newcastle Island. My parents have been great about getting me to shore for my runs, and this Island seemed perfect. It said it was 7.5km around the island and since my Squad Runner mission called for 6km, it seemed great! I started out, and was going along fine. There was a lot of up and down hill and one section where it would have been better to be a billy goat, but I was plodding along fine. After my one fall (not bad for me for a new technical trail route), I decided that it seemed like I had been out there for longer than I should have been. Think of my surprise when it said I did 9.3km around the island. I’m not sure how I found extra island to run, but perhaps it was the goat track or the fact I kept close to the shoreline 🤣

I also got a workout in this afternoon, or at least some exercises. I did: 10 crunches, 20 reverse curls, 30 heel drops, 40 heel reaches, 50 v ups, 60 bicycles, 70 toe touches, 80 dead bugs, 90 mountain climbers, 100 static crunch with scissor legs, 55 air squats, 55 plow squats, 1:50 plank. Not bad for being on a boat:)

Shopping:

My dad wanted to go the chandlery which was fine. I managed to spend more money than him as a I found a new Helly Hanson fleece that fit nicely. It’s a pretty raspberry colour, so definitely not something I already have in my wardrobe!

Eating:

I also took the opportunity of being in that area to try out a new ice cream shop. My mom had actually found this place. As we walked up we had stopped into the ice cream shops on the dock, but they just had the fruit sorbetto that was gf/df.

The Cold Front was a lovely stop that had five different plant based options. I went with the coconut flake which was very yummy!

My dad had the salted caramel and London fog ice creams and said they were good too.

I didn’t realize that my mom was holding out for Noodlebox so I ate dessert first and then shared a Chicken Pas Thai box with her.

It would probably be good if I could say that was the end of my eating for the day, but it wasn’t. This evening we dinghied over to

My parents have been here several times so it was neat to finally see what they were talking about. I had the Vanilla Freezie to drink and the one piece halibut and chips to eat. Everything was dairy free and gluten free and was delicious! The drink was nice and sweet but not heavy and the batter on the fish was lovely and light!

My dad had the calamari and of course my parents disagreed on whether this one or the one they had earlier was better. I can’t believe these two manage to live together in small spaces day in and day out without killing each other. I guess 47 years of marriage can do that!

Knitting:

Nothing yet today, but the evening is still young. I have to admit I have a good book to finish though!

Just a pretty evening picture to leave you with:)

Have fun!

AJ

Abort! Abort!

It was quite the day!

Boating:

My day started at about 2am when I woke to wind and spent the next few hours watching to see if we were moving and going to bump into boats or if it was just my imagination. Thankfully it seems to have been my imagination. Phew!

We were still have trouble with our batteries charging so my dad wanted to head out first thing this morning. We did, but quickly turned around as it was really rough!!! Not one of us wanted to spend four hours doing that!

We spent a number of hours anchored in the channel to watch the water and about 2:30pm we headed out again. It still wasn’t bath water, but we persevered. Thankfully I had a two hour nap!

Where I started the day…

Where I ended the day.

Knitting:

The afghan is going better now that I am really familiar with all of the stitches. I love that my mom picked a pattern that had new stitches for me. I learned the right and left twist:). I have gotten about half of another pattern repeat done today and hope to still do a bit more.

Exercise:

Absolutely none:(. It feels really weird, but maybe it will make me super fast tomorrow🤣

Reading:

Lately I have been reading several blogs where people had read a book called Not So Nice Guy by RS Grey. I try not to ever buy books, but I caved and bought the kindle edition of Not So Nice Guy. I knew it would entertain me on the ride over the strait (which yes I was nervous about as I had never done it and know my uncle and cousin almost died doing it once!)

I finished this book in one sitting. It features Samantha and Ian who are best friends and teachers at the same school. (I love reading teacher stories😀). They have been best friends since orientation and do everything together, but each has been hiding a secret.

This book actually surprised me a lot, as it didn’t go where I thought it was going to. Don’t worry, I won’t spill any details. I loved the relationship between these two friends, the fast pace of the book, the realism of the situations and the fact that everything is wrapped up neatly at the end. It didn’t hurt that I could picture the students highlighted and I could definitely identify with the problem parents!

I heard some bloggers comment on the explicit nature of the book, but personally I didn’t find it over the top, just normal for the type of book it is. There is an excerpt from the author’s other book at the back and it might have me hooked.

Well that’s my day:)

I have no idea how long we’re staying for, but it must be at least a day as my dad is inviting a friend for lunch tomorrow, of course it’s my least favourite friend of his🙄

Have fun!

AJ

Thirsty

I actually got off the boat today, though thankfully we were back for the excitement!

Reading:

I finished another NetGalley book today. If nothing else, this holiday is getting me caught up:)

October Kiss tells the story of Poppy and Ryan. Poppy has been drifting through her adulthood trying to find what is right for her while Ryan is completely focused on getting his new app sold, to the detriment of his relationship with his children. Poppy agrees to be Ryan’s nanny to prove that she can stick with something, but maybe she’ll do more than she ever thought possible!

I loved the characters of Poppy and Ryan. Poppy is the epitome of what I think all grownups feel at some point- lost and without focus and wondering what exactly you’re supposed to be doing and are you doing the right thing? She has a good heart and a good work ethic, but just hasn’t found her thing. I love how she interacts with the children and brings her zest for life to everyone!

At first I thought Ryan was going to be the quintessential workaholic, but he actually is trying to remedy the situation! He is able to have fun with Poppy and the children and he truly is clueless about what other people’s motives are. I like how he put the feelings of his children first!

This is the perfect book to read for the Fall and will definitely inspire my Fall bucket list. It is full of all that is best of the season and is like a how to for having Autumn fun.

I enjoyed how the book wrapped up, however, I wish we had learned whether the big presentation was successful! Otherwise, a great Fall read to get you in the mood for the season and cosy romance.

Thank you to Hallmark, the author and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sight seeing:

My dad wanted to go for fish and chips at lunch so while him and mom did that, I looked around town. A gorgeous path they have around the community hall. There are benches and even a food truck in this little green space.

There was a cute little cafe where the lady was actually cooking a turkey to make her turkey club sandwich. I wish it had been gluten free as that sounds like a good sandwich! I checked out the thrift store and a few other stores, but finally found the…

Reading Centre! Of course I would find the library🤣 They had a bright, uncluttered and well-organized space. It is run completely by volunteers and they had a good selection. They also had books for sale, but I managed to restrain myself:)

Product Review:

I had fun looking through the local IGA to see if it had different products than at home. I have to admit that looking through grocery stores is something I like to do on holidays. Today, I found a few new things to try.

This peach flavored iced tea was light and refreshing. It really hit the spot during the hot afternoon. The peach flavor is very light and it is not overly sweet.

I wanted to have a different diet pop around for some variety, but there weren’t many options. This one was on sale and a man in the store said his kids love it, so I decided to try it. It tastes like cream soda, but isn’t as sweet as the ones I remember. So far, so good!

This was the final new thing I tried today. When I opened the package there was a slight strawberry smell. They mainly taste like granola with just a hint of berry. My mom said they were lovely and good. I liked that they weren’t really hard granola so it didn’t hurt my teeth to eat them. Again, a lightly sweet treat that will hopefully keep my sweet tooth satisfied. I bought a chocolate hip flavor to try too. I have to admit this product did make me want to go home and bake my own granola bites!

Knitting:

It took me a long time today to settle down and take out another row of my knitting in the hopes of finding my lost stitch. I ended up only having to take out one more row, so three total, to get my stitch back. It looks like I had forgotten to do the second stitch in a right twist. I set to work and actually got my first pattern repeat done! 🎉🎊

Boating:

As I was sitting knitting, I looked up and thought we were getting closer to the boat anchored by us. A few minutes later, my mom yelled for my dad that we had to move!! With the wind that came up this afternoon, we were definitely too close!! We moved further into the bay and hopefully have found a better spot. It is definitely crowded in here tonight! I have the feeling we’ll all be up checking the anchor is holding tonight.

Exercise:

This afternoon I was catching up on Instagram and saw a workout, so I decided to try it. I definitely couldn’t do as many repetitions as Crystal Seaver did, but it did the trick on the boat. You can find the workout Here:)

The last thing I did today was my run to complete today’s Squad Runner mission. The mission was thirty minutes and I managed to get 32 in. My mom came out to walk so I kept looping back to her, unfortunately that meant I did this never ending hill several times:(

The hill continues up around the corner for about another 200 meters. It doesn’t look bad in this picture, but it felt killer!

Thankfully I was rewarded by a beautiful sunset on the dock while we were waiting for my dad to pick us up in the dinghy.

Its home sweet home again and I have to decide if I’ll knit or read:)

Have fun!

AJ

Do We All Become Our Parents?

What can I say, every vacation day is a good day:)

Exercise:

I started the day with a 5.7km walk with Anne and Moiya. It was already really hot out when we walked around a local lake, but I enjoyed it anyways as I knew it would be my last walk with these two.

Coming back I managed to grab pictures of the Easter Island garden art someone had. They have four or five in total and they are all different. Some people are so creative!

This evening, I managed a 5.1km run to complete the Squad Runner mission for today. My mom didn’t want me running on my own (nice to know that no matter how old you get- you’re still your mom’s little girl, but I really don’t think anyone was planning on stealing me🤪🤣), so I ended up running loops around the John Henry Pub and Marina. I managed to add on a little bit more so I only had to do 9 laps to complete this mission on this hot, muggy night. I even managed to be a tiny bit faster than I have been this summer- not back to spring running times, but improving.

Knitting:

I was working away happily on my parent’s boat afghan, until I realized that I was missing a stitch:(. I have ripped back two rows, but still haven’t found the stitch:( I might cry if I have to rip out 25 rows of knitting as this would be my 6th restart of this project, and here I thought it was going so well!

Blogging:

I went through my posts today to review my titles so I will hopefully not repeat too often. I had to laugh at myself as lately I’ve been worried when I only get 30 something likes on a post and as I looked back and saw the posts at the start of my blogging that had only one or two likes, I decided not to worry, I am slowly plodding forward:)

Grateful:

A few months ago I did this after my sister in law introduced me to the idea and I keep forgetting to add it to the bottom of my posts, though I think it’s an awesome thing to do at the end of a day. So here goes:

I am thankful for:

1) having the opportunity to spend time on a boat in a beautiful place with wonderful people

2) having the sunshine that will give me vitamin D and make me thankful for fall weather temperatures

3) for getting holidays from my job as I know how lucky I am to have such an extended period of time

It has been a very quiet day of mostly reading. As I looked around I saw that my parents were doing the same thing. Am I becoming my parents???😳🤪

Have fun!

AJ

Awww Really?

Another day in quiet paradise.

Exercise:

Started with a long walk with my mom, Anne and Moiya. It was going great until Anne mentioned they are leaving tomorrow:( Awww really? I don’t want to lose the great company, but they have to get in with their adventures too. The walk this morning was interesting as we did the same route as last night. Last night the road seemed perfect- quiet, flat, shady, etc. Today- there was so much traffic!!!! Ugh this will have to be my evening walking place I guess!

I also got a workout in while my parents went to the store. I managed to do more abs so while my cardio may suffer, maybe my abs will improve on this trip. Today, I did: 10 crunches, 20 reverse curls, 30 heel reaches, 40 leg drops, 50 bicycles, 60 v ups, 70 dead bugs, 80 toe touches, 90 static crunch with scissor legs, 100 mountain climbers, 50 squats, 50 plow squats, 1:45 plank.

As I write this, I realize I had screenshot a workout to do today. Ugh I’ll have to do it tomorrow.

I got a walk in tonight too. The same route as last night and this morning, but the road was back to being quiet. I thankfully have another week to explore different routes:)

Knitting:

I have spent a bit of time on my afghan today and am halfway through the first pattern now. It was rather warm knitting for 33 degree weather though:(

Reading:

Another day, another book. I finished my next NetGalley book today.

The Breakup by Erin McCarthy is the sequel in the Jordan Brothers series. It tells the story of Christian, a local bartender with a complicated family situation, and Bella, a social worker about to be married.

I thought I would find Bella annoying, but her character comes across as sweet and innocent. I also thought Christian would be a jerk, but he isn’t. He takes fatherhood seriously, treats Bella with respect and gives her what she needs whether she realizes it or not.

The pacing is excellent in this book. The story is not insta-love, though there is some insta-lust involved. I liked how they got to know each other and that brought them closer. I have to admit, I could have kicked Christian at the end for messing up, but it all worked out with a lovely HEA. I especially liked how we got an epilogue that tidily finished up both books in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Other than a nap, dangling my feet in the water, and way too much snacking, that was my day:)

Have fun!

AJ

Solitude with a Side

Well another lovely day on the boat.

Exercise:

I did get two runs in today. This morning we dinghied to shore and turned right. It was all hills!!!!!! This was the smallest hill! I ended up running just over 3km and I ran those hills multiple times because I was circling back to my mom, Anne and Moiya (the dog). It was not my favourite run of the year and wasn’t improved by the fact I learned my new Old Navy running shorts ride up:(

This evening I had a much better run:). We got dropped off at the pub that is a little to the left of us and except for the first hill, it was a relatively flat route along a lake. It felt so great to have a bit of a loner run as I got just over 7km in. The scenery definitely helped it go by fast!

In the afternoon I had the boat to myself so I got a workout in. It was mostly abs as I figured that wouldn’t cause the boat to crash about🤣 10 crunches, 20 toe drops, 30 toe touches, 40 reverse curls, 50 bicycles, 60 iso crunch with scissors, 70 heel touches, 80 mountain climbers, 90 squats, 100 second plank. At least I got something done!

Reading:

While my parents were away, I was unsure if the power problem had been solved so I didn’t want to be doing much as I wasn’t sure what the consequences would be, a little disconcerting to say the least as my phone had also died. I just stayed quietly reading.

I finished Someone Like You by Susan Mallory. I had thought it was a Fools Gold book, but it was actually the start of a new Los Lobos series. I enjoyed the book as the people are flawed and the situations realistic and yet it still has a happily ever after.

Knitting:

I am 1/4 of the way through the first pattern of the boat Afghan. This is going to take a lot longer to do than I expected as each pattern is 37 rows!! Oh well, a little each day and I will get there!

Shopping:

A quick trip to IGA in a near by area and that was all the excitement for today.

Wish you could all see how beautiful it is at night up here, but now I’m going to go enjoy it.

Have fun!

AJ