Christmas Visitors

Christmas morning we opened our gifts.  We haven't spent Christmas with Ian and Amy for a very long time.  It was great to be together although we miss the rest of our family and friends.

Socks - over the shoulder

Hot Wheels for Ian

Everybody needs a toy at Christmas

Tools for our firepit

Wayne gave me a new camera for Christmas.  After charging the batteries, Ian took this fish eye special effects picture.  I love my camera.  It is much smaller and has a better zoom feature.  Wayne did lots of research and was a very smart shopper.
After opening our presents, we enjoyed a delicous brunch. For entertainment we went to Ian and Amy's hotel for a swim and hot tub. Great way to spend the day. Instead of cooking a whole turkey, I went with a bone in Butterball turkey breast. It was very tasty and juicy. However they take a just as long to cook as a regular turkey. While waiting for supper we watched the movie "RV" with Robin Williams. A present from Santa. All in all a great Christmas Day.

Ian - A self portrait

Someone getting ready to kayak on Boxing Day

View from our picture window - ocean, mountains and boats.  Does it get any better?

Last week, I mentioned that we had some really good news. Amy and Ian got engaged. It all happened on Ian's birthday. We are so excited and can't wait for them to visit at Christmas.

Excluding the engagement, the big event this past week was our his and hers pedicures. The best pedicure I have ever received because of the chair massage as the ladies work on your feet.  Pure bliss!

These are my feet. For some reason Wayne didn't want any colour.

Wayne snapped this eagle when we were out on a walk. It's so hard to get a closeup. They seem to avoid cameras. We see lots of eagles but get few good shots.

Shot of the rain forest in the campground.

Last Tuesday was the Living Forest Campground Annual Christmas Potluck. The campground provided the turkey, ham and potatoes. The campers made side dishes and desserts. It was a great meal with between 60 to 80 guests. Lots of fun.

Our Table

Here on the island, Santa doesn't have reindeers to pull his sleigh. He uses Orcas.

Visiting Santa at the mall

So this has been a fabulous week. Lots of family excitement and social activities. We are looking forward to a great Christmas with Ian and Amy. Wish the whole family was together, but not this year.

Merry Christmas to All!!

Field Trip to Courtenay

Last weekend we travelled up island to visit our friend and old North Bay neighbour - Jackie.  It was a beautiful sunny day with guess what - mountains.  On the way to Courtenay we travelled via highway 19.  It's a little way from the coast at slightly higher elevations.  On the way home we travelled via the coastal road along the ocean.

Fishing boat

More boats

Dusk

Reunited

Laundry day at Chez Hollingshead

Barbecuing Dec 8 2010

We received some exciting news today.  Details to follow next week.  Hooray!!

Well, the snow has all melted.  We were back to just wearing sweaters out and about.  This will be shortlived as the sun is coming out  for the next few days.  With the sun comes cold weather.  Our temps will drop to about -3 or -4 at night and low positives in the daytime.  No problem.

Last night we went out for dinner with our friends Bob and Carol.  The restaurant was called Diners Rendezvous.  An excellent supper was had by all.  I would recommend this restaurant highly.  Note no pictures.  I still have trouble remembering to use the camera.

I put up Christmas decorations recently.  I have lots of snowflakes hanging from my valances.  These are the only snowflakes that I want.  We are having a wreath instead of a tree this year.  Much more streamlined.  I love my pointsetta.  Costco had a huge selection last week.  Monday we are going to go Christmas shopping.

Lights Off

Lights On

We returned to our acquacize classes this week.  Great workout.  We missed a couple of weeks due to various personal, weather and health issues

We can receive mail at this campground.    We will be at this address until the first of April.  Our address is as follows:

Kim and Wayne Hollingshead
c/o Living Forest Campground
6 Maki Road
Nanaimo, BC V9R 6N7

Have a great week.

What a Difference 24 Hours Makes

Thursday Morning at 9 am

About 4 inches fell.

24 Hours Later - 9 am Friday.  Melting rapidly.

On Monday night it was very cold by Nanaimo standards.  The temps were about -10 degrees celcius and the wind chill about -19 degrees.  Our water tap outside froze and our hot and cold water lines in the kitchen also froze.  Wayne thawed the tap with a heat gun and rigged up a tarp around the kitchen slide out to make a wind break.  We emptied out the cupboard and removed the false floor revealing where the pipes go under the floor.  Then set up a small space heater to blow into the cupboard and after about an hour it thawed.  We realized that the heat was set too low in the RV.  Had to raise it up to 68 degrees fahrenheit.  Tuesday night was also very cold but not windy.  Nothing froze.  We also had a 200lb propane tank delivered on Wednesday.  No more running outside at 2 in the morning to change propane tanks.  Such luxury!

Wednesday night more snow came as you can see in the above pictures.  School was cancelled and the roads were a huge mess.  We just hunkered down.  Thursday night Living Forest Campground hosted a Snowbird Potluck Supper.  It was great.  I made Hawaiian meatballs.  I tend to make these for most potlucks that we go to.  We had a lovely time getting together with the other campers.

Now it is Friday evening and the rain is pouring down.  I doubt if there will be any snow left by morning.

I also started my Christmas baking.  Wayne loves molasses cookies. Just finished about 3 dozen.  Must go almost time for supper.

A Sad Time

On Thursday of last week, our beloved pet Punk passed away.  She had been a loving and constant companion for over 12 years.  As she aged, Punk developed a hyperactive thyroid which was controlled with medication.  Unfortunately this condition worsened and Punk was unable to tolerate an increased dosage.  She enjoyed camping and in particular watching the birds at the feeder.  Punk is greatly missed.

The weather has changed dramatically in the last few days.  Our daily tempuratures are hovering in the minus 3 degree range.  In the next 48 hours temps are forecast to drop to about minus 9.  By Thursday we should be back to the more normal plus temperatures.  As you can see we also have been blessed with snow. (Sarcasm)  Parts of the island received up to 24 cm last Friday night.  Here we saw about 2 cm.  The ocean really moderates our temps.

You can see the snow on the mountain tops.  These mountains are on the mainland.

Other activities in the past week included an overnight visit from friend, Marilyn.  We went on a Christmas Artisan Tour.  Wayne had trouble with his back and spent a couple of days laying down with the heating pad.  I also went to a Snowbird Ladies' Coffee Club meeting.  We are going to meet every Wed afternoon.  It was nice to get to know our neighbours better.

Hopefully this week will be a happier one.

Waterfront Walkabout

This week I'm highlighting sights seen while strolling the Nanaimo waterfront walkway.  It is very lovely passing a combination of shopping, condos, a park, yacht club and boatyards.  We spent a morning wandering the trail and snapping pictures.

Starting our walk in the park

A few of the many boats in the harbour

Seaplane landing - You can fly directly to Vancouver in about 20 minutes for about $60

Admiral of the Fleet - The Bathtub Race Fleet.  I think the race is held in January.  It's a big deal.  We'll have to see it.

Wonderful carving in the park

Other side of carving

Punk has been ill this week.  It doesn't look promising.

Friends, Flu Shots and Firewood

 So, what did we do last week?

On Monday we went on a road trip to Parksville.  We had finally found a source to buy firewood by the half cord.  The wood was fir slabs and quarters all prepacked 4 foot high on a pallet and wrapped in plastic.  The theory stated that we could just travel down the highway at 110 km/hr with this 4 foot high pallet  loaded into the bed of the truck.  In reality it was very tippy.  We went one block and had to return to the lumber yard to have the lift truck remove the pallet. Then we loaded the wood by hand into the truck bed completely filling it.  But we now have lots of wood for fires.  I had a fire every afternoon last week.  It is wonderful.

There is a family of bald eagles living near us.  As I sit by the fire they are flying around and screeching.  This is their favourite tree to sit in during the day.  They soar around constantly but the camera is too slow to catch it.  Sorry.

On Thursday we went to a flu shot clinic.  In and out in less than an hour.  But by swimming time we were feeling a bit wonky and skipped swimming.  In fact we didn't go to the pool at all this week - Tuesday we were piling the firewood.

Thursday evening Living Forest hosted a bbq and campfire for us snowbirds.  We met many new people and had a grand time.

Bright and early on Saturday, we travelled to Sooke, west of Victoria.  This is where Marilyn and Tom live.  They have a beautiful home in a new subdivision.  I forgot to take a picture of their house.  It is very open and spacious.  We went through the show homes and found a gorgeous condo complete with woods and a babbling brook.  You could here the brook with the window open and the condo included a large deck overlooking it.
On Saturday we went on a tour of the area around Langford and Esquimalt.  Then home for a great bbq supper and a rousing game of cards.  A new game to us - Phase 10.  We will have to play again - it's lots of fun.
Sunday morning Nicole (oldest daughter), Brian and Kaitlyn came over  for brunch.  It was lovely to see them.  Years ago Nicole and Daniele (youngest daughter)  occasionally came to daycare.
Punk was a grumpy diva with Bailey and Abby(the dogs) but fine with Kaitlyn(granddaughter). 
Thanks Marilyn and Tom - we had a great time!
PS - Funny how a piece of double chocholate fudge cake showed up when we unpacked, another Sooke mystery, TOM......

Checking the flyers with Kaitlyn

Marilyn

Nicole and Kaitlyn

Tom and Brian (son in law)