On December 22nd we sailed to Vancouver Island for visits with family and friends. Our first stop was in Qualicum Beach where our friend Carol had prepared a delicious lunch of clam chowder and cheese buns. We reminisced and caught up on family events before driving north to Campbell River where my sister Tara has relocated. It was a nasty drive through rain and snow and we were very thankful to get there before sunset.
Tara and Ted's family has expanded with the addition of Winnie.
The weather was clear on Sunday morning so we took Winnie for a short walk before heading down to the beach for a longer tour of the foreshore and the neighborhood. When we returned there was a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle waiting for us to finish...and a delicious roast beef/yorkshire pudding dinner to share that evening.
John spent many hours with Ted in his "man cave" listening to Ted's massive vinyl collection. The garage has been converted into a gaming, listening, watching, collecting and creating space for Ted's many interests.
On Christmas eve we drove to Heather, Chris and August's home in Comox. August wrote a note for Santa to explain that there were no carrots so he left celery for the reindeer.
There was also the traditional cup of milk and cookies.
After gift opening and breakfast we enjoyed the fresh sea air at Kin Beach.
Heather spent the afternoon in the kitchen creating a delicious turkey dinner for us to share. The turkey was golden as it emerged from the oven, the stuffing was laced with fresh herbs, the potatoes were mashed to perfection and the gravy captured flavors from the roast pan. We toasted each other and got totally "frunk"...August's descriptor for being overfed!
Santa's gift to August was a Casio keyboard.
He entertained us with exploratory compositions
and looks forward to piano lessons in 2019!
We sailed back to the mainland on Thursday
after spending special time with our special people!
