2024 is a year of optimism and adventure! The years 2020, 2021, 2022, and part of 2023 were challenging and the covid-19 pandemic brought unprecedented global change. However, 2024 has arrived and the majority of people in Canada have removed their masks and I feel so grateful for our return to freedom and exploration.
Thank you Canada!
My blog is my chosen venue to share my story.
Background information is provided by clicking on the Menu (upper right). The Search feature assists quick location of previous blog posts including: Prior to Covid travel to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Mexico. Since Covid lockdowns, exploration has focused around beautiful Western Canada–particularly Vancouver Island. This year we are back exploring beyond Canada. You are welcome to join my journey.
Flashback to the LadysmithDays Festival on July 31st, 2022. The Events Program indicated that a Dance Duo named Funkanometry would be performing. Word got around that these young men were becoming a huge hit! As a former dance instructor, I was curious to watch their performance and be introduced to their unique style of dance.
Soon after locating a bench seat in the front row of the Ladysmith Transfer Beach Amphitheatre, a small group of people arrived at the side of the theater. The group included two young men dressed very casually in dark pants, white runners, and T-Shirts with the letter F on the front. Hmmm….Was this the duo?
A large group of teenagers started screaming as the duo walked towards the center of the outdoor floor. Interesting reaction? The duo seemed confident, calm, and approachable. When the music commenced, I quickly understood the appeal of this gifted dance duo! Wow!
Funkanometry performed in Ladysmith July 2022. Video by Sandra Walther
Rush and Fryer are pros! They were highly entertaining! They demonstrated amazing musicality and unique choreography. They were energetic and clearly loved dancing.
When a young girl ran up wanting to join in dancing, they did not falter or hesitate–they kept performing and adapted to the situation. Their dancing and presentation resulted in smiles and happiness across the multi-generational audience. We all wanted to see more of Funkanometry.
Funkanometry performance July 2022 video by Sandra Walther
Rush and Fryer had unique moves and really played with the audience. We were totally engaged. This Vancouver Island duo was talented and definitely had the potential to “go places” much beyond our beautiful island.”
Funkanometry plays with the audience July 2022 Ladysmith. Videoed by Sandra Walther
I believe it…you’re hot all right! Funkanometry combines many types of dance to create a unique and fun style of their own.
Each dance number had its own individuality, and interactive humour was the constant element between the duo. The dancing felt positive and uplifting.
Funkanometry Duo having a great time performing in Ladysmith July 2022. Video by Sandra Walther
In this dance number Jacksun and Carlow really seemed to be relaxed and having a wonderful time interacting with the audience. Their smiles and energic moves certainly had me smiling and tapping my toes! I feel so proud that these talented young men are from Vancouver Island, Canada.
Funkanometry Duo Jacksun & Carlow at Ladysmith July 2022. Video by Sandra Walther
Rush and Fryer made it to the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent in 2022 and danced a risky, judge controlled choreography as one of eight acts selected for the finals of Canada’s Got Talent on Tuesday, May 14th 2024.
Jacksun Fryer and Carlow Rush continued to amaze the audience and raise the bar! They definitely received my vote. Go Funkanometry! You barely missed obtaining first place and the 1 Million dollars prize! As the Runner-Up performers for Canada’s Got Talent 2024, you have successfully made Funkanometry a household name across Canada! Congratulations!
You are living the dream! We’ll continue to be watching and sending our positive energy from Nanaimo! @Funkanometry
This blog post will explore the “Wonders of the World” from the Parksville Sand Sculpture/Beach Festival held during the summer of 2023. (A World of Wonder was the winner of the People’s Choice doubles award).
The artistic creations truly took our breath away. I always found building sand castles using buckets, sand, seaweed, shells and various seashore items, enjoyable as a child until sections collapsed or the waves quickly eroded my ‘fortress’. Therefore, I am totally in awe of these artistic creations which manage to withstand weeks of display in varying weather conditions throughout the summer.
Vancouver Island hosts a wide variety of summer festivals and outdoor experiences. A popular event for families or individuals (which runs for over a month starting in mid July) is the Parksville Sand Sculpture competition and Beach Festival.
If you have arrived from the B.C. mainland via B.C. Ferry and are based in Nanaimo, the community of Parksville is a mere 35 minutes drive on Highway 19 North–only 40 km away.
The beaches are mostly sandy and during low tide, offer a wonderful area to explore. Locals and visitors enjoy playing in the sand or swimming in the Pacific ocean. Famous Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park has campsites, forests and sandy beaches. If you hope to camp during the summer months, book early!
Parksville beaches have public access and a lovely easy boardwalk adjacent to the sandy beach.
These photos depict the Parksville beaches beside the boardwalk during an August low tide. There are multiple websites available to assist your planning when coming to explore our central Vancouver Island paradise. Here is a link to more information and photos promoting Parksville/Qualicum beaches, lodgings, and upcoming activities.
The photos in this blog post were taken during a visit to Parksville in mid August 2023. The location of the sand competition is adjacent to the Parksville beach/boardwalk/park area. The creation of the sculptures occurred from July 13th-16th when artists had 30 hours to create their elaborate sand interpretations. There are two main categories artists may select–solo or doubles.
This year’s theme was “Wonders of the World“. Karen Jean Fralich was the winner of the solo category with her “Great Barrier Reef” sculpture. Fred Dobbs and Ted Siebert won the doubles award for “Wonderland“. (Shown below).
Thomas Koet won the solo competitor’s choice award for “Two Wonders of the World“. Edith van de Wetering & Wilfred Stijger won the competitor’s choice for doubles with “Dreams“. People’s choice awards went to Peter Vogelaar in the solo category for “Age of Wonder” and Doubles went to David Ducharme & Susanne Ruseler for “A World of Wonder“.
The consistency of the sand is crucial to the success of the sand creations. I learned that the sand is actually transported to the competition site from a quarry in nearby Coombs. The sand requires fluvial deposits (river sand) a mixture of silt and clay. The competitors often commence using wooden forms; a strong ratio of sand to buckets of water is used (8:1 ratio was quoted by one of the volunteers); and when the sculpture creation is completed, a spray containing a type of glue is applied to harden the sand.
After the conclusion of the annual competition, the sand is returned to the quarry where the winter rains successfully break down the hardener enabling the sand to be re-used/re-cycled the following year. What an impressive concept! Here are a few of the amazing sand sculptures this year.
If you are interested in further information about the 2023 Sand Sculpture competitors or plan to attend this Vancouver Island festival next year, the Parksville Beach Festival website is a great source of information. Click the “homepage” link .
There were so many imaginative sculptures expressing visual messages. I have only provided a sample of some that intrigued me for varying reasons. This sculpture won my token for the People’s choice award. This is a personal experience…I look forward to next year’s theme and the powerful messages and beauty created in sand and shared by these talented artists.
In addition to the famous sand sculptures, Beachfest included summer concerts and activities for all ages. Thank you to all the volunteers who help to make the Parksville summer Beachfest such a positive, friendly, relaxing and fun experience. Well done Parksville!
This series of photos were taken mid July 2023 at Port Hardy near Fort Rupert (Kwakwaka’wakw Territory). The top 2 photos are of Storey’s Beach area. It’s a beautiful area to kayak, paddle or explore and we often encounter Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall’s porpoise, and sometimes the odd whale. The bottom photo is an art display depicting First People’s art and culture which is located at the Port Hardy Airport.
Port Hardy is located on the northern end of Vancouver Island, B.C. With a population of under 5,000 people, it is the largest community on the north island. It is also the southern BC. Ferry terminus for the the inside passage voyage north to Bella Bella, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii, or Alaska. Port Hardy and the surrounding small communities are known as the “Gateway to Adventure”. Near the town of Port Hardy, you will notice the motto on the welcome signs “Live the Adventure” illustrating a black bear and salmon. The pristine outdoor options are a nature lover’s delight. There is also a small airport offering flights down island or to Vancouver and small planes also connect to fishing resorts and smaller coastal villages.
This blog post describes a special annual summer event that occurs during mid July in Port Hardy. FiLoMi Days weekend is a definite highlight for locals and tourists who are lucky enough to locate accommodation during this summer festivity. There are campgrounds, cabins, motels, and B&B but they fill quickly–especially during ferry nights or special celebrations. Here are a couple of the options…
The FiLoMi acronym symbolizes the 3 major industries of the town (Fishing, Logging, and Mining) although ecotourism is quickly becoming a 4th major industry here. Each year the FiLoMi days theme represents one of the 3 industries and in 2023 the theme was Fishing. This is a huge event for this town and visitors will discover a friendly, busy weekend with many former citizens venturing “home” to reunite with friends and community members.
Early on Saturday morning, you will see floats and vehicles being decorated around town prior to the parade marshalling. Ribbons are allocated in a multitude of classes based on the creative interpretation of the theme–2023 was Fishing! Later on Saturday morning the locals and visitors are generally either in the parade, or sitting watching it, as it meanders from the local Thunderbird Mall to the Tourist Information Center and main Carrot Park area.
FiLoMi Days parade 2023. The Port Hardy Seniors were one of the many groups in fine form. There was an enthusiastic audience gathered to view and support the event. Here is a short video sharing a few highlights from the parade and other events, such as, the Taiko Drummers, Boat Building competition, Beach Volleyball tournament, Music, Beer Garden, Buck a Shuck Oysters, Children’s Play area, Float Plane fly pass, Free Seniors Bingo, and Food and Crafts Booths. The Free Movie in the Park, Rubber Duck Races, and Fireworks also were crowd favourites; in addition to the “Sold Out” FiLoMi adult dance.
As a former teacher in Port Hardy area for over 35 years, one of my favourite aspects of FiLoMi Days weekend is when former students come up and reconnect sharing their life stories, new partners, children, successes, or challenges. It warms my heart and is so gratifying and uplifting. 🙂 I won’t list names, but here are a few of these special individuals from FiLoMi Days 2023.
The Boat Building competition is another crowd favourite. The boats are usually designed prior to the event then each team has 3 hours to build their creation then launch it and try to steer the boat around a buoy and back to shore first without sinking! Each year we wonder what materials and designs will be effective (or not) and how many “boats” will successfully complete the voyage around the buoy. This year was particularly special as two of the competitors from the winning boat team were former students of mine. Congratulations Buddy and Adam!
Here are a few more random photos taken during FiLoMi Days in Port Hardy. It was a family friendly event and the weather was great! Although heads up…the ocean water is pretty chilly!
I hope you enjoyed this taste of FiLoMi Days weekend in beautiful Port Hardy, Vancouver Island. Thanks so much to the dedicated organizers of the event. I look forward to FiLoMi Days 2024! Cheers Sandy
July 1st is Canada Day in our beautiful North American country. Citizens and tourists donned their red and white clothing, flags and decorations and headed to Maffeo Sutton park in Nanaimo to celebrate!
To encourage involvement of citizens in our small city of 106,631 (2023), the Nanaimo B.C. Transit bus system offered FREE shuttle service all day long from 2 local locations–our main shopping mall at Woodgrove located at the north side of the city, and our University of Vancouver Island campus. It was a fun option to ride the clean, efficient buses and not have to worry about locating parking space. There was also a FREE bike valet service provided at the city park location if you chose to ride down town.
When we arrived at Maffeo Sutton park there were people learning to kayak in the lagoon area while others walked along the seawall or sat and admired the beauty of our oceans and nearby islands–Protection Island & Newcastle (Saysutshun) island.
It was beautiful to observe the diversity of culture, age, religion, and unique identities all sharing a peaceful, reflective, fun experience together.
Prior to the official opening ceremonies at the Nanaimo pavilion, there was a flag bearer walk along the trail by the lagoon to the pavilion. A dance troupe sharing Chinese culture performed various times during the day.
Canada Day Flag bearer parade during opening ceremonies at Nanaimo
Following the Flag ceremony we gathered at the Maffeo Sutton Pavilion augmented by grassy open spaces, tents, healthy varieties of shade trees, and a glorious view of the Pacific ocean as we bonded together singing our national anthem… Oh Canada!
It felt so emotionally powerful to be singing our national anthem together on Canada Day — Oh Canada! Following our anthem, a few dignitaries welcomed all Canadians and tourists to the Canada Day celebration. Speeches were given by our current mayor of Nanaimo Leonard Krog; our two government elected officials–Lisa Marie Barron & Sheila Malcolmson; and also a touching reflection from a very grateful new Canadian citizen.
After the Opening Ceremonies concluded….it was time to explore all the entertainment, booths, and activities available around this beautiful Nanaimo park.
At Maffeo Sutton park you will discover a substantial children’s play area and even a summer time zipline experience available crossing over the lagoon. Can you spot the boy on the zipline approaching the landing spot?
This is the musical section of the children’s play area. The drum kit seemed to be the favourite mode of creating music during our walk past the area.
There were many people entertaining around the park area including guys on stilts and this talented magician. In addition to random entertainers, there was also a diverse list of different cultural groups performing from Flamenco and Chinese dancers to Square dancing!
These photos show demonstrations by a martial arts troupe and square dance performers.
If you felt hungry….There were free Canada Day cupcakes! Or you could peruse the Food Truck/Cultural food area. These are only 2 of the food options available.
Or…If you prefer to enjoy the beautiful Pacific ocean surroundings, there are regular small ferries available over to nearby Protection or Saysutshun Islands. You could walk along the seawalk path, explore the wharf side markets, or just chill on a blanket on the grass.
This photo depicts the seawall path by the float planes and close to the marina area. There are several ice-cream/gelato shops along here. One shop produces homemade ice-cream including the famous Nanaimo bar flavour!
Canada Day in Nanaimo, B.C. was a ton of fun! It sure feels great to be free of the Covid masks too!
We are looking forward to next year’s events and all the upcoming Vancouver Island summer festivals!
Cheers from Vancouver Island. Have fun exploring. S
We adopted Sophia when she was about 6-7 weeks old. She was one of 5 kittens that were discovered and rescued from a forested area on northern Vancouver Island. The first year was definitely a challenge with her PTSD and anxiety. But, as her trust levels increased, so did her interaction with us. Sophia has now passed her second birthday. She is fit, healthy and tremendously curious! She likes to be included and involved in all projects!
Sophia helping with quality control!
This blog post is about the construction of a new storage bench. Of course, Sophia participated fully during all stages of construction!
We carefully unpacked the box….Sophia had to check out the color and quality of the wooden pieces. Translated, this meant exploring and hiding inside the layers of packing material while we read the assembly instructions.
Sophia checks out the packaging for us…
While we sorted out the necessary components for this project, Sophia supervised making certain we were working diligently.
Sophia inspects the components….
The next step was to assemble the sides, top, and bottom sections. Sophia watched from a nearby dining room chair while I located numbered pieces and my husband assembled them together.
Assembling the sides while Sophia observes from a safe location!
The rattan fronts on the doors seemed to intrigue Sophia and she decided to come closer to the action. She hid inside the bench structure and watched the process–even putting out her paw to assist!
Sophia getting closer to the action and extending her paw to help!
Sophia had an in depth inspection of the drawers. She seemed to approve of the construction, but was a little too fascinated by the decorative rattan on the front.
Sophia gives a final inspection of the drawers
Newly assembled, we moved the storage seat into its new location. Of course, Sophia followed and gave the furniture its final inspection from the sides and front. Luckily, it was too tight when she explored underneath, so this won’t be a new hiding spot. She adores playing tag with us!
Sophia inspects the new furniture and thankfully can not fit underneath it!
This was a quick and easy little covid project. We all assisted and are very content with the end result. Now ….Back to hiking and exploring around Vancouver Island.
Covid lockdowns may be challenging and you may feel confined both by your face masks and need to remain physical distanced. However, there are so many wonderful places to safely explore outdoors which can improve your mental health by promoting some much needed exercise, and connecting you to nature.
Hiking and exploring the Trans Canada Trail around south Nanaimo
Today’s blog post will explore one small section of the Trans Canada Trail!
Click the photo to Learn about Exploring the Trans Canada Trail
The section of the Trans Canada Trail we are exploring today is located in the Regional District of Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) which includes Extension Trail and the mysterious Abyss and spiritual Labyrinth.
The Regional District of Nanaimo map illustrating our days hiking excursion route.
The photos on this blog post reflect two separate hiking excursions–both occurring during autumn (October 8th and November 5th). This is a lovely time of the year to go hiking around Vancouver Island as the weather is a bit cool, there are usually very few annoying flying insects, and snow and ice have not yet arrived.
The Extension Ridge Trail. My friend and I perched on the lookout stumps named “The Thrones”.
The deciduous trees have started dropping leaves which provides colorful surrounding foliage. Sometimes it can be a bit wet or muddy in sections; but if you wear good hiking boots and use walking poles (optional), this is a fun way to connect with nature, breathe fresh air and get some exercise!
In addition to coniferous trees (Cedar, Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Pine), there are great quantities of Arbutus often shedding their reddish bark along this trail.
There are extensive trail options to explore. It is a fascinating geological area as the Nanaimo region has an extensive history of coal mining and is also in an earthquake zone.
There are signs indicating “Keep dogs on leashes” posted around the Abyss.
The “Abyss” is a famous natural landmark on this trail. The origin of this substantial deep crack is attributed to a combination of underground coal mining and more recent earthquake activity. In spite of its obvious safety hazard, nearly every year rescue personnel are called to try and save dogs that have fallen down into the deep crevice!
My HCNC Hiking Group checks out the depth and length of “The Abyss” crack!
This following blog post from Tourism Nanaimo offers additional information about these trails and their history.
Click the photo to learn more about The Abyss from Tourism Nanaimo
Continuing along the Extension Ridge Trail past the Abyss, you will encounter more Arbutus forests and stunning views of the ocean and surrounding islands. There is a lookout spot with two large stumps which the locals call “The Thrones”.
The “Thrones” and beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding islands.
When you arrive at the “Fairy Circle” junction you can select your next path choice. If you head left, you will discover “The Labyrinth” where you can quietly walk through the maze and meditate or contemplate life.
The Fairy Ring and The Labyrinth on Extension Ridge Trail
This interesting moderate level hike takes about 3-4 hours to explore. There are lots of adjourning trails so your adventure could easily continue much longer if you wished.
Future blog posts will share more beautiful hiking locations around Nanaimo and trips exploring southern Vancouver Island.
Keep safe and keep optimistic. Cheers. S
Update: October 2023 This is an addition to my blog post in response to a question I received this month from a reader.
When I first hiked and explored the “Abyss” the two sides of rock appeared fairly even in height as shown in these previous google images.
Images of the Abyss shown on the web.
During our most recent hike a few weeks ago we all noticed that the two sides of the Abyss appeared to have changed in height difference… hmmmm? Is it our imagination or is a force changing the levels of the surface?
October 2023. Is a slight slide in the crack occurring?
Covid lockdown periods offer an opportunity to focus on projects near and dear to your heart. This blog post illustrates a renovation project to update the interior stairwell area of our house.
Updating the interior stairwell area of our house. Winter 2021.
I assisted with color selection, design, holding levels and boards during measurement and installation, and was the official photographer. My husband was the driving force, remodeling expert, and leader of this renovation project!
Our goal was to update the stairs area and add more natural light into the stairwell.
After researching ideas on multiple home renovation sites; then determining what was actually possible to alter and update in our 1970’s house; we commenced the project.
Removing previous carpet, underlay, nails and staples!
The current carpet and underlay were removed. All the nails and staples were pulled out. That’s a tedious job!
Removing the old pass-through opening…
The wood and painted plexiglass panels were removed from the pass-through opening. I must confess, I was never fond of that retro design!
As usual, our cat was involved checking out the progress and “assisting” with the changes.
Sophia loves to assist and evaluate our progress
The old handrails were removed. Imperfections in the walls were repaired and fresh paint was applied.
At “Finishing” stores we selected the wood for the stair skirts, new handrails, and trim around the pass-through opening. Wrought iron balusters were selected for inside the opening. The black balusters were a new design featured in the 2021 catalogue. We really liked how the shapes of the balusters complimented the shape of our pass-through opening.
New wrought iron balusters in the pass-through opening
The carpet and underlay were picked to compliment and transition between our foyer tile and upstairs flooring.
Measurements, painting, cutting, placement, routing, and more measurements ensued.
The custom designed stair skirts made a huge difference brightening up the stairwell area and were first to be attached in place.
My hubby created custom designed stair skirts
Updating the pass-through area came next. It was really exciting to see how this change encouraged more natural light and made the space look so much more modern and enticing.
Updated new pass-through opening and espresso modern handrails.
The new espresso stained solid wood handrails are both functional and tie in with our color scheme.
The installation of the new thick, comfy carpet was the final stage of our Covid Project Stairwell Renovation.
All done! We achieved our goals of updating the stairwell and adding more natural sunlight.
We are really thrilled with this update to our home. Awesome job, Mark!
What’s next? Time to return to hiking and exploring once the snow recedes and the roads are accessible once again.
“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas“…The lyrics incite such a romantic vision of a Winter Wonderland. It truly is magical when snow arrives for Christmas…
Winter Wonderland in our backyard…Merry Christmas 2021 from Vancouver Island, Canada.
After shoveling snow several times a day for over a week straight (Thanks hon!); and being basically snowed in during the entire time my 88 year old mother and son, Alexander, were visiting over Christmas; I must confess visions of sun and warm beaches have been slipping into my thoughts lately!
Shoveling snow every day since snow arrived! Dec 2021
However, it is with gratitude, I embrace the beautiful snowy scenes and Winter Wonderland our family experienced during 2021 Christmas.
In preparation of the Festive Season, we attended a George Canyon Christmas concert, set out the nutcracker collection, decorated the tree, and Sophia our cat set out to explore after the first snowfall.
Getting into the Holiday Mood–George Canyon, Nutcrackers, Tree, Sophia and Snow!
Gifts were created and shared. From Santa on a motorcycle playing “Born to be Wild” to homemade pumpkin pies for each of our neighbors. I even managed to get my hair cut and styled!
Getting ready for Christmas Festivities…
My husband and I headed up for a day of downhill skiing at Mount Washington prior to the influx of participation when school breaks for the Holidays.
Downhill Skiing at Mt Washington, Dec. 2021 (weekday).
By December 22nd my 88 year old mom and son, Alexander, arrived at our home on Vancouver Island. Alexander had spent the previous week in Toronto working at the StarFish Medical office in Toronto. Luckily his Covid test was negative after returning back to our province, so he was able to join us at Christmas. Sadly, his long time girlfriend, Benz, remains in Thailand due to Covid global restrictions. We all really miss her optimistic ways and quick smiles! Sophia, our rescue cat was thrilled to have Alexander home!
Beautiful Benz in Thailand and Sophia loving Alexander’s gentle touch.
When Alexander arrived my modest, reserved son quietly informed us that he had just received an award at his work place. We were all so proud when we learned that Alexander had been selected to receive the StarFish Medical “Reach For the Stars” award.
My son, Alexander, was selected to receive the StarFish Medical “Reach for the Stars” 2021 award with Scott Phillips (Founder and C.E.O. of StarFish Medical.)
His grandad (Alex) would have certainly been beaming with pride! Alexander is the 3rd generation of exceptional Engineers. My dad whom Alexander is named after, was a Marine and Machine Engineer. His Uncle Mark was an Electrical Engineer. Alexander is a Design and Manufacturing Engineer. All three generations are incredible divergent thinkers, innovative problem solvers, and hard working leaders in their fields. Alexander is very humble, but he is allowing his proud mom to share this recent recognition. I am so proud of you hon!
So how do you entertain when snow is steadily increasing outside day by day?
Daily measurement of snow on the back deck table….The last photo reached 48 cm or 19 1/2 inches!!!
Well….The 4 of us (mainly Alexander) worked together to complete a 1,000 piece puzzle entitled “Wish you were here” sent by a lovely friend in Burns Lake. Thanks Wendy! Our one outing in the snow was Alexander’s gift to his nana. Mom selected a movie she would like to see and we all attended “West Side Story” together! It was mom’s first time attending a movie theatre in years and she was thrilled watching from recliner chairs!
Christmas activities–puzzles and movies!
Eating….Meal planning was done ahead of time. Here are a few of the meals we shared together.
Sharing meals together….Enjoying extra treats over the Holidays.
Christmas is not quite the same without small children present and our day was pretty quiet with only 4 family members present together. Covid times have changed our celebrations, but we embraced our time and had fun together!
Highlights from Christmas 2021
The Fifth member of our home is our rescue cat, Sophia. Although she loves to spend time outdoors….We discovered that Sophia is not fond of deep snow and temperatures below 0! She is curious and likes to check in with us (especially me), but during a Winter Wonderland experience she is happy to hang indoors!
Sophia our Turquoise shell cat prefers indoors….but likes to follow me when the snow is under 30 cm.
It is a lot of hard physical work keeping snow under control–including keeping the vehicles accessible and driveways/paths cleared. But sometimes…..you just need to have a bit of fun and make snow angels!
Mark and Alexander demonstrate how to create Snow Angels! Dec 2021
Sophia demonstrated how to create paths in the snow and play with the snow. She was not successful creating snowballs….but she tried hard!
Sophia (rescue cat) tries to make snowballs….
We definitely had a “White Christmas” this year and as we approach the New Year of 2022, I can say honestly that we will have a “White New Year” too!
Yes. We had a “White Christmas” 2021
The snow seems to be very content resting here and weather forecasts do not indicate that it will be disappearing in the near future. So….Here are some highlights showing the beauty of a Winter Wonderland in our city.
Scenes around our cul de sac during our December 2021 Winter Wonderland.
Alexander assists nana through the path in the snow to my husband’s truck. Mark drove her up the cul de sac hill to get into the vehicle which would be taking her back home up island.
Alexander assists his nana through the snow. Mark checks out an icicle!
Christmas is over for 2021….The Winter Wonderland remains in our city on Vancouver Island.
Happy New Year 2022!!!! From our home to yours!
2020 and 2021 have had their challenges with Covid global pandemic lockdowns. A new year is inspiring and offers new opportunities and hope. Happy New Year 2022! From Canada to your home!
So, how old is your cat in human years? Well….There certainly is a wide discrepancy on this answer dependent on the age of the research source, the expertise of the source, and whether your kitten/cat is indoor only or a combination of indoor/outdoor.
Sophia loves to assist when I’m working in my office!
Older sources typically tended to be more generalized stated a cat/human equivalent would be about 1 cat year to 7 human years. Newer sources typically list a 1 year old cat as about 15 years old in human years, a 2 year old cat is about 24 years old; then the age accumulation reduces dramatically to about 4 human years gain for each additional cat year.
These numbers generally refer to indoor only cats. Sophia is definitely an indoor/outdoor cat. As she grows older, research sites agree that Sophia will age somewhat more quickly than indoor only cats. But for now, she enjoys the freedom and excitement of both worlds.
Sophia is ever curious exploring inside the house, the trailer, or around our yard!
This blog post reflects the crazy, entertaining antics of Sophia aged 1-2 human years or 15-24 in cat years. She definitely lived her teenage years to the fullest…and we have the grey hairs to prove it! Introducing Sophia our rescue kitten aged 1-2 years of age.
Sophia—Loves to explore and check in wherever we are working in the yard! She is so expressive!
On the day Sophia turned 1 years old, she determined that she was not using an indoor kitty litter box anymore. She has never had an “accident” in the house and she only relieves herself outdoors now. She also suddenly became mainly nocturnal! She tends to sleep and nap most of the day and becomes very vocal and anxious if she can not go outside in the night.
Nap time for Sophia Aged 1-2 years!
As a result of her sleeping pattern, we have captured many cute and interesting sleeping poses and positions. This video illustrates our shining star, Sophia!
The Anxiety and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Sophia suffered when we first accepted this small rescue kitten into our home, has really decreased now. Sophia trusts us and interacts with each one of us. She is quite popular in our neighborhood cul de sac and has even started walking over to greet many of our neighbors.
Sophia interacts with her “family” members. Note: She wears a special safety break bird alert reflective collar with 2 bells!
However, the necessity of her comfort pillow is undeniable. Sophia continues to use her kneading pillow every day. She likes to knead the red heart pillow before she takes a nap. Sleeping beside the pillow or partially under it continues to be one of her favorite pastimes.
Sophia and her kneading pillow.
Sophia interacts with us, but definitely has a special bond with me. I spent the majority of time with her when this tiny rescue kitten first arrived working through her anxiety and PTSD. She loves to jump up on my lap and make sure she is noticed when I am reading or trying to complete a Sudoku!
Working on a Sudoku together!
An expert at hiding, Sophia is quick to stake her claim inside boxes, bins, tubs, egg cartons? or under mats, blankets, or anything she finds!
Sophia loves to hide!
We have been successful at calming many behaviors and even teaching Sophia to reach up and ring bellson the door handle when she wants to go outside.
Sophia reaches up and taps the bells when she wants to go outside.
But in order to reduce the inappropriate scratching, we have had to make many changes in our home. Most of the living room furniture is covered with blankets. We switched from leather and faux leather to microsuede and cloth fabrics. Certain doors are closed when she is in a playful mood. There are scratching posts throughout the house! Hopefully, these adaptations will reduce as Sophia ages and possibly becomes a more passive cat. But in the meantime…..
Some of Sophia’s scratching posts!
Festive Season is always fun with Sophia as she likes to be involved in everything! There is the wrapping of the presents…Actually, she prefers the unwrapping or shredding of the paper and ribbon! She also is fond of inspecting Mark’s efforts clearing off snow on the deck and stairs.
Sophia checking out Christmas preparations.
Sophia also likes to be included when we decorate the house or when we are getting ready to create a fire. Basically, she is incessantly curious about life.
Sophia is always close by…
Sophia can be possessive of me at times. It is not uncommon for her to sit on my lap and put her arm over mine so I won’t get up or move. Also sometimes she sneaks under the covers on my side of the bed and we discover her napping there!
Sophia can be a bit possessive of me.
We bought a robotic vacuum (Deebot) and Sophia is quite intrigued by it. She wants to observe where it is located and will follow its travels provided Deebot is at a “safe” distance. We have noticed that it’s actually entertaining for Sophia when she appears to need stimulation and also effective as a type of alarm clock when we want her to wake up from lengthy naps!
Sophia interacting with Deebot!
Sophia is absolutely part of our family. She still tests our patience at times–especially when she scratches inappropriate places or wakes us up during the night! She does not travel well at all, so our freedom to explore is limited at the moment. However, with Covid travel restrictions, this has worked out too.
My next blog posts will be exploring more hiking trails around mid Vancouver Island area. Keep Safe and Keep Optimistic. Cheers S
During the lockdown periods caused by the global Covid 19 pandemic, you may feel confined but you have choices. As a Life Long Learner, I decided to use the extra time to try something completely new to me–refinishing a piano!
My first refinishing project was to refinish my 1936 piano!
My DohertyCanadianpiano was created in late 1936. It has lived a challenging life being bumped and moved many times. I purchased this piano (well used) in the 1980’s when I was studying classical music, then my son also learned to play using this instrument.
My piano prior to its most recent move.
Since the last move in 2017, the piano had been sitting in our garage. Boards were stained with water spots and there were multiple grooves and dents in the wood finish. Yet, when I removed the plastic cover and opened the keyboard lid, the sound was still quite reasonable and keys were not sticking! It was time to rejuvenate this amazing instrument and welcome it into our new home.
Views from the initial stages of refinishing the piano
My husband has experience with refinishing and agreed to assist me if I required help. I hoped to complete this project as independently as possible.
Step One ….Watch YouTube videos about refinishing furniture including hints from piano specialists. I discovered there are so many opinions and diverse thoughts about the refinishing process. It appeared more research was necessary! Hardware stores and paint/stain sections, were visited and information was requested from “experts“. (Or at least most felt they were experts). More videos were observed. I discussed my thoughts and plans with my husband.
Step 2 — good ventilation area and necessary supplies!
Step Two… Prepare your working space in a well ventilated location and purchase the necessary supplies for the refinishing job. (Be prepared for many future trips to stores to obtain more supplies as necessary). If you do not own the necessary tools …purchase what you require or borrow from your very supportive husband!
Step 3– Removing boards to work on the bench!
Step Three…Remove as many boards as possible without damaging the workings of the piano. The boards are much easier to clean, sand, strip, prepare, condition, stain, and top coat when they are horizontal! Remove the hinged metal strips from the boards. Select the finishing color you wish to achieve–stain or paint. I selected Espresso stain.
Choosing your stain color–I picked Espresso
Step Four…Prepare to get dirty and look like a version of Darth Vader. P.S. I worked on this project nearly every day for close to 6 weeks. I consumed a bag of clean rags, 2 boxes of steel wool, sand paper, paper towels, several pairs of paint gloves, brushes, wood filler, putty knives, and containers of stripping solvent, wood conditioner, stain, and poly finish. Refinishing a piano is a labor of love and it is not cheap!
Darth Vader look alike!
Step Five…Removing the old existing stain/color off the wood boards was a fascinating process. Some boards had terrible water stains from plants which had been sitting on the top of the piano. After stripping the previous finish off the boards, I was shocked at how new the boards looked. Strip and sand. Strip and Sand. It took 3 or more attempts at stripping/sanding each board to achieve a clean new wood surface.
Step 5–Strip and Sand. Repeat. Repeat. …
Step Six…Fixing the grooves and imperfections in the wood. It is really hard to make the areas where filler is used match the wood color when it is stained, so we sanded out some imperfections and only used filler where it was really needed. My husband assisted with this. I found this part a bit tricky.
Step 6–Fixing grooves and imperfections.
Step Seven…Adding colour to the wood. Don your Darth Vader attire because the process of adding wood conditioner and stain was very stinky! Without good respiration support, you might feel light headed and probably have quite a bad headache. Drying time for each application is specific and I needed to repeat the process 4times. Each application made the stain finish a bit darker in color. I was aiming for Espresso, but could not get quite as dark a shade as I had originally hoped for.
Step Eight...Protective coating time! I chose to use the Poly Wipe On Protective coating on the wood. This process also required several coats.
Step 8–Protection Top Coat with Wipe-On Poly
Step Nine…Now comes the fun part! (I say in jest!). You return to the piano and start the entire process from the beginning on all the vertical surfaces/boards on the piano!
Steps 9 and 10–Sophia supervises in the garage while the remainder of the piano is refinished. My husband assists masking the delicate internal sections.
Step Ten…As all the liquids tend to run on vertical surfaces…Make certain you carefully mask any sensitive areas (such as the keyboard) with plastic protection and cover your floor area with sheets to catch the dripping mess! We actually used large cardboard boxes from our appliances on the floor below the piano. They worked well and I preferred the cardboard to slippery drop sheets or plastic on the floor.
Step 11 + . I spent many hours kneeling on my new cardboard floor!
Step Eleven +… Repeat steps 5 to 8 on all vertical boards on the piano. My working area moved from outside to inside the garage during this time. I required additional lighting and needed to open the garage door for ventilation. Occasionally, our cat Sophia would sneak inside to check on the piano refinishing progress.
Step Twelve…Moving the piano from the garage inside the house to its new location in our foyer on the first floor. This was such an exciting event! Finally, we reattached all the finished boards in their correct locations and I reattached the 2 hinge pieces for the keyboard cover and top section of the piano. Here is a short video about this stage of the project!
The final resting location for the newly renovated piano!
I must confess I felt pretty proud of myfirst attempt at refinishing a piece of furniture. Many people have been shocked that my first project was so complex. I honestly had no preconceived ideas about refinishing, so I just naively jumped into it. I learned a great deal. Made mistakes. Tried different methods. Asked for assistance when I required help. Thanks Mark!
Next step… piano tuner then fun duets with my mom!
This project kept me busy and engaged during the Covid pandemic lockdown. Now when I look at the piano, or tinkle its ivories, I feel a special attachment to this instrument. We spent a great deal of time getting to know each other!
So….Why not try something new? Perhaps you might enjoy refinishing something in your home? Stay safe and keep optimistic. Cheers
