West Coast Salmon!!!

We decided to go out for real west coast salmon. We went to a neat restaurant downtown across from the Parliment building so the view was as spectacular as the food. The harbor looked great with all the boats in it. The meal was delicious! The salmon is better on this side, I must admit. Although, I still love my mom's :) The dessert was possibly the best I have ever had. It had some kind of Mexican chocolate from goat's milk in it. WOW is all I can say. Even Tara had a few bites, and she avoids chocolate like the plague. It was a fantastic night, good company, and tasty food.

Mount Doug

We decided to take a nice hike to start the day. Craig, Tara, and I were in high spirits so the hike was fairly easy. Needless to say, but the view was gorgeous from the top. YOu could see all over the island. There was water to almost every side which was neat. It reminded me a bit of some of the places I hiked in Greece. I didn't get many pics because Craig did a mini-photo shoot of me and Tara. It was so much fun so I should have those pics later. That night we did a dinner with Tara's family. It was terrific. Her family is so loud compared to her. I was completely shocked but fit in fine. :) Her nephew Keenan took to me pretty well; although, I thought I was going to be dead after the ride he took me on in his truck. It was a great night. Now I see why Tara is so great. She has a quality family. It was a great day!

Swifshire Races

There is a huge sailboat race that takes place here every year called the Swiftshire Race. There are boats from different countries that participate so Tara and I thought we would watch the boats take off. It was a great idea, but little did we know we would freeze to death! It was so cold that morning so we climbed down the bank and took shelter from the wind behind some rocks. The sailboats were beautiful. I wished I would have known someone so I could have been part of the race! The coast is gorgeous so I took some pics. Forgive the pics, but my jean skirt and sandals were not exactly proper attire so my hands were shaking alot. We also took a drive around viewing some of the great houses here on the ocean. I found mine. Now all I need is a green card and alot of money! It is so great to be with Tara again. We even did a movie night that night where we rented two movies, ate lots of food, and just had fun. This trip is just what I have been needing.

Whalewatching

What a great day. We started off going to a quaint little diner on the ocean where I had the best mocha ever! From the diner we could look at the Olympic Mountains in Washington. Pretty cool, huh? I was amazed how clearly I could view them. We then set off into the Pacific Ocean for whalewatching. I said a prayer that morning for some spottings, but my faith much have been stronger than I thought. We saw loads of whales, and they jumped about 15 times out of the water!!! I am a bad photographer so I only got one decent shot, and none of the jumping. Craig

, Tara's boyfriend, got tons of great ones though so I will have some as memories to take home. It was much colder out on the water so we quickly donned the winter gear the tour guide had given us. It was an awesome day. Victoria's harbor is beautiful, but my favorite part was the house boarts. They look like they are out of a Mark Twain novel. I was so intrigued by them and think I may have a new living idea. :)

Continuation of BG

Here are some extra pics of the gardens and some pics of Tara and I's brilliant Mediterranean dinner. It was beautiful and delicious. Tara is such a great dinner model. Ok. More pics to come tomorrow.

Butchart Gardens or Busch Gardens?

Tara and I spent all day yesterday at the famous gardens here in Victoria. They were spectacular to see; although, I only had a limited amount of blog pics that I could post. The flowers were unbelievable, and all I could do is think of my Aunt Barb. I wish so badly I would have known about these so we could have taken a spring trip. This was her idea of Heaven. I am so glad we spent the day there. We also got some good girl time. That night I ended up taking a run to the beach. Yes, you can do that from Tara's place!!! Talk about my idea of Heaven. I had a good run which Tara declined. She is not a big runner. She did lend me her Ipod though as her stand-in. When I got back we visited her parents which was a blast. They are quite the couple. I will post from their after our Saturday barbeque. More pics to come on the next post. Did I mention I love it here. Wonder if dual citizenship is available?

In Canada

I made it safe and sound to Victoria. It is so great to be with Tara again. The plane flight was easy but long so I was exhausted when I got here. I slept in pretty late the next day. Tara had to work until noon so I took a nice jog to her work to meet her there. I ended up leaving a little early and hiked up a great mountain here where at the top you can see the mountains in Washington. I didn't take my camera, but I plan to today because it is absolutely gorgeous here. Tara and I drove around a little, caught up on life a bit, and then met her boyfriend for coffee at Starbucks. Thank goodness, we hit it off quite well. He talks like I do so Tara was quite amused observing us together. We had a quick dinner and then headed off to his play. We hung out with the cast afterword and didn't end up back home until around 1:00 (which is 4 my time) so it was a full day for me. We are headed to some gardens today that are quite famous here. We may do a hike too. I will definitely start taking more pics and post them this week. The pics are of me, Tara, and Craig (her boyfriend). Also the fountain is the view from her balcony. It really is gorgeous here. Oh, the car is the beginning of my trip when I had to drive to Pittsburgh. Sweet, huh?

Mother's Day

Here are some pics from Mother's Day last Sunday. Mom, Judy (our neighbor), and I went to a nice buffet at the restaurant Wellingtons. It was delicous, and we had a great time. Just thought I would post a few pics. I also wanted to say ( a little late) I am so thankful I have been blessed with such a wonderful mom. She is truly one of my best friends ever. We enjoy doing so much together. I am thankful that she (and my dad) gave my sister and I the freedom to figure out who we were/are. What I am most proud of is I've never heard my mom say that she just wanted me to be happy. Rather she has always said she wanted me to be where God wants me. What a wise woman. I'm so glad that I got to celebrate her last Sunday.

A Hard Day's Work

I have been diligently working at the Board of Education for the last few months and have fully enjoyed the people I have met. This week I am working at the central office and am thankful that if I have to work, I get to work with such fun people. :)

One of my newest projects is learning to refinish furniture. My grandma left me a hutch that had belonged to her and my papa when they were first married. It definitely needs some work so my friend David volunteered to help out. He is a bit of a pro so I volunteered cooking as a trade off for the help. I'm not sure my labor is a fair trade off since we put in about six hours on ONE side Sunday!!! I thought this would be a two day project, but it turns out to be much longer. Hopefully, I know enough good recipes to make his time worthwhile.

I thought my sister and cousins would be interested in seeing the beginning pics and the part where my grandma wrote on it. "For Lou B.". The work was much more time consuming than I imagined, but I put in some good labor. Sorry I have not updated in awhile. I will try and post more soon.

Kitchen Remodeling

For those of you that know my mom, her biggest regret has always been not building a bigger kitchen. Well, she and my dad finally decided to get a larger kitchen. They are finally remodeling, and I am so happy for them. The builders tore down the wall between the dining room and living room in order to make one big kitchen. For those of you, that have never been to my parent's house, this will be of no interest. To those of you that know my mom, I think you will find it exciting for her. Here is some pics of the construction. Meg, I hope you enjoy this. I am doing this for you :) Notice the new lights. Don't worry, the staple one in the middle is going, and I included the pics of the cabinets in the garage for you.