The Girls Conquer the Abyss

Howdy there!

Spring has fully arrived in Victoria. In fact, I think we’re on the cusp of early summer.

Signs of approaching summer:
The garden is planted: carrots, lettuce, peas, dill, cucumber, onions, and one strawberry plant…
The birds in our backyard are going through a feeder full of food every ten days…
There is less dirt tracked through the house because the bikes are finally NOT mud-caked.

Another sign of summer?

Last weekend I took a road trip with six other ladies from the Dirty Girlz up to Nanaimo. There’s a fantastic hiking & mountain biking area outside Nanaimo called The Abyss. We spent four lovely hours on single track – I absolutely love cross country riding.

The whole gang before the ride -- fresh faced and ready to go!

We found the Abyss -- a crack in the earth about two feet high and one foot wide.

Of course we had to jump over it!

We also found other fun things to play on.

Wee! There I go!

We made sure to ride three times around the sacred bicycle shrine too.

The singe track just kept going and going... the sun was glorious and warm... couldn't ask for a better day!



Update!

Hello folks near and far!
What's new in our world?

Well, Cam broke down and ordered a frame jig for his bicycle welding business. It took two busted frames before he concluded that it's really hard to weld a bicycle by hand. The frame jig holds the tubes in place for him while he welds -- and it's extremely accurate so he doesn't have to worry about crooked tubes. The jig arrives at the end of April (it's being custom built by an old Italian guy in the states as we speak!).

Meanwhile, I got myself a new job! I'm doing part time administrative support, part time communications/design work. The communications part will probably morph into full time if I'm lucky. All in all, it's great to finally be utilizing my talents at my day job. I've also been getting some inquiries about my graphic recording business- - I've lined up a couple potential gigs in May & June... hooray!

Also, I bought a car.

Cute, eh? A Honda Fit -- my sister has one in blue. Apparently we're a Honda family.

My dad was down in Calgary helping my sister move and he test drove a couple cars for me. He found the Honda and gave me a good assesment of it, so I gave the go-ahead and he put down the money... good old interest-free bank of mom & dad. Also, I love Alberta taxes.

My sister will drive the Honda out at Easter -- woo hoo! Hopefully the weather holds up so we can do an epic hike. I'm thinking Sooke would be nice, since Goldstream will undoubtedly be packed with people Easter weekend.

I've been taking a pottery class since February (using a potter's wheel)... let's just say it has been a learning curve. But I think I've finally mastered how to make a good mug! One cannot have too many nice mugs.

Well, when one's cupboards are overflowing with deformed mugs it's time to reconsider your choice of hobby :)

The Incredible Journey

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of a certain someone...

Mr. MacBook started out in Shanghai, China.

He popped up to Anchorage for some mountain air, then caught some California sun before visiting Mom in Illinois.

Next it was on to Portland, Oregon (because he's a bit of a hipster)... Bellingham, Washington.... Richmond, BC.... and now VICTORIA!!!

Just waiting for the call of the Fedex man.

Of course this pales in comparison to the voyages of my sister. She's now back on Canadian soil and is heading up north to visit the parents today.

In other news, I just finished a successful graphic recording session... my first official "gig."

It was for a conference in Nanaimo about Early Childhood Development on Vancouver Island. I graphic recorded from about 9:00 - 4:00. PHEW. 

At the end of the day I'd done five big sheets... this is just one of them!

 

What else has been going on 'round here?



Cam's currently working 8 days in a row this week, since they are changing him over to Friday/Saturday off. (way better than having Tues/Wed)  He spends a good chunk of time each evening in the shed welding his first bike. Progress is being made!


Yesterday we had some crazy temperamental weather... started out sunny, then it snowed, then it was sunny again, then it hailed, then it rained. Can it just be sunny all the time so I can ride my bike?

We've also been watching a great series on Netflix called Dexter. Yes we're a few years behind the bandwagon, but better late than never.


A cop who moonlights as a serial killer... ooo the drama. (it's surprisingly not gory)

Business time

It's all about the personal business in our world right now. Cam just received a shipment of three tube sets (a mountain bike, a cross frame, and a mountain bike for me). His shed is now outfitted with the proper tools and alignment table to get the work done. The last thing he needs is a frame jig... and he's debating whether to buy it or have it made here in town.

The other debate is of course what to call his business... Maysmith/Moretti/Grippo/Maynard bicycles? Gotta choose one.

In other news, my new website is up and running after many hours of finicky nit-picky tech stuff! Yay!

Nothing special, but it gets the job done.

http://www.drawingoutideas.ca/

And I'm excited for these revamped business cards to arrive next week:

Woo hoo -- it's business time.

Cam had Saturday/Sunday off last weekend. We'd originally planned a trip up to Mt.Washington, but both of us are a little tight for cash these days (I'm thinking about upgrading to a MacBook Pro!).

But who says we can't have fun in the South Island instead!?

Saturday I co-hosted a ride with the Dirty Girlz out at Hartland. I'm an official board member now, which means I attend board meetings and host one ride/month.

Saturday evening Cam and I headed to Ferris's Oyster Bar and Grill for a good meal.

Yummy! Can't beat the martinis.

Sunday morning we got up early, loaded the bikes in the truck, and headed over the Malahat. (for the out-of-towners, the Malahat is a narrow stretch of highway north of Victoria). But of course first we stopped for coffee and sausage & egg McMuffins from McDonalds. This girl doesn't last long without breakfast.

The Malahat was cloaked in fog -- the thickest fog I've ever seen! We could see maybe twenty feet in front of the truck at the top of the Malahat.

But we made it to Nanaimo safe and sound and drove to the edge of town where the locals go riding. This area is called "The Abyss" because apparently there is a massive fissure in the ground from long-ago earthquakes.

Did we find said fissure?

Nope! You think it would've been hard to miss.

This is the route we took... parked the truck at the star and spent 2.5 hours on the muddy trails (follow the green arrows):

I'm not gonna lie: there were times I was sure we were lost and/or would be eaten by a couger. At one point we stumbled across a rock shrine in the woods... with creepy little figurines all around. Legend says you must bike around the shrine three times to have good luck on your ride.

There were also random gnomes sitting on rocks throughout the forest... all wearing mardi-gras beads. Party time?

The trails were AMAZING --- mostly all single track, which basically means fewer difficult obstacles and more cardio! It was an awesome ride and I can't wait to go back.

At home we whipped up some French onion soup and watched a good flick:

 

I was pleasantly surprised by Rango... it had me laughing with some good one-liners!

Mystic Beach Camping

Last weekend, Adrienne and I packed up her little car with sleeping bags, backpacks, enough food to feed a small army, and her big black dog, Dig.

We drove west of Victoria for a couple hours... past Sooke and Jordan River... Dig stood with his nose pressed up to the crack in the window the entire way, snorting and snuffling in the new smells.

At China Beach, a popular campground, we parked the car and unloaded half our gear. Mystic Beach is 2.5km down a rooty / muddy / up-sie downsie trail. But Adrienne insisted it was well worth it. We had to make two trips for the gear... in total, a good two hours of hiking.

Was it worth it, you ask?

Yes. Most definitely.

We set up our tent in a small clearing just off the beach. The day-visitors were clearing out by the time we settled at our campfire with the essentals: wine (a bottle all to myself!! WINO ALERT), bananna-marshmallow s'mores, and of course some good gossip magazines :)

We watched the sunset and lamented about how hard it is to find dry wood on the west coast.... when I noticed a rugged looking guy trudging up the beach. I nudged Adrienne: "Who's that guy?"

Turns out it was Adrienne's friend, and were we ever glad to see him. He set down his big backpack and started pulling out logs of wood! There is such a thing as a firewood fairy!!

Nothin' beats a good roaring fire!

It was so cool to fall asleep to the crashing waves, which were not more than forty feet from our tent door!

In the morning we fried up some bacon!

A curious seal watched us... maybe he wanted a taste?

Dig the dog loves the water. LOVES IT. He also loves fetching and will bring the ball/stick back to you every single time.

We threw him the stick just as a large of a wave was coming into shore....

And boy did he run like crazy to get away from it!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, baby, it wasn't that cold outside. -10 is way, way better than the -32 of last year.

I ventured north to the Yukon to visit my family for Christmas.

And because the Yukon River missed me...

Ah home sweet home.

(not actually our house. Mum would never stand for chinking peeling from the cracks)

This is Mum & Dad's house & workshop -- drive way plowed courtesy of Dad. (click the image to view full size)

The yard is filled with chirping birds and nattering squirrels, which regularly visit Mum's feeders

The sun is always filtering through the trees at this time of year, casting long shadows and spectacular light.

Sophie the guard dog keeps an eye on the road, which gets busy twice a day: morning, when the ski hill opens, and 3:00 when the ski hill closes.

Otherwise the road is pretty quiet. Sometimes skidoos rip by, following the trails into the trees. I dusted off the cross country skis and went for a good jaunt up the trails too... and I saw not a soul.

There was much discussion about what to get Tanya for Christmas...

And much sleeping upon the animal-whisperer's lap.

 

This is the shop (well, a small fraction of it)

And this is Pop in his shop, about to paint some shelves. The work never stops in Pop's shop.

Speaking of work, that bearded fellow has been up to a lot of it... (and I don't mean Santa). This is the interior of a 80' x 150' shop Dad built for a guy in town. (I may have those measurements wrong).

This is just half of the shop -- there's another side about as big as this:

There were funny welding contraptions inside too... Cam would've been thrilled.

This here is a jiggerty-pig-wiggerty:

 The master surveys his work next to his noble steed.

What would Christmas be without Mum's deeelicious cooking??

 

Man, can Mum ever cook. I think she should move in with us. I'm sure Cam won't mind.

No, Sophie, this food is not for you.



It's so peaceful once that rascal Sophie is asleep. The cats can actually have a good wash in front of the fireplace.