It’s been a while since I’ve posted. We went to Las Vegas for a short vacation and I needed a few weeks to recuperate after we came back.

We stayed with our friend Chris who was kind enough to let us use her very peppy car. Diane had a very good time driving it. Gas was a bargain at just under $4.00 a gallon. It was surreal the first day we arrived and jumped in the car to go visit our house. As we drove through some very affluent neighborhoods, we saw the multi-million dollar properties sitting vacant with boarded up windows and doors. The once lush professionally landscaped yards were dry and barren. It was very sad. It was also a reality check for us.

When we arrived at our house, we were overcome by the realization that the property was deteriorating in our absence. We still have the water on and the yard and pool maintained but the level of overgrowth in the yard was shocking. We only managed to lose one cherry tree. I guess we are lucky for that. The inside was very dirty/dusty from being vacant. Of course we had the normal occurrences in a vacant house of people using the washroom and not flushing. Overall, the house looked pretty shabby. Another reality check. The houses on the market in Las Vegas that are in foreclosure were built from 2004 up to the present. All of them with all the whistles and bells. This is an older circa 1980’s house. Yes, it has a fantastic property but it is still very dated. With 2 plus years worth of surplus homes in foreclosure, on the market in Las Vegas, we needed to get real and get this house sold. We called the realtor and dramatically reduced the price. I will keep you updated on this front as things develop.

We had a great time in Las Vegas seeing all our friends. The highlight for Diane was the Bally’s Sterling brunch. She gorges herself on lobster and I gorge myself on caviar. We all gorge ourselves on champagne. We had a great party at Chris’s house and another fantastic party at John and Leanne’s. Their son Jack, the child Diane and I would have loved to have had, has grown so much and is such a great person. We love him very much. Robert and Dani Bell’s girls Piper and Bijou have both grown and really blossomed. We got to take Kyle, Brenda’s daughter out for a very grownup birthday dinner at 17 complete with wine and several deserts. Of course her mother and Grandmother were with, as it was Chris’s birthday, as well.

It was wonderful to get back to Canada. It was 114 degrees the day we left Las Vegas. It is 75 degrees here today. We have planted our gardens with veggies. It has been a glorious day. Actually the past several weekends have been glorious. When my friend Teresa visited Victoria last year at this time, we would get up every morning and have coffee on the deck listening to the birds, watching the eagle fly overhead and enjoying the sun. She would jokingly say to me, "Ahhhh, another shitty day here in paradise."

My job is being posted as a full time permanent position next week. Of course, I will apply. Some of the angst from the B&E has abated and I don’t feel so driven to work at Costco because it is down the street. If I got the job full time permanent at UVic, it would give me a little more security and a chance at another pension.

We have a full summer planned. We recently learned that WestJet will be flying non-stop from Victoria to Las Vegas starting in September. We have been thinking about American Thanksgiving and Black Friday . . .

I hope I will have more good news to post next week. Stay tuned, things are fantastic in the best place on Earth.

It’s really my own fault!

I ordered some flannel lined Levis for me and Diane. They were on clearance since it is spring and all. They came in the mail yesterday. And then this morning, we have 10” of snow. One bright spot is I get extra activity points for shoveling snow. And we did shovel snow. We had a service man down finishing up the door repairs from the break-in. He stayed a little too long. We had warned him that our driveway was very tricky in the snow. But he was sure he would have no problem. After an hour of shoveling (3 of us) his van is pulled off the side of the road right past our driveway. He couldn’t make it any further.

Right now? It is warm and sunny with almost a foot of snow on the ground. Welcome to spring in Eastern Canada. This is not our typical spring weather for Victoria.

I haven’t posted in a while and wanted to talk about our trip to Seattle over the Easter holiday. We had a wonderful and restful time. We didn’t worry about the B&E since we hired a house sitter. Everything was fine when we got home.

We went to help celebrate our friend Glenn’s birthday. We felt quite at home and like family with Glenn, Clara, Leslie and Leo. We enjoyed spending time with the wonderful house pets, as well.
I must now admit that the fine drinking and dining in Seattle almost made me cry it was so wonderful. I won’t go on and on about the comparison between Victoria and Seattle when it comes to the prices, but I could. Oh my gosh! If I could find a way to have a case or 2 of the McManis that is only $7.99 per bottle at Cost Plus, sent media mail through the post office I would! It was so wonderful to spend time with folks who love and appreciate wine as much as we do. Glenn always pulls out very special bottles from his closet (that Clara is not allowed to touch:) From the Leoville that was purchased in 1998 when grandson Leo was born to the Chateaux Margaux. We were spoiled by the fabulousness of it all. I already lust for my next trip to Seattle. If I lived on the mainland I’m afraid the trips would be much more frequent.

Then last weekend we went to the open house for Wild Arc. An organization that hospitalizes and releases back into the wild injured animals and birds. It was a great experience. The picture below is one of the success stories.

We are now preparing for our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. The weather here is starting to turn into spring. If you don’t count last week when it snowed, then hailed, then was sunny, then rained and snowed again. All of this, in the span of 1 hour. That is life on an Island!

At work our accounting department at work has joined a walking challenge sponsored by UVic. Our team name is the Beancounters. Our friend Heather and I have a personal bet for the month of April. Whoever has the most steps buys lunch. Right, Heather? Or is it the other way around? Can I use the I’m-old-enough-to-be-your-mother excuse if I lose the bet? It is fun. We wear pedometers all day long and log in our numbers everyday. I’ll keep you updated on the progress.

Well, I’d better go for now. I have a date with the treadmill before our doggie walk.