I'm still here, really....

and just can't believe how little time I've had to blog lately. So much has been going on and I've barely had time to breathe.

To recap:

1) I finished my first two Library and Information Technology courses just over a week ago (did well, so I'm happy). My next course (Digital Collections) starts on Monday - it's the only one I'm taking this term.

2) I'm still employed at the Sechelt Public Library and loving it :) It's so cool to be able to greet patrons by name, have a general idea of their reading interests and apply what I'm learning in school in a hands-on way.

3) On Easter weekend we went up to Whistler to see and ski with a cousin of mine I hadn't seen in 30+ years. She was there with her family and it was sooooo cool! We had a fantastic time and it turns out she and I have a lot in common - she's interested in family history, history and books (ok, so our whole family is into books). She even works as a tour guide at a heritage home in the area where she lives. How neat is that? The following week they came up here to the Coast to see our place and spend the night befor heading back to the UK.

4) Though my writing has taken a bit of a back seat, I'm still working on at least two of my mss. I make notes, especially while I'm on the elliptical and hope to get back to actual writing in May.

5) Our family is expecting another addition soon - nephew # 4! So I'm madly knitting a hat and hoping it's finished by the time he arrives. Started it only last week as I've been so busy with school work most evenings in the winter, I didn't spend any time knitting.

6) I had to make the tough decision NOT to attend RWA National in DC this summer. It's a matter of timing - in that, with school AND my job, I just really can't afford the week in time it would take to go. I'm rather disappointed as my critique partners will all be there and I'd hoped to share a room with them. But that's life.

7) We actually have some grass growing out on our septic field - so far it's pretty sparse, but it's a start. And we hoping to get some more gardening done this summer. Almost all my perennials made it through, though it appears the Evening Primrose was a victim of our harsher than normal winter (as in longer, colder and snowier). OTOH, the daffodils we transplanted (courtesy of my m-i-l) all flowered - yay!

8) Of interest to fellow hockey fans - Go Canucks!! We're driving around with our Canucks flag flapping in the breeze :) Round Two starts tomorrow.

I think that's about it.

I'll try to make the rounds of everyone's blogs as time allows. Right now I'm tethered to my desktop computer while waiting for a new power adaptor for the laptop to arrive from Dell. I've been spoiled by my laptop and the ability to surf from anywhere in the house, so have gotten out of the habit of spending loads of time in my office, though I still use it to do school work.

Hope you're all keeping well :)

Teresa

Currently Reading: Divas Don't Knit by Gil McNeil
Link of the Day: Library Link of the Day

Hot, sunny weekend...

At last, we have summer here on the Sunshine Coast :)

After having a yummy, home made pizza for dinner on Friday evening, we moved to the firepit for our first official fire of summer:

I roasted marshmallows for smores and we sat reading our books till it was too dark for that, then just watched the fire burn down. It was still a little light when we went in at 10:30 - I just love the long days this time of year.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed coffee out on the deck. Sean took this cool pic of us:

Sean played ball hockey and then we went for a walk on a nearby beach:

where we looked over to Vancouver island - there's still snow on the mountains over there!!

The driveway was deliciously cool, as it's so shady - a lovely place to sit and contemplate:

Sunday dawned even hotter, so I took time to water the garden, which needs a good soaking each morning as it's in the sun for hours later in the day:

Sean had to nip into work for a while, so I got a headstart on our outdoor work while it was still shady. After weeding the flower bed, I headed over to the septic field and began the long process of clearing it of sticks, branches etc. Much sunscreen was applied and much water drunk. After a lunch break (when Sean got home) we went back out there where Sean moved rocks and I contined to pick up sticks. We had a little visitor on one of the trees - a red-breasted sapsucker, who seemed quite content for me to take its picture:

By close to 2:30 it was just too hot to work outside on that baking field, so we rested for a bit on the deck before cleaning up and walking over to my in-laws' for a yummy dinner. The walk home was even nicer as it had cooled off just enough - and we needed to walk off some of the chocolate zucchini cake we'd consumed *g*.

It was still light when we arrived back at the house, so we repaired to the deck chairs with our books until the mosquitoes forced us back inside just before 10. It was hot in the bedroom last night, even with the fan going and the curtains back to let in the breeze, but compared to the heat of an Ontario summer (I grew up in a house without A/C), it was still pretty comfortable.

Tomorrow is Canada Day and we'll likely go to Gibsons to see what's going on down at the waterfront. Fingers crossed that the lovely weather will hold.

So, how was your weekend?

Teresa

Currently Reading: Rosie Meadows Regrets by Catherine Alliot
Link of the Day: History Resources from the University of Memphis

Gardening...

Finally! Yep - the weather here has at last improved the point where we're able to start working on our garden. Can't do much this year, but at least we were able to get started on our little rock garden at the front of the house:

It felt so good to get outside and dig in the soil again. Now let's just hope I chose the right things for that area - they should work, but with gardening, one can never be certain what will and won't do well. If all goes as planned, we'll have some nice ground cover and pretty flowers within a month or two :)

It's a long weekend here in Canada and to celebrate, we're having friends over for a bbq tonight - while the weather holds! It's supposed to be warm and sunny - yay!

Other than that, we have no other big plans, though I'm hoping to convince Sean to go for a hike at Chapman Creek.

What are your plans for the weekend?


Teresa