Where did the summer go?

I can't believe we're down to the last official weeks of summer! Granted, here on the BC Coast, the weather didn't even get decent till the first full week of July and I was in school from May till early August, but still...

Regardless, we had a wonderful season :) In May, Sean and I took our camper to Harrison Hot Springs in the Fraser Valley and had a fantastic time, despite a flat tire on the truck and getting lost on a muddy trail.

Cheam Peak

Camper in situ

Harrison Lake

Clematis in bloom

One of the highlights of the summer on the Coast was the presence of a grey whale that fed up and down the coastline from Roberts Creek to Halfmoon Bay. Sean and I just happened to be down for a sunset walk at Davis Bay on one of the evenings it was very close to the beach. Fortunately I had my camera, and snapped this pic of it!

Whale at Davis Bay

Other nature encounters included the bear and a heron. I'm particularly pleased with the photo of the heron on wing:

Bear on an early morning vist

heron

Soon after finishing my English lit course (which was fantastic), my sister and her family came to stay - we had a busy but fun 10 days together:

the gang out at Smuggler Cove

Meanwhile, I'm still working at the library - in fact, in May I officially became a part-time employee :) Up until then, I'd been a Casual. I still love my job and love being able to apply the things I'm learning about in school.

Finally, the cats continue to be their happy-go-lucky selves - running around, playing, snoozing and generally enjoying the life of Riley.

Chloe and Cleo enjoying the sun in the living room

Chloe and Cleo enjoying a post-dinner snooze in the spare room

On Tuesday I started school again and it's going to be a busy term! One of the courses is a cataloguing one and the other is about the history of libraries (yeah, that one's really tough to take!) I'll try to pop in again at least once or twice before Christmas...

Teresa
Currently Reading: Solo by Jill Mansell

Resurfacing..again...

Yes, spring term is now over and I'm back in the blogosphere for a while. I had so much work over the past fourteen weeks, I pretty much had no time for much else. And when I did manage to snatch a few hours here and there, I did a lot of reading. No writing, alas. My brain was pretty much completely dedicated to school stuff. That's not to say my characters haven't been trying to get my attention, but I had little to give them.

So I'm hoping over the summer that I'll manage better, given that I'm taking only one course. Despite my preoccupation with school, I've missed my truly creative side and know that at least some of my grumpiness is down to the fact I've had to suppress it to concentrate on reference assignments and learning about enhancing library web pages.

What keeps me from giving up entirely on my writing is knowing that school is a finite thing. In two years I should be done! And then I can go back to writing regularly. A hiatus may not be ideal, given that I still do want to get published but now that I've found library studies/work to be what I want to do on a regular basis, I have to dedicate myself to it. I'm generally a "don't do things by half-measures" kinda gal :) Which in the end, also makes me a better writer.

How about you? Do you sometimes have to set your writing on the back burner? Do you feel guilty? And do you get grumpy when you don't write?

Happy Earth Day!

Teresa

About to Start Reading: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Has it really been more than a month...

since I posted here??? Wow, time sure does fly! Over the last few weeks I finished off my summer course, hosted my sister and her children here for a fantastic week of family fun, went back to work, got trained on the new software at work and enjoyed a visit with my friend Claire and her gorgeous dog, Wally.

Phew! No wonder I haven't had time for blogging! The summer has gone so quickly - it's hard to believe it's almost over. We've loved our hot, sunny weather, though hope for some more rain so we can have at least a couple of campfires before the days just get too short.

As for the campaign to Stop BC Library Cuts, well, it met with some success, but alas, funding was still cut by 22%. Yep, at a time when more and more people need the varied services offered by their local public library, the libraries themselves will receive less money from the provincial government, forcing cuts in key areas. However, times have been tough before, so we have to hope that as the economy improves, the situation will change by the time next year rolls around.

In just over a week I go back to school for another two courses - Cataloguing and Information Retrieval Tools & Techniques. Should be interesting :) I do have some hours at the library in September, but they're mostly Saturday ones. Though I don't welcome this reduction in work hours, it will ensure I have plenty of time to concentrate on my studies, so that is a definite silver lining.

Wildlife sightings this summer include deer, ducks, a blue heron, a large lone bear and a mama bear with two cubs.

So, how has your summer been? Been anywhere? Done anything?

Teresa

Currently Reading: A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
Link of the Day: Letter reveals another explorer destined for Newfoundland in 1499

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