Book recomendation list from The Georgia Straight

Mid week post from chris, so there will no bells, whistles, or pictures. I reserve those for relaxing weekend morning. That said, I found this link and I thought the book lovers out there would appreciate it

Georgia Straight Book list.

A list of best books from a book reviewer from the Georgia Straight newspaper; one the last bastions of free, progressive print medias out there.

Let me know if you find any winners on the list. At present, I am half way through The Kiterunner.
Over and out. chris

Making Progress!

The half marathon training is going well. Today Christina and I ran 13.7 kms which was 2.7 more than last week. Considering that there were quite a few hills and the last kilometre was straight up, we felt good about our time- only 17 minutes longer than the 11km run last week! Only 7 km to go! I guess those hill repeats and speed bursts are working Christina. The hardest part of the run was the beginning, but once we got into our groove, it was great to be out there on a sunny morning knowing we're one step closer to our goal. The nicest part was that we did a loop today instead of running somewhere and turning back in the same direction. I need to try to do more of those kinds of runs! Thanks Christina!

New Trainers....

 

for Mom that is. Sedona thought she'd give them a try. If I write this, then I have to do it, so here it goes. I am officially training for a half marathon with 2 other girlfriends. They've both done one before and have legs two times as long as mine, but I'm up for the challenge! Although I have always been physically active, this isn't something that can just be done like a 10 km run could. It's 21.1 kms! It's nice to have two good friends to train with. We're doing one long run a week together, hills one day at lunch together (I work with one of my training partners)and then runs on our own a couple of days a week. This is big for me because I like to do a variety of sports and now I have to commit to running more and biking/going to the gym less. Running was always just a quick form of exercise for me, but now it's actually a focus until April 5th (It's called the April Fools Run here on the coast). Last weekend we had our first long run at 11kms. It felt really good and I thought I could go longer. Today we did the same run but it felt harder. Why? We ended up cutting 8 minutes off our time as we were running faster so I felt it. I guess the first week of training helped! I have always liked having a goal, so welcome this one as well... although the thought of 10 more kms to go is a little daunting! Thanks Christina and Jeanette- looking forward to all the runs ahead!

Family Skate

 

 

Yesterday we went skating. This was Sedona's first time since the birthday party she went to in November and she enjoyed it way more (could have something to do with the fact that a bunch of her friends weren't on the bench not wanting to skate). She actually said "I want to do this every day" at the end. You're allowed to bring strollers on the ice so Aja got pushed around by Chris and had a ball kicking to the music with her thumb in her mouth!

Embracing the Sun

 

Today was a glorious day! After all the snow, rain and fog the last couple of months, today's sun was so welcoming! Look at Sedona (click): it was warm enough for just a skirt and shirt at our house! The girls loved playing in the backyard again on their swingset. We'll take some more of these days please!

Prepping the Garden

 

Welcome Baby Theo!

Cousin Owen became a big brother on December 31st. Sedona and Aja are thrilled about their new cousin Theo; Sedona loves to hold him and Aja likes to "pet" him. Congratulations Ann and Andrew!!!

Pictures from Grandma Lou's Visit

Let's go!

 

The other day I was getting our swimming bag ready to go to the pool. Aja came over and said "goggles" to Sedona who was holding them. When Sedona went to give Aja her goggles, she said "no, own." So I went and got a pair for her from the bathttub and she walked around the house like this for half an hour waiting to go to the pool.

Christmas Break birdlist 2008

The following birds made my Christmas 2008 birdlist. A variety of environmental factors affected species numbers and geography covered. The primary factor was snow....lots of it. The South Coast of B.C., Canada, Sechelt to be precise, does not receive considerable snow, but this December was different. Snow has been on the ground since Dec. 13, and finally in the first week of January, the snow finally appears to be leaving.
I have organized the bird list in the order of David Allen Sibley, noted American orthinologist. The range of these sighting are from Davis Bay to West Sechelt (area spread over 10 KM), to a maximumm of 120 M above sea level.

Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Brandt's Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Wigeon
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Killdeer
Black Turnstone
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Dove
Band-tailed Pigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Stellars Jay
Northwestern Crow
Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Varied Thrush
Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Redbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow

Good birding in 2009!

Happy Birthday Sedona!

 

 

 

 

It's so cliche, but time flies! Sedona turns 4 on Wednesday but we celebrated today. She had a princess themed birthday party. She was very helpful in getting ready for the party. Like her Mom and Dad, she seems to like to have a project to focus on so today she was in full party preparation mode cleaning, making heart and star shaped sandwiches, setting up the games, setting the table for magic cookie wand decorating. The second to last shot is of Sedona and Aja waiting for all the other princesses to arrive (and Prince Charming- Cousin Owen). I have so many other jobs I'd like to do in my next life- in particular a midwife, homeopath and now I'm thinking a party planner would be fun too! Thanks to all who came and for the great fun and gifts!

Christmas break pictures

Here are a few random pics from our holidays.

Back when snow was a novelty on the Coast, Sedona and Cousin Owen lit up Picadilly Park with all the big kids partaking in some sleddding and snowball rolling.



Cupressus Macrocarpa. Goldcrest. A species native to Northern California that falls in the Cypress tree family. This specimen was bought by Grandma-Lou 2 years back and has taken off. It is a beautiful lime green-yellow and the snow on it was a beautiful contrast.



Here is a view looking west up our road the morning after one of our many snowfalls. This one was the biggest however.



This is looking in the opposite direction. This is MacKenzie Tree and this is the tree that I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing a Great-horned Owl in the night I put up the Christmas lights.

Happy New year

I have to say this was the most relaxing holiday we've had since the girls have been born. Aja finally started sleeping in a month ago and after months of early wake-ups, it's such a treat. We are starting to brace for next week's back to work routine. Our mornings of lounging in bed as a family while reading books, surfing on our new school provided laptops and watching cartoons are soon to be over. Breakfast will no longer be served at 8 or 9 and we'll have to be out of our jammies before 10. It's been a truly relaxing and wonderful family break! This morning we went for one more sledding tour- yesterday the snow was almost gone and today we woke up to a bunch more. It's melting now though as it's raining. Happy New Year to you and yours- hope this year provides wonderful fun and opportunities!

 

My man's a chef!! Andrew and ann gave Chris a cookbook for his birthday on harvest foods from the garden. Chris made homemamde wild mushroom perogies using chanterelles from the fall.

 

I just loved this shot of Aja with her backpack on pushing her baby around the house. She now has a favorite baby that she brings to bed with her. And she is so cute "shhhing" it to sleep.

 

The girls making a collaborative art mural this morning.

Our Anna's Hummer

Here are a couple of pics of one of the most intrepid birds I know of. From November to March, Anna's hummingbirds are active feeders here on the Coast, and our yard is no exception.

 

In years past, I've taken down our hanging basket post Thanksgiving like an efficent gardner should, but this year I let it hang around as it kept flowering and producing in the mild autumn. Once the winter storms began, the male hummer began seeking refuge in the basket. Hence it's stuck around ever since.

 

To the unaware, The Anna's hummingbird is not a native species to the Sunshine Coast. They orignated from Southern California and have been permanently attracted to the South Coast from all the exotic garden plants we now shower our lots with. Another interesting fact is that Anna's are one of the Coast's earliest breeders, with females laying eggs in January/Feb. Interesting isn't it?!
chris