Our weekend away....

Most of you who follow me on FB know that we had a house fire back in November.  Since that time we have been living in my father-in-laws basement suite.  I am very thankful for that, as the alternative would have been living in a motel, and in my area there aren't that many places that I would want to stay in for long periods of time.

The other fortunate or at times I think unfortunate thing about staying in the suite is that it is right next door to our home that is being rebuilt.  Pros and cons to that. Hubby has been able to monitor the progress to the tee.  Everyday and sometimes numerous times at day he is over at the house chatting with the contracts about adjustments he/we want made to the house, monitoring the installation of the electrical, where the outlets go, the light fixtures.  Monitoring the plumbing where the pipes go, reconfiguring closet space, planning the new kitchen island...oh there is so much to consider it is mind boggling.  I don't know how people enjoy doing that for a living.  To many decisions to make, flooring, windows, counters, cabinets, fireplace, positioning of the electrical box, staircase, where to to move the furnace.  Since our house was built 14 years ago building codes have changed and thus changes and adjustments needed to be done to the house as well. So again, hubby has been busy working with the contractors.

I finally said to him, we need a little break.  Although, I think we live in a beautiful area I thought a little get away was in order.  It would give us an opportunity to clear our heads and to not think about the house for a least one weekend.  With fishing season soon approaching I suggested we go out to Ucluelet and check out moorage for the boat and just relax.  So I checked to see what kind of deals were to be had and managed to find a waterfront condo with a jetted tub.   The facility also had free access to kayaks and bikes which we took full advantage of.

The first morning we woke up to a glorious sunrise, here is view of the sunrise from the deck....

After watching this glorious sunrise I went for a run and upon my return hubby had made me a lovely breakfast and a latte.

Once I devoured the scrumptious breakfast and showered we decided maybe it was time to get on the bikes and ride around town.  Our intent was to ride out the light house and check out the wild seas of the Pacific Ocean....here are a few shots of what we saw....

As you can see in one of the photos there is a fishing boat heading out to sea.  What you might not notice is that the swells on the water were at least 8-9ft!   I use to say to hubby when we would be bobbing up and down on the oceans "land no land" meaning as you dipped down into the swell you would not see that land....here are a few more photos of that boat and how it's bobbing up and down....

I often think about how luck we are to have navigational equipment i.e. radar and such.  I can't imagine they days when the explorers where coming to a new land and the wild seas and the rocky shores how they navigated their ships.  I guess that is why there were so many ship wrecks.  Even to this day there are ships lost at sea and capsized due to ocean conditions.

The next day we had booked a pedicure for me and a massage for hubby.  Shear decadence I know, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.  After our little spa treatments we booked the kayaks to take a little tours or the surrounding shoreline.  I did bring the camera, but the water was a little rough and I didn't want to risk taking photos and either losing my camera or capsizing so I opted to just store it in my memory bank.  Each even we treated ourselves to a soak in the jetted tub on the deck...looking out at the water and looking up to the brilliant night sky sparkling and full with twinkling stars.

Our final day the weather turned cold again, and raining.  Boo, but that wasn't going to detour us. We had decided we wanted to go Longbeach and check out the stormy sea from that vantage point....

Looking out to sea.....

It was a great little get away.....

Sky Watch Friday

These photos were taken in late February at a lake 10 mins from my house.  It's called Horne Lake.  It is very popular in the summer,but now a lot of folks are making it their homestead.  Horne Lake is well known for it's camping, fishing and the caves where you can explore by yourself or on a tour.

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out other wonderful skies at Sky Watch Friday

An update on my brother.....

Where on earth does time go?  Here we are the 4th of April already, Easter has come and gone, spring is well on it's way and in only a couple of months school will be out!

It's been quite a winter and early spring.  Weather wise it's been very mild.  We had snow back in late November early December and nothing since then.  It rains but that is par for the course around here.  Although, I must say my little area is suppose to get the most sunshine than anywhere else on the Island and I tend to believe that.  For my friends in the mid eastern states and eastern Canada I'm sorry for all the terrible weather you have been having.  This past Easter weekend we hit a whopping 23 Celsius, people were walking around in shorts and flip flops.  Yes spring is here.

One of my last posts I wrote about my brother Mike and his need for a double lung transplant.  Any of you who follow me on Facebook will know that he did get his double lung transplant on February 13th 2013!!!  The joy that brought me rated right up their to how I felt when I gave birth to my daughters. It was such a wonderful birthday gift to his daughter whose birthday is Valentine's day!  There actually was a lot of lucky 13's connected with Mikes transplant, for example, his birthday is September 13 and this being 2013, his surgery was on the 13th and he was released from the hospital 13 days post transplant.  Yes 2013 seems to be his year!  I'll never say 13 is unlucky again!

It was serendipitous that I would be in town that day.  I had to be on the mainland for a specialist appointment.  At the time we got the call regarding my brother, my sister and I were in her car just heading into Vancouver for my appointment.  At first we were hesitant as up until this point Mike was doing very poorly and his condition was deteriorating rather quickly, so when the news of the transplanted started off by saying "I have news about Mike".....long pause......"He's getting his lungs" was the next comment.  My sister and I burst out into tears.  We were so happy we were both shaking.  We made it to my specialist appointment which was an important appointment but it's all a blur as I was so focused on my brother.

We got word that he was going to have his surgery around midnight and that evening and  if we wanted to see him pre surgery we could.  Well of course we wanted to see him, as did his children, and more of the siblings.  While I was there I was able to meet the head guy himself.  The doctor who coordinates all the transplants.  I had a great little visit with him which was very informative and helpful.  I was a bundle of nerves.  I could see the joy on my sister-in-laws face, she always believed that Mike would get his lungs and she stayed so very positive.  Never for a moment did she think he wasn't going to make.  With my nurses hat on, in the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if my brother or his wife had any idea as to what he would be in for post surgery.  The surgery was going to take about 9 hours.  I crossed my fingers, said a silent prayer and put the positive energy vibes out there.

It was the next morning and I was on the ferry back to the Island when I got the word that Mike had made it through surgery and was doing well.  I was able to breath a sigh of relief!  It was a short thirteen days later and he was released from the hospital.

Mike and I March 7th 2013 three weeks post double lung transplant. 

Mike and is lovely wife Arletha. She never gave up hope or faith!  Thank you Arletha for your strength and love for my brother!

Mike and his wife were told that they had to stay in Vancouver for 3 months post surgery for follow up and evaluations regarding his condition.  Apparently, Mike is doing so well that there is a strong possibility that they can move back to their home in Sechelt by May!!!