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Last night was probably the craziest weather Vancouver has ever seen! And you see some crazy weather living in this city. But I certainly don't recall ever seeing anything like this here before.
The weather forecast had been calling for thundershowers over the North Shore mountains, but that usually means this: maybe a storm that lasts all of thirty minutes, if that, with a few lightning strikes lighting up the sky, and a few claps of thunder.
For anyone who isn't from Vancouver and has experienced a Vancouver thunder storm, well it's down right piddly. But not this one! Fours hours! Fours hours of thunder, lightning, hot, humid, wet weather. Black sky. Orange sky. Lightning forking down and hitting buildings. Lightning streaking across the sky like a crack on a windshield getting bigger and bigger. And I was outside for the whole thing!
I got drenched. The electricity from the storm actually had a few strands of my hair standing on end. It was crazy. It was fun. None of us Vancouverites had never seen anything like it here before.
And I wasn't at the fireworks. I was at a block party in Tsawassen, mere feet from the boat launch at Centennial Beach. So I stood at the boat launch watching lightning rip across Boundary Bay.
After we left the party in Tsawassen, we headed into Richmond to visit Colin's parents, and continue watching the storm. And pestilence was upon us!
We were driving fairly slowly down Gilbert, watching the storm, when Colin noticed something hopping across the street. It was a frog. We stopped and I noticed that there were frogs (and frog parts) scattered all over the road. I guess the storm and humidity drove them out of the ditches. It was biblical!
The amazing show continued as we sat on the patio at Colin's parents'. You could hear people oohing and aahing all along the dyke.
It was so hot, and muggy, and wet I felt like I was in Hawaii out on the lanai.
My only regret. I didn't have my camera.
I'm not really in the mind frame to write today. Unless you want to hear about my bridesmaid dress fitting and grocery shopping at the Superstore. Didn't think so.
Every now and then I go through past blog entries. I find it interesting to go back in time and see what I was up to and what was going on around me. Here's a treat - I wrote this entry exactly 4 years ago today. Check out this entry, July 15, 2005.
I have a few fears in life: death, spiders, clowns, and vacation!!!???
Now, most people who have to take off a month just because they have to, would be pretty darn happy with that. But I was actually scared. Yes. You read that correctly. I was scared of a month off. Scared because I had no plans. Scared because Colin would be spending most of July working on the Island. In front of me loomed thirty days of nothingness.
I had two choices: spend a month bored and depressed; or fill my calendar. If I have nothing to do, I get bored. And curing my boredom isn't as simple as reading a book, watching TV, or anything else. If I get bored, my mind shuts down. And when that happens I become frustrated and depressed. So you may be able to appreciate what I go through and why a month off with nothing planned can be a scary thing for me. I need to keep myself busy and entertained.
So far so good...
I am about ten days in and haven't really stopped. I left work July 3 and headed straight to Sakinaw Lake for the weekend. And because everyone keeps asking: it's just north of Pender Harbour. The ferry coming back from Langdale was so Mickey Mouse I literally had an hour to come in the door and get ready for book club. Since there was no electricity and only an outhouse (with a view) to do your business, I didn't shower all weekend. It was super hot, and while a swim in the lake cooled me off, it didn't clean me very well.
I can't remember what I did last Monday. I know I went to Curves. I think I spent the day at home, but had enough errands to do to keep me busy. I spent all day Tuesday at Metrotown - a truly exhausting day, and I didn't buy anything. But I had fun catching up with a friend I don't get to spend much time with. That evening I had to pack for my mini road-trip to Forks, Washington. This topic probably deserves it's own blog entry, which I may write at some point. I had a fun getaway with Lisa and Sascha. And I got to see a part of Washington I have never seen before: the Olympic Peninsula. A truly beautiful place - it definitely rivals BC - of course, it is the same landscape.
We returned Thursday evening. Friday was another day of exercise, chores, and fun. And yesterday I did nothing. It was okay during the day, but by the time evening rolled around I was heading into that funk - boredsville. Unfortunately Colin is away this week, so he wasn't around last night to help me out. I somehow survived it, knowing I would be busy the rest of the week.
I started my day at the gym and then ran a bunch of errands I had been putting off for months. I spent the afternoon with Thalia and Oliver. Tomorrow is another busy day - I have a bridesmaid dress fitting in the morning, and then I need to go grocery shopping. I'm running out of food, and I need to buy things for our weekend away. Thursday I am having breakfast with Thalia and Lisa (and Oliver and Sascha), and then I need to pack. Colin and I are heading to Osoyoos on Friday.
Okay. I'm going to stop now. My writing is deteriorating.
Oh yeah. We have booked our flight to New Zealand - and that definitely deserves its own blog entry!
142 years ago a group of men got together in a room on PEI, chatted a bit, and a new country was born. Okay, it was a bit more involved than that, but you get the drift. But because of that day, I can sit here now, musing on my computer, in a beautiful land, home to varied and interesting people, with the ability to think and do as I please (within moral & ethical realms of course).
It is very easy to take things for granted and forget how lucky we are to either have been born in or have come to Canada at some point in our lives. It's a country that upholds the values of peace, order, and good government (that last one may be slightly debatable right now...), and the enjoyments of hockey, beer, and doughnuts. Big mountains. Big skies. Big arctic deserts. Life on the land. Life on the sea. English. French. And everything in between. Intelligence. Compassion. Politeness. A drole sense of humour. Take it or leave it, I am happy to call this country my home.
And it's always nice to have a day off...
