Wednesday, December 23, 2020 to Tuesday, January 5, 2021 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

Another couple of weeks have gone by...and it's time for an update on what we've been up to (which really isn't very much LOL!)

Wednesday (Dec. 23) was a clear, cold day. We headed into Sidney just before 10:00...Steve dropped me off at Save-On-Foods to pick up groceries and he carried on his way to take care of his errands. I was finished within an hour...surprising as it has been so busy, especially with all of the COVID protocols in place. But I guess my timing was perfect, because as we left the parking lot, there was a line up outside the store.

With it being such a beautiful sunny day, we headed back into Sidney just after 2:00 to go for our walk along the waterfront. Our friend, Nancy, joined us, leaving her husband, Rob at home preparing the turkey for Christmas Day (apparently he is cooking it today and will re-heat it on the 25th...Steve has a weird friend LOL)

Thursday (Dec.24) morning we got up to a very chilly trailer...it had gone down to freezing overnight. So we had our 2 electric heaters going and also fired up the furnace just to warm up the floor.

Just before we were leaving to meet Dave and Leslie for a walk, my brother, Dwight and his wife, Helen popped by to drop off a "little something" for us. Helen had been baking! So very nice...thanks, Guys!

We met Dave and Leslie by the highway and they followed us to a parking lot near Pat Bay. We are going to walk some of The Flight Path...a 9.3 km (5.8 mile) bike/walking path that goes around the Victoria airport. We had no intention of walking the whole thing today but thought we'd walk some and turn around when we felt it was time.

A tribute to Hospital Hill – a historical marker that commemorates the medical facility that was used by the RCAF starting in the 1940’s. It’s a beautiful place of historical interest and quiet contemplation.

As you can see, there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground...it hasn't been warm enough to melt much yet...

After a great 4.8 km (3 mile) walk, we wished Dave and Leslie a Merry Christmas and we headed home. We drove through Sidney, along the waterfront on our way home and took a picture of Mount Baker (in Washington State). It hasn't been very visible lately but even with the light cloud covering, it was quite stunning....

At 4:00 we were all geared up for a video call with my family. Unfortunately, we didn't think to get a picture! The call was with all of my brothers and their spouses...Doug/Jean (Chilliwack, BC), Don/Rhonda (Bowser, BC), Dennis/Suzanne (Kelowna, BC) and Dwight/Helen (Victoria, BC). A great idea guys! It was wonderful...the first time we have all connected this way! Hopefully we do it more often.

We ate some very disappointing appetizers that I had picked up from Save-On Foods yesterday (frozen wings and pork rib bites) for our Christmas Eve dinner. They were awful! Oh well...the wine was good LOL!

We watched a Christmas movie before calling it a night.

Friday (Dec. 25)...Merry Christmas everyone! 

We received a text from Angela at 6:23 a.m. saying that Isaac was already up! We wanted to watch Isaac open gifts, so a few minutes later, we were in a video call with them...

Our little Santa Elf...

Shortly after our call with Chris, Angela and Isaac, it was time for a video call to watch Conner and Bryce open gifts...OMG they sure dug into all those gifts!  Here they are opening our gifts...we're even in the picture! Thanks for the picture, Linda (Angie's mom)!

Later on, we all had a video call together...Chris, Angela and Isaac upper right and Bryce, Angie, Conner and Rob lower centre...

Steve and I had our Christmas Dinner at 1:30...

Once the kitchen was all cleaned up, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon...and then had a video call with Earl/Allison, Art/Jan, Jim/Cec and Bob/Sue. Great seeing you all again!

Saturday (Dec. 26)...Happy Boxing Day! To find out more, click What Is Boxing Day, and How Did It Get Its Name?

We had a pretty relaxing day...Steve worked on his winter blog project and while doing so, found some pictures and album links that needed fixing. So that kept me busy for awhile.

We also had video calls with Steve's cousins in Vancouver....starting with Glenna, followed by Bev and Rob, and then Cheryl. Great seeing and catching up with them...next time we'll have to have a group one!

Sunday (Dec 27) was a rainy day...it rained basically all day! While Steve worked on his project, I decided to get out for a walk. It wasn't windy so I headed off with my umbrella...still got pretty wet but I did 3 laps around the RV park.

After dinner we went for a drive to see the Christmas lights...personally, I feel we should have done it before Christmas, it seemed rather anti-climatic doing it afterwards and I think some people didn't bother turning them on once Christmas Day was over. Nonetheless, we definitely saw some amazing displays...some folks really go all out!

The town of Sidney did a great job!

Even the Sidney Pier was all lit up...

On our walk the other day with Nancy she mentioned that there was a great display in a cul-de-sac near them. Very nice!

Close up of the individual displays...

Monday (Dec. 28) morning I did a couple of loads of laundry while Steve worked on his blog project.

After lunch, the rain had stopped and it turned into quite a nice afternoon. Which was perfect as we met Rob, Conner and Bryce at a park not too far from their house. It has a big open space for Conner to try flying his small remote control plane that he got for Christmas. Bryce also had his remote control car out for a bit but didn't last long as his batteries needed charging.

Conner with his transmitter while Dad is about to launch the plane...

Bryce was more interested in playing on the swings...

Bryce ready to launch...

Then both boys had fun on the swings...with the help of Dad...

Bryce still hadn't burned up enough energy so Steve dared him to run across the field to the other side and back. He did it, and that seemed to poop him right out. Mission accomplished!

We had a wonderful hour maintaining a distance from them...it was just so good to see them in person. But oh how I miss my hugs! Upon leaving, Rob handed us a gift bag...2 boxes of Purdy's Chocolates plus a set of 4 personalized coasters with a family picture. Awesome! A perfect gift, thanks guys!

Tuesday (Dec. 29) was a cool, cloudy day...with more rain in the forecast. We decided today would be a good day to pay our respects to family no longer with us and visit the cemeteries. Once we had done that, we were out in Langford, so met up with Steve's sister and husband, Nadine and Mike. We grabbed coffees at a drive-thru Starbucks and met them in a nearby park where we were able to visit and keep distanced...

After our visit, Steve and I did a little tour around the area...amazed at how much construction is going on...and then had a late lunch at the A and W drive-thru. A good day out and about!

Wednesday (Dec. 30) was a rainy, windy day...it had started overnight. Other than a brief period late morning, it was very blustery and wet!

I ran some errands in Sidney while Steve worked on his project. I took this picture while parked on the waterfront enjoying a latte...

Once I got home, Steve wanted to see the waves on the waterfront, so back into Sidney we went. He took a couple of short videos. Years ago during a much stormier day we watched as waves broke up and over the roof of this tiny home and across the road so we wanted to see what was happening today. Luckily for the owners it wasn't as bad as that. 

Thursday (Dec. 31) had a cloudy start but with rain not starting until later this afternoon, we decided to get out for a walk along the Sidney waterfront.

A lady on the pathway told us these resting birds are Turnstones...

Lots of beach logs washed out to sea as far as you could see...

For New Year's Eve, we ordered in Chinese Food and then watched our favourite DVD...The Eagles Farewell Tour 1 Melbourne. We enjoyed a few adult beverages...and were in bed around 11:00. Not very exciting...but like many others, I assume.

Friday (Jan. 1)....Happy New Year! 

We had a very quiet, lazy day. Steve took down the solar Christmas lights outside because rain was in the forecast for tomorrow. The highlight were the video calls we had...not much contact physically with family and friends, but we certainly are enjoying our virtual visits!

In the morning, we had a group call with Rob, Angie, Conner and Bryce, and Chris, Angela and Isaac. And then in the afternoon, we toasted the New Year with Deb and Ray. Great chatting and seeing you all!

The rest of the day was spent watching movies and I did some knitting.

Saturday (Jan. 2) was a totally rainy day! It just poured ALL day! The rain has caused high river/stream and flood warnings in numerous areas throughout Vancouver Island and lower mainland.

We took down all of the Christmas decorations inside and while Steve was taking down the lights, he discovered a water leak in the big slide above the couch and a wet carpet...again! So he spent time drying the carpet...not happy campers! He'll have to try and figure out where it's coming in tomorrow once it stops raining. We have toppers above the slide rooms so the wind must be driving the rain into an opening somewhere that needs resealing.

It wasn't windy so I took my umbrella and headed out for a walk, doing 3 laps around the RV park. I was drenched by the time I got back! My jeans were wet right up to the knees...but it felt good to get out! Other than that, it was a hunker down inside type of day.

There was also another video call...this time with some of our US friends. We are missing our trip south this winter and our group that we usually meet up with in Quartzsite. It was nice to have a small virtual happy hour! Steve and I top left, Barb, Daisy, and Jim in SD top middle, Red and Pam in TX top right, Harry and Vicki in CA bottom left, and Dave and Leslie up island in Parksville bottom right. We all had a few laughs catching up with one another. Hopefully this time next year it's once again around a campfire in Q!

Sunday (Jan. 3) was another rainy start...but also windy. However, by early afternoon, the rain had stopped and the wind had calmed...we even had some sunshine! 

We pulled in the slide part-way and Steve got to work on re-caulking. Should have taken a picture but there is a T shaped metal strip that runs the length of the slide room. When we had a leak last summer Steve sealed the outer side of the metal strip and all the screw heads. On inspection Steve noticed there was some water on the inside of the lip that acts as a dam. The wind must have been blowing it over that lip that has no sealant. Steve had just enough Pro Flex RV sealant left over to complete the job. Hopefully that's the fix. Time will tell...

With that done, we got our for a walk around the RV park...nice to get out for a walk in the sunshine!

Monday (Jan. 4) and back to rain. We also had some big gusts of wind that woke us up through the night. The wind ended up being calm throughout the day with rain on and off. However, another wind warning has been issued for tomorrow. We've been getting storm after storm and apparently we've already had a months worth of rain in the last 2 weeks!

Not much today...other than getting out for a walk around the RV park, we worked on this blog and watched TV.

Tuesday (Jan. 5) started off with just clouds. We got out early and did a couple of laps around the RV park before the rain and wind started.

As predicted, the wind started picking up mid morning...the rain a little later. And OMG, was it ever windy! The worst storm, wind-wise, that we've had so far...and we've had quite a bit of wind. They have forecast wind gusts 70-94kph/43-58mph! It continued all day. I bet those waves are washing over the roof of that little house in Sidney today...should have gone back to check it out.  The power went out for about 5 seconds but came right back on...that is, as of writing this blog. Hopefully we won't loose it overnight.

Needless to say we hunkered down inside all day....Steve worked on his project and I started and ripped out a new knitting project about a half-dozen times. Frustrated, I finally put it down...will try again another day.

And that brings us up-to-date again! Stay safe and healthy everyone!