It's playoff time!

The big excitement in April and May for sports fans in North America (and elsewhere) is the Stanley Cup ice hockey playoffs. It's a many weeks long process with hockey games on TV almost every night (usually more than one). After the first round of games, sadly no Canadian teams are left standing. No doubt we will still watch the other games. Brian loves his hockey! I enjoy it too but wish I knew more of the rules. For everything you ever wanted to know about the National Hockey League, click here.

The day after Tyler left us, friends Al and Mary arrived from Calgary - via a couple of nights at the beautiful Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria (the capital city of BC, not the state in Australia)...they stayed two nights with us. First night was dinner at Milano's, the Italian restaurant I've talked about before. The second day of their visit was spent celebrating the joint birthdays of Mary and Brian which was lots of fun. We headed off to French Creek for lunch - you guessed it, Fishermans Chowder!

The waitress knows Brian from the hockey group
and when we told her we were having a birthday
lunch, she came with shots for Brian & Mary.

Mary endeavoured to consume hers
following the rule of "no hands". 

It was an on and off rainy day but that didn't stop us from having a great drive out to Qualicum Falls - we had been there with Christine in January but, on this trip, discovered that there is a lot more to the falls and spent a bit more time exploring some of the trails higher up the river. 

After that, we did a quick stop at the top end of Cameron Lake - a new viewing point for us - and then on to Cathedral Grove to say hello to our old friends, the ancient Douglas Fir trees. Mary spied a trillium blooming - first time I had ever seen one - it is British Columbia's provincial flower.

Trillium.

Home via a stop at Costco for fresh salmon to BBQ for dinner and to pick up the pre-ordered birthday cake. The evening was spent eating very well and fielding the happy birthday phone calls coming in for both Mary and Brian.

Mary and Al left the next day to drive back down to Victoria to catch their flight home to Calgary. Mary will be back on her own in a couple of weeks so we will have more time to catch up.

I headed off to Quilt Guild - with a show and tell quilt in hand in order to be eligible for the fabric draw! Luckily being new to the guild, I have a big stash of quilts they have never seen so will be able to keep this up for quite a while, even if I don't produce anything new. In a weak moment, I agreed to be nominated for the position of Co-President - what was I thinking! Elections are next month so we will see what transpires. And I didn't win the free fabric.

Thursday night (with Brian working), I agreed to go to a retirement seminar (yawn) at the encouragement of a great lady we've come to know from our bank. I was surprised that it was a very energising and positive spin on the whole transition to retirement thing (not focussed on money and investments for a change) and I came away with lots to think about.

We have decided I'm not job hunting until later in the year as there is too much going on to try to fit in a job. Means a lot less income to play with but we are adjusting to that reality.

And, also, after lots of discussion, we decided we could no longer manage being a one vehicle family so we went out looking and by the end of the day we were the proud owners of this...Brian's very first truck! Very exciting and it means we now have the means to go and collect junk off the side of the road!

Brian wasted no time polishing it up...
even multi-tasking drinking his wine.

As Brian and I sat having coffee one morning this week, Brian noticed a tree moving in the front yard and spotted this! 

We knew they were around but had never seen one in our yard before. Must become knowledgeable about their habits so we don't unwittingly encourage them.

With just enough time to put clean sheets on the guest bed and tidy up a bit, we were off to the airport to pick up second sister Elizabeth who was arriving from Australia to spend a couple of days with us en route to Ft McMurray to visit with her daughter and grandchildren.

Of course she was happy to see us.

I took her to quilting where one of the
ladies explained the finer art of
making fabric bowls. 

This was her first visit to our new spot - but certainly not the first time in Canada. We only had two full days so made the most of it with a trip to check out the shops at Qualicum Beach (definitely want to go back there); chowder at French Creek and a walk around the marina. We also checked out a few craft and fabric shops so Elizabeth could stock up on supplies for some projects she wants to work on during her stay in Canada. We'll see her later in the summer so it wasn't too hard to say goodbye.

Very cool shop in Qualicum featuring the
work of local artists - best stuff I've
seen in a long time.

Downtown Qualicum Beach - it was very quiet.

But very pretty.

And their tulips were spectacular. 

Found a little beach access nearby and
stopped for a quick look.

Elizabeth enjoying French Creek Marina.

Not sure where the Coast Guard were headed
but they sure were in a hurry.

Elizabeth's creative photo from our
living room.

With all of the visitors around, I had forgotten about my vegetable garden and suddenly realised it hadn't rained for a week. Thankfully (and amazingly) a few seedlings are finally poking their little heads through the soil so maybe I will actually have some success.

The other plants which seem to love this climate are rhododendrons and azaleas. There are quite a few in our garden but only this very splashy one has bloomed so far - I think the rest of them won't be far behind.

I took this photo before the blooms were
fully open - they now almost hide the leaves.

After all the entertaining, we were too tired to go to the Newcomers Drinks & Appies night last night so called it a day very early - but not before having an hour or so Skype date with youngest sister Megan who is very excited about her upcoming trip to Canada in September (as are we). The time will go by very quickly.

The quest for seafood.

It has been a hectic few weeks at MapleGum. March and April are busy birthday months for our family so it has been a focus remembering to buy (and actually mail) cards/gifts at the appropriate times - and we have also welcomed several lots of visitors.

All the trees around town are now in full magnificent bloom - daffodils and tulips abound and it is gradually getting warmer and warmer - we have even enjoyed a meal or two out on the deck which has been great.

These tulips are all in our back yard - the colours are just so pretty.

Tyler arrived at Comox Airport on a beautiful Saturday three weeks ago for his first trip to the island. The airport we thought was only an hour away is actually more like an hour and forty minutes drive so we've decided not to recommend that as an airport of choice if our pickup and drop off services are required! It is a very pretty drive though.

Did some intense sightseeing to try to show Tyler as much as we could fit in during the week he was here - a focus being to eat lots and lots of seafood.

Discovered this lookout a few minutes from
our house - we can just see a tiny bit of
our white roof in the middle of the picture.

The long skinny island is what we see
out the front of our house.

My favourite picnic table at Cameron
Lake on the way to Cathedral Grove.

Requisite photo at Cathedral Grove.

Started the search for fresh seafood for Tyler
at French Creek with a bowl of the now nearly
famous Fisherman's Chowder! Ty enjoyed it as
much as I do and we both came away with an
extra bowl for later.

After lunch, we walked out onto the sea
wall around the marina and checked out
the fishing boats.

The next afternoon was spent learning more about the history of Nanaimo at the museum downtown and then off to Dinghy Dock pub for a burger for dinner (Ty opted for the Salmon Burger of course).

Brian & Ty waiting for the ferry to
Dinghy Dock Pub on Protection Island.

The Pub with Nanaimo in the background.

Just had a few minutes for a quick walk
before the ferry went back so decided to
try to find the Blue Heron Colony - no luck
seeing any herons but at least we could
read all about them!

This cutie was patiently waiting for his master.

Also had a long day trip to Tofino/Ucluelet area on the west side of the island (our first time) - the (three hour) drive was spectacular.

There was still a little snow along the
edge of the road in places - and lots
on top of some of the mountains.

Kennedy Lake - huge and very beautiful lake
...well, what lake isn't beautiful?

Don't think I'd want to live here.

Very rustic Ucluelet.

Ucluelet Marina.

Entering Pacific Rim National Park - we were
later chased along this road by a ranger who
spotted us pulling into a beach parking lot
to take a quick photo - we had opted not to
buy a pass as we hadn't planned on
stopping in the park...ooops!  

Photos below are all around the Tofino waterfront.

Had lunch at a great restaurant with the 

 above view - and, yes, more seafood for Ty.

I was entertained in the washroom by this 

little TV installed above the toilet roll 

holder - video playing was extolling 

the virtues of this as an amazing surfing 

destination.

They have gone to amazing lengths to 
save this huge cedar tree in town 
as it has some heritage significance.

Following are more photos taken at stopping spots along the way back. Everything is so beautiful and scenic so it's hard to be selective when taking photos - so I just photograph everything!

We've noted lots of places to check out in more detail when we make a return trip. Beautiful, beautiful spot.

Took Ty to the airport for his flight back to Edmonton on the Friday after a wonderful visit and then took the opportunity to have a drive around downtown Comox - a very pretty town along the water which I'm sure will get a repeat visit.

The goodbye spot.

Comox Marina.

Ty and I also managed to knock off a
puzzle during the week - it's of Vancouver's
downtown - very challenging.

The night after Ty left, we played euchre with a couple we have met through newcomers. That was fun and slowly I am relearning some (emphasis on some) of the finer points.

I discovered that the sparrows which we have mean-spiritedly (according to some) discouraged from nesting on our front deck have now taken up residence in a little birdhouse which I had hung on the back fence, along with a few others, for decoration. They seem happy and I may let them stay for a while. Not sure I want to encourage an increase to the sparrow population on an ongoing basis.

On the Sunday we worked on finishing work on the vegetable garden and by Sunday night, all was planted and I was on the couch with a heat pack on my back! On cue, it rained that night - thank you God.