Good morning

Thanks to the gifts of dahlias, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber and organic greens from friends yesterday afternoon, this was the sight that greeted me this morning when I went into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot. Is there anything that tastes better than the end of summer?

All in a day's work

While my new life of "freedom" as a student, haus frau and woman of leisure is something that I am getting used to quite happily, I have struggled with change that comes with my significantly lower financial contribution to our household. Jeff regularly reminds me that not all contributions are financial ones (and that the value of a wife no longer suffering daily anxiety attacks at the thought of going to a job that makes her absolutely miserable is more than money could ever buy). It is amazing how our life has simplified since I've been off work and how much more cheaply we live, but I'm still aware of this change.

Today, I had an opportunity to make a very unique contribution. While Jeff was busy with his VT 150 and VT 300 robot babies (or "Crawler vehicles" as he corrects me), I was busy with our V-2840. My food vacuum packager might not be able to complete underground rescues, crawl through pipes or help with international security, but I love it just the same.

One of the guys in our care group has worked in the charter fishing business for over a decade and knows everything there is to know about salmon. When he invited us into a group purchase on some of this year's sockeye run (apparently, the best on the West Coast in over a century), we were pretty excited. The 'catch' on this great deal? Each family buying fish needed to provide a helper to process it.

So today while Jeff did all the things that an engineer does on an average day, I joined 6 strong, outdoorsy-type men to process 700 pounds of salmon. It was caught yesterday and was so fresh, all you could smell was a little sea water (no fish smell at all). We barbequed some for lunch and let me tell you- it was the best salmon I've ever tasted.

The fish in this photo account for about a third of the total we cut, rinsed, dried and vacuum packed. I'm proud to report that my equipment and vaccum-packing talent wowed the boys and I think, I did well enough to earn an invitation back next year. Jeff and I bought 100 pounds and came home with 42 sides of salmon that we are splitting with Jeff's parents. So for all of you prairie and Ontarian friends and family members- you'll have to come out for a visit. We have lots of very yummy salmon to feed you.

Garden surprises

This weekend, Jeff and I were welcomed to two big surprises in our garden.

The first- a happy one. What happens when you have a boy kiwi plant beside a girl kiwi plant? They produce a maze of unruly, curling and unbelievably long vines that make lots of baby kiwis. I'm quite excited about this new crop.

The second was a not-so happy surprise. Jeff and I thought this was the largest hornet's nest we'd ever seen. Nanaimo went pesticide and chemical-free this year, so we had to resort to creative ways to deal with the nest. Thankfully, Jeff's parents had their own huge wasp nest the same week and were able to inspire some MacGuyver-ing with their shop vac, a ladder and some wire. Jeff's estimation was that we vacuumed up about 500 angry hornets.

Transitions

I took a leave from my job at the end of June- a leave that probably should have happened a year or two ago. While I won't go into details here, I have enjoyed the people parts of my job (clients, colleagues) but the environment has been exceptionally difficult and disheartening to work within. My decision to go back to school was, in part, out of the realization that this work environment is not going to change.

It was wonderful to have the summer off to regain some health and perspective. It has enabled me to see how being so unhappy has affected our home life... and do some pretty honest soul searching about priorities and values. Actually having energy to garden, cook and have real conversations with Jeff was something I really missed.

In the end, it was pretty clear that going back to work in this job was not the best thing for us. Jeff has been beyond supportive of this decision and for this, I'm immeasurably grateful. Last Thursday, I cleaned out my office and said goodbye. My plan is to continue with my master's degree (something I am enjoying very much) but beyond that- I'm not sure. It feels really good to have some quiet to let this unfold. For now- this view (outside my basement office window) seems to be exactly where I need to be.

Pain and distraction

After our super weekend spent hiking rainforest trails, jumping into river rapids and sleeping on a very uncomfortable mattress in our "rustic" cottage rental, Jeff suffered a flare-up of a herniated disk problem that began at the start of this year. While decompression therapy has helped and, some three weeks later, he is doing much better, there were two weeks when he was completely unable to sit and barely able to lie down. It wasn't a fun time.

With a stern warning not to do any lifting, he was going a little stir crazy walking in circles. In an effort to provide a bit of distraction, I came up with an idea to make pretzels. I'm not sure why, exactly- it seemed like a great idea as they took up the better part of an afternoon and were something I've always wanted to try.

We followed

this recipe, replacing the butter with Jeff-friendly non-dairy margarine. The great idea turned into a fun afternoon as they were delicious dinner with home-made hummus and salad. Yum.

Saratoga Beach

Jeff's niece and nephew sent their mom back to Ottawa on her own so they could repeat the great fun off camping with Jeff's parents. Not to be left out of the adventure, we followed them up to Saratoga Beach (just south of Campbell River) for the weekend.

While the first day was a little rainy, we had a great time hiking up around Elk Falls.

The second day was beautifully sunny and hot; after spending the morning on the beach, the kids, Jeff and I spent the afternoon floating down the Oyster River and having a great time jumping into the rapids.

Jeff and I were in the midst of making some big decisions about my job (more to come on that soon) and having this weekend of fun (complete with a Sunday morning spent giggling and drawing our favourite Far Side cartoons on the beach at low tide) was exactly what we needed. This was our second annual camping trip with Jeff's parents, niece and nephew- we certainly hope the kids come back next summer to continue this fantastic tradition (hint, hint)!

Family reunion

Jeff's sisters, nephews and niece overlapped visits over the August long weekend and we had a great time. It was the first time we had all been together (not counting our missing brother-in-laws) since our wedding and Jeff was pretty excited to have almost everyone in his family not only in the same time zone, but around the same table!

We had a such fun time hiking around Newcastle Island,

eating the wonderful tastes of summer









watching the kids climb and zip-line through a tree-top obstacle course, discovering swimming holes at the Englishman and Nanaimo Rivers,

celebrating birthdays,playing games and just enjoying being together.

While at the Englishman River swimming hole, our nephew J was able to put his lifesaving skills and training into practice when two tourists got into trouble in the quicker-than-it-looks river current (close to the same spot where Jeff is in this photo).

It was an incredibly scary situation, especially when a friend of these two young women jumped into the river to try and help but got into trouble himself. We were so proud of J's quick action and the strength, maturity and calm he displayed during the rescue. Thankfully, all ended safely and the three tourists were shaken but not hurt.

It was such a great visit that passed by all-too quickly.

Summer Fun

Where did July go?!

After completing my marathon Term 1 at school, Jeff and I took off a few days to sleep and introduce ourselves to each other. This spring, Jeff took on roles as resident chef, janitor, laundry star, household organizer and overall wife-calmer; I think he was more in need of a break than I was. It was good to have a few days of quiet with much sleep, a few good books and no deadlines.

For my birthday, Jeff gave me a day at Butchard Gardens in Victoria and a herb garden of my own. We spent several nights of digging bishops weed out of garden off our back deck and shared a very fun afternoon at the Hazelwood Herb Farm, a lovely local farm out in Yellowpoint, picking out herbs and coming up with a plan. I'll post photos, soon. Same with the day in Victoria (we're off this Saturday while the rose garden is still in full bloom).

The best part of this summer has been a month-long leave I have taken from work. It has been such a welcome break and I am so thankful for the opportunity for some time off. I can't remember the last time I had a summer off and it is something I highly recommend!

Our first family visitors were my aunt and uncle from Winnipeg. They are really special to us as they officiated our wedding and have been a wonderful source of encouragement and support. It was so much fun to have them here; we had a great time walking through the very tall old growth cedar Cathedral Grove forest

enjoying a picnic and entertaining window shopping at the the eccentric country market in Coombs (note the sod roof complete with goats!)

and hiking around Englishman River Falls.

My uncle recently published a book entitled, Leaders Who Shaped Us: Canadian Mennonite Brethren: 1910-2010. I was so excited when he gave us a copy and, all bias aside, would highly recommend to all of my Mennonite Brethren blogs readers as an interesting and very thoughtful look at the individuals who significantly shaped the MB community in Canada. For those interested, check out this Christian Weekly article as well.