first beach trip

 

Yesterday we took Clementine to the beach for the first time. In the late afternoon, when the sun was still high, we drove to Jericho. She was asleep when we got there so we hid under the shade of a tree. When she woke up we set up on the sand, with an umbrella (not the beach kind) for shade. She actually seemed even happier than she is at home; I think she liked the sea breeze. This poor Aussie baby of ours doesn't enjoy the heat. This makes me scared for Australian summer later this year...

Anyway, we think she's too small to swim but my husband and I took turns dipping her toes in the water. She had the cutest puzzled look on her face the whole time. As for us, I'm sad to say that after living in Sydney for a few years I chickened out and deemed the water too cold to swim. I'll try harder next time.

home for the summer

 

Going home is such a nice feeling. My husband hasn't been here in a few years, and I haven't been here during the summertime for 5 years! And the best thing about this trip is that we have 2 whole months. Typically, the hardest part about visiting home as an expat is that you have so little time to squeeze everything in. There are so many thing we want to do while we're here - like swimming at the beach and hiking the Chief - and we can tick them off our list slowly but surely.

For now we're taking it easy while we recover from the flight and the accompanying jet lag. My mom lives in a perfect spot; it's central, close to the beach and easy to walk most places. Just perfect for us right now. So many more photos and stories to come...

merry

Yesterday I put on some Christmas tunes, tied on my apron and got to work making something that's been on my list to try for a long time: the pioneer woman's cinnamon rolls. Since I don't have an industrial kitchen, or the wherewithal to make the bazillion buns the normal recipe does, I used the quantities I found here. It was the perfect amount.

In between the making, while I waited for dough to rise, I got myself organized to finally send out some christmas cards. Beautiful stationary always helps, so I picked up some Rifle cards and excitedly got to use my custom address stamp from Oh My Deer for the first time. Seeing as how I'm just gettting around to this, it's safe to say that no one will actually receive said cards before christmas, but it's the thought that counts, right?

By the end of the morning I was mailing off a few cards and going to visit a friend's brand new baby with a plate of cinnamon rolls in my hands. And people, holy crap, they are good! Almost as good as my beloved Grounds for Coffee (Vancouverites you know what I mean, right?).

differences

Coming home after spending so long overseas brings up such a mix of emotions. It also gives you a very unique perspective on the place where you grew up.

It reminds me of the old joke about fish. One fish asks another fish, "how's the water?" The other fish replies, "what's water?"

We take so much of our experience for granted, and assume that what surrounds us is normal. It's what I love about traveling - it opens our eyes and gives us new perspectives. Moving to Australia, a country which many people see as similar to Canada, has changed me more than I can say. It's hard to imagine who I would be if I hadn't spent the last 4 years of my life there.

So, back to the fish. Here are, in point form, some of the differences I am noticing between Sydney and Vancouver.

* Canadians really do have a strong accent!

* People drive very big cars here. Huge.

* The streets in Vancouver are so straight, and so big.

* Vancouverites are a friendly bunch.

* Pennies are ridiculous.

* Fridges and ovens here are enormous compared to their Australian counterparts.

* Sales tax that isn't included in the price is a bummer. Seriously. In Sydney, the price you see is the price you pay. None of this, "surprise, add an extra 12%" nonsense!

* Tipping makes eating out crazy expensive (Aussies don't tip, for the most part, because employees are paid a fair wage).

* It's really cold here. Even when it's sunny.

* Vancouverites like their fleece and gortex :)

* Driving on the right side of the road is hard.

* People here treat every sunny day as if it were their last. It's really nice. Being a product of my city, I also tend to have a pathological fear of wasting a sunny day, which is pretty funny when I'm in Sydney.

* There are a lot of cyclists here and a lot of bike lanes, it's great!

* While people in Vancouver pull out their shorts as soon as the thermostat hits 15 degrees, Aussies bust out their beanies and scarves as soon as the temperature drops to 20 degrees.

* I could be wrong, but I think there are more dogs here.

* The mountains. Oh the mountains... They take my breath away. I have missed the mountains more than I can say.

p.s. My last weekend in Vancouver begins today! Ah, where has the time gone?

weekend bike ride

Over the weekend, a friend of mine took me for a little bike tour of my hometown. We cycled the seawall from Granville Island, all the way around False Creek to English Bay. You can check out the route on the map below.

It was quite the tour; we talked buildings and history, stopped to check out the Olympic Village, which I had never seen before, and had an ice cream at the beach. Along the way I marveled at how gorgeous Vancouver can be on a sunny day, and dreamt of moving home.

Someday...

Source

a letter (to my dog)

I call this one 'Scout's headshot.' Anyone need a dog model?

{all photos taken by me on the island}

Dear Scout,

I was quite worried when I first got back to Vancouver that you wouldn't recognize me. After all, it had been 2 and half years, and I'm not really sure what a dog's long term memory is like. Sure enough, right at first you didn't seem to know who I was. You sniffed me and then trotted off to get more pats from my dad and my brother. But shortly thereafter you came back to me, and I'm pretty sure you knew me.

When we were younger, Mateo and I used to try to convince our dad to get a pet. A cat. A hamster. A fish. Anything! His answer was always the same: "Too much responsibility. No pets." Which is why we were all the more surprised when he called one day - I was in 1st year, Mateo was in high school - to say that he had bought a puppy.

Mateo and I jumped in the car and raced over to our dad's place, where we burst in so loudly that you immediately peed everywhere. You were this tiny ball of fluff and we loved you immediately.

More recently, I went to visit you and my dad on the island. You slept in my room and woke me up in the morning with slobbery dog kisses. I'm pretty sure you remember me. One day I wanted to go for a walk to a beautiful seaside park, but I didn't know how to get back to my dad's. He dropped us off at the park and said, "Just follow Scout back, she knows the way."

We started walking and right away I thought you were lost. I kept thinking that there was no way you would get us home, I mean, how would you even know that I wanted to get back to the house? But I kept following you, on the roads, through the trails and all the way to the house. Of course.

You are a smart cookie.

love,

that girl who lets you get away with anything because you're so damn cute

p.s. I realize that this post places me firmly in the camp of those-crazy-dog-people but I don't really care.

my (vancouver) life in iphone photos round 17

First of all, thanks so much for all your advice on my last post! It was funny, the general consensus seemed to be: bangs for winter, no bangs for summer. Words of wisdom indeed :) I still haven't chopped them but I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here's some snaps from my phone...

my mom & I, my friend and her sweet baby girl

baby geese! I love them.

I found my childhood teddy bear: Winnie the Pooh. Reading in the sun.

Flowers. Friend and I post shopping trip.

Lilacs on my desk. Driving to the ferry, yay!

scenes from my dad's, under the bridge.

xx

then & now

When I was on the island, one of my priorities was finding my old friend Katrina. We grew up together in east Vancouver and were the best of friends from kindergarten on. People often asked us if we were twins or sisters, and one halloween we even dressed up as siamese twins by wearing a huge sweater over the both of us.

Our parents are still close, though we hadn't seen each other in a while seeing as I live on the opposite side of the globe! I heard she was living on the island, but cell phone reception is dodgy and I didn't completely remember the spot where she's now living (we used to go there as kids).

As luck would have it though, I didn't need to worry. I was in a shop on Saturday morning when I saw Katrina talking to the cashier. I tapped her on the shoulder but it didn't quite click. I tapped her again and she spun around, this time, noticing who I was. She yelled "oh my god, what are you doing here?" before turning to the cashier and exclaiming, "she's in Australia!"

I sometimes think that one of the things I like about Sydney is that my friendships there are based on shared interests and values, whereas my friendships here are more about history. But I have to say that there is something so nourishing about spending time with people you've known since you were 4. In a few weeks I'll be going to LA to visit this lady, who I've also know since I was little, and I can't wait to reconnect!