How Interesting

It occured to me today, that in the last 3 months I have spent more time with my friends who live in NY and LA, than I have those who are closer to home.

Its strange how things work sometimes.

This is What a Weekend Should Be Like!

Well, for this first time is quite a while I am actually starting to feel pretty good!!

I know, I know - I haven't really talked much lately about my tummy troubles, because I've just been willing them to go away. And in the grand scheme of things they haven't been nearly as bad lately as what I put up with last summer!

But then all it takes is a couple of days of not having tummy troubles top of mind to remind me what life really can be like! This weekend, the first since I moved to Victoria, I woke up truely wanting to go out an explore.

It looked something like this:

Saturday

• Up at 7:30am - just 'cause
• Clean apartment, throw out remaining boxes, ponder decorating ideas, clean a little more
• Wander down to the farmer's market to get some fresh cut flowers & chat with a few old ladies who started each conversation off with "oooo... what lovely flowers!"
• Hop on my bike, and take a ride out around James Bay, along Dallas Road, up through Cook St. village, over to my office, back down through the inner harbour, and stop to watch some of the Dragon Boat racing. (note - this is the first time I have riden my bike in probably about 3-4 years!!)
• Hop back onto my bike, ride home. By this time its about 3pm and cooking hot!! So, what else is a girl to do but throw on a bathing suit, grab a towel and good book, and head down to my pool.
• WOW - the pool was such a good idea... feel totally refreshed, and decide to go for a quick walk to go check out an interesting street I passed while on my bike.
• Come home, make a quick dinner, finish my book, surf the web, watch a little telly and head to bed.

Sunday

• Sleep in a little (was up quite a bit during the night), then finished cleaning my apartment. Today it was windows and counters. I'm seriously thinking about getting a student or something to come in once every 2 weeks to do the stuff I don't like!
• Around noon head to Hillside Shopping Centre. I haven't been able to spend much time in stored (of any kind) lately - it's wierd, I get paniky and have to go to the bathroom and then lose interest. But not today!! Spent well over an hour just browsing the shelves in Bollum Books, plus was able to pick up some other items that have been sitting on my list for quite some time.
• Got home just before 4pm, and hit the pool again for another refreshing swim and a little sun tanning - with a new book.

I just hope that I will be able to keep this up! One of the books I bought was on bike rides around Victoria, and I am hoping to start off slow and make my way through each one. It's just too bad that I'm now starting to feel 'alive' again when the summer is drawing to a close.

Here's hoping for an indian summer.

Fishy Fish is a Bad Thing

So, I'm starting to following a better way of eating - which focuses on eating mostly fish and vegetables, plus whole grains.

One of the very first dishes i decide to make for myself is a halibut steak with steamed beans. I had bought the halibut at Thrifties the day before and was starving when I got home from work on thursday night. So hungry that when I smelt how fishy the steak smelt, i ignored it.

Big mistake.

Within two hours I was feeling aweful, and was up a good portion of the night. Then on friday I ended up having to work from home because my stomach was still so upset!!

The worst?!?

S&K are in town this weekend, and I've been feeling so dizzy and bathroom bound that I have really been able to go out and hang out with them. *sigh* It really sucks. And I just don't think that today I'll be able to go out either... especially seeing as its my stomach that woke me up this morning.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The one thing that worries me the most is if this is/has worsened my colitis. I've been doing 'ok' (compared to the past year), but think that my stomach has been slowing getting back again. It's sooooo frustrating!!

I just want to be able to go and do stuff without the constant fear/reality of pooping myself on a regular basis. This is not a fun way to live - and its sort of easy to get used to when you spend most of your time by yourself, but when there's other people around you're quick to realize just how different how I live is from other people.

Where's the magic cure?

Boredom Busters

What's one of the best ways to kill boredom?!?!?

Throw on a comfy pair of shoes, sunglasses, and grab your camera. Exit your building, and walk in any direction with no specific destination in mind. Then see your surrounding through the lens of your camera! (or in my case, through the LCD display)

Here are some on the fruits of yesterday's adventure up through Beacon Hill Park, and then back along the shoreline.

I just love the rugged coast line that's found in Victoria - so man nooks and crannies!

Yes - my thing for taking pictures of flowers continues!

As is my attraction to different textures. I might just put up a post one day that is full of all the interesting textures out there!

If you look at previous posts (from last summer I believe) you may find a very similar photo. I only realized this when I got home. There's just something so pure as lilly pads in a pond. This might just be the muse for a new painting!
This little duck let me walk right up to it. There's no zoom on this photo - its actually how close I was!!! I took a bunch of pictures of it sleeping, then started to worry that maybe it was hurt or something. However when I made a noise it open its eyes and looked at me, so we'll assume it's ok.

Ok... what can I say about this? Not much.. other than I find ducks very amusing!

Oh... and I know I probably do not need to say this. But all the photos on this blog are my property and should not be reproduced or copied without my permission. thanks.

The Visitor Blues

I love having visitors! Its so nice to catch up, and show them around my new city. But, there's a flip side to that... its called the "Visitor's Blues."

Its the anticlimax of having people here - because then they leave. Then suddenly there's now one around to entertain but myself, and in all honesty sometimes I'm a hard person to entertain! (tee hee)

I see myself staying in Victoria for quite a while. I've more or less embraced that idea, and have realized that I'll probably end up staying over here for at least four or five years. And then, say I meet 'someone', well I just might end up staying for good.

But this in between stage of just arriving and not yet being settled is starting to wear on me a little. And I have happily had it filled with visits from friends and family. But then they hop on a ferry and leave.

Maybe its because I am PMSy, or maybe because I had a hard week at work, or maybe because its a long weekend. But Alexa & Charlie's departure was too quick, their visit too short (although what a fantastic, fun visit it was!!).

That anticlimax... it hits like deep thunder... and I get intensly lonely. I guess their departure serves as a reminder that i don't yet have people to just call up and hang out with here. And I knew it would be like this, and its really not the end of the world. But it is lonely.

One thing I've learned... keeping busy only keeps the Visitor's Blues at bay for so long. It's sort of like being a "Visitor Junkie" because now I am jonsing for my next hit. It's a good thing I only have to wait until next weekend =)