Victoria fun

Monday morning we headed for Victoria for a few days, and went to see the new aboriginal painting, done on the seawall in James Bay. Had tea and coffee at the Ogden Point Cafe, one of our favourite haunts.





Here is some of the detail of this painting, which apparently was done partially on plywood sheets which were then mounted in place. Amazingly beautiful.









Got together with Melaney at Lido, a new waterfront watering hole with great tapas style food and appies.





This fabulous topiary, done by a local artist, is very stunning and is a great marker for both the restaurant and the float plane dock, which is right behind the restaurant.

Kites and Sand castles

Sunday morning, Miki made ML and I an amazing breakfast of pancakes and bacon with fresh mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, maple syrup and whipped cream......oh my!!!!!!!!










It was SO delicious................diet starts next week!!








Then we went down to the Community Park to see some of the sand castle competition, and the artists had about 17 minutes left to work, so most of the work was almost finished. The horn went to end the work at 3 pm, and the judges were then to decide on the best work and present the awards and prizes at 5 pm. As always, incredible sculptures, all.





The sand sculpture competition coincided with the kite flying competition, so the sky was full of beautiful kites, all vying for 1st place.

Royal Family Picnic

The 12th Annual Royal Family (GLBT) picnic was held at the Rotary park in Qualicum Beach this past Saturday.











Friends gathered from all over the Island to spend time in the sun, in the warm ocean water, and sharing food and fun.







The eating/barbeque/kitchen area is amazing, with washrooms, stairs to the beach, and lots of space for food prep.









It was a beautiful day - about 26 - so everyone enjoyed the sun, wore lots of sunscreen, and getting to meet new and old friends. See you all next year!!!!

Oh, deer......!

Our yard is a frequent stopover for local deer, who munch on plums, apples and whatever tender treats they can find.

This day I looked out and two of them were on the deck, if you please, chomping on cherries from the tree overhanging our outdoor dining area.






They had a great feast (these are not edible cheeries anyway, and the birds love them when they are ripe).








Good thing we haven't done any flowers yet this summer, or they would no doubt have had them for dessert. Our fence is being installed this week, so THEN we can finally get some posies!








Mary Lois came to Parksville for the weekend and we got together at Maggie and Ingrid's to have drinks with their friends Lynn and Leigh.