Fast Times

Seal Bay Park

 Another busy week at livingrichonthecheap.  We worked all weekend but both days stopped at 2pm and went on some adventures with Buddy.  We took him on a walk in the rain forest at Seal Bay Park which is a beautiful path through the ferns and moss, down a very steep hill and the bottom opens up to Seal Bay.  It was a pretty but cold day only a few degrees above freezing.  Buddy loves long hikes, strange for a small dog with short legs but he never gets tired, even after walking for several kilometres.

I look like a hunchback in this picture with Buddy - I need to quit leaning into photos.  What you don't see is Buddy is standing on a 3.5 foot gigantic moss laden stump that the forest is retaking.  

 One of my favorite times of the year - when asparagus is finally affordable again (I only buy it when it is less than $2.99 per lb, this was $2.49 per lb).  I like to saute it in olive oil, chopped garlic, cayenne pepper and usually put in peppers and fresh mushrooms but I had neither of those so added some frozen corn and it turned out to be a nice combo.  I also added a splash of pear cider as I happened to be drinking it at the time.  Wild asparagus actually grows here, I found a spear of it one time near one of our favorite beaches..  Unfortunately my schedule doesn't permit hunting and foraging for wild asparagus right now.

My favorite flower, the tulip.  Mom bought me these for helping her give her cat medicine.  Apparently it turns out the cat's allergy tests came back negative.  We are hoping things get better naturally at this point, although the cat is still on a restricted diet.

Goat's On The Roof

I met up with a friend at Goat's on the Roof at Coombs which is very near Qualicum Beach.  It is called that since they grow grass on the roof and have actual goats up there grazing.  Today was cold and rainy and the goats were elsewhere so I didn't take a picture of that.   They have a beautiful fruit and veggie market, a store that specializes in import food from around the world, tourist shops and a fabulous Italian restaurant called Cuckoos.  Coombs is just off the highway to Tofino so is an extremely popular place for locals and tourists.  We each drove an hour to make it happen (met in the middle) as I haven't seen her in almost a year due to both of our busy lives.  It was a dreary rainy day but we had a great time and it was so nice to reconnect.  Even nicer, she treated me to lunch!

I bought some of those red peppers (.99 cents a lb, 1/3 of the price that they are in every other store), a .99 cent cucumber, a couple of limes and some cherry tomatoes.  Our local farm market doesn't open until May so when I travel I try and hit up other farm markets on the island.

Hubby was away for 3 days in Victoria so I managed to get the entire house cleaned (finally) and all the dust bunnies have been banished.  I have been working on two final large projects so will be spending this weekend trying to get them completed as hubby flies out next Saturday to deliver another round of training.  After that things quiet down a little although we just signed on another client so who knows for how long.

It is so terrible what happened in London this week, radical fundamentalists that maim and kill in the name of religion.  A religion which the basis is peace and caring and where most Muslims are completely against Isis and everything it stands for.  Sad times in the world today.

Due to recent changes in carry-on restrictions requiring cameras and laptops to be stowed in checked luggage only and no longer being permitted in the cabin when traveling to and from the UK and USA  (if you haven't heard about it see this article) on certain flights, I am likely not going to take my large camera to Greece.  Currently Greece is not one of the countries listed - that could change any time.  I am not willing to put my expensive camera nor laptop in checked luggage - just not worth the risk.  Between hubby's iphone 6 and my 5s our phone camera's are pretty decent. Not taking the laptop makes it more difficult for our business as we need to access email but can do that on our telephones.  We once had to write a proposal on holidays and that is impossible without a laptop which is the main reason we take it with us.  I really want to take carry-on only this trip so likely will be flying much lighter than usual.  Our trip includes 3 different airlines and two ferries - the primary reason for packing lightly is not to lose our luggage.  We will have to make a firm decision as our trip gets closer.  We tell our regular clients we are on holidays when we travel and they respect that but must be available to new inquiries - that is part of owning your own business.

I've just ordered a dual voltage flat hair iron as managed to fry one while using both a converter and adaptor in Spain.  It just makes sense when we travel to countries that are on different voltage so much, it will only need an adaptor to use and I've got two.  I used an amazon credit that one of the kids gave me at Christmas so zero out of pocket spent

Well, I've got lots of company work to do plus all of hubby's dirty laundry from his road trip so I best get at it.  Have a good weekend everyone!