Smoked In

Taken on our fishing trip before the smoke set in

It's only been a week since our fishing trip and on Wednesday the smoke moved into the island, six weeks after the forest fires in the interior of BC started.  It is difficult to see the sun, there is an orange glow to everything and you can taste the smoke in your mouth.  Each day is slightly different but other than walking the dog and mowing the lawn I have not been spending much time outside.  To make matters worse the weather is quite hot between 30-35 C each day.  I am so grateful we have air conditioning as wouldn't want to open the windows to the smoke.  I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be living in the fire zones, where if you are in your home you are on alert to leave immediately should the fires come closer.  Many plans have been cancelled and people are prisoners to their properties.  Many businesses are hurting that normally see tourism this year.  This weekend is a long weekend here, apparently the ferries were a madhouse last night with people trying to get away from the smoke for the weekend thinking the island was the answer.  Unfortunately up until this week it was, but now we have it too due to a change in weather pattern.


Hubby has been gone most of the week to Victoria on business and gets back late tonight.  We rarely do training on weekends but if our client is retail sometimes we have no choice.  Although I have been on my own for a few days I feel totally unmotivated, unusual since I normally take the opportunity to get loads done while he is gone.  Next weekend is the start of another week off, we decided long ago that we would try and take lots of time off in the summer.  That has not been happening as we seem busier each year every June July and August so I actually booked a week off this year and am thankful I did so.  We will have a few days at home then are off on our 4 night trip to Ucluelet, paid almost entirely from items sold on the 24 hour facebook bidding site, rolled coins and bottle deposit returns.

We are again renting the small cabin we rented last year (see last year's trip here) with two burner kitchenette, mini fridge and BBQ.  We will eat in for all meals, have a free park pass and are using the $50 gas certificate I won earlier this year.   We can't wait!  Yes, part of working for yourself is working really hard most of the year then deciding how much time you want off.  We normally take a Spring vacation of approximately 10 days, a summer holiday of a week and two weeks off at the end of the year for Christmas.  That adds up to approximately 4-5 weeks a year, far more than I was permitted when I worked for others.  If we had storefront we could not take that kind of time off as our business has so much more flexibility.  The only thing we have to do is check email daily and forward the business phone to our cellphones.  If we get a new inquiry we have to deal with it.  All our other clients can live without us for a week.  Oddly even though we are staying in a tiny cabin they have great internet so we don't have to rely on only our phone data plan.  We will be hiking, visiting beaches, kayaking and relaxing.  Of course, Buddy is coming on this trip with us as well.

In other news I have been on a quest all Spring to find local tzatziki that is as good as Greece's.  I tried making my own but it still doesn't taste quite right and after buying all of the ingredients far more than I wanted to spend.  I bought various grocery store offerings, all of them fell shy of expectations.  I even tried Costco's version and it was so bad I took it back and returned it for a refund as it tasted like Mayonaise, not at all what tzatziki should taste like.  Yesterday while visiting a favorite thrift store (I found nothing unfortunately) I stopped by a nearby deli as they had a sign in the window with fresh made tzatziki and hummus.  $4.75 for their smallest container which is actually quite large.  I tasted it immediately in the vehicle - score!  Just as good as Greece and as good as the local Greek restaurant which is far more money.  I shall be visiting their store again and will try some of their other items next time as well.  So last night's meal included a greek salad made with my own tomatoes, chicken and tzatziki.  Hubby missed out on that one but there is still lots left for when he gets home.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!