Bad Blogger Etiquette

I'll admit, I am not longer on Galiano. We have returned home. In fact, we got home yesterday and--even then--I failed to update my blog.

But today it is snowing and I did not have to go to school. I could not, in good conscience, leave my blog post to another day.

There were many positive outcomes to the Galiano trip. James and I spent some much needed quality time together. I slept for 11 hours on Friday night, and had a nap on Saturday. I also wrote 2, 600 words for my Work In Progress (sometimes I play at being an author) and spending time with the ladies from our writers group was very fun. The cabins James and I stayed in were very cute. We ate good food at a few Galiano establishments and though the weather was only good on the first day, we enjoyed the scenery.

Though I loved much about the Driftwood Cottages, I did not love how their bath water was not hot. I enjoy turning the colour of a Canadian flag whilst I bathe. I did not have this experience at the Driftwood. Though, they did have a hot tub. If I had of had the foresight to bring a bathing suit I would have gone in. Our cabin had a wood stove, which was delightful and the bed had a very cozy duvet, so all was not lost.

I didn't attend any seminars provided by the Galiano Literary Festival, so hopefully James will guest blog and talk about that aspect of the trip. I did, however, attend the dinner where I met a nice man named Fraser who used to be a teacher. He now is an author and won the "So You Think You Can Write Contest" with the Times Colonist. Check that out here. He and his wife were delightful. I talked mostly with them. James talked to many people, as it was his job to network the night away.

Sunday was travel back day. It had been snowing on and off all weekend so we were worried about the ease of returning home. We all decided it was best to catch an earlier ferry. Unfortunately this meant that James, Carol and Kristine had to miss Raffi's seminar. Good thing they spoke to him enough over the weekend that they are all now all BFF's.

I very much missed my dog. It is interesting that in such a short period of time he has become so very important. He was well taken care of by our neighbours so at least I was able to relax knowing that he was safe and happy. Currently, Chewie is sleeping by my feet because he is tired due to running around in the snow.

Here are some pictures to please the eye:

He is thinking about his next novel.

 The ferry.

Before the snow.

This cat is really fat (the camera took off 10 pounds) and loves books. We are kindred spirits. The bookstore was pretty cool, though they did not have a large enough fantasy or sci fi section.

This cat wants the grocery store to open, too. But the owners are on island time, man.

That is it! My blogging duties for the weekend are complete. Now I shall go do something productive, maybe.

Anniversary Weekend

As promised, I will write a blog post about my romantic weekend with James.

I will simultaneously watch "Alien" because my brother bought it on Bluray. You wish your Monday night is as exciting as mine.

So, a few weekends ago--James and I traveled a whopping hour to the city of Victoria. Growing up in the area, I have always realized that Victoria is beautiful however I'm not sure I appreciate it 100% of the time. It is nice to have a vacation in your own city as it essentially reminds you how lucky you are. Or I am. Because we don't all live in Victoria.

Excuse me while I pause, the man in the movie just had an alien extract itself from his stomach.

James is an author. I've mentioned this before, but it is worth bringing up again. James being an author means that we like to find inspirational spots where he can write. This means that a regular hotel room really doesn't float our boats.

I love anything with a Victorian/Edwardian feel. Basically anything before the 1950's I enjoy. When James and I found the Beaconsfield Inn on the Expedia, we fell in love. Built in 1905, on the website it says "Named after a luxurious London Hotel frequented by King Edward VII in pre-World War I England, the Beaconsfield Inn turns the clock back to a gentler time". The inn was built as a gift from a daddy to his daughter. This of course, played at my heart strings as I am a daddy's girl.

We arrived in Victoria and decided to go shopping downtown as to try to get ahead of the Christmas chaos. James and I strolled near the harbour, I drooled over books at the Russell Books (they have a whole new antique section) and we accomplished quite a bit in the Bay Centre Mall.

At 3pm we checked into the hotel. Instead of napping (which is usually my go to) we went into the library to have tea and freshly baked cookies. James wrote while I read. It was a bibliophile's haven. We did this until it was time to go see "Enders Game". James and I have both read the book and in order to fully explain how I felt about that movie I need to write another blog post.

Sigourney Weaver just made sure she saved the cat. Good woman.

After "Enders Game" we went to Il Terrazzo by the inner harbour. Note to self, do not eat popcorn before going to a five star restaurant. I had the most delicious food, which is good because James spent more than I have ever spent on sustenance in one seating. SCALLOPINI di MAIALE Panko breaded scaloppini of pork tenderloin with pulled pork, smoked cheddar and tomato chipotle sauce, served with three cheese fusilli.

Doesn't that sound amazing? Because it was. I even drank wine. Like a friggin lady, I had wine with dinner.

We went "home" (because Beaconfield feels like home) and basically went for a swim in the jacuzzi tub. Okay, it wasn't that big but I pretended to swim. After that we watched an episode of Doctor Who in bed.

The next morning we had a three course breakfast. It began with a warm, fresh croissant. I had coffee and orange juice as that is how I roll. Then we had cinnamon apple puree with lemon whipped cream. The final part of the breakfast was french toast but it was so much more than french toast. It had cranberries in the middle and strawberries on top. I'm not quite sure, but perhaps it was a brûlée? I was too enrapt by the look of it to listen very well.

We spent the rest of our morning at the inn, in the library. Where else? James wrote and I read and took pictures. We met the owners little dog, Mindy. It was a comfortable, romantic trip and I would recommend the inn and the restaurant. Five stars, people. Any place full of books with delicious tea and food is good by me. Plus I got to spend time with James, whom I love. 

Please note the following pictures are from my cell phone and are therefore crappy by nature. Check out the website for far better quality.