January Alyson

I've been collecting pieces of writing to start a different blog or website, something more to the tune of the writing project I had imagined when I started filling this little space. I'm happy to leave this one as a record of Sebastian's development and a way to keep him in far-away friends' lives, but also want to start building something more artistic, less intimate. I'll let you know once I get it up.
So, what to say. It's been a great weekend here. Lots of sunshine, gardening, visiting with friends from out of town and those just returning from adventures, drinking beer on the beach and sitting by the fire. And working, which I'm loving. It's a pretty cool place, good people watching. I'm getting a better idea of who's in town, and realizing there are a lot of artistic and friendly people here, and most have young kids. It's an interesting little world, this marine life-- one I never got to know very well growing up outside of town and having no reason so linger on the docks for too long. The girl who runs the Shed grew up on a boat down in the marina and her parents live in a sail boat a stone's throw from the restaurant, so we get a lot of local business as well as tourists. You get to see people lumber off their boats, some just in for a day, most from West Van or thereabouts and every afternoon the prawn fisherman come in and unload. It feels good to be social again without a baby clinging to me, although I have to say I do miss Sebastian. He and Alex usually wander down to say hello and have a fish taco. The other day I happened to turn around and glance at him sitting there in the little highchair and Sebastian was twisted all the way around staring at me with this ridiculously huge and loving smile on his face, and he continued to do so almost the entire time he was there. Oh man. It was a beautiful sight. Coming home to him and Alex is all the sweeter.
What else can I say? My brother Simon came home last week from his crazy adventure sailing around the world. He sailed from Panama City to Sydney Aus in three and a half months on a fifty footer and then hung out with our family in Aus for a month or so before coming home to teach sailing the Bay in Gibsons. We all went to the airport to meet him and it just so happened that some of the Young relative who immigrated to Australia instead of Canada back in the day were coming over for a visit and were on the same flight as Simon, so almost all of our Chilliwack and Vancouver relatives made it their business to be there. It was a little family reunion in the airport, hilarious. It's great to have Simon back.
Other than that, with this sunny weather the garden is finally starting to take off. I planted a bunch of seeds last week and they've all emerged. I think we have: (so freaking many) beets, red russian kale, swiss chard, sunflowers, beans, broccoli, sweet peas, two types of squash, zucchini, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, basil, rosemary, margarome, mint, sage, chives, parsley, "wild" flowers (I sowed them), and of course, Alex's tomatoes, which he has painstakingly been trying to coax from their pots but which we planted outside too soon and seem to be stunted (but looking very healthy, nonetheless). I would have liked to grow, and will hopefully try next year or maybe this year if I can manage, quinoa, potatoes, corn and onions.

our fireplace

granthams is hilly as shit, you do what you can

our pilaging capacity has reached new heights. this wooden box, ancient window frames from the beach, tables and fire wood are some of our more cherished finds.