Gone from Greek to Canadian, eh?

Sat, 17 July, 2010

Greetings from Sylvie, enjoying the beautiful Sunshine Coast, and my hometown of Powell River, British Columbia. I got the green light from my oncologist on Friday for much needed R&R in BC. If you get the chance, Google Powell River, Canada. It's a small coastal town on BC's sunshine coast where I had the good fortune of growing up. Pristine snow capped mountains, oceans, lakes and rivers surround us and were probably taken for granted as a kid. We love it here and Bob and I bought a float cabin on Powell Lake a few years back. Bob will be joining me in a week.

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

I can’t remember if I’ve ever had a 31-day vacation, save for summers off as a kid...don’t know if that really counts. My business, EMTI, was sold as of July 1st and I feel free as a bird. I'm wishing for 100% good health, and am certainly working toward that achievement. This holiday will aid in that goal, I’m certain of it.

Ryan, my son, took me to the airport at 3:30 am, after a connection in Portland, Oregon, I landed in Vancouver at 11:30. Debbie greeted me at the airport…I was so happy to be there I cried all over the place. Debbie wrung out her shirt and we set off for Coquitlam. Deb, Roy and I had a really nice visit and my brother, Dan, picked me up after he got off work and we went out for dinner. Dan recommended the prawn curry and it was outstanding. The Pappeltini wasn’t bad either, an appletini-like drink but with Absolute Pear…yum! We hung out at his place, he showed me my new custom-built PC, watched a TV show and called it a night.

Deb picked me up the next day and she took the day off. We shopped, had our nails done and picked up some fixins’ for dinner. Roy grilled on the BBQ some Tandori chicken, steamed some rice, and made a Casear salad, made with fresh Romaine lettuce from their veggie garden. He also made a delicious Italian (did I mention he’s Italian?) cucumber salad with sweet success cucs from the garden as well as freshly grown garlic. He didn’t realize it would be as strong as it was, having diced about four cloves into some thinly sliced cucumber, peanut oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Deb and I loved the loads of fresh garlic (after the initial shock) but we’ll probably be wreaking for days! If this doesn’t rid us of all disease and illness, I don’t know what will…ha ha!! The strawberry and rhubarb pie we had for dessert was scrumptious too.

It’s now Friday morning and we were here in plenty of time for the 9:40 am ferry sailing from Horseshoe Bay headed up the Sunshine Coast to our hometown of Powell River. Deb’s spending the weekend and I’ll be here for a week or so visiting with family and friends until Bob arrives with the ‘supply wagon’, aka his Chevy Silverado loaded with goodies for the cabin, scuba gear, etc. My mom and brother, Dan, will be joining us at the cabin this time as well. Deb and I are looking forward to attending our 30-year high school reunion from Max Cameron of Powell River. I’ll be staying with a childhood friend, Kim, for the weekend and then over to my aunt and uncle’s house.

Friday's two ferry rides and drive to PR were fun. We'd made a ferry reservation with BC Ferries which is a must in the summer, unless you're prepared to miss a ferry if it gets too full to wait for the next sailing. Either flying or taking ferries/driving (about a 5-hour journey from Vancouver, BC) are the only two ways to get to Powell River. When we got to town Deb and I visited with Brenda and Warren. We sat out on their sunshine filled deck, 75 degree temps, and enjoyed some fresh salmon and chicken sandwiches, fruit and ginger ale. Kim picked me up and we headed to hear place. We've known each other since kindergarten and are having a great time.
I hope you enjoy the blog from beautiful BC. I'll upload some photos asap.

Love to all, Sylvie