The sun is shining. There's a slight bit of "Freezing Fog" covering the evergreen branches in the huge, red, cast iron planter out front on our patio.
Pretty!
Just another day on "The Island".
Vancouver Island. About as far west as one can get in this great country of ours.
Today, Twitter tells me our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the "cover boy" on the January edition of Europe's biggest LGBT Magazine- Attitude. Canada is great- isn't it?
Our values cannot be beat.
We are a welcoming nation.
This is a welcoming Island. I can't count the number of times folks have said- "Welcome to the Island!"
 |
Such a Handsome Boy. Canadian Values up his "ying-yang"
|
I also saw on Twitter- along with 17 million other people, that heart-wrenching video of a boy in tears, telling his mother about being bullied. It tears at my heart.
I mean why in the name of Jesus H. Christ would someone pour milk over someone's head.
Why the fuck can't we be pleasant to one another. I mean, I would hope that most of us are but there are the scurvy few who are rat bastards.
Absolute "Rat Bastards"
It will get better Keaton.
I would hug you hard if you were standing here right now.
IN OTHER NEWS
It has been a pleasant few days. A friend- Bev, is visiting from back east. Before we picked her up at Nanaimo Airport on Saturday afternoon, Tom and I spent a nice morning at the Duncan Farmer's Market- which is open- outside, year round. Holiday greens, soup, jewellery, tea, coffee, produce and food. A German Food Truck is one of our favourite stops. It feels like we're at a Christmas Market in Germany and with a hot, steaming cup of Gluhwein- alcohol free, in our hands nothing says Fröhliche Weihnachten more.
 |
Palm Villa on Sunday. The Hole? For the Palm
|
So, our friend Bev is here visiting from Owen Sound. She's our second overnight guest and sixth visitor to our Island and our new home- Palm Villa. Brother-n-Law Ted and Sister-in-Law Chris came to the Island in September from Edmonton. Then, our friends Deb and Warren from some cold, frosty, minus twenty-four degree Ontario backwater surprized us back on October with a visit. We were not in our new home yet. Then, Victoria Brenda came and stayed overnight to help us unpack. Jaki- the daughter of our much-missed friend Mrs. P from Mississauga, came for a daytime visit last week and now Bev is here. Not to be outdone, a former neighbour who lived just up the street from us in Old Orillia Town, arrives from Courtney- up island, on Friday to stay a night or two. Karen moved to the Island back in July. She paved the way across this country for us. Now, not that we won't love visiting with Karen but we are anxious to see Hailey her Yellow Lab. Hailey will go ballistic when she sees Uncle Rob and Tom.
Such fun!
On Sunday Bev and Tom and I toodled over to Cowichan Bay Village, a quaint ocean side fishing village. Shops and places to eat- of course. Here's a photo of the view from a window in a bakery where we sipped latte's and hot chocolate.
Nice.
 |
Cowichan Bay Village
|
In our new home the Christmas Trees are up. Only one on the lower level was decorated. The other-one of a matching pair, never appeared from Orillia and I have no idea where it got to. Maybe it was sold by mistake at one of our garage sales.
I can't remember.
The Holiday Season is going to be different here in the Cowichan on Vancouver Island.
Temps are in the high single digits and even a double digit or two are forecast.
We know back in "Old Home" temps are minus 15, minus 20 and more.
Do I miss the snow and cold?
Nope.
Not one little bit.
