Tofino 2017

Our second (maybe annual?) trip to Tofino has come and gone... And what a blast it was. Much like I previously posted about the summer, it felt like this was Lacey's first experience on holiday even though it really wasn't. We did two trips while I was as on leave last year, but Lacey sat up for the first time when we were on the West Coast, so she was barely mobile. And she had been crawling for only a week or so on our second trip.

Let's take this from the top. 

We flew out to Comox  on my birthday, September 16! The flight went well. It was early enough that it was before Lacey's nap time. And since we flew with my inlaws, Barb and Dave, and Lacey's Auntie Ashley and Uncle Andy, the moment she got a bit squirrely, we would hand her off to the next set of hands  to get distracted. Lacey did great on the plane. She colored, she played with plastic bugs, she ready books and she drew on Auntie's tablet app.

She did even better during the three hour drive. We ended up with the world's crappiest Dodge Caravan car rental, but Lacey loved it, because she could see grandma and grandpa in the back seat with her. She slept for about forty minutes (about all we can expect on a travel day),but we all arrived at the Cox Bay Resort in good spirits.

After ditching our bags in our rooms, we all headed out for a beach walk to stretch our travel weary legs. And what a beach walk it was! There was a wall of fog that had moved in to the beach, and you could barely see 15m in front of you! It made for some very interesting photos.

Walking on sand only gave Lacey a moment of pause before she was off exploring. She also didn't mind the water coming in and out. She seemed to like the sensation of when the surf comes in, and whisks away the sand from underneath your feet. 

After our first afternoon in Tofino, we started every day the same way. We slept until Lacey woke up. Then Lacey asked for:

1) Milk

2) Grandma and grandpa

3) Auntie and Uncle 

4) Beach

On the following days, we tried to find indoor activities, because it poured and poured and poured. Although it wasn't great for our holiday, it was just what Tofino needed - - they had had a dry summer, and were on water restrictions. In the neighboring town of Ucluelet, they have a small aquarium with many touch tanks. Lacey was very interested in looking at the fish, crabs and jellyfish. However, she was not brave enough to touch any of the starfish anenome or other creatures in the touch tanks. 

Grandpa has a memory from when he was a kid, of getting a stuffed bear when he was in Jasper. So when he saw the perfect bear for Lacey, he picked it up and gifted it to her. As you can imagine, Lacey was a big fan of bear (or Bee-ear, as she says). Bear is now another full time resident of her crib at bedtime. 

We watched Auntie and Uncle go surfing, we visited a park in town, and we went on a hike on the Wild Pacific Trail outside of Ucluelet. We beach walked every day and investigated kelp, and on the last day, it was even nice enough for us to get out some sand toys for Lacey to do some digging. We wore Tofino's latest fashion (metal bowls) on our heads, and practiced our balance by drinking milk on those bowls.

We ate good food, and enjoyed the company of our family! It was a very nice trip, and I can see us doing it again! And if you don't mind me saying... We ARE a pretty good looking family unit!

Still... According to Lacey, vacations and the beach are the Worst. Day. Ever.

I'm the Worst.

Remember when my zucchini plant was flourishing like the most beautiful plant there ever was?

Well... It doesn't look like that anymore.

Because I AM THE WORST.

I decided that the zucchini plant couldn't possibly self-sustain itself in such a small pot without fertilization, so I stuck a fertilizer stick into it. A fertilizer stick for house plants.

MISTAKE.

The plant started to shrivel up almost immediately. 

I had good intentions... I swear! I didn't mean to kill it!

So... Next year... No rogue fertilizing of garden vegetable plants.

Let this be a lesson to you all!

Making the Most of Summer

Now that we've arrived in September, I can say that we have made the most out of Lacey's first summer. I know this technically wasn't her first summer, but last year, she was only 3-5 months old, and she wasn't really able to do anything on her own to enjoy the summer. I would lay her on a blanket outside in a green space outside our condo and she could watch the wind in the leaves-- but that was about it. This year was an entirely different experience for her. Being outside was a whole new world to Lacey, and she loved it.

What did we get up to this summer? Let's recap.

We ate pancakes and sausage at a Stampede Breakfast.

We watched Grandma line dance.

We went to the zoo.

We ate ice cream!

We went swimming in a backyard pool!

We went to Barrier Lake for a family picnic

We went to Waterton National Park.

We chased a ball!

We played in a lake with cousins!

Like I said, not too shabby of a "first" summer!

All Hail the Queen of Pickling!

I have always loved  pickles-- of the dill variety!  Sorry gherkin lovers, gherkins are not real pickles and are Gross with a capital "G". 

Due to the warm summer and diligent tending by yours truly, we grew an amazing crop of yellow wax beans in our garden. I'm not sure why we grew yellow wax beans (I'm looking at you, Tom, purchaser of the seeds), because neither of us really like beans that much. And it turns out fresh yellow wax beans are not really that good, and cooking them only makes them marginally better. Even drowning those things in copious amount of garlic and butter only made them mildly palatable. 

BUT, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The bean plants were literally the first thing that germinated in our garden. The last time I grew bean plants was in grade four science class when we were learning that plants need water, sun and soil to grow. So I made sure they had sun, water and soil, and these seeds sprouted like you wouldn't believe! 

First bean begins to sprout. 

A whole row of beans takes root. 

There was something very exciting about watching the bean plants grow. The leaves took over the back row of the garden, and they sent tentacle runners in all directions, looking for support and the best way to grow. Interestingly, the leaves of the beans shaded and protected the legumes once they started to sprout. I didn't even realize the beans were growing until they were already quite large. All you can see is a wall of leaves. 

Full grown bean plant vines. 

A wall of leaves. 

But when you pull back the leaves to take a look... 

Boom! Beans, beans and more beans! 

All the beans! 

My first harvest resulted in a huge crop of beans. I basically had to stop collecting them because my bowl was overflowing. 

First harvest. 

And these suckers were huge! They almost compared in length to a full sized butter knife! 

So very, very long. 

The beans came in all shapes and sizes. Some were long and straight, some were skinny and warped. Sometimes some very strange shapes would form if the beans grew near the intersection of vine runners. I would have to untangle them from the plant as I was picking them. So this meant I had all shapes and sizes to work with for my first EVER attempt at pickling. 

Washed, trimmed and stuffed with seasoning. 

The recipe I found here was fairly simple. It called for a vinegar, water and salt brine, dill, garlic and a chili pepper for a dash of heat. I washed and trimmed the beans, and then stuffed them into their appropriate sized jars. I filled 2.5L worth of jars with beans and seasoning!

After some heating and sanitizing, I added the brine to the beans, put lids on the jars, and boiled them in a hot were bath. After taking them out, it was fairly late, and I went to get ready for bed. The recipe had said not to touch the jars until they had returned to room temperature, and I tried not to get too anxious about checking if the jars had sealed (no one wants an unsealed jar of botulism-- am I right!?).  Sure enough, while I was getting ready for bed, I heard the very distinct (and incredibly satisfying)  "pop" of two of the jars sealing. I heard a third one as I fell asleep and in the morning the remaining jars were sealed as well. 

Round 1 - Pickling Success!

In light of my success, I deem myself the (very modest) title of, Pickling Queen! A week later we tested the beans by cracking a jar open. Not bad. They probably need more time to marinate, and future batches (which I already pickled when our second bean harvest was ready) could use more garlic and dill. 

Our next crops will be carrots and turnips. Will they be as fruitful as our zucchini and beans!?

Stay tuned!

Muffin Nostalgia

Tom's grandma, Ethel, passed away in January of 2016. I did not write about it at the time because I wasn't sure what to say. I was seven months pregnant, and feeling very emotional that Ethel would never get to meet Lacey, and Lacey would never get to meet her. But Ethel got to feel Lacey kick many times, and she loved that. And Lacey also got a little piece of Ethel when we decided she would share her middle name, Frances.

When Ethel's kids (Tom's mom, aunts and uncle) cleaned out Ethel's home, I kept her muffin tins.

Now whenever I bake and use them (which is often), I think of Ethel. She always marveled at my cupcakes, and told me I was in the wrong profession!

I think Ethel would like that something of hers is helping to nourish her great granddaughter. Lacey has muffins at least once a day, and she gobbles them up like a little muffin monster.

Ethel would have been 97 today. Happy Birthday!

Grow, My Pretties!

There is something incredibly satisfying about growing your own food. We had a thriving raspberry bush when I was a kid, but my dad didn't start his vegetable garden until I had long moved out and he had retired. When we were in our condo there was no opportunity for a garden either, so now that we are in our house, a garden seemed like a grand idea.

We planted yellow wax beans, turnips and carrots. A late addition,  with six remaining seeds from my dad's garden, was zucchini.

I love zucchini!  I have a great recipes for zucchini fries, and zucchini also goes well in baking,  so I sneak it in to muffins for Lacey.

The zucchini plants were some of the first in our garden to germinate. Five of the six seeds made it! 

Zucchini seedlings.

I didn't have the foresight to take any mid-growth photos, but it really seemed like this plant turned into a monster over night! 

Monster zucchini plant

The blossoms exploded on this plant. I was a bit worried, because there didn't seem to be any bees around. How would we get zucchinis if there were no flowers? 

Zucchini blossoms.

At one point, there were probably 40 blossoms on the plant. They were everywhere! 

And seriously, who knew that zucchini flowers were so beautiful? Not this girl!

And then one day, a zucchini appeared.

The start of a zucchini.

Just the thickening of a stem! But you could see it forming. And within a week, it was almost a full-blown squash.

Almost full-grown zucchini.

And then another formed, and another, and another. Overall, we've gotten about nine good-sized zucchinis from the plant. We've grilled them, and including them in baking.

I made sure to take a photo of our first full-grown zucchini. It's a beauty!

Our first zucchini.

We will definitely include zucchini in our garden next year, it was a definite success!

Recent Memories of Being a Couple

Since Lacey entered our lives 16 months ago, our old lifestyle went out the window. Getting Lacey through her infancy meant we didn't often stray far from home. And since Lacey was born, I have literally seen her every day of her life. Our last trip as a childless couple was in November of 2015. So finally, for the first time in 20 months, Tom and I went on a weekend getaway, just the two of us! Lacey stayed at home with her grandma and grandpa (and apparently didn't miss us at all!), while Tom and I headed to Moraine Lake Lodge.

Moraine Lake.

So this post is --shockingly-- not about Lacey!

What did we get up to at Moraine Lake?

Moraine Lake Lodge

Moraine Lake Lodge could not be situated in a more beautiful location. I read once that Moraine Lake is the most photographed lake in Canada, and from the photo above, it's not hard to see why. The Lodge itself is about 20 years old, and there are separate cabins along the water edge, or a main lodge with a more hotel-style setup. Tom and I stayed in a separate cabin.

There were three things we wanted to do on this getaway.

1) Sleep

2) Eat 

3) Hike

And most importantly, we wanted to do those three things on our own schedule. No worrying about nap times, no carrying around a change of clothes, diapers, wipes, sippy cups... No singing Old McDonald in the car, no squeeze pouches of food...We just wanted to think about ourselves, and nothing else.

Of course, that didn't really happen. We probably spent half of our time talking about Lacey and how much we missed her! But we still got through our list of things to do, anyway.

Sleep! Our first night, went to sleep at 11pm, and woke up at a glorious 8:40am! There was a time when 8:40am would have seemed early to me, but now it seems like a glorious luxury. Can you image, NINE continuous hours of sleep!? That never happens any more!

We ate breakfast at the hotel, and then we headed out to Lake Louise to hike the Plain of Six Glaciers trail, to the teahouse. The Plain of Six Glaciers hike is about 12km round trip-- a perfect distance!

It's been a really long time since we've hiked, and it was good to be active. The trailhead was a hive of activity. So much so that we couldn't find a parking spot at Lake Louise, and had to drive 10km to the overflow parking lot and then take a shuttle to the trailhead. THAT added an extra hour round trip on our day-- but without a toddler  with us, it was no big deal.

Chateau Lake Louise.

The trail starts along the lakeshore of Lake Louise. This was packed with tourists, but once we reached the end of the lake, the crowds started to thin out. We headed away from the lake, and up into the valley.

We did see a helicopter while we were making our way up the valley, but we weren't exactly sure what was going on. We heard some people saying that a rock climber fell off a cliff, and they were med-evacuating them. But someone else also told us they thought they were moving produce up to the teahouse. A medical evacuation certainly seems more exciting than moving groceries, but we're not sure!

Up in the valley, there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground. There was one sketchy section of trail that was very slushy and slippery.

It eventually afforded us some very nice glacier views. 

And after one final tranche of switchbacks, we finally made it to the teahouse. The teahouse was crawling with people! At first we didn't think we'd be able to get a table, but it turned out a lot of people had brought their own food with us, and we were able to find a seat without any problem. Tom had a hummus sandwich, and I had vegetarian chili. We both had some refreshing lemonade, and Tom had some apple cake for dessert. 

Apparently the staff at the teahouse hikes in and out in one week shifts. They live on-site on and off during the summer-- what an interesting summer job to have on your resume!

While Tom and I were enjoying our lunch, we heard a couple small avalanches in the distance. I read online that during the early summer months, sometimes the staff will hear avalanches every hour in the surrounding valley!

Tom and I headed back down after lunch, and went back to the hotel to relax. We walked up the "rock pile" beside Moraine Lake so we could take some photos.

A view from the Rock Pile.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at the hotel, and then another lovely, uninterrupted sleep. 

Yes, I definitely recommend being a couple every once in a while. It was a nice chance for us to recharge!

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for watching Lacey for us!