Question Period

A few weeks ago I put out a call on Facebook and Twitter asking people what they wanted me to write about on this here blog of ours. I had pretty much hit a writers block...even when you're living in a caravan in the forest, life is life, and it isn't always exciting. Sometimes it's just about going to work, watching TV, and worrying about how you are going to pay your bills. These are a good chunk of the questions that I got asked after my call out, and I'm going to answer them as best I can. If you're question isn't here, it is because it is going to get a blog post all to itself...so thanks for helping to cure my writers block. If you have any questions that aren't here, just leave them in the comments, and I'll make Zach answer them. :)

Where do you do your laundry?

We lucked out, and the campground we are parked at has laundry facilities. They are clean, and work well, and the laundromat is a good place to hang out if you want to hear gossip about other residents of the park or the the staff.

On our way out here we did our laundry at Zach's grandparents place in Armstrong...and if they don't mind, we probably will on the way back too. ;) Or maybe we'll hit up one of my relatives.

Do you ever get sick of each other?

Of course!! Up until I started working ( which is only 2-3 days a week) we were together for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 2 months in a 16' one room camper. If we didn't get on each others nerves once in awhile, we would be freaks. I think we're doing rather well though. Some couples would be headed for divorce by now, and we're still loving and laughing.

How are you making money?

Zach is doing his computertron stuff just like he did in Regina. I am working part-time at a private group home in Langford. I occasionally make some money from my Etsy store. We are not above looking for paying gigs on Used Victoria, selling our stuff if we can, and picking bottles. You do what you gotta do.

Why are you not travelling more?

All of the above work doesn't pay enough at the moment. We're both working again though, and we're catching up on things, so with any luck we'll be able to put some cash away, and have some disposable income soon. In the next month or so we'll hopefully be able to get around to seeing the north part of the island. Zach also bought a book of all the roadways on the island, and we want to do some touring around on back roads in the truck to see what we can find. We were hoping we'd be down in the States by now, but we like it here, and if we have the money, we'll try get there on the way back to Saskatchewan.

Are you coming back to Saskatchewan?

Yes. The timeline isn't set in stone, but we will be back in Regina in May or June, until August sometime. We'll be sure to keep everyone posted as plans develop.

How do you cook? What do you eat if you don't have a freezer?

Even though we have a propane stove and oven, we do not have any propane. That hasn't slowed us though. For the first few weeks, we made everything in the slow cooker or on the charcoal grill, and now we have a kick ass modern hot plate too. We've also got a fire pit in our site, if we really needed to cook on it. I don't even feel that the propane is necessary at this point.

Not having a way to freeze food is a bit of a pain. I am sure our diet would be a bit more exciting if we could. We always have canned and dried goods on hand, and if we are going to eat meat, we have to buy it and eat it that day. It just takes planning. Nothing goes to waste around here.

What do you miss the most about Regina?

I think we both miss our friends and family. It's taken some getting used to, not being able to just call up someone and hang out. We're a bit out of the loop too, so anyone who feels like letting us in on what's new is quite welcome to call! You should all just move here. The weather is better. :)

What do you like most about the campground you are staying at?

It's affordable. The trees. The people we've met. The other dogs. The trails. The stream that runs through it, that sounds like a group of people talking all at once. The creepy train tracks. It is close enough to Victoria that everything is close by, but we get to be in nature. I just love it here.

Settling for Now

It's no secret that Zach and I fell in love with Victoria very shortly after arriving here. The first few days were stressful, what with having nowhere to stay and all, but once that was all sorted out, we got comfortable right away, and here we are, more than a month later.

Zach has been working insane hours this past month on a project, so we haven't gotten out as much as I would have hoped. We did put in an effort to get out and have a new adventure every day when I first quit smoking ( over 2 weeks now, people!), just to distract me, but apparently, you can't party all the time, no matter what Eddie Murphy may have told you. You have to tighten your belt, or your boot straps, or whatever the hell the saying is, and work so you can save, so you can have fun.

Anyways, what I'm trying to get at here is that Zach has been working a lot, so that means I have been spending a lot of time hanging out and talking with the dogs. If I know me, and I think that I do, this is not good. When I spend too much time alone, my imagination takes over, and I start to live in a land that exists only in my head, where everything is lovely, and is full of imaginary friends and scenarios as to how my life will play out. It's a super fun place to be, but it just isn't the healthiest place to spend too much time, and apparently isn't even real. In order to keep myself from falling too far down the rabbit hole, I have decided to take a job at a private group home in Langford, which is just down the road. It will only be two to three days a week, and the pay is not great, but it will give me some of my own spending money and I'll be able to socialize a bit more often with humans instead of dogs. This housewife thing just isn't for me right now, even though it has been a nice break.

So yah. I got a job, Zach's working, we like our RV park and the island, and we will be staying here until mid-April or so, when we head to the mainland...not sure if that mainland will be Canadian or American yet. This will give us more time to see the north part of the island, and get some day/weekend trips done to see what else this area has to offer us.

On that note, I've got some Jamaican Rum sausages cooking, and they're starting to smell lovely so I'm going to end this here. Hope y'all are doing well, and you have a great New Year's Eve, if you're heading out to party. We'll be heading to Salt Spring Island for a few days on the 31st, and I'll be thinking of all our Regina friends, as I sit in a hot tub and get drunk off my ass on Yellow Tail Shiraz.

Walk at Beacon Hill Park

It has been raining cats and dogs here for about 5 days, which has put a bit of a kibosh on any outdoor activities. Yesterday, we decided enough was enough and we needed to get out. Another camper had told me a few days ago about a great off-leash dog park on Dallas Road, and we had been wanting to check it out. After a quick Google search, I realized he was talking about Beacon Hill Park, also known as Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway and home to one of the largest totem poles in the world. We grabbed an umbrella, I put on my new ugly but practical rubber boots, and we headed into town in search of that darn totem pole.

Although it was raining, we had a great time exploring beaches, getting some exercise and seeing something new. I don't know what it is about the ocean, but it just makes me feel calm and happy, and closer to the earth.

As we walked, we couldn't help but imagine how wonderful it must be here in the spring and summer. If it is gorgeous on a cold, foggy and rainy day in December, it must be amazing when it's sunny and everything is bloomed. We have decided we need to stick around to check it out, so I think we'll be in Victoria for a bit longer than originally planned. Then again, we hadn't even planned on coming here in the first place. The universe makes things happen for a reason, I guess.

We'll keep you posted.