Hello Victoria! Our House, Sanji, and More!

We were back! We spent about two weeks in Victoria and still didn’t get to see everyone we wanted to see. We did spend time with the grandkids and some friends, and we’re so sorry we still missed some of you. It was a busy time…and I don’t think we’ll be back in the summer as originally planned. Here’s how it went.

[First a note: I’ve largely stopped posting family photos to this blog because AI is scraping and stealing everything, and then allowing it to be used by anybody in any way.]

We had not planned at all to come to Victoria until the summer of 2026, but a family member needed some urgent help so we went to Ontario to spend some time with her, then brought her to Victoria.

Part of the trip was visiting my rather frail 88-year-old mother. We didn’t want to bring her any illnesses, so we masked all the way and we did not get anything. Same for the trips from Ontario to Victoria and from Victoria back to Cali.

Ontario

First, Ontario. It was frosty but fun, as we haven’t seen snow in a while, and of course Victoria never gets much. Ontario gets lots!

The day before this photo was taken, we went for a walk so Adriana could see and get photos of the fall colours, which we’d never been in Ontario at the right time to see. And due to the weather, exercise moved indoors:

(Note the speed of the treadmill.)

Starting to smell like Christmas….

On To Victoria

Some things we missed, and some we did not!

One thing we did not miss was the climate. My sister finds that this fall has been the rainiest she can remember, and I certainly found Victoria very grey. In the 20 years I lived there, I don’t ever remember the cloudiness being so gloomy and long-lasting. The sky was shades of grey seeming to come almost to the ground.

And, to be fair, we had acclimated to Cali, so going from shorts-and-T-shirt weather to near-freezing temperatures was a shock! We were basically cold all the time, indoors or out and our skin got dry – but, that fresh ocean air was wonderful.

Time with family and friends was wonderful, but as mentioned there won’t be many photos of other people.

Here’s Adriana playing Twister with Hattie Jr in my sister Julie’s house:

Hattie Sr. is my mother, or Hattie Jr’s great-grandmother.

Victoria has lots of great restaurants and we had some favourites we wanted to return to, including:

The Village in Gordon Head (featuring Yulia – go see her, she’s awesome!)
The Hidden Gem in Oak Bay for vegan breakfasts and awesome treats
We ordered pizza from Famoso and Thai food from Baan Thai
The whole family went out to Spinnakers
Pagliacci’s for atmosphere and pasta
Rebar for a healthy lunch
Charlotte and the Quail for good food and inspiration – it would do well in Cali

Buenos Días

Years ago, before I met Adriana but when I lived in Victoria, I was planning a trip to ‘somewhere.’ I wasn’t sure where, but I wanted it to be not a tourist destination. I was seriously looking into Russia or Ukraine, even considering going there for a year to teach English. At that time I lived in a house consisting of three apartments, one per floor. (One thermostat for all three apartments – not a good idea.)

One day I bumped into my downstairs neighbour, Liliana, who is Colombian. She had married a Canadian man, and I ended up visiting them once or twice. She was eager to talk, because she didn’t know many people and found Canadians ‘cold.’ (I prefer ‘reserved.’) She was used to chatting with people she encountered, or at least saying Hi to your neighbours!

And that was something we noticed this time. When you walk in a park in Cali, for example, everyone you pass says Buenos Días (or Tardes depending whether it’s the morning or afternoon). When you see your neighbours that you know from your apartment building or community, you say Hi and it is common to chat a little bit, In Canada, people walk right by you as if you don’t exist, and I have to say it does feel cold.

I’m very glad Liliana did talk to me, because when I told her of my plans to go to Russia, she convinced me to go to Colombia. ‘The weather is warm and the people are warm,’ she said. She was right, and of course that’s where I met Adriana.

It was wonderful to see the people we were able to, and to spend time with the grandchildren and my sister. We hope to see anyone we missed next visit.

Our House and Home

And…our house is moving forward so soon people will be able to visit us! By ‘soon,’ I mean sometime late next year, but progress is happening. We finally have an approved design! The drawing below is it. (The original image is from the architect is almost 50M, so this is a screenshot. I would have thought that editing photos on a Mac would be easier than on a Windows computer, but no.)

It’s hard to see, so from left to right:

First building: Guest suite and laundry
Outdoor courtyard and exercise area
Middle building: Master Bedroom suite, Studio (possible future bedroom), and office area
Rightmost building: Social area with open concept Kitchen, dining, and living rooms, social bathroom, pantry, and entry
Pool with jacuzzi – pending budget

We’re now in the permitting stage, with construction starting after that!

Sanji

Finally, upon popular request for the Sanji fans!

Sanji is utterly fearless about some things. Would you stick your nose down this hole in the ground? Or any hole in the ground?

Here’s Sanji in his apartment in Switzerland letting that horse know who’s boss. Note the spectacular mountains in the background…every photo Natalia and Davide send features that.

And finally, here is the Sanji-under-the-tree photo. It turned out too well not to share the whole photo – it looks like a Christmas card.

Books and Writin’ and Such

My sister had an article published in Macleans! It is a (very personal) memoir and is here: My Secret Addiction. (Not so secret now.)

I continue to blog about sociopaths in society. Here’s the latest, not really that current as I’ve been dealing with family stuff. When the Bubbles Burst. I’ll have another post this week.

And thanks to everyone who read my book! It is available on Kindle, Amazon, and many other places! With the United States checking everyone’s social media (not even China and Russia do that), careful what you read that the American border guards can see. I did say that Donald Trump was a pooh-pooh head, or words to that effect (I accurately described him as a narcissistic psychopath) and apparently any uncomplimentary words about Dear Leader are enough to get you banned for 5 years.

You’re Not Crazy, the World Is: How Narcissistic Leaders Have Corrupted Morals and Countries

Kobo

Amazon — Kindle, paperback, hardcover

Apple Books (Search the title)