happy thanksgiving!!

With everything that's going on with the world's financial crisis, I didn't think that I would get a literal, visual translation of the crack in the economy, but oooooh boy, I did. In my last post I bemoaned my lack of special, first class status, but was given the full meal deal (ew) on board, and I didn't pay cash, I paid for it with my eyeballs and (until now faded) memory. So, the plane filled up quickly, and my seatmate (a rather large feller) didn't hasten to do up (or find) his seat belt right away. I was quite settled in, reading (trying to) my Enroute magazine (which I love) when HE, half gets up, turning to the aisle to find these seat belt parts. Well, this move exposed some of his parts and yes they/it (hairy butt) was less than hmm... a foot away from my face? Not very pleasant. In fact, it was highly unpleasant and my controlled reaction was to close my eyes, turn towards the window, and will the memory away. At which point, the man turns to me and says, "Close quarters eh?" Er, yup. Yes buddy they're close quarters thank you very much for yours.

SO! That was the beginning of my trip and so far (since that moment) it's been great. We went up to Thetis this weekend to visit my parents - the trip there was a bit of a trek: Sarah and I couldn't find a parking spot in all of Horseshoe Bay, and were dissed by the dude at the Lion's Club parking lot just down the road. (He told us to go to the bank machine in town to get money to pay him; we did, and upon return found our parking spot GONE. The guy walking out - the guy that took the last spot/OURS smiled and said, "Lot's full." ARGH!) So we drove home and walked the 5km to the ferry terminal and caught the next one. The parentals picked us up on the other side, and we proceeded north to Comox where we had a lovely Thanksgiving lunch with our great-aunt Hope Spencer. It was a great little visit - yummy turkey and fixings, salad, bread and bubbly! Ooh, and chocolate covered strawberries. It was also a treat to see her, though she wasn't feeling so sweet - she's recently broken her hip and it doesn't sound like she's being given the attention or care from the hospital and support staff that she deserves. However, she was in good spirits and mentally acute enough to badger my dad about his political affiliation - something we can all hope for when we're 89.

We spent Sunday night and Monday relaxing on Thetis. We had a few more Thanksgiving meals (we don't need an excuse but hey), Sarah and I went for an awesome run... we lazed and chatted - all in all a great weekend. And then... the ferry back was another full ordeal. We got to the ferry terminal just before 3:00, waited in a line of over 1000 people, missed the 3:00 and 4:00 sailings, but made it on the 5:00. There was a wait, even for foot passengers! Crazy; there were line-ups all over the place. By the time we got to Horseshoe Bay, waiting in a line for the bus was the last thing we wanted to do, so we walked home; round trip from door to door took us seven hours? It was a bit exhausting, but worth it.

And, well, time is ticking. The election results are probably congealing, and time is running out to find a wedding dress here at home. Well, that's not true really. My maman and I went looking today and found a few with strong potential, but nothing with the this-is-it! feeling. I'm also getting a lot closer to my Romanian departure time... yay! But there's lots to do between now and then. For starters, I should stop procrastinating and take the dog for a walk...

The family just after dinner #1...


Just after dinner #2...

Enjoying an early(ish) morning on the porch

A roadside owl on the way to the ferry on Thetis

Amusing ourselves in the long line-up - one of the good ones...