Red Cedar

The last couple of mornings have involved flights – yesterday I cycled to work in the dark, parked my bike, and walked over to the float plane dock to catch the 7:10 to Comox. This morning I woke up in Courtenay, cabbed back to Comox Harbour and flew back to go to work. It’s a crazy thing to do, but during weeks of back to back meetings and other commitments, sometimes it’s the only way (1 hour of flying versus 4-5 hours of car and ferry travel each way). I’m fortunate that someone is willing to pay me to do that (my union) so I can enjoy the efficiency without paying the full cost (though, if you break it down, flying is not much more expensive than the ferry/car option).

I’m close to finishing work for the day, and then I will get back on my bicycle to meet an old friend for dinner at my favourite restaurant in town – not one with a patio – but the guacamole is to die for.

I’m feeling ridiculously privileged right about now (and the little trauma victim in me is wondering what bad thing is going to happen to make me pay for this but fortunately I’m old enough now that I can mostly ignore that voice) – it’s really the best time of year on the coast with the flowers, the onset of nice weather, the sheer picturesque beauty of it all. I made the mistake of mentioning it on a phone call with my Ottawa co-workers this afternoon, only to be met with groans since they are expecting more snow.

Some days the high cost of living in this city seems to make more sense than others.

I think that I am finally recovered from my illness – the one that started a month ago with really bad exhaustion/aches and had me in bed for a week, then turned into a head cold – then just continued to produce swollen glands and exhaustion for a couple of weeks…. it seems to have pretty much left me with the dawning of spring. Hurrah!

This photo of an ornamental quince was taken last night just before a meditation sit in the backyard studio at the Urban Crow. It pretty much expresses how much more alive I am feeling post-illness, in the full flower of the season.

We signed the paperwork yesterday to remove the subjects on our Gabriola Island real estate purchase and we are now officially on the hook come June 9th to transfer the money over. Got the movers booked already and we’re now counting down until our move date. I’m feeling all the feelings right now – including a tiny little bit of anxiety. But I’m pretty sure that will pass soon. Onward!

Cycling this week has been super-swell. Not only have I missed every major rain storm by sheer scheduling luck, but the cherry blossoms in Vancouver are making it ridiculously beautiful. And on top of that – I made two major milestones this week:

1. Shaved five minutes off my morning commute this morning (mostly because I’m no longer afraid to go fast down hills)
2. Made it up the Adanac hill (two days in a row!)

I wouldn’t say that the cycle commute has exactly gotten *easy* in the last two months – but that’s partly because I was really sick for a couple of weeks and between that and travel ended up missing about three weeks of doing it. But even being back on the bike last week and this – I’m already feeling my strength build back up. And I sure am noticing on those days when I have to take the bus how much I don’t want to be on there.

I’m heading into the Easter weekend celebrating small victories and this is one of them: I said I was going to start cycle commuting again, and not only am I doing it, I have grown to quite like it again!

Photo taken from the beach in Bowser, February 2016.