Sometimes it snows in April

The last post was in January?  I understand now why my favorite authors take so long to release the  next book in the series I am reading.  Time is fleeting.  When I get Facebook notifications on memories every day, I shake my head and think was that really 2011?  Have I really been in Montana for 5 years and married for two of those years?!  Since last we caught up dear reader, I was approved to work from home full-time Mon-Fri 8-4:30 and it has been such a relief and blessing.  My life is so different now.  I hardly recognize who I've become.  As I sit here in my home with all the windows wide open, as I listen to Mischa Maisky play Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G I marvel at how time ebbs and flows.

My husband Shawn and I went on our end of winter vacation.  We spent a few nights in Spokane, WA at our favorite spa where  my bestie Angie surprised me by plotting with my husband to fly in for the night all the way from South Carolina just to spend a few hours with me before he and I continued on our voyage to Leavenworth, WA to visit my favorite cheese monger and pick up some garlic cheese, yum.  On to Victoria B.C. our primary destination where we stayed at the luxurious Magnolia Hotel & Spa we did a fair amount of whale watching and traveled 93 nautical miles one day on the open sea, it was a dream come true and multiple cruises and leisurely drives around the island and lastly, what inspired me more than I can adequately express was Butchart Gardens.  Those who know me will tell you, I've never exactly been a fan of flowers, because they seemed to remind me of the multitude of funerals and viewings I'd been to in my young life.  This trip was different.  The stroll through the various types of gardens was serene and welcoming, the scent of the various flowers and shrubs weren't cloying, but simply wafted about you on a gentle cool breeze on a warm sunny day; not a cloud in the blue sky.

Ah..Antonio Vivaldi-Four Seasons..very nice.  So I had to stop in the Butchart Gardens gift shop and purchase seeds to take home to try my hand at gardening; my mom in Heaven must be so proud as it was a great passion of hers.  Being married to a triathlete who remains in a constant state of training, I spend a substantial amount of time alone on our multitude of travels, as he runs new trails and paths. It is my habit to go out at dawn to take my walks and explore the city as it awakens.  In my mind, I imagine my mom and dad and Nana are with me on these adventures since they never had the opportunity to explore the world in any substantial way like I am able to.  On this trip in particular, I felt my mom's presence close to me as I journeyed past this Dogwood, or this hyacinth, or wisteria; snapping photos and pausing to reflect on the beautiful waterfront.  I would take gulping breaths of sea air, trying to savor every single moment of my own private Heaven.

In Victoria, everywhere you want to go, you can get to by water taxi.  I never wanted to leave.  Like ever.  I miss it already.