I've discovered a great new site, The Centre for Biological Diversity. There you will find a smart short animated video about the secret priory of species and the web of life called, the BioDaVersity Code. If you have a few minutes, watch it. Its cute and you'll be entertained while reminded about our responsibility in the web of life.

I had tried to download the Orca ring tone only to discover that telus does not support downloaded ring tones :(

Today, February 28th, I saw my first cherry blossoms. It was a wonderful surprise as I had my head down, tucked into my rain coat, as I walked to work and just happened to look up right in front of St. Paul's Hospital. That's one of the reasons I love walking to work...you get to see so much more than when you are on a bus. I can stand on the bridge and watch the eagles and look for harbour seals or stop and smell the flowers along the way.

I'm going to take advantage of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom website so I can track their bloom. So far, nothing to report in Kits.

The Whistler weekend was great fun. The snow was great and the temperatures just perfect. Jodi and I had one particularly great run, both amazed that it was so quiet despite it being Whistler's busiest weekend. Turns out my idea to cut down through the trees in the Symphony Ampitheatre may not have been the best. We missed the closed signs and had to be escorted up the closing chairlift by Mountain Guide Andy. (My new Oakley Crowbars weren't fitting too well at that point).

I'm waiting to get photos from the gang but let me leave you with this thought. Those who say that you'll never wear that bridesmaid's dress again don't know what they are talking about. Yes....I wore my floor length gown out to the bar. The strangest part of the story is that no one asked about the dress, people just kept telling me how great the hat was.


I'm glad Fun Bobby decided to make an appearance last weekend.

Wow...I'm not sure how I missed this as I was in and out of my building right around this time last night having just come back from Whistler.

Update - There were police every where when I came home, searching through all of the bushes around my building. The more I hear about the timing it sounds like we were lucky to not have been right in the crossfire when the shooting happened as I had parked in front and unloaded the car there.

And the drama continues.

I had prepared myself for the worst this morning when I went to check on Sarah but there she was swimming around like like a healthy little girl. Sparkle even seems happier this morning staying pretty close to Sarah's side at all times.

So for now, mushy peas it is. Also thinking there might have been too much ammonia in the water from the feeding block I used while away the last 2 weekends. Will have to ask Niki to come check on the girls Saturday so I don't have to use another one. Its also got me thinking that maybe the girls come to Tofino with Trent and I in April.

I've just fed Sarah some boiled mushy peas in the hope that what ails her is constipation but I'm not too hopeful. This evening all I seem to get is a few little flutters and then there is a lot of sitting on the bottom resting.

I'm dreading the morning :(

A picture of Trent, Sarah and Sparkle in her better days. Sarah is the brilliant orange one, which she still retains despite her current health crisis.

Shrove Tuesday explained.

I think I might have pancakes for dinner as well, but the ones my mum always made. More like crepes than pancakes really, sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice and rolled up.

I awoke this morning expecting to find that Sarah had not made it through the night. But ohh no, she's swimming around looking right as rain. I guess she was just a little under the weather.

Woo hoo, Shrove Tuesday X's 2. Making myself a chocolate chip organic flax seed pancake right now. Yummy!

Despite all the rain Tofino was beautiful as ever.

We discovered Middle Beach Lodge at the end of our beach and this was the view from the balcony off of its great room.

















As darkness fell and the tide swept out we were able to explore the cove right in front of our cabin. It's still too early in the season for starfish but we saw lots of sea urchins and tiny little crabs.

For the love of God I think Sarah is trying to give me a heart attack. I came home and found her lying on the bottom of the tank. My tapping on the glass didn't seem to rouse her nor did Sparkle's nudges. Now 10 minutes later she is swimming up a storm in the tank. (I'm actually starting to think Sparkle might be a boy, not a girl. Perhaps Sarah was doing the old, if I pretend I'm a sleep maybe he will leave me alone.)

Ohh God, she's back resting on the bottom again. This is going to be a stressful evening. I'm hoping its just punishment for my leaving them alone two weekends in a row. I've been a neglectful mummy.

Just getting myself packed up for the weekend in Tofino, as we are catching the 12:30 ferry to the Island. I decided not to bring my surfboard so it should be a nice quiet, relaxing weekend. It's one thing when I am the driver to bring the board for such a short trip but seeing as we have the little man with us I just thought it was too much to ask to be taken to/from the good surfing spots. I have packed the travel scrabble and the LCR so I am sure there will be lots of fun and games.

I'm sitting here looking at my beautiful vase of flowers courtesy of my wonderful boyfriend. It makes me sad to have to leave them as I am sure they won't be quite a vibrant when I return.

Time to go. Must pick up fresh bagels and soup from the market before making my way over the the North Shore.

The rendezvous in Calgary/Banff was wonderful. Despite arctic temperatures (-15 to -20C) and continuous snow we managed to take in the beauty of Banff while snowshoeing and indulging in dips in the thermal hot springs. Our night at the Tarry-A-While B&B included free access to the Whyte Museum. The museum tells the story of Peter and Catherine Whyte, two artists who made their home in the Banff area beginning in the mid 1930's. It was a wonderful discovery and I am so glad we decided to take advantage of the free admission. There is definitely a lesson here that small local museums can house stories that make your visit to a town so much richer.
All weekend I had been talking about how we had to have pancakes on Tuesday as it was Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day. So on our way back we stopped in Canmore and got ourselves some fluffy buttermilks. Seemed like a great idea at the time. About half an hour back into the trip I was fighting to keep my eyes open...be this a warning to all of you who choose to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday; don't eat and drive...its hard to stay alert after an order of the haystacks. And yes...I was off by a week...for some reason I thought Lent started this week, not next. Thank god for T-bone, I would have been denying myself the DC and baked goods for a week longer than required.

I'm home for two nights now before heading off to Tofino Friday afternoon with the Jennifer, Greg and Ben for a few days. I'm loving all the time I get with the little man as his smiles are one of my favourite things.

Last night I attended the JCC Athletic Awards here in Van as a guest of the Whitecaps, where Steve Nash was the recipient of this year's Jack Diamond Award. Unfortunately Steve was unable to attend in person due to some scheduling changes in the NBA. Representing Steve was his mother, sister and his high school basketball coach who gave a heartfelt speech on Steve Nash as a person, not just a basketball player. I was lucky enough to actually be sharing a table with these three as the Nash's are also associated with the Whitecaps (Steve's brother, Martin, is a player on the team). For a fundraising dinner the evening was really a lot of fun. I bid on a few of the silent auction items (didn't get any) and was amazed to watch the action of the live auction where most things went between 10-40 Grand. The highlight of the evening (after Steve's humble acceptance of his award by video) was key note speaker Bill Walton. I'm not sure what was funnier, Walton's introduction by a member of the JCC spiked with deadhead references and jokes about his driving up the coast in his VW bus or Walton's marathon talk. He's a funny guy and I think if I were more familiar with the basketball world it would have been even funnier.

Today I learned something new about myself. I am a farmers market junkie. Niki and I decided to venture out to East Van and check out the winter market that is held first Sunday of each month. I'm not sure what I was thinking leaving the house with $23 and change in my wallet but after a quick turn around the market we realized we would need to make a run to a bank machine.

By the time we left my Pete's Frootique shopping bag was filled to the brim with the following:

• 3 hard cheeses from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks
• 2 packages of dried wild mushrooms (white chanterelle and lobster)
• Granola King granola
• Anne's Green Pepper Jelly and zucchini relish (yum yum yum)
• A package of cheese and onion rolls
• Bad Girl Chocolates caramel covered covered almonds for Trent and I to enjoy in Banff next weekend
• A package of gently grown beef, pork and buffalo sausages from Greenhill Acres farms

I forgot to buy any fruits & veggies with all of the other offerings. Ohh well, I can hit the local markets tomorrow.

Just 1o days until my Calgary/Banff trip. My part of the trip is all booked up now we just have to get Trent there, which is far more of a challenge. It seems that the plans for their travel to the conference in Calgary change daily. We've had him arriving Sunday, then Wednesday and now it looks like Monday, which isn't great as I arrive Sunday and leave Wednesday morning. I have visions of him arriving in Calgary just as I am taking off back to Van. I'm sure it will all work out in the end but for someone like me who likes to have all of the controllables controlled its definitely challenging. I have no control!

Had hoped to get out this weekend with the new snowshoes but the lower back/pelvis issues persist. I power walked last night with some ladies in my running club and was in pain and limping along less than 10 minutes into our 4 KM walk. I never appreciated how important a healthy back is even for regular day to day activity. I'm also starting to feel the effects of my inactivity. My pants are definitely feeling a little tighter (I attribute that to the loss of my hour walk a day (to/from work), not my constant snacking or the fact that I've turned into a total couch potato. Must start swimming before I have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.

Looking forward to Lent as my annual abstention from sweets will certainly curb the snacking problem referenced above. It strikes me as kind of funny that I said I am looking forward to Lent...who looks forward to Lent? I haven't finalized my list for this year, I've being toying with the idea of adding bacon but despite my love for it I'm not sure I eat enough of it to really feel that giving it up for 6 weeks is a challenge. It's definitely going to be tough giving up sweets with several trips including a week in Tofino with Trent during this time.