Friday, February 17, 2017

Fun by Ourselves in Victoria

Yes, despite being together for so many years, we actually do enjoy each other's company and have fun together.  Go figure, eh?

Using the format of my last post, I'll describe what we did.  First and foremost, Victoria is a place where food and drink are a part of its culture and we are happy to indulge.

Eating:  Our first meal is always at Christie's Pub and those who read this blog, know this.  The menu has changed over the years but we can usually find something we like and we always have a jug (or two) of Killer Bee Dark Honey Ale made by a small brewery called Tin Whistle Brewing.  I don't think I've seen this beer anywhere else in Victoria.

Before I got involved with Christmas baking, I wanted to have dim sum at Don Mee's.  Our table soon becomes laden with goodies and we end up filling boxes to take home.  This means I don't have to cook supper and there's nothing wrong with that.  We used to walk to this Chinatown restaurant but Glen's bad hip means we now take the bus.

Not only do we enjoy restaurant dining, we also frequent our local fish monger, Finest at Sea.  We made several visits and enjoyed rockfish, sablefish, dungeness crabs, oysters, and mussels.  Beside the haggis (see last post), we also bought a lamb and a goose at our local butcher, Slaters Meats.  The goose became a wonderful Christmas dinner.

New Year's breakfast we do at Shine Café.  They open 9:00 on New Year's day so you can stay up to midnight and still make the first sitting.  The place is small so getting there close to opening time is advised.  I usually get the Nemo eggs Benedict but we had had so much smoked salmon over the holidays, I decided to go all veggie and ordered the Provençe.  It was all I could ever have asked for in deliciousness so has become my new favourite.  Glen always orders the classic benny.  He did so again when we went to celebrate his birthday.   It is a short walk from our place to the Oak Bay location which was their first restaurant.  I had always thought the downtown version was the original.

It has become a tradition to go to Marina restaurant in Oak Bay for our birthdays.  They were closed for renovations on mine so we waited a couple of days and celebrated my 65th birthday then.  The server, Holly, recognized us from the summer and even remembered which beer we drank.  Impressive!  I told Glen he must have tipped well.

Our final island meal is at the White Spot at the airport.  Glen swears they make the very best burgers.    I had their noodle bowl which was delicious.  I travel with chopsticks as it seems wrong to eat Asian food with a fork but the server gladly provided me with them.  This meal is always bittersweet as we hate leaving the island but still enjoy our prairie home, too.

Golfing:  Winter golf is not usually pleasant if one plays some of the courses in Victoria but the Ridge, a nine hole, par 3 is on a hill and well drained.  With the snow and frost causing course closures, we only golfed four times.  Glen had a great round on his birthday with four pars.  I got par on the most difficult hole which pleased me.  We use our old clubs in Victoria and I really can feel the difference although my no-name driver can still hit it out there.  Glen does have issues walking the course but his golf cart acts as a 'walker' in disguise.

Crabbing:  We've visited the Sidney Fishing Pier on numerous occasions and watched people fish for crabs.  Glen wanted to do this so, for Christmas, I gave him a small crab trap.  After opening it, he immediately perused the regulations and bought himself a crabbing license.  We bought a float and rope, a measuring device since you can't take small crabs or females, and a can of cat food as Geoff said it was good bait for crawfish.

We lowered the trap (see photo) off the side of the pier and then headed to the Rumrunner for lunch.  We had our favourite Dead Frog Ale and shrimp and crab croissants then Glen had a nap in the van while I read.  We were very disappointed when the trap came up empty but realized the cat food can had tipped over so its 'smell' had not attracted anything.

Undeterred, we made plans to use raw chicken (another favourite bait).  I butterflied a chicken for a great lemon chicken recipe and we used the discarded backbone.  This time we got to the pier early and had coffee at the local Oasis coffee shop in the Pier One Hotel.  We weren't the only crabbers waiting it out there.

This time when Glen pulled up the trap, there was a huge dungeness crab clinging to the outside.  It had pulled the bait bag through the trap's webbing and was dining in style.  We held our breath as the trap broke the surface and Glen gently pulled it in.  The crab let go, taking the bait with it.  As it floated to the bottom, upside down, I was pretty sure it was a female.  This tale is now known as "Moby Crab".

Beaches:  Unfortunately, Glen can no longer walk to the beach.  He does ride his bike to Willows but we are seldom there together.  I walked there on my birthday and a week later, I met Glen there.  Bonus was I didn't have to walk home as he had driven the van.  One thing we discovered while walking along Cadboro Bay beach, was that Glen needs a basket on his cane so it doesn't sink into the soft sand.  Who knew this could be a problem?  I suggested using his old ski pole and he might do that.

Dogs are permitted on beaches in the winter so become part of the wild life.  We also saw herons, mergansers, ravens, goldeneyes, and cormorants.  Closer to home, we hung up our hummingbird feeder and five minutes later had the first of many hummingbird visits.  The cold temperatures kept them coming back for more.  Even the bush tits stopped by to have a sugary treat.

Salt Spring Island (SSI):  To say you're off to SSI for lunch with friends seems odd to us but those in Victoria shrug it off as normal.  We took the 9:00 ferry and did as locals do -- stayed in our van and read during the crossing.  It was a cold day so no one was up on deck.  We've never been on the big SSI ferry so that made the trip different.  We disembarked and headed straight to the SSI cheese factory.  After checking out the goats, we went to buy our usual cheeses.  Horror of horrors, there was no Montaña!  Turns out the person who provided the sheep's milk had retired and no one else on the island could provide the amount needed to make Montaña.  So we settled for a chili-flavoured feta that was amazing on pizza, Sicilian olives and my favourite, Raspberry and Habanero jam (pairs well with soft goat cheese).

Our next stop was a sheep farm where I must resist buying wool for spinning (I am almost finished spinning the last bag of Alberta wool I bought back in 1982) but can buy as many lamb sausages as I want.  The miniature horses always come to say hello and the sheep welcome us with deep baas.  The owner's little dog tries to hog our attention before the bigger ones realize guests have arrived.  As the owner stuffed her stove with fragrant wood, she told us the animals were expecting breakfast.  The horses get fed last as they don't work for a living.  I remembered what my friend Cathy used to call her horses, living lawn ornaments and I guess these two served much the same purpose.  As we left, one of the black lambs, born the previous day, came dancing across the field to watch us drive away.  It was snowing but that didn't dampen its good-to-be-alive spirit.

We took a quick cold walk along the Ganges Harbourfront before going to Moby's (see last post).  I had to photograph the famous tug that sits in the harbour and got a couple of decent shots of a goldeneye plying the waters close to the pier.  What used to be our favourite pizza place is now a burger joint (again).  It seems every two years, it changes hands and food styles.  There are rumours another eatery we liked, the Harbour House restaurant, had closed its doors but their website seems to indicate they're still open.

We tried to catch the 2:00 ferry, a new time slot on the schedule, but so did everyone else.  We missed boarding by one car so were first in line for the next crossing.  We had a wonderful view of the sunset then took a detour because the day before both my sister, Lynda and my best friend, Wendy sent me flowers for my birthday.

Glen had to work on my birthday so I had walked down to Willow's Beach.  There I received a call from the florist saying no one was home.  Turns out our entry buzzer wasn't working.  I called Glen but he was doing a radio interview.  After several attempts at a solution, the flowers were delivered.  Lynda's bouquet also had delivery problems and we ended up picking them up at the FedEx centre near the Butchart Gardens on the way back from SSI.  

Walks:   Other than beach walks and ones to the coffee shop/barber, Glen did his usual holly hunt to Stadacona Park so we had live holly for Christmas and one day I walked to Government House gardens.  It was a cold day in the gardens so I only saw two others walking.  The duck pond was frozen and the Christmas roses shivered in their beds.  I did see blooming snowdrops and daffodil shoots poking through the leaf litter but most plants were dormant.  The sage in the herb garden was silvered with frost.  I love the gardens in the winter as they alway remind me of the book, "The Secret Garden" by F. H. Burnett which was one of the first 'British aristocracy' books I read (it was set in Yorkshire).  The view from behind Government House (which was under renovations and where Prince George and Princess Charlotte stayed) is spectacular in the winter when the trees are bare and you can see across to the snow covered Olympic Mountains.

That seems to be it as far as what we did and when we did it.


Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Fun with Friends in Victoria

My fans (yes, I do have them) are champing at the bit for another blog entry.  Since we haven't done much traveling, it seemed pointless to ramble on about our lives but who can deny a fan?

We spent two months in Victoria enjoying what most said was the coldest winter on record.  We left at the end of January just before "the Blizzard of 2017" hit the city dumping over a foot of wet snow.  It didn't last long, not like the dump of snow we experienced here in Calgary last week.  Still, the sun is warm so spring mustn't be far away.

So what did we do in Victoria?  Glen worked most days doing emails, reviewing grants and papers, conference calls and Skype sessions.  However, there was plenty of time to enjoy fun with our friends.

Diane and Tony:  We had a few lunches with these friends from Edmonton.  First, we had a pizza lunch at their home.  We brought jelly doughnuts as a Hanukkah gift as Tony is proud of his Jewish roots.  Unfortunately, he'd never heard of the custom.  I guess it wasn't something the Jews of Manchester indulged in.  We did discover that doughnuts freeze very well and although the chocolate glaze ones are not aesthetically pleasing, they are tasty.

A week later, we had Christmas lunch at the University Club.  They always put on a nice buffet with turkey, salads, and Christmasy desserts.  After Christmas, we hosted a chili lunch for Diane and Tony at our place.  I had done some baking so dessert was Christmas cake and cookies.

As their lives got busy after the holidays, we didn't meet up again until mid-January and that was at Smuggler's Cove Pub.  Glen and I walked along the beach at Cadboro Bay before enjoying fish and chips at the pub.

Janet and Iain:  These Scottish-American friends have family in Victoria but we still enjoyed several visits before they left for Hawaii.  The first was meeting for lunch at their favourite pub, the Bard and Banker.  Iain is a fan of oysters and they serve good seafood.  I like their calamari which is what I ordered with a bowl of chicken soup.  Glen enjoyed halibut and chips and shared some of my calamari.  We both drank Hoynes Dark Matter beer.

Between Christmas and New Year's, Iain called inviting us to a simple supper.  Spontaneous is not something we usually are but we jumped at the chance.  We met at their apartment then went across the street to the Chateau Victoria Vista 18 for pre-dinner drinks.  What a view!!!!  Almost a 360º vista from Mt Baker to the BC Legislature building and Victoria Harbour.  The Christmas lights on the Legislature sparkled.  Back at their apartment, Iain served a hearty soup which warmed us on this cool winter's eve.

Before Christmas, we bought a frozen haggis and I suggested we eat it on Glen's birthday, Jan 23rd.   Robbie Burns Day, Jan 25th is the traditional day for haggis but I wasn't up for all that entails.  And it would require Glen wearing his kilt which we didn't have with us.  We wanted to golf in the afternoon (Glen could not miss with his putter so the golf gods smiled upon him) so put the haggis in my slow cooker.  It came out perfectly.  Iain could not let a haggis be served without reciting the Robbie Burns poem, an Ode to the Haggis which made it a memorable moment.  I also served tatties and neeps (potatoes and rutabaga) which is traditional fare.  We finished off with Christmas goodies.  Sadly, no shortbread, another Scottish favourite, as I didn't get around to baking it this year.

Janny and Robbert:  We have developed a wonderful coffee culture with our Dutch-Canadian friends.  They invited us to their wonderful hillside home mounted on a huge slab of granite.  I knew Robb loved sweets so I brought them a tray of Christmas goodies.  I was happy they set these aside and served us traditional Dutch Christmas baking.  The ginger cake was my favourite.

Over the course of our time in Victoria, we also met Janny and Robb for coffee at Murchies.  I had always thought of this teahouse as just that, a purveyor of fine teas but their coffee is good, too.  J&R have spent every Saturday since they retired having coffee here and we joined them in this tradition.  Never has two hours passed so quickly.  We have lively discussions on all topics.

Monica and Ole: In our days in Edmonton, Monica and Ole were famous for their Schnapps parties and Indian food.  Monica is an incredible cook.  Our kids enjoyed their dogs and swimming pool as all were invited to their parties.  They moved to Europe so we lost touch socially but picked up where we had left off when they retired to the home on Salt Spring Island.  We agreed to meet them at their favourite pub, Moby's, doing our usual tour of the island first (more on that later).  We enjoyed good conversation and food.  Ole and I had gyoza (see photo) while Monica and Glen had duck wings.  Our view of Ganges Harbour was amazing.  The pub is tucked in a tiny cove outside the normal tourist zone so its diners were mostly locals.

Cynthia and Ray:  Our floor neighbours (Slitherin rules!) are a wonderful New Zealand couple and their daughter.  Carolyn always hosts Christmas dinner with Cynthia helping out.  We are invited for pre-dinner drinks.  It works out well as we get to enjoy family fun and still monitor the cooking of our own dinner.

Just before we left Victoria, we went to Christie's with Ray and Cynthia. The pub was busy with made conversation difficult but we had some good laughs and the food was great.  Glen had the biggest Yorkshire pudding stuffed with roast beef I've ever seen.  I had vegetarian flatbread while Ray had a steak sandwich and Cynthia enjoyed curried prawns.  Vancouver Island's Sea Dog beer was on special so Glen and I drank that.