Ready for Spring!

It's a grey day here in the Northwest of the province.  Those April showers should be bringing lots of flowers, so I don't mind.  I was up most of last night with a headache so am home today.  I like grey days at home. In my pj's with a mug of tea.

First jaunt of the spring! Tom and I found a trail on the way to the ski hill and got out for a little hike.

The landlord has returned from Dawson Creek where she's been working all winter.  Although we've heard her and her boyfriend upstairs moving things into the house on and off over the weekend, we still have yet to meet her.  It's been a little weird not knowing whose house we're living in haha However we've really appreciated the peace and quiet.... to be honest we're hoping they'll be off again soon.

Cool clouds this week

Work has been good, although I know that I don't want a field job forever.  I like being in the office as well, where I can do some higher-level work and feel more rewarded by my work at the end of the day.  Plus my body seems to get tired faster these days... and I'm always hurting myself.  That being said, even in the position that I' in right now, I feel 100 times more needed and appreciated than at my last job.  I feel like I am making a difference and contributing to the big picture.  Two things that I'm learning are very important to me.

Tom is feeling about the same.  He enjoys his work and the people he works with but probably won't want to do this job forever.  Which is fine! It's all about learning what he likes about it and what he'd like to do in the future.

Tom's work just told him that he will be in camp for yet another week... whaaaaaa!  I was looking forward to having him at home!  Camp has closed for "breakup" but apparently the barge will still run across the lake, and he and the crew have put up in a motel close to the barge.  In a town called Granisle.  A little known fact about Granisle is that there is apparently a HUGE UFO presence there... hee hee hee.  Apparently there are many houses in the town that have been abandoned... and that is where aliens have moved in!  It's been said that you could look into the windows and see a family of aliens making dinner for their kids!!  I've googled UFO sightings in Granisle and they are pretty entertaining to read if you want to burn some time... Very strange.  I'll have to make sure Tom checks out any weird things while he's there.

The view from the barge last week

No aliens to be seen, so far!

We've been invited to Jill and Mick's house for Easter dinner on Saturday : ) Jill's text read "you're invited for dinner.  Don't worry, Mick is cooking" hahah she's about as handy in the kitchen as I am.  I'm sure her mom will be there, too.  Her mom is a hoot.  Jill even said we can stay over so we can have some wine with dinner.  Have I mentioned that Jill is the best?! 

The hardest part about thinking we one day might live somewhere else, go back home, who knows; is having to leave Jill again.  Might sound pessimistic, but I'll never have another boss like her!  She's simply the greatest.  Even though I'm not liking the position I'm in at work right now, I can come back to the office at the end of the day and have a good conversation with Jill, make plans for future projects in the bush, and then get invited to her house for dinner!  And she's told Tom that on Friday's when he's back from camp but we are all at work, that he should go to her place and do some woodworking!  I.  Love.  JILL.  I feel badly that Tom doesn't get that work/life balance while being st camp.  You're always at work! He says he'd like to be doing a job where he's building things, or helping people.  He's wanting to stick this job out for now to learn more - once summer hits he will be doing most of the ecological assessments for the crew.  Those are by far my favourite so I hope he likes them! And if not, at least he's given everything a try and can move on if he wants.

And me too.  I want to stick around to see if something else comes up with Canfor but in the meantime wish I wasn't in a complete field position.

ANYWAY enough of that.  We are still loving being in the mountains and even found a snow-free trail to hike last weekend.  We went up to the ski hill to watch the slush cup but unfortunately were two hours early... without ski gear... so we hung out and had a beer in the sun and then headed home.

The view from our perch at the ski hill

Along with dinner at Jill's this weekend, we are probably going to Prince George for some Costco shopping and a taste of the "big city".  It's a long drive but it will be nice to get out of town for a day and see some new sights. Plus if Tom drives one way, I can knit!  I'm knitting him a pair of socks and made them extra long... which means they are taking a while, since the bottom of his foot is long as well!! The yarn is self-striping though, so that makes it more interesting!  I always know there's another colour change coming up : )

I've been trying to cook a bit more, but still seem to stick wth fairly simple recipes.  This weekend I made a Thai Chicken soup which is pretty darn tasty, and was made in the crock-pot!  Lots of it left over to freeze as well.  I tried going sugar free... that lasted a week.  And when I say a week, it was a work week hahah 5 days.  But now I feel that I don't need to have as much junky stuff... just a little chocolate fix every day and I'm set.
I'm still sticking with gluten-free.  If I see Tom eating a slice of Telkwa Bakery bread, or I want a treat I'll have it.  But I do notice a difference when I do.  And for the most part I don't miss it!  There are alternatives, or else I just won't go for a sandwich, for example.  I'll have soup or a salad instead.

Well... that's all I have for now.  I hope you all have a sunny spring day and I'll be in touch!

xoxo