Weekend.

Initially the forecast called for yet more rain this weekend. I was dismayed when, as if right on schedule, I awoke Saturday to yet another rainy day. And Saturday we were supposed to venture into Victoria for a special, belated birthday lunch in my honor, at a place called Sauce, that we both have taken a shining to. Plus, to make matters worse, I woke up with a headache. Probably my own fault for sleeping until 9am and not having my usual morning cup of java by 5:30am. Oh well.

As the morning wore on, and my system built up some energy, the rain started to subside and I was thinking that maybe we could make it into town afterall for that lunch. With a glance out the window to nothing more than a medium mist falling from the sky we decided to go for it, umbrellas in hand (just in case).

Victoria was lovely - cloudy and misty but nothing even close to rain. The sidewalks were not crowded at all, something that amazed us, what with it being just four weeks until Christmas, and all the store windows were dressed in their finest holiday decor. Trees aglow in LED lights, sparkly bangles hanging everywhere, smiling faces on all the store clerks - it was truly magical. Even the horse drawn carriages were decorated for Christmas!

We had our lunch at Sauce then wandered around downtown and over to The Bay for some browsing. I have never seen so many bath robes in a Mens department in my life and a couple of them I just wanted to take home and snuggle up in! The only purchase I made was at the Hallmark Gold Crown store in the mall - ornament #19 in the Classic American Cars series. I have ALL of them and refuse to be deprived of each new release! Damn the budget or where they are made! (it's a 1963 Thunderbird roadster, in case you are wondering)

On the way home we stopped at the pet supply store, GNC, Best Buy and the grocery store. A VERY busy day indeed!

Sunday dawned with the promise of sunshine and by 11am or so we were basking in the warm glow that was coming through the windows. Absolutely spectacular! We managed to get some yard work done, take the dog for a leisurely walk and test fit the snow chains for the cars. The walk was great - just a short jaunt down the road to the park entrance at East Sooke Park but totally worth it. The forest is alive with a wonderful scent you get after a rain, greenery abounds in the treetops and the forest floor that is covered in ferns. There are little waterfalls coming down from Mt Maguire and spilling into the roadside ditches with the water going under the road and continuing its' journey to the ocean when it comes out the other side. Hummingbirds have returned to our feeder and we even have some new flowers blooming at home! Heath is ready to burst into bloom as is the Mahonia. We still have quite a few shrubs in the garden that are holding onto their colorful Fall foliage (see picture below) and I saw some daffodils poking up from the ground, which has me a bit confused. The worst part of last Winter was the two weeks right before Christmas so I am holding me breath, so to speak, and anxious to see what El Nino has in store for us here on the West Coast. Fingers crossed for warmth and snow-free!