After having a good start to Spring it turned wet and cold again. We also had a couple of days of snow and frosts up until the end of April. To get this amount of snow this late is very unusual. We even had snow on the blossoms of our plum trees!
Been busy planting out the vegetable plot. Planted radish, parsnips, beans carrot, broccoli and onions. The garlic we planted in October is growing very well and should be ready in July.
Daniels basketball team played well in the Junior BC Provincial Championship. Overall they finished 7th in BC and finished their season very well. The winners were the team from Victoria that Cowichan beat in the Vancouver Island Championships. Daniel was invited along to the Senior BC Provincial Championships in Vancouver with the schools senior team. He got to play in a couple of the games and was pleased as the players in this tournament are up to 2 years older. A good experience and he is aiming to return next year.
Anjas dance club were in a dance competition in Nanaimo and did very well. She is now busy practicing for the end of season show in June. Both Daniel and Anja got good results in their school reports so we are pleased and proud of them.
The humming birds have arrived and we have four different ones coming to our feeder. Humming birds are amazing little birds and keep us totally mesmirised when they are around.
I am still managing to go down to our local beach as often as possible. I find it a relaxing, yet stimulating place to be. A very beautiful place to enjoy and we are lucky to have it so close.
And finally…………it is tax return time. Yes, we all hate doing tax returns here in Canada as we did in the UK. Some things never change!

The weather has been quite nice for this time of the year. We were able to sit outside and eat lunch on a number of occasions. Also able to walk around in
t-shirts and enjoy the sunshine. It will soon be time for me to start work on our vegetable garden.
We live just 5 minutes walk away from the beach and I have made it one of my goals to try and go to the beach as often as possible, whether it is having a leisurely walk down there with our dog or just stopping quickly when driving by. From the beach we look across towards Piers Island and the Gulf Islands in the distance with Saltspring Island to the left and Deep Cove, part of the Saanich Peninsula to the right. On clear days Mount Baker is visible as well. I enjoy coming here and seeing bald eagles and a variety of different sea birds. Nearly every time I am there I watch seals swimming about and jumping around and it truly is an inspiring place. I quite often tell people that my favourite place of all is from Cherry Point Beach to Cowichan Bay and I am thankful that we are lucky enough to live here.
Anja is still busy swimming and dancing. It takes up a lot of her time as she swims once a week and dances three times a week but she enjoys doing them.
Daniel had a great month for basketball. They won the Mid–Island Championship quite convincingly and then played in the Island Championship. They got through to the semi-final where they faced another Island team called Oak Bay, who come from Victoria. Oak Bay are the provincial number one team and are favourites to win the Provincial tournament coming up and they have only lost once all season. Cowichan had played them twice already this season in different tournaments and had lost both games so they were not overconfident.
The boys were pumped for the game and ended up beating them 81 – 70 and they went on to win the final and are now Island Champions for the second year running. Daniel played very well and was one of the five elected into the tournament all-star team. Next stop the Provincial Championships!

We have had a full range of weather – wind, rain, a couple of dustings of snow, a bit of sunshine and temperatures down to minus 8. All in all a typical Vancouver Island Winter.
My parents went home from their holiday and are now planning their next visit. They are both retired now so it makes it easier for them to come over and spend a longer length of time with us here and my sister in Vancouver.
Anja’s swimming club has started again and she swims once a week for a couple of hours. We do have our own pool but it would probably be a bit chilly at the moment! Saying that, I don’t know what it is with Canadian teenagers but whenever Daniel has friends around they decide to jump in the pool, even fully clothed, and sometimes in below freezing temperatures. They don’t stay in for long though! Unfortunately two of his friends decided to jump in a couple of weeks ago and they had a race who could dive in first so they jumped in fully clothed and they all had a good laugh until one of them realized he had left his $300 cell phone in his pocket. An expensive mistake!
Daniels basketball is going well and they have been doing well in tournaments. They are busy getting ready for the Mid-Island Championship, Vancouver Island Championship and Provincial Championship so a busy and tough schedule ahead.
Mette is still busy selling houses. Vancouver Island Real Estate prices are still rising and the market seems as hot this year as it was last year so she is busy rushing around showing houses.
Hockey is a big sport here in Canada and we were lucky enough to have the Sweden under 17 team come here and play our local team the Cowichan Capitals. It was a good and exciting game and the players showed a lot of skill.
I had an unwanted trip in the ambulance. I had a headache attack last February and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. After having a few tests I was diagnosed with Cluster Headaches. I have had a few minor attacks since then but nothing too much until now. So after another blue light trip to the hospital I have now been referred to a neurologist and have been to see him. He has confirmed that it is Migraines and has provided some good tips and techniques to try and live with them. On a positive note I can definitely say that the treatment I received from the paramedics and emergency room staff was outstanding and I was taken good care of. Just don’t fancy making this a regular trip!

December started with a good amount of the White Stuff. We ended up with around 18 inches and everywhere looked as pretty as a Christmas Card. We are some of the people who enjoy the snow, so for us it was a pleasure. After having a chance to enjoy it for a couple of days we had a major thaw and rainstorm. We went from 18 inches of snow to no snow in a day and a half. Speaking to people who have lived here for many years, nobody could believe how quick all that snow went. They had never known it happen so quick before. Of course with the large amount of rain that coincided with the thaw there was some flooding that came with it. We also had power out for a day but we are used to them now and actually quite enjoy the family time that goes with them. No telly or computers just cards, games and good old family time by candlelight!
My parents spent about half of the month here. It was good to see them again and catch up. We had a Christmas get together in mid-December with some of our friends and a good social occasion was had by all.
Daniels basketball has taken over his soccer now. Unfortunately the basketball season overlaps the soccer and his preference is basketball, so the soccer takes a bit of a back seat. He still attends the training sessions but can’t play in many games from now until March. Anja is still busy practicing for three dance shows, the first of which is in February.
For Christmas itself my sister and her family came over and it was the first time that all of us were together as a family for Christmas. We are quite spoiled for Christmas because Mette is Danish and they celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th. So every year we have a big Danish Christmas dinner on the 24th followed by our traditional Christmas meal on the 25th. By Boxing Day we can hardly move!
On Christmas Eve were given an amazing show by Mother Nature when a Lunar Halo appeared over our house. We had never seen one before but it truly was an amazing sight.
New Years Eve was another big celebration and we had 22 people around for a meal and party. Our (again Danish) tradition is to wear funny hats all night and there was lots of eating, drinking, dancing and fun.
No more snow as yet, more rain and some sharp frosts but the snow is holding off for the time being. Us big kids will just have to wait a little longer for the next play in the snow.

Here on Vancouver Island we have a Storm season and this runs from November to January. During this time it can be wet and also have spells of high winds. This November was no different and we had a number of these just to let us know that Winter is here.
Anja went on a weekend camp with a club and enjoyed that. She went last year and made some friends and looked forward to meeting up with them again this year. Because it is not a Summer camp and the cold weather, they stay in dormitory accommodation rather than tents.
Daniels basketball season has now officially started and he went off to Vancouver for a weekend tournament. A good thing about getting into sport here is the traveling that comes with it. During the year, with his school and other basketball clubs, Daniel will travel up and down Vancouver Island, travel to Vancouver for a few weekends and also go to the U.S for tournaments and training.
We went to Victoria and saw the Harlem Globetrotters Basketball team. A very entertaining evening, both in the basketball skills these players possess and the fun and laughter they provide throughout the game. Well worth seeing if they come to the UK.
My parents have arrived for a holiday and are staying until mid-January. They are sharing the time between us and my sister in North Vancouver. My parents and my sister and her family are coming over for Christmas so there will be 11 of us around the table this year.
The first snow arrived and made the landscape look really pretty. We have been informed by the weather forecasters that this year could be the coldest Winter for 15 years so we are keeping our fingers crossed for a White Christmas.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope that 2008 will bring along some more visas to those waiting and the opportunity to emigrate and start your Canadian life.