The snow has now gone and the grass and plants are growing. We have been busy in the garden getting the vegetables planted – looking forward to enjoying them later in the year.
The real estate market is picking up again now that Spring is here and Mette is keeping very busy, it’s a good job she loves her job the amount of hours she puts in. I am busy again now that the grass is growing and a long Summer lies ahead, with hopefully good weather.
Daniels basketball season went well. They won a lot of games and won the North Vancouver Island Championship. They made the final of the Vancouver Island Championship but unfortunately lost so the high school basketball season is done for now. Daniel will be trying out with a club team called Victoria Prep for the Summer and they travel to tournaments in BC and the US so hopefully that should go well. He is still learning to drive and will soon take his test.
Anja is still dancing and getting ready for her end of year show in Duncan. She has also started getting involved with local drama societies and has a part in a production of The Jungle Book.
We now have two new additions to the family. We have got a Calico cat called Jellybean from the SPCA and we have a Goldendoodle puppy called Charlie. They have both fitted in really well with our other dog and cat and are a joy to have.
We went to Portland to watch a couple of NBA games and look forward to going to some more in the future. That is another advantage of living here is that we drive to the US quite quickly from here.
We also participated in a 27 kilometre charity walk around Shawnigan Lake. It was obviously physical but was also fun spending time together and being out in the nature and we completed it in five and a half hours. Even better news was that we entered a raffle and won first prize of a $4000 trip to the Wickinnish Inn in Tofino. We look forward to enjoying that!
We still enjoy hearing from you and having the opportunity to meet some of you so if you have any questions please ask and we will be happy to help when we can.

Winter is definitely here! The snow has fallen and we have had over 2 foot of snow! Not only that but it has been laying for a few weeks now. The temperature has been down below freezing for much of the time with a low of minus 16. We have spent time without power and spent time without water after the outlet from our well froze up but……we love it, it is all good. Some people may think we are mad but this is what rural Canadian living is all about. We even enjoyed a White Christmas and that takes some beating eh! We also had the opportunity to take a nice long walk on the frozen water of Shawnigan Lake while ice hockey games were being played around us and to use some old fashioned snow shoes that we bought at an antique shop in the Summer.
All that snow and cold weather hasn’t stopped us enjoying ourselves and we have met up with quite a few friends, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period. We had our usual New Years Eve party and festivities were enjoyed and a new year welcomed in.
Daniels basketball season is going well and they won the Cowichan Welcome Back Tournament to start the season. There are lots more tournaments and games to go yet. Anja is back to dance and practicing vigorously each week for her dance competitions and shows.
Mette had a good year selling houses and is anticipating a busy year for 2009. I have been busy but I am currently quiet due to the aforementioned 2 foot of snow sitting around, although I have been busy shoveling snow to make paths around our house. And at least I managed to get our garlic planted before the snow moved in!
All-in-all 2008 was a good year and we look forward to more of the same for 2009.

We have had quite a lot of visitors over this Summer and it always good to be able to share our Canadian life with friends and family. We have also met up with a few families who have been out here on research trips and we look forward to meeting them again when they emigrate.
The vegetables are growing well and have been enjoyed by us all and we have been busy making and selling jam on the stall outside our property. We are known locally as the jam people!
Daniel has been playing basketball in Summer leagues and men’s leagues and is eager to get back to school for the high school basketball season to start. Daniel is also learning to drive and is doing well at that. Anja has been in dance shows in the Cowichan Theatre and the University of Victoria and enjoys those.
Both of them like having the 10 week long Summer holiday and we have had their friends round enjoying our swimming pool for most of the Summer holidays. We have also had a lot of use from it.
For our family holiday we went to Harrison Hot Springs and Whistler. Harrison Hot Springs was a nice break in, you guessed it, relaxing hot springs. We always enjoy the hot springs and look to try different places. This break also included time spent at a waterslide park. At Whistler we did some hiking, played squash and enjoyed the mountainside facilities. We saw black bears going up in the gondolas and then we went to the very top of Whistler on the chair lifts.
The North American Indigenous Games came to the Cowichan Valley and was a great event. There was lots of sports to see plus cultural shows and frre concerts in the evenings.
School will soon be starting and with that comes the start of basketball season and the dance. More great times!

The weather is still not settled, sometimes hot and sunny, other times wet and cold. Be glad when we finally hit Summer and we can enjoy the sunshine.
I finished planting our vegetables. Been busy planting potatoes, lettuce, sweetcorn, asparagus, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. We have also finished putting up about 150 posts, in 12 rows across our field, ready for our future Blackberry crop.
Daniel had an up and down time regarding his basketball. The up was that he was chosen to attend a Supercamp with around 80 other boys and from this camp the U16 British Columbia Provincial Basketball Team would be chosen. We went across to Vancouver for the weekend for this camp and he played really well and was invited back the following weekend for the final top 20 players selection camp. Another weekend was enjoyed in Vancouver and although Daniel played well he wasn’t one of the 12 selected for the team. He was disappointed but now has a focus to break the top 12 next year and make the team.
Now for the down! Four days after this final selection camp Daniel was playing in a game and he was jumping but landed badly on the side of his foot and damaged the ligaments in his ankle. His ankle swelled up like a balloon and was very bruised and at first the hospital thought he had broken it. He has been hobbling around on crutches and is resigned to no basketball for a while. Perhaps it was a good job he didn’t make the BC Team as he would now not be able to play.
Anja is still enjoying dancing, swimming and volunteering at our local hospital and has now added horse riding to her busy schedule. She rode horses for a while when we lived in England but hasn’t ridden for four years. She is enjoying it and is doing well at it. She is also working in the stables to pay off some of her horse riding lessons.
Mette’s mum has been over for a couple of weeks holiday and brought Mette’s brother with her this time. Mette’s mum has been here before but this was the first time her brother had been over to Canada.
We have been busy working, me with lawn mowing, Mette with Real Estate and both of us with our emigration website and meeting people who have been over here on fact finding trips. We enjoy meeting people and sharing our beautiful part of the world so if anyone is coming over on a holiday and would like to meet up please do not hesitate to contact us, we are glad to help and answer your questions where we can.

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!