Friday evening I had my first hiccough with the new website. While I have had a blog on and off for several years, this is the first time that I have dabbled with my own domain name. Following the advice of many pro bloggers I decided to use wordpress.org as my blogging design platform which means my blog is hosted elsewhere and having my blog hosted elsewhere is possibly what saved it. It would be a dream come true to…
I had the best time in Norway, largely thanks to my Scandinavian hosts, although the country itself was stunning – and I didn’t even explore the most popular natural beauty spots. My trip to Oslo was booked almost as an after-thought to visit a Norwegian friend from high school. We’ve been friends for over ten years and hadn’t seen each other since 2005 so we were well over-due a catch up. It honestly was fantastic to reconnect with a friend from…
Around a year ago I wrote a post asking for travel suggestions within Europe as I had booked a ticket for this past summer. I am happy to confirm that the trip was a success and I had an amazing time visiting family and friends in familiar places as well as checking out some new destinations. In the next few posts I will write about the highlights of the trip and things to do in each of the destinations. My…
Moving to a foreign country can be a wonderful opportunity to learn a new language and to experience a new culture. Moving to Canada is no different. Canada is officially bilingual so you will have the opportunity to put those school French lessons to good use (depending on the region). The First Nations of Canada have their own languages such as Ojibway and in my current location Kwak’wala and many people are making efforts to preserve their native languages and…
For the second time in the space of four days I am sat in candle-lit darkness. It is not uncommon for rural areas in Canada to experience frequent power cuts, especially if power lines are surrounded by trees like we are here. Last year, several times, my residential area was affected by trees pulling down power cables and blocking the route into town. Once in a while the power outages go beyond my residential area, affecting the entire region; today…
I write this blog primarily as a way of encouraging myself to look for the extraordinary in the ordinary and to find joy in the everyday things that I do. Since its inception in 2010, it has been a hobby for me and a way of filling in any periods of free time while offering a creative outlet. In recent months (or rather years) I haven’t been keeping on top of regular blog-posting and general web maintenance. Sometimes I feel…
It’s been a little over a year since my last blogpost and as usual it feels like everything and nothing has changed. I continue to search out new ways to pass the time on the north of Vancouver Island. This week I discovered a different aspect of the small-town spirit here in Port Hardy as the town came together to celebrate Halloween on the day of the dead in the form of a Pumpkin Patch Walk. Last year I didn’t…
Although this blog is mainly about my experiences of the places I live or travel to and things to see, eat, or do, every now and again I write about tidbits from my life because why not? It’s my blog. I’ll use it as I please! I wanted to write about my recent trip to the cities of Vancouver and Victoria but was hit by writer’s block… Since my last blog entry I have been recontacted by two people that…
This week the mailbox has been extrordinarily full with letters from old friends and new penpals. A few years ago, when I participated in a European study abroad program (ERASMUS), some of my friends and I kept in touch by regularly writing letters to one another. We were all away doing our own thing and exploring various European countries so we usually had a lot to write home about and I still get excited about receiving personal letters and postcards….
Despite working on average more hours than I have ever worked before, I can’t help but notice that since moving to Vancouver Island I am far less stressed than before. While some of this is due to leaving behind a source of negativity, a lot of it has to do with being close to nature. As I have mentioned before, Northern Vancouver Island is a wilderness destination. It’s an outdoor lovers’ paradise with hiking trails, fishing, and an abundant rainforest…