Today/Tuesday was such a great day, kicked off with the notification for booking my second jab! I'll be joining the ranks of the fully-vaccinated as of July 13th. Woo!
I also must thank Lucy AGAIN, as she submitted our Fashion Conversation (link
here, 'cause I love) to the International Fashion Bloggers (IFB) e-newsletter, and we are featured! So cool!
And of course, good things come in threes, and while my province/BC is doing REALLY well, Covid-wise, my company is waiting till fall to bring my colleagues back to the office. This means I'll continue to work my 3 days a week until September, and it also means that things are opening up more as my fellow Canucks get their second jabs...and
that means, I can, should and will be doing more in-person activities with my friends...and Mom!
Back in my retail days (30 years ago), Mom and I used to go on hikes, walks and explored parks around Victoria on my days off. We have had a lot of growth in our relationship this past year through our Zoom calls, and realizing how much we both need and want to see each other, we're going to start doing this again this summer. There are so many amazing places in Victoria, and I'm excited to share them with you!
- Laurie Dress - no label, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) for the Mrs. Roper Pool Party last July 2021
- Sandals - Born, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) with a beaded kimono for Nick's 60th birthday in August 2021
So, today I got dressed ready for an adventure with Mom. I completely love this wonderful vintage maxi dress.
And I finally came up with a name for it.
It's the Laurie Dress! Why? Because Laurie is one of my favourite blog readers - and I wore this when I met her!
Laurie mentioned in the comments one day back in late 2017/early 2018 that she and her husband, Fred, and their son Robin were going to be coming to Victoria! We connected and met up
here (scroll down a bit) in June 2018.
My blog-friends (readers and fellow bloggers) have been hugely important to me over the past 18+ months. A sincere "Thank you" to all of you - your blogs, your comments and your good vibes have been a lifeline for me.
*big mushy virtual hugs*
Anyway, Laurie, this is for you! I hope you'll come back here one day! To any of my other friends out there, if you happen to make it out to the west coast of Canada (Vancouver or Victoria), drop me a line (my email's in my profile) and we'll connect for a coffee if you're shy, or a full-on shopping expedition and lunch if you're not. I love meeting up with y'all!
Masked up for brief forays indoors around people. I forgot my sunglasses at work on Monday - I'm not used to having them yet.
- Mask - Lazy Susan's
- Leather purse - Arcadia, consignment
The stuff:
These poor sandals have been neglected over the past year - they're one of my most comfortable pairs of Ulti/shopping/traveling/walking footwear. I've had them for around 8 years, and have easily worn them a hundred times (I will not inflict a Flashback of them on you!).
Copper and white bling:
I got a raised eyebrow and a nod, as Mom recognized this 70s belt of hers. I still get the business for "liberating" a bunch of her stuff in the 80s, ha ha! Hey, she wasn't wearing it!
- Belt - vintage 70s, Mom's
- Copper cuff - Karen's
- Copper ball cuff - vintage 70s, vintage expo
- Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
- Wood ring - Dots
- Copper/enamel necklace and earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 60s, vintage expo
I did take only the best stuff, though - Mom has good taste.
For our first Adventure Day, Mom suggested Finnerty Gardens. They are on the University of Victoria (UVic) campus - official website
here and the 4.5 minute walk-around video of springtime there is a must for garden lovers.
Both Mom and I are graduates of UVic; me with a BA in Linguistics, and Mom with a BEd in Early Childhood and Art Education (updated from Mom).
When she attended in the early 60s (thanks for the update, Mom), it was mostly swampland. She crossed the campus on boards, and some of the buildings were
quonset huts. It was slightly better when she went back in the 70s.
It had about 8 actual buildings when I first attended in 1985, and even more when I went back in 1998 (grad 2000!).
It's filled with buildings now! UVic's campus is based in and around Ring Road, which is a giant circle. It's pretty cool to drive and gawk at everything.
We missed our parking turn-off, so we went around again! Good, I missed some stuff.
Ah, the Student Union Building, aka The Sub. I have many memories of this place. Cheap fries, cheap beer, and cheap movies (Cinecenta is an awesome movie theatre).
We found our parking lot and entered the gardens from the gate beside the Interfaith Chapel.
This is where L and I got married!
I peeked through the glass, as it was closed.
Aw, L and I said our vows right there at the end (pic
here). We had a ton of pictures taken in Finnerty Gardens after the wedding, but it was a rainy day, and I was highly distracted by the whole Wedding Day Thing, so I didn't really pay attention to my environment, and I've never been back here.
There were a few of these helpful maps around. We kind of wandered chaotically.
There are areas for specific species of plants (like rhododendrons, maples) and environment (like a bog and ponds). It looked like a huge walk, but ended up being around 90 minutes at a slow, meandering pace. We didn't do the entire thing, more like two-thirds.
The temperatures have finally broken! We woke up to a light breeze, and that stifling heat is gone. It was still hot for this time of year (in the mid-20s), but so much more bearable with the breeze.
There are benches all over, with dedication plaques on them.
The trees loomed over us at all times, with the hot sun forking through the branches.
The air was abuzz with insects.
Doesn't Mom look fabulous? I love those genie pants. She had a pop of red in her purse.
We peeked into algae-covered ponds,
All of the plants are enormous.
See the fish swimming upstream?
I felt so calm and happy. Thanks for the pic, Mom!
Mom was scouting for spots for her painting group.
They like to paint "en plein air", something Mom and I have done many times together.
All this in the corner of a university campus.
Nature is so soothing.
Aren't the paths enticing?
I'll have to bring L here.
Mom forgot her hat so she borrowed mine.
The plants and trees smelled rich and warm. Lots of pollen (I'm stuffed up).
There were butterflies and dragonflies flitting about.
It's a swallowtail! Look at that show-off.
I heard a very sharp twirping near us.
I do not know what kind of bird this is.
But he seemed to like posing.
It's almost like a jungle in places.
Giant white irises.
Mom and I sat on this bench for a while and just soaked it in.
I kicked off my shoes and laid on the grass. It felt amazing.
I love these big spiking things.
This will not surprise you if you remember my Christmas decorations.
So green!
There are watering systems throughout the gardens.
Spring's bright colours have faded into a thousand greens.
I spotted lichen in this tree.
Cedars are so west coast.
I watched an osprey circle far overhead. A pair built a nest in the lights of the athletic field - check out the amazing webcam
here from the University.
This makes me want to wear a blue and green outfit.
So inspiring.
This bamboo stand appealed to me.
Green algae on the pond behind it.
This might have been my favourite spot.
A stream gurgling over rocks.
The mesmerizing interplay of light and shadow.
These are my favourite trees. I love the gnarled branches.
They are arbutus (are-byoo-tiss) trees, and are only found in this part of the world. They shed their bark (you can peel it like paper) and have big leaves (link
here).
And as we turned the corner...
Our path led back to the gate.
Even outside of the gardens, Victoria has enormous trees all over.
Those white blooms on the tree outside the Chapel were bigger than my hand.
More arbutus trees in the parking area.
We drove through the chi-chi Uplands neighbourhood, along Beach Drive to the Oak Bay Marina.
The Oak Bay Beach Hotel is across the bay. I've been there many times (both the old OBBH and the new one).
A perfect day for a sail.
When I was a kid there was a tourist attraction called "Sealand of the Pacific" on this site in addition to the marina. It featured performing orcas, seals, sea lions, otters and tanks full of octopi and local sealife. It was a different time...and you should check out the short Wikipedia page on it (
here) - some pretty shocking stuff went down here with the whales!
While Sealand has been closed for decades, the Marina has carried on.
I believe there are proposals to redevelop it, so it's nice to be able to check it out before that happens.
I adore this 1964 polygonal building. About it
here, from UVic. The zigzag roofline - eee!
I have memories of a few family dinners in the Marina restaurant on the top level.
The level below it is a café, which is where we each enjoyed a fizzy water and a salmon salad/arugula sandwich (all local salmon).
A sweet view. Many folks were loading up for a Canada Day vacation.
Here's to more Adventure Days!
Love you, Mom - thank you for such a wonderful day!
Vizzini was happy to see me when I got home.
"I approve of this temperature, thank you."
He'll be scampering around again soon.
"You had SALMON for lunch and you didn't bring any for me?"
Here's to warm - but not TOO warm - days ahead.
"I will allow this."
Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends!
I have three jumpsuits total (we just saw this one last week), and this is my only solid-colour one.
Why on earth would you put a white zipper in an orange jumpsuit? It boggles the mind. 
An orange highlighter! 
You can kind of see how the orange highlighter coloured the white fabric of the zipper - the arrow shows where I stopped to take the picture. It did make a difference, and the white is less noticeable along the zip. I felt very clever indeed! 
My Converse are only for walking to and from work. I am Klassy that way! 
It was for sun coverage, not for warmth, although I did become chilly in the office. 
These are ugly shoes, but I love them. The lasts are actually wood.
I think my Grandma J would be tickled that I'm still wearing her earrings and ring after all these years. 
