I have started swimming with Suede on Tuesday nights after she walks dogs at the SPCA. The first time was a bit difficult. I wasn’t wearing goggles, and I can’t stand water in my eyes. Breathing was difficult, swimming was very hard. Every time I went to take a breath, I would lift my head out of the water, and this would cause my feet to sink. It was still good to be out in the pool, but it was very hard work.

Last week I borrowed some goggles from Suede. Much better. I could get my face in the water and stroke much better, but I couldn’t figure out the breathing part. I would hold my breath too long, then when I needed to breath, often I would be in mid stroke on the wrong side. I would get out of breath quickly, then need to lift my head out of the water to gasp in a few breaths. Again, this slowed me down a lot, and made swimming more difficult. Suede gave me a couple pointers, and I tried them, but couldn’t get the hang of it.

Last night was another progression. Each time I lifted my left arm out of the water I took a quick breath, then exhaled through the water when I stroked with my right arm. This worked great as long as I could keep the rythm. Anytime I got out of sync things fell apart, but I could see the light. Being able to breath made swimming a lot more enjoyable! Last night I swam 350 or 400m. I still find it easy to lose track of how much I have swam.

It is interesting trying new sports, and seeing how I can pick them up. Some are easier than others, but it is usually fun to try something new. Swimming sure is a good workout though. My shoulders are a little tight and sore this morning, so I know I must have been pushing myself.

Sunday KaptainK and JJ, myself and Suede, and JennV went for a wonderful trek out at Thetis Lake. The snow was a lot deeper there than in town, and it was quite beautiful to be out in. Of course the dogs that came with us absolutely loved it too. We took a different trail than normal and it took us up high to a lookout over the lake. It was pretty amazing. There was lots of snow, but the temp was just perfect for a nice walk. The trail had been packed down quite a bit which made it easy to follow the trail, but a little slippery at times, especially for JJ who was wearing running shoes. 🙂

Pics are here.

Of course now the snow is almost completely gone, and I am a little sad. It was pretty nice to see while it was here, and getting around was only difficult for a day or so. We might get some more before the weekend, but it is unlikely we will get as much as the last dump.

Snow days are here again! We have had cold and snowy weather the past few days here in Victoria, and I must admit that it is pretty nice to get snow once in a while, as long as it doesn’t stay around too long. This morning Suede and I took Yoshi for a quick spin at the park before having to run some errands. He and Digger will get a better walk this afternoon.

On the way home these ice and snow encrusted ferns caught my attention. There were lots of icicles hanging off this rock, but the way the ice surrounded the ferns was pretty cool.

I did some playing in Paintshop with a few of these. The above one I aplied a soft focus filter.

This picture I changed to black and white, then darkened the darks a bit.

I duplicated this picture, deepend the colors, merged back to the original, then applied the soft focus. I like the way it looks. Kind of dream like.

I tried to make this picture colder looking by duplicating it, adding a blue filter, then merging back to the original.

Our cat Aprhodite is none too impressed with the white stuff.

Over the Christmas Holiday this year I had a very relaxing time, and took quite a few pictures. For the first time ever for either of us, Suede and I woke up Christmas morning in our own bed. My mom and sister had come down the night before with my moms dog Kodi. Yoshi and Sheba were a little confused by Kodi (a long haired Chihuahua). Christmas morning was relaxed with just the 4 of us. We opened our presents, then ate an awesome brunch of home made eggs benedict. Yum! Later in the day Suede’s dad and step-mom arrived, and we set about making Christmas dinner. Again, and awesome meal. KaptainK and JJ also came by for dinner, and brought their faithful companion Big D. In case you weren’t keeping track, that was 8 people, and 4 dogs at out place for dinner that night.

The rest of the past week has been a bit of a blur. Dogs walks pretty much every day. Mountains of laundry, and dishes were done. More people visited. Then the cleanup. Taking down the tree, putting away the decorations, putting away the loot. Phew, exhausting. I almost need a break from my vacation.

My Christmas gallery is here, and the slideshow is here.

Sunday Suede and I treated her mom, my mom, and my sister to a play at the Belfry. Since it is Christmas time, we chose a Christmas play. The twist was that it was an improv play. In fact, the title was A Twisted Christmas Carol.

In a word it was hilarious. Hands down this was the funniest improv I have seen. The plot follows that of the book, but it is made modern through suggestions from the crowd. Some of the the changes involved the characters, some of then involved the scenes. For example in our play, Scrooges business was transformed into a Ballroom Dance studio instead of the classic accounting firm. The set was magnificent. The backdrop they used throughout was that of a huge advent calendar. Made for some interesting cast entrances.

If you are looking for something to do this holiday season, I can’t recommend this show enough. Call and order tickets right now. You won’t be disappointed.

Friday nights party was quite a bit of fun. The limo picked us up around 5:15, and for the next hour and a bit we toured Victoria picking up other people. Once we arrived at Sauce I was introduced toa bunch of people, and the party got going. There was an open bar, an appies sitting out when we arrived. Around 7:30 the buffet dinner was served, and it was pretty good. After dinner the draw prizes were given away (Suede won a $20 gift certificate to Sauce), then the DJ started. He was alright, but he had a few problems with a few songs.

As the night wore on, the dancing on the tables started. It was quite funny to watch the reactions of passersby on the street when they saw the ladies dancing on the tables.

As the music got louder I started to not have as much fun as I was. I ended up leaving a little earlier than Sue, but still had a great time.