Our Kitchen

Although we did a house renovation last summer, I have never taken finished pictures of our kitchen.  Why?  In the fall, directly after the reno, Max started high school, I started a new job, and my mom was quite ill.  September began and it didn't stop being crazy until June.  Above, is our induction stove and our oven, both by Miele.

Open shelving above the sink.  Although this is very trendy right now, we love how we can easily access our daily use items.

 We moved the sink to under the sky lights windows, which are not visible in this picture. 

 We wanted white and simple.  Our kitchen is small, so we wanted it to seem larger; thus we didn't use pulls on the cabinets.  We went with high gloss white cabinets.  The counter is Corian.  We had a small minimal hood fan as well, keeping in line with the smaller nature of our space.

 Windows in the corner.

Partial view of the skylights above.

 We moved the fridge to the opposite wall and had it built in. 

 Looking into the dining room area where the counter wraps around and extends down the back wall.

Simple white tiles.

 Microwave undermounted below the counter.

 Pull out corner shelves.

A view from the dining room table.  Cabinets above with dishes, cookbooks, and glasses.  We love our kitchen and how modern it feels.  

A Visit to UBC

The boys and I visited UBC this week, as I wanted to show them the new Student Union Building (SUB), or "The Nest" as it is now called.  The SUB is a 1970's building that is dark, depressing, and very dated.  The new Student Building is beautiful.

 The new entrance to The Pit PUB.... I didn't go inside to see whether or not it had changed, but the entrance is ultra modern.

 This is the new Alumni Centre.   It is smack in the middle of the campus, where the bus loop used to be (for those of us who were at UBC in the 80's!)  It is also modern and beautiful!  I wondered why it was in the middle of the campus and how often it would be used....think alumni.  However, very impressive building. 

 Bruno with his 10 dollar protein shake, with the Alumni building behind.  Made me think of when I was at UBC:  struggling student, backpack, and everything being relatively low key.  It was the late 80's, early 90's.  Seems like a different campus and a different world.

Max:  thinking about the future?  Max took his pre-lifeguard courses through a camp up at Simon Fraser University this summer.  Thought it would be great to show him another campus.  In terms of infrastructure, SFU is completely depressing in contrast to UBC.  However, it is the faculty that are important, not the shiny new buildings.  Yet, you want your child to be inspired by where they attend.  So, UBC is definitely on the list - wonder if it will be a possibility in 4 more years?

Inside The Nest, or new student building.  It reminded me of the Vancouver Airport for some reason.  Lots of light, space, concrete and wood.  I loved these huge concrete stairs the boys are sitting on.

Looking up at the nest?  We didn't find out what was inside this structure.  Very interesting!

Different levels of the building.  Wonderful windows.

I think I want to go back to university.  

June 2015

School is nearly over!  Max finished Grade 8 at Notre Dame and Bruno has two weeks left for Grade 6 at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary. 

Both boys are ready for a relaxing summer!

Pyjama days, homework, and chocolate cake

 Some of the things we did over spring break....

Max made our favourite flourless Chocolate cake- his latest obsession.

Bruno actually allowing me to take his picture...and he's smiling!

And being a bit cheeky!

Having our Pyjama day.  
The rules are that you:  1. Don't go outside all day.  2. You wear your pj's all day.

Boris, as usual...is trolling for food scraps from the table!

Pyjama days work best when it is grey and rainy outside.

Having a huge English assignment due also adds to the experience of staying inside.....craving chocolate cake...and being cosy!

Lack of snow....means skiing sadness!

This had been one of the worst ski seasons ever.  I haven't skied this season because there has been no snow.  We cancelled our usual end of ski season trip to Sun Peaks because we were tired and worn out by such a lack-lustre year.  We just decided to hang up our skis early, and move on.

So this spring break, instead of being active in the mountains, we have relaxed at home, and taken a huge break from the world.

January - March has been a really busy time.  Now the boys are getting ready for track and field practices, football, and swimming.   This year, I hope to introduce them to rowing.  Let spring begin! 

Leaving Gifted Education

On Friday the 13th, I decided to put my job card in and leave the job I have been in since October.  I was the gifted mentor teacher for the district I work in, but I am leaving this role to go back to the classroom and be a teacher working directly with students. 

I am really excited to be leaving this job, which I never was sure about, and found it to be impossible, beyond challenging, and too political.  I was stuck at a cubicle!!!  

I realized I wanted to leave this job as I was becoming angrier every single day!! I am not an angry person, but I was becoming so frustrated with every little aspect of the job and it was beginning to get bitter and the thought of doing this for another two years made me really sad.  

So, I don't know where I am going or what grade I will be teaching, but I am looking forward to the possibilities and chance to make meaningful connections with students, once again.

I have so much to learn, but I am excited to be moving forward!  Good bye gifted education!  I will always use what I have learned in this field, and I will always have an interest in the highly able learner, but it is time to take a break and move in a new direction.

Max at Provincials

The 2015 Provincials were held at Silverstar Mountain this year.  Here are some great shots of Max.  Thank you to the photography company who took these photos:  Kiss the Monkey Photography.  Great shots!

The ski season has been so awful that we are cutting it short this year, and not going to Sun Peaks, our annual ski destination for the Nancy Greene Festival.

So terribly sad.  I didn't even ski this year!

Tyrol Lodge

 Last weekend, we stayed at the Tyrol Lodge at Whistler, as Max competed in a ski race, and Bruno skied with his team. Conditions are so terrible on our local mountains that we are now skiing at Whistler for our weekend skiing.  We are praying for more snow on our local mountains, but I am afraid that the season may be over for Grouse Mountain.  

This year, we became members of the Tyrol Lodge, which is a fantastic piece of Whistler history.  I remember staying here in high school in the early '80's, with my friend, whose father was one of the founding members of the Lodge.  My friend and I took the train up to Whistler, got off at the Nita Lake stop, and walked along the train tracks to the lodge.  Can you believe that a passenger train went up to Whistler that allowed one to ski for the day and return home at night?  

There are no longer places like this at Whistler. The lodge, nearing 50 years, is a relic of time past - of the old way of spending a ski weekend with family and friends.  Together!

There is a communal seating area, with couches, board games, and books.  Although there is wireless internet, there are no TV's.  This is a place, where after skiing, you spend time with family and friends.

 I love the red wood burning fireplace!

The caretaker's lodge.

The best part is the communal kitchen, with four separate cooking spaces. Brilliant and wonderful.  Each family takes turn cooking meals, and then eating the meal in either the kitchen area or in the dining room. In these kitchenette's you feel transported back in time.  And, there are not dishwashers - the kids actually have to learn to dry their own dishes!

The kitchen eating area:  great for early morning breakfasts.

Living Room and eating area.

The only challenge is hiking down a long path to the lodge.  You need to bring your food and bedding to the lodge, as well, which can add to your luggage!  Here the boys are hiking down to the lodge with their skins, getting ready to wax for the next day!

Here is a link to Tyrol Lodge
A great place to stay, and be part of Whistler's history.  It is important that we have places like this that allow skiing at Whistler to still be possible for families.