Tuesday, February 15, 2011




Day Five
February 10th


Our last full day and night at PNP this Feb 2011. Over the past few days I have been trying to keep waking up at least shortly after 6am.... We have been going to bed around 10pm and so the amount of sleep is closer to 8 hrs... though my body craves more. And yet – I am fully aware or try and keep aware of the fact that in two days back in Arnprior I have a class with 3 or 4 children preparing for the Sacrament of reconciliation and I will have to be getting up at the latest 5:30 BC time (8:30 Arnprior), to get the space prepared (and me prepared!) for 7am BC time teaching (10:00 Arnprior). I was hoping that Andris would keep sleeping like he did yesterday – but today he is up with me – I made coffee, he poured it and sliced a piece of bread for each of us. A calm morning.

Andris was still antsy to go for a drive to Port Renfrew – so (I hope he truly didn’t mind... he’d never tell me if he did... mind, that is....) off he went in that direction and shortly thereafter (it was around 8:30am) I headed off to the beach, sketch pad, pencil, and paints at hand – plus blanket to sit upon. I started to sketch a tree soon after going through the gate. However, after about 10 minutes, I decided that I should really go to where there was something a bit more “unusual”. My first “real” sketch was of the windswept tree. It felt good to draw... not that how I was drawing was necessarily the thing coming out the way I saw it. I went down to the beach and at first was planning to take crayons out to draw/colour rocks, but the crayons were back in the cabin. So I decided to go back to sketch – maybe something “interesting”. Why I chose the most gnarly tree stump/root, I don’t know. In retrospect it was probably pride to show I could. While it was interesting, my pride did not have to grow from the result. Then came watercolour – acrylics attempt. I spent most of the time “trying” things – since I certainly had forgotten most of whatever anyone had taught me (sorry Mr Hyndeman!) Again a humbling experience. Mind you, the actor or peacock in me was imagining Andris coming down and seeing me from a distance, taking a great outdoorsy portrait: Anda painting rocks from the rocks. What I didn’t know was that the big camera had died while Andris tried to take a short clip out by Port Renfrew.
Ah Pride strikes again....

We went to the local restaurant for lunch (I think both of us agree that the place, though greatly recommended, and though fine, is not the “exquisite” we expected. But the restaurant HAS been closed for over a month. Perhaps it needs to get back into form.

We took our daily trip to Sooke to check the phones and internet (though until I had already packed up the first time, I thought I had left the Bell stick at the cabin – and so was delayed.) While I tried to quickly check things Andris went for a stroll – looking by chance at a real estate place window of sales (we could never afford to move here – I guess it will have to be Twillingate!) and bought a $20 BC ticket. Expensive? Yes. BUT on the ticket we won in 2 games for a total of $60 – that is a $40 profit. Not enough to by a place but enough to cover our gas expenses!

Back at the cabin I took a tub while Andris napped (a first – ie me in before him) but since then he has been in at least twice and plans a third time before bed.

And so the real DO NOTHING holiday is coming to an end. And I would come back to do the same “nothing” in a heartbeat.

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