RainDrops

A season to remember

25-June-26 / Tisha / 0 Comments

We experienced some memorable moments this spring.

Our favourite skater Kaori Sakamoto officially retired from competitive skating in March—but not before completing her last ever free skate with perfection, earning herself a 4th World Championship title along with a personal best score. The joy we felt for her in that incredible moment remains with me, months later.

What a privilege to have seen her compete this year.

The weather the past few months has also been unseasonably delightful (and the outdoor plants approve). We’ve gone on local adventures (including another Stars on Ice show to see our Canadian skaters), spent time in the company of longtime friends, and seen the dogs through full recovery from a couple of injuries. Now Shane has been temporarily working from home full-time while Vancouver hosts part of the FIFA World Cup.

House Flowers

Vancouver Aquarium Visit (including sloth and axolotl sightings!)

Happy Puppies

Grouse Mountain Visit (including a ride in the new smaller gondolas!)

With all the uncertainty we’re dealing with this spring, I’m extra grateful for each little moment of grace.

Lego land Lord of the Rings

15-May-26 / Tisha / 10 Comments

Shane has decided to re-engage with his Lego hobby! His latest build was a beautiful 6167-piece Rivendell, the nature-based home of the elves in Lord of the Rings.

It came with lots of brick varieties to create multiple shapes and textures

I love the Lego people statues here, as well as all the ferns and other greenery

Where the council met, with Gandalf, Frodo (carrying the ring), Elrond, Bilbo, and Gimli

The colours of all the trees really popped

Merry, Pippin, and Sam (by the lembas bread snack table of course)

Garden gazebo with Arwen (reading the book) and Legolas (down by the bridge)

Another version of Gandalf (the figurines could be redressed to wear headgear or not and to stand or sit)

Boromir and Aragorn down by the forge (the mushrooms you see here all glow in the dark!)

The forge, which sits just outside the weapons room

View from the side (the roof tiles were one of the more tedious parts to put together I’m told)

Main building (I love the tiled first floor)

The candles were well-spaced to give regular light around all the rooms =)

We hope you enjoyed this little tour! Another set will likely be coming soon to a blog post near you.

Back (brutally) to reality

24-March-26 / Tisha / 8 Comments

The months since our return from being abroad have been rather challenging.

Not long after getting home, we discovered the dogs had each developed a strange lump: River on his backside and Tilly along her rib cage. Our initial trip to the vet ended with a suspected cancer diagnosis for both of them, which was devastating to hear.

Thankfully, River’s issue turned out to be an infection that we were able to resolve with a procedure and medication.

Tilly unfortunately had her cancer confirmed. It took several agonizing months (and a preliminary surgery) to get a full picture of what was going on and schedule time with a specialist. Finally in February, Tilly had the mass removed.

Our poor girl spent three weeks in house lock-down afterward so she could heal. She is nearly recovered now, and even slowly regrowing her fur. With no signs of further spread or other symptoms, we’re hopeful she’s on the mend for good…

During this same period of time, I received bad news about my work situation. Although the details are still being sorted out, it probably won’t be long before I have to leave the role I’ve held for the last twelve years.

This loss coupled with weird rumours about the border and dual citizenship made us wonder if we might need to move back to the (lower-cost-of-living) States for a while. Shane has been applying for jobs to gauge interest—a change of this scale is not necessarily what we will do, but we want to be prepared.

So yeah…it’s been a lot.

Yet despite everything, the sun still rises and sets (often beautifully).