Sunny Sunday, for a Change!

The weather report on the television shows wave after wave of rain moving in from the Pacific. It's daunting, and when we do have a break, everyone heads outside. On Sunday, Tim and I went for lunch at the Sea Glass restaurant in Sidney. It's a pretty place, decorated in clear greens and blues that evoke the sea, with stained and coloured glass throughout. 

We went with a gift card in our pockets, a gift from our son and daughter-in-law for Christmas. Our meal was lovely - a Tomato Sausage Soup, and a Mediterranean Chicken Sandwich with roasted vegetables. As we were leaving, Tim realized that he had paid with the credit card and totally forgot about the gift card. I suppose we'll have to go back now. (Not a hardship at all.) 

On our way home we stopped at Island View Beach for a walk. There was a little breeze and it was chilly walking against it, but how blue the water was, and how pretty the waves splashing up onto the shore. 

In the distance is a small piece of land known as D'Arcy Island. It holds a sad and shameful story. In the 1890s, in Victoria's Chinatown, officials discovered 7 people with leprosy. Racism and fear prompted the building of a leper colony on D'Arcy Island where these people lived out their lives. Supplies arrived every three months, but there was no actual medical care until 1906. Such a sad story. 

Now the island is a marine park, accessible by private boats and kayaks. We've not visited yet, but I would like to, one day.

Brown dry plants rustle in the breeze and look a bit forlorn these days, having been battered by the winter storms. However, if you look closely at the branches of the trees, swelling buds are visible, hopeful signs of spring. 

Up curl the waves onto the rocks. 

As we made our way home mid-afternoon, the mist began to rise in the fields beyond the beach. Light slanted low against the piles of driftwood, reminding us that although winter is easing, it is not yet finished. 

Home again to a fire, to creamy butternut squash soup, rye bread, cheese, and salad. A perfectly lovely ending to a perfectly lovely day.