The year that seemed to last forever, finally ended. The year taught us a lot. We learned to connect and do things differently. Being in a "bubble" was not only a sign of friendship, but of trust.
We listened to health reports, wore masks, washed our hands and thought things through before doing pretty well anything. We cared for friends and family who went through tough times - sometimes virtually, sometimes by donning a mask and delivering food. Zoom happy hours, birthdays and celebrations became highlights of our days. And we watched a lot of Netflix.
With Covid-19 numbers low on the Island during the summer, and many restrictions lifted, we went on a 2 day getaway to Victoria with our "bubble", Bev and Stu Shaw. We walked and walked - found great outdoor pubs and had fun feeling like things were almost "normal".
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| Walked to the top of Mount Douglas and were rewarded with a magnificent view |
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| Empress Hotel and the harbour |
Realizing he was never going to be a die hard fisherman, Roger decided to buy a different boat that would be better for entertaining which we love to do on the water. Within a few days we sold our fishing boat and bought a 25' Chapparal that even with an open bow has a bathroom - so I'm a happy first mate.
We discovered a beautiful lake just an hour west of us that reminded us of Lake Pend O'Reille in Idaho. Great Central Lake has crystal clear water, mountains that come down to the shoreline, and very few boats. The only thing missing were fun restaurants to cruise up to.
Sometimes we went by ourselves, and a couple of times we brought some friends. It was always a fabulous way to spend a day.
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| Bev and Stu helped us christen the new boat! |
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| Barb and Rob Perry are always happy to spend time on the water |
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| The captain and his first mate |
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| No words needed |
With September coming fast and the fear of a second Covid-19 wave, we made the decision to make a very quick trip to Calgary to see Roger's folks. His dad, at 92 was scheduled for hip replacement so we thought it best to spend a couple of days there before the snow started and expected restrictions got reinstated.
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| A ferry coming into the terminal at Tsawwassen -- what a gorgeous view of the Island in the background |
Laurel and John McPhail stopped by for a quick visit and we went to see the salmon run at Stamp Falls where we saw thousands of salmon fighting their way up the falls and fish ladders to get to their spawning grounds. It was a remarkable sight.
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| You can see a salmon jumping up the falls |
When I was hired, there was one line in my job description that said, "Health and Safety". How hard could that be, I wondered? Writing protocols for Covid-19 was a big challenge, but I'm happy to say we have been safely operating our programs and things are going well. We just launched our new website, www.oblt.ca which has been fun to be a part of and I hope you'll check it out. At times both of our jobs seem less part-time and more full-time, but since there isn't anywhere to go, we're happy being busy.
For the second time since July, I had more skin cancer removed from my nose. Fortunately it was just basal cell, but I feel like I'm running out of real estate on this side of my nose as it's in the same area where I had the bigger surgery 2-1/2 years ago. Ahhhh the sins of our youth (in my case the love of sun tanning with baby oil) come back to haunt you later in life!
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| The other guy looked worse.... |
The Kinley family has hosted the annual Christmas party called "The Boomer" for 134 years. Yes, 134 years. Pretty remarkable, and no pandemic was going to stop them this year. The Boomer was held over Zoom, and we had a great turn out with family in the States, England and all over Canada attending. Ages ranged from a toddler to Roger's Dad and Aunt who are in their 90's. Bravo to our elders for embracing technology!
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| It was a green Christmas in Parksville - and we're o.k. with that! |
The part of Covid-19 that has been hardest of all, is not being able to be with Brad, Anette and Magnus. I know so many are thinking the same about being apart from their loved ones.
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| Our fabulous family |
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| Our sweet Magnus |
Passage from Aunt Victoria’s journal:
“In 1918 came the Spanish Influenza. The boys who left for the war had to wear gauze masks over their faces, and so did everyone who came into town. Theatres, schools, and all public meetings were closed, and still the flu spread. No one knew how it reached the most remote settlements, but it did. Even the lonely bachelors far away from the settlements took it. There were no antibiotics and no real cure or prevention. Some districts were struck much harder than others, and some people never took it at all. So many farm families were down with it that fall, that there was no one to do chores and care for the stock. The few neighbours who had recovered, or who had not yet been ill with it, had to work overtime to do their own chores and their neighbour’s as well.
The Nelson School, in Lacombe, was set up as a hospital and the doctors had no time to go out into the country. They just gave what advice they could, by phone.
The flu struck suddenly. Some of the men who were hauling grain to town were taken ill on the way home. They laid down in their sleigh boxes or wagons and let the horses go home on their own. Some stopped at neighbor’s houses to get help.
Just before Christmas, we drove the car (by this time we had an Overland) out beyond Bentley, to see the homesteads that Father and Robert had taken up. They were in the last habitation, east of the mountains. There was no snow and it was sunny, but windy. I think we got the flu that day, because three or four days later, we came down with it.
At our house, five of us were sick at once: Mother, Annie, Will, Father and I. Father had an attack of hernia at the same time. Robert left his farm and chores for our cousin Tom Kelly to manage and came to take care of us. My boyfriend, George, also came to help, and neither of them took the flu. For two weeks, they did the chores, got meals and tended the sick, until we were able to get around a little by ourselves.
One of the neighbours decided that what we needed was some linseed oil, so he sent a bag of linseed down to us. The boys were to boil it in a big kettle and give us each a cupful to drink. George carried the lantern and Robert carried a cupful of slimy linseed oil and a big spoon. It was goo, the consistency of molasses, and they both stood by the bed until the whole capful was gone. Then they went on to the next victim. I don’t know how much good it did, but it was a great laxative and probably took down the fever. I suppose it helped and gradually we all recovered, but it took several weeks to get back to normal. Every winter when the flu came again, I would get it.”
What an amazing insight into another pandemic over 100 years ago.
The last six months did have some high points, and so updating this blog is important, if only to me. Kinley Travels has chronicled the last 13 years of our lives and even during challenging times it is the happy memories that rise to the surface. The sad, lonely and yes - boring memories have their place too - but they are footnotes, and not the whole story.
2020 showed us in many ways what is important. I think the most important is our health - because as we've either learned or experienced -- Covid-19 and other illnesses cross every socio-economic line and without good health, we have little.
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