In 2021 we slept off the island for a grand total of four nights. Two to visit the hospital in Vancouver for E’s annual spring testing and then two nights last week to visit our family. We are all double vaxxed and boosted. I realize there is still a risk but we have taken all of the precautions we possibly can and our mental health really needed family. Some were able to visit for Christmas and those who couldn’t are the reason we left the island. It’s kind of a Mohammed moving the mountain kind of thing.

That said, risks considered, we will be very pleased/pleasantly relieved when we make it home covid free. Once home, we will be content to spend the rest of the winter snug and warm, storm watching, carrying the memory with us of a holiday season well spent. So far, we are all healthy, we just need to stay safe for a couple more days. Covid is rampant in the village where we are staying so our ability to visit friends as well as our family is nil.

One of the problems when your parents/in-laws visit in the winter is that the weather can get bad and they seemingly never leave. We were supposed to leave days ago and we are still here. If it isn’t the snow, it’s the wind. We didn’t intend to stay away from the island this long but, as always, the weather gods are in charge of our lives. 2022 begins with seven more days away from the island because, even if the roads are clear enough to get one of our dogs back from his vacation with my brother, the winds are insane on the waters and it discourages us from travelling. We are waiting for the perfect window to head back and it has taken a bit of rescheduling. Travelling in BC this winter is not without its challenges.

E has spent the last week helping our son renovate the two bathrooms in their new home. Like all renovations it has been an exercise in frustration as they tried to source supplies post flood, during a pandemic over a holiday weekend. On the up side, E loves having the time to work along side our son and I love having time with my daughter- in-law and granddaughter.

The week has been spent solving the worlds problems with my granddaughter. She was with me for my first vaccination in the spring and went with me this week for my booster shot. Honestly, if a four year old can happily wear her mask when she goes out the door and is eager to turn five so she get her shot and be safe, what the actual hell is wrong with those unvaccinated idiots…

sigh

I understand if you are disappointed that I haven’t been able to do an annual summary of our life off grid or check the water levels in our tanks or the state of affairs of the property after this week’s new year’s storm. It is difficult to write about a day in the life off grid when we aren’t there but perhaps it is enough to record our current state of mind. We love our life on the island, living there. We miss our kids but have been rejuvenated by our winter visit. They have their own lives now and are thriving without us. Life is good, COVID not withstanding, and

we are grateful.

I