End-of-the-year roundup

Christmas 2020 is upon us, and with it, way past due time to do a blog update! What's happened this year... hmmm... anything noteworthy? I've just sort of been sitting at home for the last nine months. 

Oh, right. That COVID-19 thing. 

Honestly, we as a family are as lucky and privileged as anyone could hope, given the circumstances. Stable housing, food security, steady incomes... that's the 2020 Trifecta right there, I think. 

Kate did have to shut down her clinic immediately back in March, but was able to re-open to limited in-person service by June. In the early days, Kate learned A LOT, very quickly, about the government employment benefit program and got her staff on board asap, and they moved to as virtual a service delivery model as was possible. Kate kept things interesting by completely obliterating he right wrist in a ladder fall on the same day her clinic was to reopen. Not one to let moss grow, she was doing her company payroll that very night, juiced up on Tylenol. 

She had to wait a few days for surgery (She has some lovely metal in her wrist now, and has healed up pretty well), and we discovered that Kate is quite the lightweight when it comes to anesthesia! Once, and ever since, she was able to return to her work properly "infection control" has become the name of the game on top of the regular work: making sure everyone is following protocols, calling in sick as necessary and getting swabbed as needed. It's a constant stressor, but it's being very well managed. Kate doesn't always sleep well, staring at the ceiling wondering what the next day will bring... luckily, Kate has never been one to buckle to a challenge, and she's powering through! 

Outside of work... well, what can we say. No travel, no visits, lots of walks and a summer spent in and on the water. Now that it's colder, still ON the water on our oarboard, but not IN the water anymore. The walks continue, of course, albeit in the rain more often than not!  

As for both the kids, like everyone else it was a long haul through the spring with home schooling and both Kate and I working full time. both kids went back to school this fall and so far, so good. Sacha is in his second year of late French immersion and it's going very well. He also returned to soccer in September, though play is limited. Something is better than nothing, however! 

Heidi started at a new, small school this year and it's been great. With only a few kids in her class, it minimizes the concerns for infection control, and she's getting a really great variety of subjects and educational units. She's learning everything from guitar to urban design. Pretty cool stuff. 

As for me, I've been happily ensconced in my home office since the whole COVID mess came to Canada's doorstep in March. My work has translated very well to a virtual environment, and we at Make-A-Wish have been able to turn our fundraising efforts into virtual offerings for the most part. Our revenues are down, but the work is engaging and satisfying. 

I haven't been to the rowing club since March, but as above, our oarboard has been taken out for regular jaunts, and we also have a rowing machine on loan here at the house. I'm lacking in strength training but I'm well-exercised otherwise! I don't tend to leave the house but for daily exercise, or for groceries once a week--I'm a model of good behaviour in COVID times 😉The dog is in heaven, with someone at the house to keep him company all day every day! 

We did all manage to get away for a couple of nights camping in the summer; an easily socially-distanced endeavour! We were treated to a couple of nights of wonderful weather and time together in the woods. You can check that out in video form here, if you like! We also camped beach-front on vancouver Island while having a distanced visit with Kate's dad for a few nights, but that video is yet to be edited 😁 

One other significant and exciting thing to take place this year was the completion of a laneway house in the backyard, into which Kate's mum and her partner have moved into it as of September. Between us, them and the family of four living in our basement suite, we have 10 people living on this property! Gentle urban densification at its finest! 

In closing, we know not all have had an easy a time during this pandemic, with isolation, job security, mental health, addictions and abuse issues being real threats to many. To those who have struggled and are struggling, we're looking forward with you, and for you, especially, to a time when there's enough vaccine to go around, loved ones aren't getting sick, schools are back to normal as are so many other aspects in society. In the meantime, we'll do what we're supposed to do: keep to ourselves as much as possible, have a very quiet Christmas and New Years, and keep on doing what we're doing right on into 2021.

Speaking of Christmas, here's our annual excuse for not mailing out cards to anyone: the
Chase Family video Christmas Card, 2020 edition. 

On that note, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. 

I got some new fingers!

Well, it's been 20 years since I had my sawmill accident. And pretty much for each of those years since, I've wanted and waited for something to come along that could help me replace some of the function of having actual fingers again.

I'm happy to say that the time has come! Forewarning, I get a liiittle emotional at the end of this video, but those are some seriously happy tears because I'm so happy to have these new digits in my life.

Big thanks to my prosthetist for introducing this product to me, to Naked Prosthetics for coming up with such a device, and thanks to WorksafeBC for seeing the value in something like this, and helping to fund it. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be wandering around trying new things with my new hand. I'll be opening round doorknobs if you need me :) 

COVID cookin' and other updates

As seems to be the thing to do, let me open this blog with what has become the traditional greeting:

I hope this message finds you, safe, healthy and well.

What a weird world we now live in. My last post was from a few months back, re: fabulous Hawaiian vacation, when 'driving the Road to Hana on Maui' was simultaneously the most entertaining thing to do, and posed the likeliest threat Nowadays a trip to the grocery store fits the same bill. Go figure.

How is your household dealing with all the separation and change in routine? Around our house, I'm fully able to work from home. For Kate, it's been a rollercoaster. Her business model is all about delivering face-to-face therapy in a fast-paced office. She obviously had to close her doors, and lay off a significant number of staff members. But, she's managed to recoup some businesses online so that's good, and someday hopes to hire folks back on. Then there's the kids, with the cancelled team and community sports, and thrust into the world of online learning. We've very intentionally kept our kids off of computers for most of their lives, and that is showing up in extremely lack-lustre typing skills all of a sudden! They are adjusting well, and--no surprise--Kate is proving the most adequate educator at home compared to me.

Outside of work and school and a weekly grocery store trip, we've been nowhere, visited no one and done "nothing" (as it should be, after all). We're getting exercise together, mostly going for runs and bike rides, and the kids have been having fun cooking one meal a week for us. Some of that they've parlayed into a fun little video project, which we've called COVID cookin'! You can watch their latest video here. Three episodes so far. Thursday is their weekly night to cook something, so we'll see what comes next! It's a little painful to be behind the camera and not helping them when they make a huge mess, but that's all part of the fun I guess!

 

Aside from that, we've had one birthday in the house. Somehow Heidi went from being a teeny premature baby to a ten-year-old, just like that! having a socially-distant birthday was a curious thing, but really, very low-key and nice. AND, the grandparents conglomerate that exists in this family got together to help fund the purchase of a NINJA line (cool slack line with all sorts of cool attachments) Now, with the playgrounds all closed, we can bring a playground with us wherever we go!




OK, that's enough of an update. After all, what more is there really to say?!

Until next time, remember: stay safe, stay calm, and stay home (in the words of our much-respected Provincial Health Officer, Bonnie Henry!)

Adults only vacation!

Back at the end of January, thanks to the generous child-minding support of grandparental units, Kate and I were gifted the chance to go to Maui, Hawaii, for an entire week… BY OURSELVES!   

   

In the almost-12 years of having kids, we’ve only truly gotten away as a couple on two other occasions: once a few winters ago for a whirlwind few days in New York city, and prior to that, we flew across the Atlantic to the UK to visit friends and family. We may have ditched our own kids, but we ended visiting friends and family with their kids… so we didn’t exactly hit the mark for a kid-free trip.

This, however, was the first time in 14 years of marriage (and just about ‘ever’) that we travelled somewhere just for ourselves. No kids, no pets, no friends or family to visit, and no schedule at all. Just a glorious week of exploring a place we had never been before. A carry-on suitcase (flippers and snorkel mask included) was all we needed.

We intentionally laid out absolutely no itinerary for ourselves. We had a few items on the list of places we wanted to go and things to see, but we didn’t block out specific times or days to do any of it. It was MAGIC. Get up early and go for a beach walk? Sure. Get up late, grab a coffee and some fruit, then head out for some snorkelling or boogie boarding? Sounds good. Plan to go kayaking in an afternoon but go window shopping instead? Perfect.

We hit up some of the biggies: sunset at Haleakala (we thought about sunrise, but A) hadn’t pre-booked a reservation and that’s a requirement and B) why get up at 3:00 a.m. when we can drive up in the middle of the day when we’re not exhausted, hike around, then find a nice spot for the sunset show instead? ), a visit to the Nakalele blowhole, driving the road to Hana (with lots of stops there and back), whale watching (last minute, but awesome, decision), and spent plenty of time in the water otherwise, and went for nice walks.

The weather was ideal all week. 28 degrees and sunny, with some cloud cover coming along on the last couple of days of the trip, but the nice temperatures kept right along. It was made extra-sweet knowing that it was POUNDING with rain back home in Vancouver!

One of the smart things to do when you’re in a new place is to chat with a local about ‘what’s good.’ There’s no shortage of info about popular tourist spots, but the people that live there will surely come up with something slightly less known. To that end, if you’re headed to Maui in the future, look up a little place called ‘Alchemy’ in Lahaina. It’s not in the old townsite; it’s up the slope, across the highway, tucked into a corner location of an industrial area. 

We were flopping around in the surf on boogie boards one day (incidentally, Snorkel Bob's was a great deal. 3o bucks for a week's rental of a great board), and we started chatting with a guy who has lived on the island for a couple of years. He asked us what we’ve managed to do, and we asked him if he had any recommendations for places to eat. Alchemy was one of his recommendations. They bake these incredible take-away loaves of black salt crusted sourdough, make awesome sandwiches, and—as is the fad these days—brew a bunch of flavours of kombucha.

I would go back to Maui for the sourdough from this place alone. It’s fresh from the oven at 11 am when they open. Long, narrow loaves ready to take away. They also make sandwiches with the same bread, and they don’t mess around with their portion sizes. They produce a good selection of veggie options, helpful for us vegetarians, as well as meat (the pastrami seemed popular!), and all their food is local and non-GMO.

The bread didn’t stand a chance. It was like an extra on The Walking Dead. We tore the loaf apart, wolfing down big hunks of fresh, warm, tangy and salty sourdough. Washed down with the kombucha, it was delightful.

We went back again a second time and it was just as good.

But enough about bread. You want more Maui. Here it is. The video has jump links in the description, so if you want to see a particular section, just click there! https://youtu.be/F04I8Zz9iAY 

At the end of the week, we headed home feeling refreshed, relaxed and grateful for the time away. And yes, in case you’re wondering, we brought back a king’s ransom in Macadamia nuts to be able to spread the Aloha once we got back home, like any good tourist should :)