Love, Smoke and Community

October 2017 will go down in my memory as a tangle of highs and lows. I find it's always best to talk about the highs first so I'll share our happy 10th wedding anniversary/Canadian Thanksgiving celebration. Every year we gather our family and some close friends together and do a sit-down dinner for around 30 guests. This year we decided to get a little more romantic and tie in our 10th anniversary which was back in August but we hadn't really celebrated it yet. We always go "all out" for our Thanksgiving but this time I added a rack of crystal champagne glasses to the usual party rental order and got a little more involved with flowers. And then I needed these linens and well... it turned out really beautifully. Here's a peek:

It was a perfect clear warm evening and we toasted the event reading aloud our wedding vows we'd kept in our album all these years. Such wonderful food and company. We felt like a bride and groom again. 

My parents as well as some very dear friends came to town for the occasion and stayed for a few days after. At about 2am on Monday morning Joel awoke - we think the cat, Kopi-o, woke him - to our house filling with wood smoke. He leaped into action and closed every window and checked Next Door to see where the fire was. Sonoma. We were safe but the smoke was thick and luckily with his fast movements hardly any of us even woke till the morning. At breakfast, amid the hum of air cleaners, we looked out on ash that almost seemed like snow falling. The 50mph winds had also dumped a shower of burnt 1-2" black twigs all over the ground in the night. 

It's been hard to read the news each day. Fires breaking out all across Northern California and very seriously across the North Bay. People caught unaware in bed as freak high winds caused the fire to leap from one hilltop to the next. So many were never warned. Some evacuated and some never made it out. And the flames have marched on, continuing to destroy homes and take lives over the past six days. The most deadly forest fire in California's history and it's not over yet. 

It's barely an hour away which in itself is a bit scary. But lets be real, there are a lot of things between us and the fires so those particular blazes aren't the reason I packed a "go bag" for each of us just in case. Marin and most of the East Bay have been issued a red flag warning. It happens quite a lot to us at this time of year. It means if anything sparks it will burn fast and threaten nearby communities and make evacuations extremely fast. So they issue these warnings to keep us on our toes. We have never really taken much notice in the past but this week each red flag has been sobering. 

Air quality is a huge concern for us. Caelen has had eye irritation to the point of hives and blisters, Austen has a sore under his nose and we've all had a dry cough. We have those trusty n95 masks like the Singapore smog days of the past. The kids actually like their cute masks and we wear them whenever we have to go out. It does help. 

Fairfax has been like a ghost town. Everyone heeding the health advisory and staying indoors. Schools have been closed due not only to air quality but also so many teachers were evacuated they can't run the schools safely. 

We've taken some day trips out of the smoke and enjoyed some sunshine on Stinson Beach and around San Francisco. No matter where we go, no one's mind is really at peace. Every interaction with others begins with "is your family safe?" and exchanges of "good luck" replace "goodbye" in nearly every setting. We've talked to a lot of evacuees and have decided to open our own home to a family in need. Amazingly enough, I checked online and saw that there were hundreds of available homes willing to take in evacuees. It's heartwarming. As quickly as shelters post their needs online, I see follow-up messages saying "we're ok! No need for more stuff" as they are flooded with donations. There are still lots of needs to be filled but it's really important, with so many helping, to check the most up to date lists first!

Today is our first day of clear air. Some of the fires are contained - which is to say they aren't spreading but still burning. The death toll this morning was updated and will continue to climb. I hope the worst is over now. To all my friends around the Bay, I hope you are safe and good luck.

HOME | A long search has a happy ending

We just closed the sale on a house in Fairfax... It's really happening. I have to pinch myself. We've talked about buying our first home for about a decade but were weren't sure where we wanted to put down roots. Since we lived here between 2007 and 2010 we've talked about it often and wondered if we'd ever have work in this area again. Well work happened and here we are.

Fairfax is a tiny town in Marin County. And where is Marin? If you drive over the Golden Gate Bridge you end up in the rolling hills and redwood forests of Marin.

Our little town is known as the hippi enclave where deadheads and the inventors of mountain biking created a community that reminds us a lot of one of the Gulf Islands back in BC. Funky handmade homes blend into the hillsides, everyone bikes everywhere and the local grocery store is all organic.

Joel took the picture below from the top of our property. You can see a bit of the roof of our house below and our neighbours look-out platform to the right. I want to build my office up here. The GG bridge photo above is looking North and this photo from our place is looking South at the other side of those hills.

We're about an hour and a quarter by bike from Joel's work downtown San Francisco. (It's about a 45 min drive w/o traffic). He has a beautiful ride over the bridge every day. He also has the option of getting on a ferry. My work is about 15-20 minutes away when I need to be at the office in Corte Madera otherwise I work from home. So we're feeling like this place gives us a refuge from the city and some work-life balance.














My family is coming for Christmas and we're just thrilled as we've never had the space before to host. I'm looking forward to kicking back in front of the fireplace and catching up with our loved ones.

Giant pumpkins and hot summer days

I'd nearly forgotten how spectacular the weather is in Marin, especially in the Autumn. Downtown San Francisco is pretty clear this time of year too making for some beautiful ferry rides and brilliant sightseeing days though it's a little colder down there. Our days here are averaging in the high 70s to high 80s (or high 20s and low 30s celsius).

Life is sort-of settling in. We've been here for five weeks and Joel has been on business trips every single week. He's seen more airports than open houses. I've got our new nanny working with Austen and I'm juggling all the household stuff, house hunting and working on my contracts. The house hunt is going very slowly. In the areas we are looking there are only a couple of houses for sale at any given time and the stampede of offers on each one is amazing. Houses are going for 25% or more above the list price and sellers are preferring all cash offers (which are plentiful). We've got this furnished rental covered till new years so the pressure is on to close on a home before then. 

Austen is doing great. He's continuing to astound us with his physical feats (insert some minor heart attacks here too) new words and phrases. He's potty training already (yay!) so we're just thrilled about that. Having half days with his nanny and afternoons with me suits him fine. He's thriving and everyone is happy.

That's all for now! I'll update when there's something to report like... maybe a home. Fingers crossed everyone. 

Ferry boat to the city!

Graduation extravaganza trip part one

The one thing (I'm not joking about the singular focus) that got me through the last few months of my degree this spring was the looming date of completion when I'd get to board a plane and head to San Francisco. Somehow the portfolio came together, no one died in the process. I made it to the airport after a few weeks of four hour nights followed by one last all-nighter. I slithered into my seat in the front row of business class and only woke when the concerned flight attendant touched my shoulder and suggested I should have something to eat. I had actually passed out in my seat without even reclining which is arguably why one books one of these upgrades.