where elle is exploring

Canadian Forces Snowbirds The sun was still up when we went downtown. David Foster was holding a free concert in Victoria, and we wanted to be there to experience it. It was for his foundation's 40th anniversary. We went, along with tens of thousands, to hear him and his guests. The…

My 9-year-old daughter often gets invited to playdates. The usual: a mom messages me. We agree on a place and time. The kids meet, run around, spend their hours. I chat with the parent until one of us needs to go. Usually it is me.  There's an unspoken rule of two hours. At the two-ho…

I was today years old when I learned to skate. Not really. Let’s just say I tried. My daughter wanted to. My older daughter persuaded me. And I thought to myself, why not? When will I ever do this without the fear of being laughed at? So I went ahead and rented skate shoes, went to the ic…

One day, we just went. No real plan. Just the memory of something I once read — that in Victoria, you can go from mountain to city to sea in just a few minutes. So that's what we did. We headed to Mount Tolmie first. It was almost five when we left. We brought the car, parked, walke…

I baked this morning. Not because I’m a great baker — I’m not. And not because I made something extraordinary. It was a simple banana muffin recipe I found on the internet, nothing more. It wasn’t planned. We woke up less than two hours before my husband had to leave for work, and somewhe…

Spring came again. And so did I. I didn't plan to be away this long. I never do. But it seemed to have happened a lot recently. Life has a way of filling every quiet space you thought you were saving for writing. The days got full — with work, with family, with the stresses and busy…

It started as an agreement to have a quick check-in, but somehow three hours flew by — his afternoon and my early hours of the morning. There was no agenda. Just exchanges — life updates, thoughts, reminiscing, views, insights. Familiar laughter from shared memories, reflections on the p…

It's our 4th year here! December 11, 2021, when we came, wide-eyed and full of hope.  We uprooted our whole life and squeezed it all into 4 boxes and a few luggage.  How the years flew. We experienced the struggles, disappointments, wins, and several ups and downs. While we never sto…

We watched Victoria's candlelight concert as part of our company's Halloween Activity. Entitled "Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics", it made me appreciate spooky theme songs, as performed by the Listeso String Quartet.  According to their website, the Candlelight con…

We love going to Butchart Gardens. Beautiful can't even begin to describe the gardens. Whenever we go there, we find ourselves talking about our lives and realizing how blessed we are as we watch our daughter look around excitedly.  The Butchart Gardens is a more than a hundred-year-o…