2020: Week 8

February 17, 2020 – February 23, 2020

Learned to surf. I got the opportunity to go up to Tofino with a bunch of coworkers. It was hard for me, especially as I was still getting over my cold and had no arm strength. It was still really fun, and felt rewarding anyways. I am excited to try again in the future though. We did our lesson with Pacific Surf Company, and our two instructors were great. The weather was gorgeous.
Visited a distillery again. I got the chance to go to the Tofino Distillery. I tried a flight of spirits that included their old growth cedar gin, cinammon liqueur, and espresso vodka. The gin was especially delicious and smooth. I also tried their very potent absynthe, as my friend was purchasing a bottle.
Made a chicken pot pie. This fulfilled my desire to make a savoury pie. See the recipe below.

I poked around Ladysmith on my way up island. The downtown area is very cute. It was on my Vancouver Island to do list, and I’m happy I went. The Old Town Bakery was awesome.

The lodge we stayed at in Tofino had a beautiful private beach. I got up early enough to be the only person there and watch the sun start kissing the tips of the trees.

I got to explore the Canso plane crash site. It was a bit muddy getting there, but the route offered incredible scenery with the forest, an abandoned building, a boardwalk over the bog, and the mangled plane that is so well preserved.

Got to do some storm watching in the powerful winds, rain, and swell of the west coast of the island in Ucluelet and Tofino. The Amphitrite Lighthouse and Wild Pacific Trail area was amazing. The trail has so many viewpoints. Each gives you a different perspective of the area and the gaps between nearby islands. The Kwisitis Visitor Centre and surrounding area was a great spot to watch the waves roll in relentlessly.

I also finally got the chance to try the original Tacofino food truck. The fish tacos and chocolate Diablo cookie were absolutely delicious. The char on the tortillas, battered fish, creamy sauce, fresh salsa, and crunchy cabbage combined for a perfect meal on a rainy day.

Here’s what I made over the weekend for the upcoming week.

I made King Arthur flour’s chicken pot pie. The filling was a perfect consistency, and the flakey crust had great flavour and texture. It tasted like comfort itself.

It was a busy week, so not much in the way of goal updates right now. I’m still trying to make a little progress in all my endeavours whenever I can.
I’m continuing my seiza challenge. My legs are still falling asleep and the tops of my feet are usually quite painful around the 15 minute mark.
My coworkers think I can do the splits, but I still think I have a tiny bit to go. I want full thigh contact.
I’m going to do another period of cutting out added sugar for the next month. I’m not going to be super strict about it if there is a little sugar as an added ingredient in a packaged food. I will intentionally not be eating anything sugar focused other than foods with natural sugars, such as fruit.
I’m going to try to do and document a $40 CAD per week SNAP grocery challenge for the next month.