A New Year's Day Walk

 ...view of the ocean from Dallas Road ...

The house is full of the smell of warm dilly bread.

I thumbed by Molly McBride’s recipe a number of times as I looked in the Manna on the Prairies Cookbook.

The self-published recipe books are like a visit with old friends, for they carry with them the memories of all of the people who submitted this recipe or that one. The cottage cheese has been in the fridge – only half eaten, and this morning I was doing one of those jiffy fridge cleans – a cloth for wiping up easy stains and pulling out half cartons of food that could be eaten – or that could be left for a few more weeks – usually not a good idea.

... two black kites sailing in the wind from the ocean ...

We took a long walk down Dallas Road – really a long paved walk along the ocean.

Seven kites were flying in the wind, high above us, when we stepped out of our car.

More kite flyers had joined the crowd, when we got back, the four people who had similar kites had been practising flying them in formation. We walked nearly to the breakwater – it was within seeing distance when I turned to go back.

Many family has dogs with them, beautiful tall poodles and some dogs so little, I can’t imagine how their owners don’t loose them. Some of the dogs were wearing coats in brilliant colours of red or pink. Some of the dogs were on leashes. We laughed at one little dog who trotted along between the couple it seemed to belong to. Duncan and Alex say they love the look of the bulldogs – that flattened face as though it has just run into a door.

Steve made the call yesterday about the weather: I think it is going to freeze. There are small patches of ice where water has been standing, and some frost on the grass or on the pavement where the sun hasn’t had a chance to shine. Gulls were everywhere at the beach – in the air and on the water. Some were lined up on the top of a roof. “Are those real,” asked Duncan for they looked more like an exterior art/sculpture piece, the birds an even distance from each other and all looking the same way.  But then we saw a couple of them fly away.

 ... Arta and Duncan stroll by the water ...

We stopped to have our picture taken at a sign that said, “Victoria, Mile 0”.

That is about as far as a person can go in Canada, without stepping off dry land and into the water.

Rebecca told us her resolution for the year, by saying she was going to start small: exercise once a week.

She might do better than that, having signed up for some deep-water exercise, and today – taking the lovely walk along the edge of the ocean.

I like making resolutions as well. But I can’t settle on one. I would like to write more – even read more would be a treat.

... the sun reflects off of a small body of water, some of it frozen ...

 The next time we take a long walk, all of us want to take along a bottle of water.

The first thing we went to, when we got home was the tap.

And then those of us who like meat enjoyed the day old leg of lamb that was slow-cooked yesterday. Now that is the way to start off the new year.

A resolution and then a good meal.

Arta