Weekend WOW's and woes

The gift of a relatively unscheduled January weekend is not lost on me.

Add sunshine to that.

BONUS!

So after Jazzercise and cleaning the kitchen (me) , babysitting (Linds) and soccer (the boys) we were ready for an adventure.

In sunshine and with snow on the door step and beautiful vibrant cities all around us....our choices were vast.  We call this the paradox of choice" in our house (since Allan read that phrase while studying)... so many choices paralyze decisions.

In the end we decided that the desires of all could be best met at our favorite destination of Granville Island with a swing  by the English Bay beaches on the way home for a bit of photography at sunset.

Oh...and we were taking Spanner.....our first public, family outing with hound in tow.

We spent some time looking at recipes before we left and had a list so our market time would be efficient seeing as Mr. Spanner is not welcome inside. 

We headed down and made our first stop at a coffee shop in Railway Alley, finding a table outside in the sun (it was very cold at 2-3 degrees C).  I was standing waiting for our order and in walked my parents.  What a surprise!  So we had a little visit over coffee!

We then set off to walk around the sea wall at Granville Island to give Spanner a good walk. 

It was quiet and peaceful and so lovely to take the time to enjoy this area without rushing. 

Eventually we headed into the crazy busy market and got our food.  I have to say that inside today it was too busy to really enjoy.  Maybe if I wasn't on a mission and was just wandering but when you are trying to shop a list it was just frustrating.

Laden down with goodies we headed to the beaches as the light was softening. 

Winter sunsets and sunrises are some of my favorite times to photograph.  The light is interesting and can be washed out or very intense from one minute to the next.  I love the big blue skies as the colours of the low sun start to wash across and I am always a sucker for water.

You can stand on those beaches at Spanish Banks and see it all...... the ocean, the mountains, the snow, the City...... It is truly so remarkable. 

I had a lot of fun with my new iPhone olloclip lenses ( a Christmas gift from my beloved).

Not one of these photos do the actual scene any justice.

We drove home with a couple more photo stops to an amazing dinner made by Allan and mug desserts by Lindsay  - all so tasty and delicious and enjoyed with candlelight and good music and lots of chat and laughter.

A truly WOW day that satisfied my soul in deep and sustaining ways.  I went to bed very grateful.

The rest of the weekend was a bit of woe for me after being very ill through the night Saturday (an allergic reaction I think) and feeling fairly flattened on Sunday I did little more than move around the house from couch to couch..... blah!