We settled into a routine of getting things built; first the main house, then the greenhouse. At least then the plants wouldn't go dormant, because no matter if they were planted in soil, they would still behave as if they were indoors and continue to grow and provide a harvest. This way we had plenty of produce to sell as well as stock our fridge with.
We were constantly busy with clientele. Either the grocery store wanted stuff from our garden or River was being bombarded with commissioned paintings. But that was good; at least we were making simoleons and the cuts of gemstones, when marketed with real-world pricing, put us over the top in terms of wealth. With one pink diamond, we were over the seven figure mark and we became millionaires. Gemstones were as good as gold when it came to valuation.
River did paintings for profit, I just did it for amusement plus the fact that I'd had a goal...what was referred to as a life-time wish, and that was to master both the painting and guitar. And I was in stone's throw of mastering one of them. The guitar mastery would have to wait. Everyday, River was getting calls regarding commissions and her paintings were rising in value. She was making waves in the painting community with her mastery of the brush, paint and canvas and she did personal deliveries of her works, so a lot of people came to her for paintings. Especially my friend Phil who kept calling every other day for a painting. I'm surprised he's making so much at the firehall. I really need to send him a text to let him know that we appreciate the business. Noel tends to buy my paintings.
When River has time, she cooks. As I headed out the door to the bookstore to pick up some more books which we needed: skill books, I saw her in the kitchen making pancakes. She's a great cook and I love her so much, especially when I see her doing the domestic stuff that I'm not all that great at doing. And I tell her how much I appreciate the little things that she does. We've been so busy trying to get things done around the property that we haven't really talked about the fact that we're engaged or set up a date to officially tie the knot, but it's really been at the back of both our minds.
Considering the fact that it has been steadily getting colder, I don't know how long I have to play basketball on our garage rooftop court. It was just something that I was interested in doing. I've always loved playing hoops. Not much into the game other than trying to practice my shooting. We had a large expanse on the roof of our four-car garage so I figured that I'd build a connection off the covered roof patio of our main house to the garage roof and put in a basketball court. It turned out nicely...although we had to reinforce the roof. Don't want anyone other than me or family falling into the main garage. That'll be an insurance nightmare if it's anyone else. Luckily we have BC Medical to cover us.
With the holidays just around the corner...and winter on the way, judging from the chill in the air, we got our home decorated for the festivities. River loved baking and we were never short of goodies on the table to snack on as needed. My weakness was sugar cookies topped with marzipan. You could sugar-overdose on those things. And the Swiss Roll that River made was absolutely delicious. I knew my gorgeous significant other was going to make an absolute feast for the holiday. She certainly knew her way around a kitchen, that's for sure.
It seemed as though I was finishing off a skill-book a day and that made me a constant visitor at the bookstore. In fact I was there so often I figured, I might as well invest in the business so I laid down §18,000 and got part ownership in the business. It also entitled me to a bit off the top every-time I went in to buy books, so there was that perk. Plus I've always been a ravenous bookworm. I'd go through a book in a couple hours. It used to annoy my school librarian that I'd borrow six books and then bring them all back the next day...saying "I read 'em all, teach."
"You did?"
"Yup...can recite the plot off for you, if you'd like..."
Her jaw tended to hit the floor and shatter. And well, anyways, my ability to read fast hasn't changed since I became a young adult.
Despite its incessant rain, Vancouver has always been my home. River bundles up against the cold, but I enjoy it immensely. The sharp smells of rain in the air...and the clean fresh West Coast air. It clears your sinuses. With Richmond you can smell the salt-water in the air; on top of that, you're close to the ocean and it gets pretty cold in the winter time, because of all that moisture laden air and that stuff will cut right through your jacket chilling you right to the bone. There's a reason why people buy umbrellas and wear those protective water-resistant outer-shells on their jackets. Layering is absolutely necessary in the winter-time. If not you're going to end up sick and trust me, being sick in the winter-times stinks.
It also gets pretty dark, pretty quick in the winter-time and that's when the temperature plummets. Believe me, you know when the sun goes down over the horizon on the coast, because the minute that disc dips down and disappears, it feels like someone turned the lights out and cut the thermostat. Yeah...it's cold and it's not a dry cold either. It's a cold that chills you to your very bones. And well, River and I never really went outside much after dark since we had a nice warm home. I keep thinking of how it might have been if we didn't have that string of good-luck since we left my parents' house. If it wasn't for those meteors and the gemstones that we found, we'd be in a pretty nasty pickle. Living out of a tent in the winter time is not a good idea, especially in parts north of 30 degrees latitude N.
I have to say though that we didn't do too shabby picking our property. Because even though there was a hill blocking our view to the ocean, we did have a great view of the city. And at night when it all lit up; it was a sight to see. Vancouver City Hall in the distance with its clock, Oak Street Bridge and all. It was great to know that we were living in what was rated the best city in the world to live in. But I have to say that the prices are outrageous nowadays. It's getting to the point where you can't live in this town any more. And the only thing that city hall seems to do is raise the taxes. I hate going to my mailbox when it's bill-day, because I know that I'm going to get socked a good one financially in the pocket-book. Yeah, ow...
But at least we had a nice comfortable bed...
...and we weren't having to try to survive a bitter winter out in the cold. The outlook from Environment Canada said that this winter was going to be a nasty one and they were right because that night it started snowing...hard.
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