Mariska Richters Digital Dogmom Life

Photo: © 2012 Mariska Richters Photography – Vancouver, Canada

I made a major life choice this past weekend. I have watched so many of my friends over the past few years, make the leap from a life being enslaved to an office job to that of a digital nomad. I have followed their blogs and adventures with stars in my eyes, as it has always been my dream to do the same.

I’m not sure what I’ve been waiting for…? Some kind of sign? Some kind of magic opportunity to be handed to me on a silver platter? I’m not really sure. But this past weekend, when yet another friend made the courageous leap, and moved his life to his dream location in the tropics, something in me flipped. Although I’ve always known it, it became very real to me that the life I want isn’t going to just happen TO me, I have to MAKE it happen!!

So on Saturday afternoon I made the decision that I would make a major life change. I would give my notice at my Vancouver apartment, sell and get rid of most of my possessions, and begin the process of becoming a digital nomad, living a life that I love!

I started making calls to friends and family and have been showered with nothing but enthusiasm and encouragement.

Within a couple of days, I have found new homes for most of my furniture, I’ve posted a bunch of stuff on Craigslist, packed a few boxes, and have decided on my next location to begin my transition.

Then yesterday it all became very real, when I paid my last month’s rent and delivered notice to end tenancy to my landlord! Ahhhh!! It’s finally really happening! There is no chickening out or turning back. My new life begins NOW!

It’s truly amazing how quickly things begin to happen and flow with ease when you make a choice with full determination.

So I leave you with this quote from Mark Twain, which is really resonating with me at the moment:

“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”

And I ask you: What have YOU been waiting for to start living a life you love?

Let the adventure begin! A year from now you will wish you had started today!

With the announcement of Tokyo winning the bid for the 2020 Olympic host city this afternoon and the Sochi 2014 Torch relay only 29 days away, I’m getting very excited about my upcoming trip to experience my third Olympic Games!

In 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay came right by my building when I lived smack downtown at Howe and Nelson. This was the true beginning of that amazing energy we felt in our city for the duration of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. I cannot WAIT to feel that energy again when I arrive in Sochi! To view my photos from the final stretch of the Vancouver 2010 Relay, please visit the set on Flickr.

Sadly, I will miss the 2014  relay, as I won’t be in Russia just yet. But I do plan to find and hold one while I’m there to add to my Olympic torch photo collection. The question is, will I be wearing my Canadian or Dutch colors for this one?

The torch is one of the key symbols of the Games and often captures the imagination of the world. With its bright, eye-catching design, the Sochi 2014 torch, shown here, is intended to reflect Russian hospitality, and the joyful and inspirational atmosphere which is an integral part of the Olympic Torch Relays.

The Flame for the XXII Olympic Winter Games of 2014 will arrive in Moscow on October 6th, 2013, after being lit on the ancient ground of Olympia. From there, it will begin its 123 day journey across the territory of Russia. It will be seen by the residents of 83 regions of the Russian Federation and the coverage of the relay will be 90% of the country’s population.

The Olympic torch will be carried by a record number of torchbearers. 14 thousand people will have the opportunity to run with the lit torch across the cities of Russia, and more than 30 thousand volunteers will be active at the relay. It will travel more than 65,000 km in the 123 day journey.

For more information about the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay, please visit www.torchrelay.sochi2014.com.

(image source: http://torchrelay.sochi2014.com/en/Relay/OurRelay)

Last weekend I took a little road trip to Kelowna in BC’s Okanagan to support my friends as they competed in the Ironman Challenge in Penticton. I took this opportunity to do a wine tour at Quails Gate Estate Winery (cuz it’s wrong to visit the Okanagan in the summer without stopping in at at least one winery…)

I headed to the winery with my friend Bruce around lunch time. I had heard that their food was incredible and their patio was amazing, so I wanted to see for myself.

We started with the Wild Coast Mussels and Clams (shallots, garlic, parsley, tomato broth, grilled crostini), and then I moved on to the delicious Albacore Tuna “Tartine” (confit tomato, egg, potato salad, pickles & olive house made focaccia, anchovy vinaigrette), and Bruce had the Yarrow Meadows Duck Leg Confit (quinoa and cabbage salad, sprouted beans, carrot, cilantro, cucumber, mirin dressing). We paired our meals with a bottle of the 2012 Chenin Blanc, and it was a party in my mouth! See more of the menu here.

After lunch we took a walk around the vineyard and took a little afternoon break to take in this gorgeous view:

From there (after dreaming of never leaving), we headed into the tasting room and tasted their delicious wines. Having had the Chinin Blanc with lunch, we tasted the Dry Riesling, the Rose, and the Quails’ Gate Old Vines Foch. I have to say that I enjoyed the whites and the rose more than the red, but all were excellent!

Then, of course, we couldn’t leave without doing a little shopping! (I might have left with half a dozen bottles of fermented goodness…)

If you’re a lover of food and you appreciate good wine, I would highly recommend visiting the Quails’ Gate Estate Winery in Kelowna. I can’t wait to get back to the Okanagan to sample some of the other wonderful wineries! Who’s coming with me?? : )

Which Okanagan wineries have you visited? Please share your experience and recommendations in the comments below.

Earlier this summer I was trying to come up with a fun idea as a 40th anniversary gift for our parents. Since they have everything, I thought a generational family portrait, including the grandchildren would be the perfect solution. So, my siblings and I have been working on this idea for the past month, coordinating secret photoshoots behind their backs, hehehe. The final photo turned out awesome and they absolutely LOVED it! We gave them the final print in the same frame that we are all holding in the photos.

To create your generationally layered family photo, first take photos of each person holding the frame you will be using to put the final print in. You don’t need to include an image inside the frame, as you will add these with Photoshop later.

This is what the original images looked like:

Once you have all your photos taken and edited to your preference:

1. Open Photoshop and create a path with the pen tool the inside of the frame on each image.
   For more info on how to use the pen tool, click here.
2. Turn your path into a selection by clicking “Load path as a selection” on the Path palette. (If you do not see the Path Palette, go to the Window menu to turn it on.)
3. Select the Select menu at the top of your Photoshop window and click Inverse to select everything OUTSIDE of the frame.
4. Copy this selection, and then paste it right away into the same window.
5. Paste the first photo into the first image BETWEEN the background layer and the new layer (Layer 1) that you just created.
6. Use the Free Transform function (Edit menu > Free Transform) to manipulate the size and image location so that it fits perfectly into the framed area.
7. Save the image as a jpeg.
8. Repeat these steps and paste the new jpeg you just created into the next frame, until you have all your images.

If you have questions, or anything is unclear, please comment below, or send me a message and I’ll be happy to answer any questions.

I never even knew this place existed until I was invited to go for a hike in Deep Cove. It was more of a walk than a laboring hike and this was the stunning view that awaited me at the top. Amazing. Once again, I am so appreciative of this beautiful place that we call home!

Some details about the hike:

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3.8 km
Elevation Gain: 100 meters
Season: year-round
Dog Friendly: YES! (insert happy face here!)
Transit: Yes
Washrooms: not on the trail, but are available at the beach at Deep Cove

The trail is the beginning of the Baden-Powell Trail, which begins along Panorama Drive. The trail is well marked with signs, so you can’t miss it.

Dogs:

This is always an important topic for me, as Roxie is my preferred hiking companion!

Your dog is welcome to be off leash on the trail, as long as s/he is under voice control. When you get to the top, do be careful as I have heard stories of dogs adventuring around and getting stuck in places that they could climb down to, but not back up. Also, it’s a very steep drop from the top of the rock. So if you have an adventurous puppy, you may want to consider leashing it when you arrive at the top.

As always in Vancouver, please be considerate of others on the trail, and pick up after your dog. There’s nothing worse than getting doggie doo on your shoe!

What are some new hike you’ve enjoyed this summer? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below, as I’m always looking to discover new places.

The Hope Slide is the largest historic landslide located in western Canada. I’ve driven past it many many times, but have never actually stopped to find out what it’s all about. Today, I made the stop and was amazing by the story.

“Early Saturday morning, January 9, 1965, an enormous landslide descended into this valley of the Nicolum Creek, destroying about 3km of the Hope-Princeton Highway.

“Apparently triggered by a minor earthquake, the slide consisting of more than 46 million cubic meters of earth, rock and snow, crashed down in seconds from the 2000 meter high mountain ridge forming the north side of the valley. It filled the valley bottom with debris 70 meters thick in places and completely buried Outram Lake at the foot of the slide.

“The water and soft clay of the lake bed and the adjacent land were displaced and cast violently up the opposite mountain side and then back into the valley, spreading out in a south easterly direction and back up the north slope to a height of 30 to 60 meters. The boundaries of  the area swept by mud and slide debris are visible along the south side of the valley where the mature forest cover was wiped out leaving a scarred path. Four persons  in three vehicles stopped by a small snow slide earlier, were caught in the wave of mud which swept back into the valley from the south and all were killed. Two of the victims were never found.

“Seismologists recorded two earthquakes that morning with epicenters in the Nicolum Valley area. The second of these was at 6:58 a.m., the approximate time the big slide occurred. The new highway and this viewpoint are built on slide debris approximately 55m above the original ground level.”

If you’re driving through Manning Park at any time, it’s worth the stop to see the huge-ness of this landslide. Looking up at that mountain and imagining that huge chunk of rock breaking off and tumbling down made me feel incredibly small.

The Hope Slide is located here:

View Larger Map

Yesterday I went to another place I’ve never been. Although I had committed to this project as a weekend thing, it seems to have spilled over into the weekdays and I’m loving it. It feels great to be making the most of the summer and this amazing weather we’ve been spoiled with.

The original plan was to hike up to Lynn Peak at Lynn Valley, but due to traffic issues, we decided on a change of venue and ended up heading to hike Hollyburn Moutnain.

It was an easier hike with a few tougher bits that Roxie found to be a challenge and needed some coaxing (and lifting?) to overcome them, but she did it! (Good Doggie!)

I would definitely recommend bringing bug repellent if you plan to do this hike, the mozzies were brutal! Lucky for me, I’m never a mosquito’s first choice on the buffet when there are other people around, so my hiking companion got the brunt of it. So yes, bug spray and a long sleeved shirt for times when it becomes unbearable are recommended.

When we arrived at the top, it was nearing sunset and these were the views we were rewarded with. Simply beautiful!

More images will soon be available on Flickr.

(These are just iPhone shots for now, stay tuned for updated images.)

The countdown is at 206 days and I’m finding myself thinking more and more about Sochi!

I spent the weekend playing tourist in Whistler over the  past weekend, which included a little photoshoot at the 2010 Olympic sites. I figure I should collect some fun images for when I head to Russia next February to use on my social media profiles. So here are a couple of images, and I’ll be collecting more over the coming months, as the countdown continues…

I’ve been to Whistler more times than I can count, but this weekend my aunt was visiting from the Netherlands, and I spent the weekend being a tourist in the Whistler area. So, after meeting up with my family on Friday afternoon, we headed out to the Nairn Falls provincial campground, near Pemberton.

It had been a while since I had camped, so this was a treat, especially since I had never been to Nairn Falls before. My aunt and I (and Roxie too, of course) took a walk to the falls and I was once again amazed by the beauty of nature and this amazing place we live in. Wow!

The last few times that I’ve been out for walks and hikes in the forest, I have been reminded of the beauty that surrounds me. It’s so easy to get distracted and forget while living in the city. I have been inspired to get out of the city more and get back to more hikes, walks, and trail runs in the woods. More nature. More camping. More fresh air. We are so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and summer is the perfect time to get out and appreciated more of it!

Other local favorites: the trails and swim holes at Lynn Valley, Pacific Spirit Park, the beaches at Spanish Banks, the Grouse Grind, the Chief in Squamish, Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville.

I’d love to hear about some of your favorite places to hike, walk, camp, and reconnect with the beauty of nature. (local or otherwise) Please feel free to share them in the comments, and if I haven’t seen them yet, I may add them to my list!

This summer I’ve been truly appreciating this beautiful place that I live in. As a result I’ve have been inspired and made the commitment to explore a new place every weekend.

This began with Canada Day long weekend. I didn’t exactly explore a new place that weekend, but rather a new craft. Per my previous post, it was a double birthday weekend extravaganza and I was on cake duty. Being more of a pie baker than a cake baker, I took on the project of creating unforgettable birthday cakes for my nephew and my dad. Here are the results:

The second weekend in July started out with a beautiful Friday evening sunset with a new friend in Horseshoe Bay. Although I’ve been to and through Horseshoe Bay countless times to catch the ferry, actually sitting and appreciating a sunset with a glass of wine was something I had never enjoyed before.

Then Saturday brought me out to Chilliwack. Chilliwack has always been a place I’ve driven through, and maybe stopped for gas, on my way to camping in Manning Park or the Okanagan. I had never actually stopped and explored or appreciated that area. A friend invited me to stay at her family’s cabin on the Chilliwack River that weekend. It was so beautiful there and I had such a wonderful relaxing time walking along the river, enjoying a campfire and relaxing at Chilliwack Lake! Thank you Deanna, it was a quickie road trip to remember!

And so my summer of #ExploreBC shall continue with at least one new adventure each weekend until Labour Day and beyond!