I just wanted to invite any That’s the life followers who may be checking in to come and visit the new blog for our business, at www.stellarcoffee.ca.  I’ll be taking over the blogging helm, so I’ll be doing my best to fill Kiersten’s shoes.  I hope you’ll join me.

Thatsthelife was about cashing in all our chips to move across the country from Toronto to Ucluelet. It was about the excitement and challenge of starting over, the cultural differences between big city TO and small town Ukee, the uphill journey of starting our own business.

And here we are. Our business license is still in it’s envelope, waiting for a frame. We’re putting all of our energy into the roastery. There is no time for blogging.

Not just now.

Our story continues. When things settle down, I’ll catch you up.

Thank you for reading, commenting and emailing. Next time you’re in Ucluelet, look us up.

Our coffee is taking off, which is great.  People love it.  It’s so gratifying.

We just tried one of Kat’s first blends, which is pretty spectacular.  She’s working on three right now.  Blends can be tricky – like blending colours on an artist’s palate, you need to know which elements complement each other, and which will just muddy the flavours.

My father came to visit last week, which was great.  He stayed next door in the very B & B Kat and I occupied for our first 9 months in Ukee.  Dad spent most of his time helping us: he tuned up our computers and installed new software, he taught me how to change the oil in our car and we changed the brake pads together.  He paid for a new exhaust and water pump for our 30 year old toyota tercel, aka Karma Car, giving it a new lease on life.  He gave me a new camera – yay!

Here Kat & I are on the Wild Pacific Trail – I’m the tired looking one.  I was still pretty beat from the drive to Nanaimo the day before.  I borrowed a friend’s truck, as our little tercel wasn’t in any shape to make it to Nanaimo at the time.

The truck was great, except when the brakes seized just outside of the airport and I spent a half hour at a gas station pouring water over the caliper and tapping it with a hammer, coaxing it to release.  I greeted my Dad with dirt up to my elbows and grease under my fingernails – quite a change from the city girl he knew in Toronto.

I got to drive my Dad back to Ukee in this truck, all the while trying to avoid using the brakes… in the mountains.  The owner of the truck told me he “doesn’t tend to use the brakes to save $$$ on brake pads, so the caliper isn’t usually a problem” – OH THAT’S REAL COMFORTING!!!

In the next few days, Dad helped me fix up the tercel, and he bought us new tires.  Thanks Dad, we appreciate your help so much.

Actually, it’s a good time to thank all of our family, yet again, for their continuing help and support.  We are so grateful, thank you so much.

And a huge thank you to the Ukee & Tofino locals, who are embracing our coffee so enthusiastically.  Samples are getting passed around, our customer list is growing.

Well, I’d better get back to the list of things I should be doing other than blogging.

I’ll let you in on a secret:  today’s the first day Kat & I have had off together in 6 weeks.  It’s going to be sunny and 20 C today – so we’re going to the beach.  We deserve it, we’ve worked very hard.

Let the summer begin!

This winter we have relied heavily on our friends Dan & Stacey for help, for friendship, for transportation and that pesky chimney. The very day Stellar Coffee gets its business license, Dan gets a great job offer — in North Carolina.

Just as we’re so happy, we’re heartbroken too.

Thus, we pass another milestone in Life in Ucluelet; saying goodbye to dear friends who move away.

stellarcoffee.ca

Or drop us an email: stellarcoffee@live.com

You’ll be able to buy our coffee through our website by next week. If you just can’t wait until then, drop us an email and we’ll get some to you. We’ll post locations where you can purchase bags of coffee as our retailers rack them out.

Our thanks to our first official taste-testers. All rave reviews, particularly for our espresso & Medium roast Honduras.

YES! We do ship to the United States.

Wow! What a trip this has been; almost two years since Kat & I decided to move to Ucluelet and start a coffee roastery.

We’re here. Finally, we have arrived!

Maybe they’re lining up for coffee – ha haa!

Got buzzed by an eagle:

Oh there he goes!

They were there!

It’s pretty tough to get pictures of them from the shore, so we just relaxed and watched the ocean:

The grey whales were feeding within 20 feet of the rocky shore. Since we’d arrived at low tide, we were able to get right out to the drop off. Once, a whale surfaced right beside us – we could count the barnacles of her back.

Between whale sightings, we watched the canvasback ducks and surf scoters dive and bob around in the waves.

Then, we went beach combing for abalone, top snail shells and live oysters.

It was a great day.

Here is the stupid roof bracket! I mean, the AMAZING roof bracket that wasn’t at all worrisome or a pain:

Here is our beautiful chimney and our wonderful friend and neighbour in the snazzy hat who came between fishing boat arrivals to help us raise our chimney.  Old fashioned barn raisings came to mind.  Kat & I did not raise this chimney – our amazing friends, family and community made it happen.

Superman Dan, with his safety gear ready to scrabble around on the roof top and screw the chimney to the bracket:

She’s up!  Of course, we had to take her back down again because we forgot to put the cap on the top of the chimney.  By the second chimney raising, we were pretty good at it.

Ha ha ha haa!

Many lewd jokes were tossed around during this chimney raisin’.  Yes, we can all rise to an immature occasion.

Still, it’s up.  Our chimney is up.  Hallelujah!

In other news, we had thirty bald eagles outside our house yesterday.  And one golden eagle.  I didn’t actually see the golden eagle, Dan saw it – but it was apparently significantly larger than any of the bald eagles, and was chased off by half a dozen bald eagles when it got too close to the best fish plant.

And guess who else is back?  The bears.  I found bear poop in the lot next door this evening.  Apparently, the wolves have wreaked havoc upon the bears this winter, digging them out of their dens as they hibernated and slaughtering them – 4 in 10 bears in our mountains were taken by wolves this winter.

We can hear the wolves howling across the harbour every night now, often at midnight.  They set the sea lions off.  It’s funny, I’m so used to the sea lions I can sleep through their roaring even when it shakes the house – but the far-off ,eerie, high-pitched cry of the wolf pack will jerk me from the soundest slumber.  Their calls rise and carry, lilting, harmonizing, falling away.  I understand now why wolves have historically been so feared.  Their howls seem to say “We’re coming!”

The most dramatic thing that happens to the beaches in spring are the crazy-low tides.

We see almost double the beach at low tide this time of year.

Can you see Kat in her black coat way out on the rocks?

The eagles’ chicks are back. I know them by their behaviour. They’re more aggressive, and more curious than their parents. Here, we have the unsettling feeling this one is eyeing us up:

The eagles aren’t the only birds getting worked up; I was buzzed by a rufous hummingbird yesterday.

Look out Ukee, Spring is well and truly here! (Now where is that sunshine???)