Sleigh bells ring...a wonderful snowy day. That's because I'm inside and if I had to go for a drive I actually have studded snow tires and chains. Hah!

On Wednesday and overnighting we went to the metropolis, Kamloops, for a day of shopping till we dropped. The best part of the afternoon was 2 hours in Chapters! What a great time we had. The Library Board (bless their hearts) had given me $200 gift certificate at Chapters so Bill and I had some fun. The day was very dark and felt like it was -30 but 'parently it wasn't. There was no snow yet the air was very damp, like fog. Besides Chapters we went to Home Depot, Rona, London Drugs (I love LD, thank you Mr. Louie) did I mention Chapters?, Wal-Mart (sorry Sio). And then supper at the one and only Boston Pizza! The motel was cheap and very clean with a tv that had 50 channels and nothing on. Nothing changed. The next morning it was bright and cool so we needed to visit VV and a hardwood store to learn that we cannot afford Mahogany for the bathroom counter. The last time we bought mahogany was for a table Bill made for Brent's boat the Sid Sirocco (what a joy it was making that); seems the price has gone up. Back to cedar.

The drive over #24 was interesting going in as it had snowed enough to have the sand and salt trucks out. 24 reaches over 4,000 feet and the run down is serpentine; the return drive is slow and easy especially with two solid pine doors on top. Thankfully, only a few logging trucks were on it Tuesday morning so we could go at our own pace. Once on the 5 it was fine. The scenery along the 5 is so varied and heartbreaking as it goes through Barriere/McLure. Barriere is back up and running but it is so hard to look at the hills; still blackened from the fire 3 years ago. Once down beside the Thompson and into the valleys the vista changes to large farms and ranches. It's a beautiful drive.

I'm listening to Radio 365 which must have a trillion stations within every genre you can think of. Right now I'm listening to "Oldies and Blues".

We are going for a walk in the snow.....

The world is soft and white once again. We spent the day in 100 Mile with the wind whipping around us and it was very cold but brilliantly sunshine.

After an hour at home it became very windy and extremely dark. Then.....everything was white; the air was actually white. We were planning a big trip to Kamloops but maybe that will wait. And I was sooo looking forward to Value Village.

Picked up my hold at the Library (love my library)...the new Peter Robinson--great! And two pretty cookbooks. Bill chose some more dvds; it's very hard to choose dvds when your tastes are so different. We stick to the old ones; last week it was John Ford movies.

We are now parking in the actual driveway as the gumbo has frozen and are using the front door (located at the back, work with me) and the entry way. Bill cleaned out the entry way so that all the boots are now arranged by the door and not in the kitchen. Our faucet for the bathtub arrived today so we drove into the metropolis called Lone Butte and picked it up. We ordered it online through Amazon...go figure. It was an excellent price! We had the darndest time finding one here that didn't cost as much as the tub itself.

Jen called today from the "Mall". She was Christmas shopping; it's so weird to talk to someone on the phone and they're asking " Do you think X would like this for Christmas?". Although, she picked up one of my grandchildren's present for me. That saves so much time!

I've found a great online radio station site with a wonderful choice of genres. Now I'm listening to the Jazz station: Evening Melancholy. CBC can finally drive you to this. I love CBC but darn it, sometimes you just have to stop talking and play some good music.

Spaghetti sauce is bubbling away, fire is nicely banked, Phil Woods is playing, zzzzzz.

It looks like blogger.com will be accepting this blog soon. I didn't see the usual warning until I signed in. Yay!

A lazy Monday morning; at least I'm lazy. Bill is out stacking the wood and thinking of lunch. I on the other hand have just finished breakfast and got dressed. The house is also clean; we go to the Deka Lake Mall after Bill's lunch to dump all the leftover drywall. One more pile out of the yard. The other piles are organic and can be burned this spring or this winter if the snow doesn't want to fall. That's all that people are talking about...no snow. And as I've said in my facebook, I'll be spraypainting the place for Jen if it doesn't snow.

Jen will be coming December 21 on the 1:30 am bus! Who drives a bus at that hour? We cannot wait to see her.

We had our first Sunday dinner with J1 and family. It was a little later than expected as I'm not too sure about using the oven at over 3,000 feet. The chickens took a little longer than they should have but there was wine. K sang one of her songs which was of course emotional and of course, I cried. Her singing is delightful. It was the first time we had any "quality" time with C and he is such a great little 10 year old (almost 11!). J1 was 10 when we moved to Ireland 25 years ago. He was such a brave old soul our J1.

Time to throw another log on the fire, check the soup and generally enjoy life.

Still working on photos. It sounded easy but obviously I need to read everything again.

Today was the first day that I could not remember what day it was. I had to ask. For a few moments it was very unsettling. I don't wear a watch any more so my time has to do with events now not the SCHEDULE...not that I had that down pat anyway.

I'm still learning how to use the blog; I don't know how to add pictures except on the main screen; as soon as I've figured it out I'll be posting like mad. I'd like this to be a history of our home; so many people contributed to the building of it.

The wind is quite high today and that makes it a bit more brisk than usual. There was a skiff of snow on the ground this morning and it was very frozen. The temperature was about 0 but with the wind just a mite colder. Terry the Trapper (yes) taught me a lot about trapping the other day over coffee at the Interlakes store. I never had thought that the warm weather would slow the changes in the animal's coats...never had to. It was very interesting information especially about the markets and who buys, etc. Just another world in the Cariboo. He's a delightful man; grew up in New West and White Rock about the same time as Bill so they were reminiscing about orchards and being young boys in White Rock. His wife is the queen of jams, jellies and relishes so I need to meet her.

We dawdled about in the morning; as we are camping more or less, it takes a little longer to have breakfast, do the dishes, bring in wood, light the fire, clean up, and when you don't want to drywall it takes even longer. Bill just rolls his eyes. If I knew what I was doing I'd probably dive right in. As it is....but I have the second coat on the corners and tomorrow I scrape then add another coat. Thank goodness the pantry has many shelves.

We have wonderful lights at the kitchen and back doors! They were a good choice for design; the electrician was admiring them. I was worried they might be just a bit flash for here but they will look good especially when the siding is on (channel lock pine). Bill attached them to two beautiful pieces of cedar. J1 can now come to the kitchen door without muttering about the dark. Although, those tree roots just grab you, light or no light. Ents?

K and three million of her girlfriends are off to Twilight this evening. It's rare to have a film in 100 mile on the actual day of release but the owners probably figured they'd make the money immediately so could risk the price.

Picked up a door jamb today as the daughter is going to need a door on the bathroom when she visits.

Wind in the treetops, tea, wood fire.....

Today we drove through the Horse Lake valley into 100 Mile. The land and trees were covered in frost. It looked like someone had shaken icing sugar over the whole area. What a beautiful sight! Clear blue cold sky.

Starry, starry night.

This evening I took Kayla home and the sky was brilliant. The Big Dipper was amazingly beautiful with Venus low on the horizon. It takes a little experience to drive at night here as there is one streetlight between us and the Interlakes (about 15 minutes drive). Very, very dark on the road and then you look up and it's glowing. Sometimes it's very unsettling. There was a startled deer on the side of the road, long ears and "deer in the headlights" eyes.

I have completed the taping of 4 corners in the Pantry! By the 4th one it started to look pretty good. There are still many more coats to put on but I'm feeling less stressed. My first inclination was to do a terrible job and Bill then would call in the professionals. Not a choice, it seems.

Tomorrow is 100 Mile day: Library, Chartreuse Moose , Lumber stores, groceries, laundry, just a good time had by all. The day is supposed to be cold and bright. The drive in is so beautiful through the valley, I can't wait.

My zen garden looks very Cariboo; a little snow will set it up just right. And our lighted tree is a beacon on the road. When you come over the rise from Jody's place you can see it sparkling.

Bliss.

This morning we cleaned the property out front as much as we could. The drywall leftovers will have to wait until we have Jody's truck. Not to worry. My little pine has Christmas decorations on him and I moved the Lantern beside him so he wasn't lonely. It's very zen...except for the water spout but that's the water element.

It's dull and rainy but very fresh. The wind is soft but there is this waiting that seems to be happening. Hmmmm.

John the Butcher is now an acquaintance. Always good to get to know your butcher. He makes these killer Apple Pork Sausages. My mouth waters thinking of them. There is a variety of tastes. I mean to try every one of them. Unfortunately, his fresh turkeys cost about what I spend on a whole dinner. But his sausages will come in handy for stuffing. Mmmmm.

Quiet Sunday. Paper, book, fire, tea.

Today I fix my mudding mistakes. At least what J1 says are my mistakes. I've learned that I do not take to direct supervising. When you're used to giving direction it takes a while to politely receive direction, especially from your son. Stuff you learn when retired.

Snow falling on aspens. That was what we woke up to this morning.

It seems that mudding isn't going to be my second career. It isn't going as well as I would like it to but it seems sanding can save me. After the second coat of mud on the drywall screws J1 came by to let me know I was doing it wrong. Although I was doing it "by the book" there are many other ways with less sanding. Maybe there are. Sigh.

The time here is bliss (minus the mudding). I love to look out the window and see Aspen and Spruce and even that pesky squirrel that Dan named Cuddles. It's early evening and the tall evergreens are swaying with the wind. When you are outside you can hear the wind coming through the trees and you stand and wait for the wind to arrive. It is such a beautiful sound.

All is silent except for the clicking of a hot woodstove. I do feel blessed.

Hello from Deka Lake.

Bill and I have been working very hard trying to find some peace in the chaos of building a home over the last 10 days. It's like camping but warm and dry. We now have the ultimate---a flush toilet although the Johnny Depp will be with us forever as the power does tend to go out up here in the winter. No power--no pump. Bill also rigged up a temp (at least he says it's temp) kitchen counter and we added our new sink and taps. The tub will come shortly. The place actually looks like a few of the houses we lived in during the 70s.

At this moment the moon is on full and peaking through the trees into the living room. A more than magical evening. This time of evening is my favourite; the trees are black against an indigo sky.

Snow was here for a very short while and I have to say I did like it. Although, it may be a different story in February. We shall see. What is especially nice about snow is that it covers all the building leftovers that we haven't had time to move to the Landfill (aka the Deka Lake Mall). Recycling isn't done here and I'm checking at 100 Mile House to see what I can do. As we go in once a week it seems the right thing to do.

Oh, look, it's 5pm and the Whiskey be calling. Tomorrow we shall see how my first mudding went. There may be a lot of scraping before the second coat. Bother.