Deka Lake Dispatches

I cannot believe that Christmas is over and that Jennifer has gone home. It seems like we were in a whirlwind for the last 10 days.

Bill has won many battles with the creeping, seeping, leaking Evil Mr. Frost. It has been very hard work and uncomfortable down in the crawl space for Bill. He feels he's almost won the war. What a 'snap' that was! Everyone was caught off guard and many people had their pipes freeze, etc. We counted our blessings that we had not put up the siding! that would have been a nightmare to try and fix. Lessons learned by us: frost can creep in the tiniest of cracks, holes, you name it. The other blessing....no one lost power during the horrid -35!!

The cold was easing up when Jen arrived on the 22nd but it was still nose hair freezing weather (topping the charts at -25). On the 21st Jen began her journey to Deka and boarded the Greyhound in Vancouver in the late afternoon (around 5:45)...she phoned us at 9pm to say she was in Chilliwack!!! We knew we were in for a long haul; her arrival was supposed to be 1:30am, a time we thought we could handle quite easily and now we knew we would be lucky if she got in at 2:30. At Cache Creek she phoned and said that they would arrive at 100 Mile House at 2:45. Lord save us. So we bundled up at 2am and started the trek into town.

The roads were very icy so we needed to travel slower than usual. About 6 miles out of town we received a call from a very cold and tired Jen wondering where we were. We gave directions to the local Tim Horton's (thankfully just two doors down) and said we'd be about 10 minutes. We passed a few cars on the outskirts of town and made the comment that those parents were on time to pick up their children! Seems we weren't too far wrong. At 3am we slid into Tim's and picked up our extremely tired daughter. We got home and into bed around 4:15am. I think it was 1976 the last time I was up that late!

The next morning was a very late start but we were all happy to be together and planning Christmas Trees and dinners! It was darned cold when we went out to look for a tree but we were determined. We printed off our permission slip from the Forests site (just in case someone challenged us) and went into the hinterlands to find our tree. It took much less time than I thought it would and Jen's eyeballs didn't have a chance to freeze---her mascara suffered but that was it. We found the perfect tree (a lovely spruce around 7') and brought it home.

First it had to de-ice; it was covered in ice. We place it in the tree holder and put yards of plastic under that. It dripped for about 24 hours and we decorated it on the 23rd. It was/is beautiful! And the Moravian Star is a little worse for wear but still able to glow at the top. Must find a new one. Got the Cranberry Chutney done---that is such a good recipe!

On Christmas Eve Jen was my elf and wrapped all the presents for me as I mentioned that I might not have time to make the Paradise Pumpkin Pie if I had to wrap. There was also the Peas and Pear Salad...oh, my! I still had Jen's and Bill's to do but it was a great relief not to have to do them all. Normally I'm way ahead of the game and everything is done so that I can concentrate on food. Not this year. Evil Mr. Frost got in my way. All the presents were put under the tree and it looked even better.

Sandi had offered to make Sushi for Christmas Eve and I took her up on it. We had everyone over and had a great time! The Sushi was perfect; the dogs were frosty; the kids were sociable; the music was great; the snow was perfect; I'm pretty sure I had too much wine; everyone was happy. And to all a good night! The kids decided to leave their presents here and to open them on Christmas Day when they came over for supper.

After they left I still had presents to wrap and I usually wrote little poems or cute sayings....this time, "To: Jen" was all I could work up. Another year. Jen and Bill watched "The Snowman" while I did the wrapping. I was supposed to put together Les' Cinnamon Buns and forgot....

Christmas Day was presents, prepping turkeys, whipping up potatoes, simmering gravy, completing salads, wow! And Jen had a wonderful time in the snow. It had warmed up considerably and it was a joy to be outside. Everyone came over around 5pm and we opened presents, drank wine and ate an absolutely wonderful meal. Considering I don't have counters I was pretty chuffed at the dinner that I put together. And my Kitchen Aid hog was superb! We had crackers, wore hats, blew whistles, laughed, giggled, talked, ate and collapsed. Then there was the pie. It was long, tiring, exacting, magnificent day. And then they were gone.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day photos

The weather was going to turn on us on the day Jen was to leave (27th) so she decided to leave on Boxing Day. Now, if you ever travel Greyhound opt for the Flex ticket as there is no way in hell you can change a date unless you go into the depot. So, we had no choice but to drive into 100 Mile, change the ticket (to a flex one), and drive home; then, go back in to catch the 10:20pm bus!!!!!!!!!!!And on Boxing Day the snow started very lightly on our way in then it was blowing snow when we returned. Whiteouts are not fun; nor are windshield wipers that freeze every 20 minutes and leave about an inch for Bill to see out. Arrrgghh! We could not return that night in that weather. Let's say Jen was not a happy camper. Bill's suggestion was to go in on Saturday afternoon, take a motel and wait for the bus. That way, we didn't have to drive home which made Bill happy as his night vision is not the best especially if the snow is blowing, Jen was ensured that she would get to town and get on a bus! But we didn't count on Jen staying at the Open House til midnight and being in a very loving, up beat mood the next day. That was sarcasm.

We were invited to an Open House at our neighbours' on Boxing Day. They open their house to anyone and everyone; they have a wonderful spread and are the best hosts. I think almost everyone from Deka was there. Cheryl introduced me to so many people but I can't remember half of them; there were kids and teenagers, grandpas and grandmas; you name them they were there. It was great; but a little too much for Bill who had just driven from 100 Mile in a mini blizzard with no windshield wipers. So, we left early. Jen decided to stay even though she knew no one; I was glad as that would take her mind off not getting the bus. She had a blast. Jody and Sandi plus the kids were there so she knew them at least. And everyone wanted to make her feel welcome. It was the next morning that was tough. But, she wanted to go home so badly---she was worried there would be another snowfall and she would have to wait longer. We were determined to get her on a bus!

Going into town in the afternoon, getting a motel room, letting her spend time alone to nap, shower and brood was perfect. We walked around town looking for the second book in the Twilight series (nada), browsed through stores, picked up a Subway for Jen....all through thick, falling snow. It was a good decision to come to town early as it would have been miserable driving. And we stopped at the Greyhound depot to make sure the bus was running. Our thought was, if Jen didn't get on the 10:20 she would be in town for the 3:30am but the Greyhound people said that as the routes were busy they were putting on extra buses so if Jen wasn't on one bus there would be one right after it. Yay!!! We napped, showered, watched venomous TV and went to the depot in falling snow and waited and waited....we got her on the bus---she was so happy. And we just fell into bed. We knew her journey would be long and full of crankiness and no sleep but she was on her way home.

That was Christmas at Deka.

Leftover Turkey, Chutney....and a walk in the snow