Catching up

So, I've been busy.

First of all one of us fell when in town and severely damaged their wrist ligament. Both my wrists are fine so I leave it up to you to decide who fell.

It absolutely devastated Bill; he is the main builder on this worksite and without him all comes to a veritable standstill. The air has been blue in the house with many words said about tripping on one's sandals whilst strolling through town. All the months spent climbing up and down ladders with heavy pieces of sheathing, standing on a steep roof and nailing same sheeting on....not a blister!

So we sucked it up and moved on. Bill found he could still manage his two fingered typing so he could work on volume 3 of his Wild Jack series; and it's amazing how you can manage with one hand. He stained the fascia and we managed to get one side of the fascia up....WCB would have been very upset to see us but what the hell, we did it. I was using a rake to hold up the fascia, Bill could use the drill as long as his wrist was straight, then we worked tandem with me standing on the workmate. As long as I didn't move an inch to either side, I lived. Not bad for two old farts. And today we just put up the kitchen screen door without any damage to either of us.

Our siding hasn't been delivered yet which I think would have put us over the edge. Bill would have been looking at the piled siding and getting frustrated. But, we are going to try to put it up once it comes; it will be so much slower but we will do it. Then the deck. So exciting.

I abandoned Bill for a week to visit my wonderful daughter on the Coast. It was her first time hosting one of the parents and she did a great job. The apartment was cleaned from top to bottom. Her roomie was away and we just lazed around, did some window shopping, lunched with friends, had dinner prepared by her boyfriend, sat in the sun, went for a drive, drank some wine, watched movies and generally behaved well. While I was with J I also had a chance to visit the library staff and hug a few friends. There was a wonderful Garden Party that I was invited to and I could catch up with my colleagues from work. Lots of sun, food and good people. Then there was "girls' night" with close friends. It was sooooo good to see them; we started to meet evenings for wine, supper and movies and I miss that so much. And I spent a glorious Sunday morning at VV with D. D also joined J and I when we did some shopping; it was a great time.

Getting to the Coast was an adventure....travelling is always an adventure for me. It's not the travelling that makes me anxious, it's the leaving. Never have been good at that. When Bill delivered me to the bus station and I started to get a little sniffly as I walked across the tarmac to my doom, Bill called out: "Remember, this isn't a punishment, it's a holiday." Well, I had to laugh then. It sort of broke the ice. Onto the bus I got and somehow I survived. It was a great journey as I love the Canyons and took some great shots of the Thompson! C, my sister was there to meet at 9pm (7 hours! although there were only 8 people on the bus all the way to Langley then all heck broke loose) and I stayed with my sister and brother-in-law for two nights then over the pond to J. I returned to my sister's on the way back and spent another 2 nights. It broke the travelling up and allowed me some great times with my family.

B, my brother in law treated me to the Vancouver Art Gallery to see the Dutch Masters; it was wonderful. We learned so much about the Golden Age of the Netherlands and saw some absolutely spectacular art. Highly recommend it to everyone. Then we had lunch at the Gallery Cafe! B is the best host. We had a great time. It's not often I get to spend time with him.

It was so hot in Vancouver! I overheat easily so I have to find ways to cope with the heat. And a wet washcloth does the trick! Although, people thought I was a little strange I'm sure as I would stop in mid stride to whip out the cloth and wipe my arms, neck, face and legs with a cold wet cloth. It was soooo cooling.

On my way back to Deka I spent two nights with C as B was on his own adventure. We went to Steveston and Richmond and relived memories of growing up in that area. Supper at PaJo's (yummy) and then a late evening walk down the Boardwalk. It was gobsmacking how much growth there is in Richmond and Steveston now but they've done a spectacular job with the Boardwalk and the history of the Canneries. All I can say is "do it", it's a great treat. Especially at sunset. We walked a little along the dyke, too, and if you ignore the humongous houses it still is the same beautiful river. A great evening!

Our neighbours came up for some fishing this week and presented us with two beautiful hanging baskets which I will desperately try not to kill. The colours are fantastic and they look great on our home! It was in appreciation of taking care of their poor trailer when the snow collapsed their porch cover and broke two of their windows. All in a day's work as neighbours but I am very grateful for the hanging baskets, I've been craving colour for ages. Thank you A and S!! Not only for the baskets but for being thoughtful, considerate neighbours.

It's been Thunder country for a few days now. It's a love/hate relationship as no one wants the lightning strikes but I love the sound, although the shaking of the house could be a little less. Such noise.

You can tell it's summer as now when you drive you not only have to watch for suicidal deer and potholes that could swallow the largest of honkin' big trucks but we now have to keep a close eye on cattle who stand and chew their cud whilst standing in the middle of the road. Do all cattle chew cud or only cows...I have no idea. Also, I've loaded up on DEET and Raid spirals. Yes, I know, not very environmentally sound but I do NOT like mozzies! In fact, I don't like anything that skitters! This is a skitter free zone!

There have been deer in the front yard in the early morning...not that I've seen them but Bill did while I was on the lam. He also heard an owl during the late evening....is it me?

I've been scavenging again and came home today with a marvellous sign "The Blue Barn"; I left the OPEN sign in the dump as I had visions of people stopping at the house to see what I was selling. J is now rolling her eyes. When she comes up I'll take her for a little scavenge, I'm sure she'll love it.

We are waiting til the end of August for the Deka Lake Convoy...many friends and J and R may also come up. C will of course be at Watch Lake so I'll see her lots.

Looking forward to the Bridge Lake Stampede on June 27th. It should be lots of fun.

And, of course, I have many pictures. Liquor helps if you dare to look at them all.
You may ask why I use initials instead of names; I could make them up but I'd forget who was who. One of my family encouraged me to use initials and I have done so. I forget that this is so open to the public!

Chicken, Noodles and F's Peanut Sauce.
Movie tonight: Spirit

Look out...Pictures!
First big Thunder storm
Bridge Lake and Fascia
An evening on the Lake
Jaye's Adventure
Nature
Our screen door and a little outside