So what's a couple of months or more???

It's amazing that I have not been on this blog for at least 10 weeks! You'd think I was busy doing other things. Not true. I've been a slacker.

HOUSE

I was lieing...we have worked so hard these past two and a half months; our bathroom and bedroom were painted ; the hall has been mudded and primed; the living room is mudded and will be sanded and primed this coming week; the pantry is finished! Love my pantry; the kitchen cabinets are a work in progress and they look so good; the floor is down in the pantry and bedroom; the shower has its pan down and the backer board up...waiting for fixtures, J2 will be soooo happy this Christmas; the ceiling is primed; the property is winterized and we now wait for the first continuous snowfall which is supposed to be this coming week!

FRIENDS

You're probably wondering...admit it, you are...how did those two ol' farts get all that done? Well, we didn't...there appeared on our doorstep 4 wonderful friends who came for a few days and worked, worked, worked (there may have been some wine drunk, some songs sung) but they were here to help and we accomplished so much. Mainly because they have ever so much energy! Honestly, I needed a holiday afterwards.

We have know our friends for 37 years; friends who can walk in the door and start talking as if we hadn't been apart. D put down the floors, Bill cut the wood, L painted, painted, painted, B offered to do the shower pan as a present for Bill's birthday (wow!, Bill had been dreading that), J (not me) mastered the saw! And we laid the floor in the pantry and bedroom, primed and painted the pantry, primed the ceiling in the whole living area (arrggh), put up part of the beadboard in the bathroom and on top of it all: we sang, ate the best meals because L must be the best cook (we had S A L M O N); told stories; reminisced and drank our little hearts out. We did. Absolutely. Can't get enough of them...just like sugar crisps.

WEATHER AT DEKA

Last year I arrived on November 1, our first snowfall of note was December 1. Bill had enjoyed a really colourful fall and I was looking forward to seeing the colours this year. Hah! It started out beautifully...bright sunny days, lovely moody ones, trees turning and then.....scream, say Hi to the poor little surfer girl and bye to the garden kitsch. A shot for our wonderful neighbours , see what you're missing?

It snowed 6 inches that day...really wet stuff. Most of it melted away but there is still a skiff around the property. If you drive for a few miles out to Horse Lake Road the snow is, poof, gone. I really believe Deka has it's own weather. This coming week is supposed to be the "dump"---a little early but what the heck, maybe it will go early too! Ha Ha. And of course, we need to go to Williams Lake and it should be a blizzard by then. Well done, Mother Nature!

Coming back after I get the supper going....

Supper got going and got eaten....Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots, Acorn Squash, Parsnips, Pickled Beets...no movie as tv is in storage until the sander sands the living room. Bother.
And I've watched all the way up to and including Season 12 of Midsomer Murders. What to do, what to do....

FACEBOOK

I am an avid user of FB; I love it to bits. This is my link to the outside world; a lot of my ex-colleagues and the majority of my friends are on it and it is the best therapy for me. I love it, love it, love it. It consumes me some days but so far I like to think that I'm not addicted, sort of, maybe, well, we'll see.

FOREST ROADS

We are going to use river rock in our shower floor so J1 and C took us for a great ride up forest roads and into Jim Creek. There we chose some wonderful stones to put into the floor; I'm hoping that wasn't too illegal. We stopped at a few lakes along the road~~Cougar, Coldscaur~~it was a brilliant day and we really enjoyed the backcountry. We headed past Hathaway and the past the turnoff to what was once Camp Deka and the 3M Simmenthal Ranch (such wonderful beef, highly recommended!) and further into the bush. It was great, a lovely time with son and grandson . I'm not sure my kidneys want to do it again any time soon.

THERE AND BACK AGAIN OR, FALSE THANKSGIVING

We needed a holiday; so many days working without a break from work or from each other...it does take it's toll. Our family was going to get together for Thanksgiving and we were all so excited but floods overtook the sister's home and we had to cancel. Something about Airport size fans in their house...go figure. That was okay but the cousins decided that it wasn't okay and that we should re-group. So we did. We chose a weekend where J2 had a flex day and the sister was up for it as the fans had been removed and a semblance of normality was in the house. Bill and I drove down on the thursday, J2 came over on Friday, we had False Thanksgiving on Saturday and came home Monday. Whirlwind but worth every minute of it. Although I'm not so sure about J2 and the BC Ferries from Hell. A normal weekend, she was there at 10:20 and the ferry was FULL! Luckily there was a 12. But bother...then when she went home we started checking hours before she was to leave and FULL, FULL, FULL...We finally got a reservation on the 9pm; then she heard on the ferry that the Pat Bay was closed due to a major accident. Not a happy camper to say the least. But she did have the chance to eat UB's Curry dinner....to die for.

False Thanksgiving dinner was great! We ordered in from the best Chinese restaurant; we must have had 9 dishes and we made quick work of it. Sooooo good. Our friends also came for dinner and there was music in the air. It's been a long time since we have sat down with family and friends and had a musical evening. And it was great to have all the cousins there too. They are so busy it's hard to get them in one room for an evening.

I edited these but there are still a number of "scenery" shots, I just adore the canyons and clouds and weather....what can I say. Just don't look.

ALL HALLOW'S EVE

I wondered what happened on my favourite pagan holiday and phoned my neighbour to find out what i should expect. It seems that there are very few kids that come out but there would be a few. I carved my pumpkin, bought the treats and waited. It is so dark out here I put lanterns out so they could see their way down the driveway up to the pumpkin where I had the candy. J1 and C came over around 5:30 to hang out before going out on their adventure. The DLVFD members and friends were going to have a bonfire, treats and hot dogs, plus fireworks that evening after the trick or treating. Parents take their kids out in their trucks and go house to house. We only had about 8 kids come to the property but we are at the end of the cul de sac and there is only one other house on the road. Our neighbours made sure that people knew to go further down the road. The first child down the driveway slid on the frost and landed on his tushie, he jumped up and hearing my concern said: I always do that! Okay...well, he was Superman. Next year I hope to head out to the bonfires. There is one at the Interlakes or Bridge Lake rodeo grounds that has a scary stall competition and a haunted house; plus a huge bonfire and treats, chili dogs and fireworks.

The evening was magical...beautiful white moon, wispy fog, frost and crisp, crisp, crisp! Beautiful.


RAINBOW

Just wanted to share some photos of a most beautiful evening.....

and do I ever love the new Blog site~~~~~so easy!

Signing off ....