Deka Lake Dispatches

2012-01-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS

I love Christmas. I love the lights, I love food, I love the cold, I love the smiles, I love the stories, I love the movies, I love the shopping....I love Christmas. Even as a child with little money in the family, Christmas was celebrated at many levels with family always at the top. Candlelight Service was the last Sunday in Advent with one of the younger kids singing Morning Star, the massive tree in the Moravian Church all lit and decorated, candles being handed out to everyone, the Church glowing in candlight, the choir singing...There was the Pageant on Christmas Eve with the kids all doing some sort of play or recitation, paper bags of nuts and oranges given out to the children, carol singing, giggling and so much excitement; and then off to the Grandparents for our *special* gifts (always new jammies or nighties that we would wear that night to bed), more singing and oranges and chocolates and hard candy that was all stuck together in a kalaidescope ball and aunts and uncles and moms and dads and cousins and brothers and sisters, tree lights and it seemed so magical at the time. It still does in my foggy memory.

As an adult and mother/wife I've tried to find the magic that I felt as a child and teenager. Christmas is my holiday (okay, All Hallow's Eve is a very close second) and I love every element of it. But I think I've tried too hard to find that *perfect* Christmas and have always felt a little unsatisfied with the day itself. For me, the days leading up to and Christmas Eve is the time for magic with anticipation of gift giving and receiving, lights in the city, searching for the right gift, wrapping and creating the right quote for the gift card, and then a quiet evening with family, all lights out except the tree, The Christmas Movie (Alistair Sim's Scrooge when the kids were young and now A Child's Christmas in Wales), the gift from The Spirit of Christmas Past and just a feeling of peace. The day itself ~ filled with family and friends at dinner, music and chaos....it's a love/hate relationship. Maybe it's because it's the end of the anticipation; I've always leaned to celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas up to Twefthnight but that isn't acceptable to friends and family. This year was just not my Christmas, no family at Christmas Eve, no daughter...just different. Our son and his partner had Christmas Day dinner and this was just wonderful. There were kids and wrapping paper flying, family and such good food! Lovely yet Different. When we came home the house was so silent, a glass of brandy and to bed. But I think that's what will be in our future. Our children are adults and it's time for them to take on the mantle of Christmas magic. As parents and grandparents we are part of it but as an accesory, a well loved accesory but not quite in charge any more. We are now the storytellers of past Christmases.

We move on knowing we are loved and needed.

2011-12-03T12:12:00.001-08:00

Are you joking me? It's December?

I don't understand! Life just disappears when you're living in the fast lane! There is so much to talk about but a paragraph will probably do it.

Summer sucked, weather was so anti-Cariboo, the place was lush though~~I had the best naturscape you couldn't even plan this growth!~~but we didn't have ANY fires, a plus but still a little sun and heat would have been nice, the non-permanent residents were out in droves on the last weekends of August/September and they were a rambunctious lot, bless their noisy hearts (not the brightest group, though~even though we had a wet summer when it did get hot we had major restrictions, apparently some people didn't know that fireworks could set off fires, uh huh), we did enjoy having the sister up for her birthday at the end of August...there was a little warmth and sun for at least two days of her birthday week, friends and relatives came and enjoyed bocce, margaritas, horseshoes, margaritas, swimming, margaritas, canoeing, margaritas...you get the picture; we got our final inspection at the end of August and celebrated by firing the staple gun into the air! What a wonderful release for us. We still have one corner of the house inside to do and the landscaping (including deck and overhangs for the kitchen porch and cantilever) but we are D O N E! It's been heaven enjoying the area finally and just sitting in our home and doing home things~decorating a little, Bill did the final touches on his last Jack Strong in the trilogy and works on his next novel now, and moving the daughter to the Saskatchewan North!! Our friends from Pender spent 5 days with us and we enjoyed that visit soooo much. Just talking and eating and travelling around the area. Oh, oh!!! we went to the Bridge Lake Fall Fair and I won an electric motor~how cool is that? Now, we need a Zodiac of some sort. We celebrated children having birthday parties and All Hallow's Eve... And now we sit surrounded by snow, with a blazing fire in the woodstove and prepping for the Christmas proceedings. Bliss.

This Christmas will be very unusual but wonderful all the same. It won't be the same without our Christmas Elf but our son will be having dinner at his place and there will be lots of celebrating! The Elf will be staying in SK with her guy which is as it should be, there will be many years yet to get together. And, really, we've had her for 29 Christmases... I can share one. Sort of. We hope to have son and friends and g'children over for Christmas Eve. So I'm baking a little bit and have really cut down on my shopping. I'm moving to buying from small craft stores (used Etsy in the UK and am really impressed with the items and the shipping) and not buying as much. Today we'll go out and do some decorating with spruce boughs on the Blue Barn sign to help brighten up the area. The tree is up but not decorated; the lights on it are so beautiful and honestly they do twinkle that I hate to decorate it. But during the day it does look a little empty.

We are still enjoying our life here. Our community is very eclectic, friends haven't been made but we are social with a few people and enjoy our simple life. Visits to town include stopping at the Nuthatch bookstore and visiting with Joy and Kathy. They have a great little bookstore and are very outgoing, always stopping to spend time to talk. I'm hoping Kathy has another Girls' night soon. Deka is the farthest of the lakes so having one here would have to be a summer time event..after the deck is done. We spend time with our neighbours Jack and Carolyn when they are up at their log home on Deka. And we have our son and his girlfriend and the girls and their extended family. So~~we're happy. Our good friends are always with us by phone or fb or skype, they will never be too far away. These friends have been with us for 40 years and it takes time to make new ones. I think I use the word friend differently than most people. It's not a word to be taken lightly.

Signing off for a short while, I hope.

Well, hell, forgot about the Coastal Visitation

2011-05-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I haven't gone on ad nauseum about the Coastal Visitation? It seems so long ago now.

So~Greyhound and I had an unadventurous journey together down to Coquitlam. I had a double seat all the way which is the only way to travel on Greyhound. My pillow and I were very comfy. It was crowded leaving 100 Mile House but I managed to secure the last double seat. Don't mess with the G'Ma. When we left Cache Creek it was half full and very quiet all the way down. It helped that I was into my WordSearch puzzles. I don't even remember going through the Fraser Canyon. The Thompson, yes....I love the Thompson River and Canyon. It is magnificent.

My sister and nephew picked me up, and the visit started with some lovely wine. C and I spent a few days together shopping at consignment stores, visiting, eating and drinking. Then Bill drove down and we ambled over to Victoria. C had bought a fantastic lamp for us for our two birthdays~so generous. It looks absolutely perfect in our living room!

The wind co-operated and we enjoyed our visit with J2. So many friends to visit, the library staff and I had a great lunch, dinner with two wonderful people from the library~~I count myself very lucky to have worked with such incredibly eccentric and loving people at the GVPL~~next year we will have a 'girls' night'...miss those immensely. The three of us spent one beautiful day with B and J, our good friends on Pender. We've known B since 1972; many adventures have been had together and continue to happen. He is the reason we have a house foundation that will have to be blown up to get rid of it. Also, he is the reason we have a deck. Our friends have been so generous with their time and skills building our home.

It was hard to leave the daughter but we knew we'd see her in the summer.

Back to New West Quay for a few days of shopping, more food, lunch at Scoozi's (you absolutely must go to Scoozi's) with B, and lots of visiting with niece and nephew. So many stores, so little time. Our big acquisition was a set of bookcases from Ikea; Bill walked them over in the buggy to the Greyhound and put them on a bus back to 100 Mile House where we would pick them up the next day. Then before we left for Yarrow we stopped at my sister's favourite grocery store on the Quay and stocked up on mega items we cannot buy in 100 Mile House! Love that!

We have a few friends that we have known our lifetime together and one of them lives in Yarrow~her daughter was also going to be there overnight and we were looking forward to seeing her too. It was a great visit! Lots of stories, laughs, memories...and a little wine. Having friends that you can just pick up where you left off is a joy. You walk in the door, and just start talking. We are blessed.

The drive home was a little stressful for Bill. On his way down the car started to act up. It has never done that and it was really upsetting to be driving through the canyons on your own with a car that was being poopy. It seemed to work itself out when down in the Mainland but on our way out to Yarrow, it started again. So we drove home without ever turning the car off. We took turns getting out for food and washroom breaks. The car did fine but we are now looking for a new one~one we can lease and feel comfortable taking down to the Coast or to the Prairies. We need to have another journey to the Prairies, that's a given. Love the Prairies!

The bookcases were waiting for us at Greyhound and we had so much fun putting them together and they look so fine .

Journey done~~looking forward to October for our Birthday trip.

Spring never came~waiting for Summer....Sigh

2011-05-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

It's May 30! And Spring never came. Well, it came in the strangest fashion~cold, snow, rain, some flooding at the fen off Womack and the lake has actually risen up the Access road about a third of the way and the creeks are really swollen. Eek. Our egg lady is near Deka Creek and has about 18-24 inches of water on her property which doesn't help with calving and chickens and turkeys..... We have been untouched by any of that, knock on wood. The house is extremely well sealed and the runoff hits the ditch on the other side of the road first. Which brings me to a story of Buyer Beware~~

There is a piece of property just up from the corner of our road that was for sale. A couple from Calgary came to look at it and bought it. Once they were home the real estate agent phoned to say that she had sold them the wrong property and it was the property beside it that was for sale. Say what, you say? Exactly....it happens more often than not here. The agent said the property that really was for sale was better than the one they looked at. The buyer hemmed and hawed as they hadn't walked around it; but, the price was right and they said okay. On the long weekend they came here to view their property, cut some trees, prep it for their trailer.....they found a bog. Most of the property was under water and the rest was just mud. The culvert carrying the water off the hill roared into their lovely area. Nothing they can do but fight the M of T to move the culvert. This I've got to see. The agent has no obligation at all to them. Which I find morally wrong. If you had the sign on the wrong property, sold the wrong property you would think there was a legal loophole....I mean~there are maps and this agent even lived in the area. Maybe there is a loophole and the owners just don't have the energy. Not sure.

But other properties have been sold incorrectly, including selling a property to a person who built their house and found out it actually crossed a property line. They had to buy the property next to it. I don't know how many times I checked, measured, checked again, all our property markers. The new owners huddled around a campfire for the weekend and it was all very sad.

There are all sorts of little issues rearing their heads as more and more people come here to live full time. Outhouses for one thing~we have one which we don't use except in dire emergencies but other properties use them all the time in the summer. And this year the flooding of outhouses is rampant. That is so not good for the water table and the lake. Ugh. Imagine the runoff charging through outhouses on it's way to the lake and over wells. Ewww. The time will come when this area will have to lose it's rec sites. That will be entertaining.

I don't mind having people here on their property only for short vacations but I dearly wish they would take better care of their places. Some are just derelict looking and others look like used trailer lots. They also live outside as they are *camping* which is so contradictory to those of us that live here full time and tend to spend our time in our homes. Noise levels, machines, big boy toys, just yahoos. Then there are those that take such pride in their property and keep them so clean and neat. There really needs to be more vigilance with property sites. There I've said it~would you have your city yard look like this? I think not~the neighbours would complain and something would actually be done. Our neighbours that come for the long weekends and summer are very respectful with any noise and they don't own big toys. Blessing.

Enough complaining. I love it here. Part timers go home and leave the place to me. The silence when walking the roads is bliss. Watching the deer graze through our property in the morning on their way to the lake is heaven. Building our home is hard but satisfying. The place looks wonderful.

The last room to be mudded is the 2nd bedroom/study. We've moved Bill's office onto the kitchen table [will I ever eat on it?], covered the floor with plastic and I'm merrily (not) throwing mud on the walls, in the corners and on the ceilings. Most of it lands on the plastic or in my hair. I always seem to be able to step in the one large clump of wet mud and track it around the house. I'm constantly barefoot which adds to the picture. Just started the ceiling today....this ceiling was the last one to be drywalled and there must be at least 11 seperate pieces of drywall. They used up all the bits and pieces and then expected someone to actually mud and tape them!! There is only one joint that is dimpled, the rest are all butt joints. Trust me, they are the worst. Now the latest muscles to be wrenched are from reaching across the ceiling. I hate mudding.

Today the thunder rolled across the sky for a few hours. Such a magical, powerful sound. The whole of the Cariboo/Chilcotin had thunder/lightning for the day. There was a little rain but nothing like last week. For this we are grateful. What a week! Torrential downpours and cold. One evening there was snow falling. Gadzooks. Snow. Only in December do we want snow. It took so long to go this year I really don't want to see it before Christmas. Fat chance of that but I want some H E A T!

Bill has spent the last two weeks removing all the beaver dams that we built on the property. All the boughs and twigs have now been burned or went to the landfill. There is an area for wood, etc which they burn during the Fall. Probably not the best for the environment but it keeps the forests standing....I could imagine so many out of control fires happening if owners burned all their rubbish. Bill has also bucked a few fallen trees, thrown the burls onto the wheelbarrow and moved them closer to the woodpile. And managed to severely pull his chest muscles while doing this. So, no heavy work for him for a while til he's better. We have a deck to build so he needs to heal.

The deck! Finally, we will be building the deck. I say "we, kemo sabe" but I mean Bill and our friend B. So looking forward to sitting on a deck and not lounging in dirt. Yay! This should happen sometime in July. Then we stain the house~August and paint the trim. So happy. It will probably not happen in that time frame but this summer/fall for absolute sureness. Promise.

Spring 2011

2011-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

Spring is slowly coming to Deka. The ice has taken on a new texture and colour; the fisher people are still making it onto the ice so I guess it's still pretty deep. I'm not sure I'd try it. The eagles have returned to the DLVFD nest; there are two nests there now so I'm curious as to which one they'll move into. There are eagles scavenging at the dump; there was a beautiful chocolate teenager there a few weeks ago and either mom or dad sitting at the top of a spruce watching their offspring. Ravens, my favourties, always there at the dump....huge, scruffy, indigo...I love them. Robins are everywhere, well, at least if you have some dirt for them to play in... but I know they'll be on our property soon. Chickadees are singing every morning, they stay all year round but they aren't as vocal in the winter. Cuddles the squirrel is moving, moving, moving all the day; she seems to have found a friend~great, more Cuddles.

Now, Digger is put outside longer and longer. He isn't happy about it but honestly, the boy is an outside cat, a street fighter, lover of all things that skits~~he'll get used to it. Older he gets~but he is destroying our trim so he needs to get those claws dulled on the trees. We put down a large piece of cedar, covered it in catnip in the hopes he'll use it to sharpen his claws. So far, he's just gotten drunk. And we bought some natural ingredients spray to put on the trim and will try that tonight. He'll probably lick it off.

Our daughter turns 29 this weekend! It is unbelievable that we have a child of that age; wait a minute, we have a son that's 38~~~how this happens I'm not sure. As they get older we get younger. Just posted pics of our trip to Ireland in 1978 on facebook and it was a wonderful journey to take again. There were adults that were skinny and had black hair; they looked familiar but just fleetingly.

Pantry door is being painted, more trim, new cpus to play with, brilliant skies to enjoy and a soft wind with noises of Spring to listen to.

Soon we will be on the Coast for a short, wonderful, visit~~sister on the River, daughter on the Island and lunch with the usual suspects from the library. Oh, yes, and golf, golf, golf for the big guy. Sweet.

Another day in our small world.

Note~~Silverado is the best duster!

Catching up

2011-01-18T23:16:00.000-08:00

The last time I blogged was June of last year. Woof. What have I been doing? Let me think....

Right, we're building a home in the Cariboo. Still. Probably always. But that's okay. I'm loving every minute. Okay, every second minute. It's had many challenges this past year and I'm one of them. Snapping your knee~makes you cringe, doesn't it~can put a damper on every aspect of your life and especially if you're also building a house. Pffffffthhthththt. Nothing to it.

Life goes on.

Driving around in the automobile today~~the buffalo came to say hello. Huge wonderful beasties. There were some young ones but as soon as I came near the elders rallied round and had them hidden in the middle of the group. A few ranches in the area raise buffalo and there are two that I know of that also have Longhorn. Maybe that will be the adventure this weekend.

Girls' night~~~a friend that we met through The Mackenzie and who now is part owner of the 100 Mile House bookstore invited me to a girls' night! I tried very hard not to be hysterical when invited but after shrieking Oh my god about six times my hostess was starting to regret the invitation. It was a great night. Although it was exhausting making conversation with 8 new-to-me women in one room. But the group was wonderful. Met the woman who sells eggs and chickens (and soon to be Turkeys!), the woman who bakes the best buns I've tasted in a long time, Trapper Eric's wife, the wives of the two *lumberjacks* that Bill and I know, the owners of the bookstore, the hairdresser and more. Lots of good food, great conversation and much wine.

The night also had another first~me driving. It was a really crisp, clear night and I loved being out on my own driving. It was a longish drive~about 15k. The drive in was fine as most of the roads were snow pack and then they were clear in spots. As there has been thawing the area over the Bridge Creek bridge was all water. So I made a mental note to watch the wet parts on the way home. The way back at 10:30 was amazing. So black, black, black. Thank goodness for the snow. Once I looked in the side mirrors on Mahood Lake road and it threw me off~nothing, absolutely nothing is reflected. It's like driving through mud. Eyes front, the water had become slightly frozen and crunched as I drove through. The ride home was at 40 k all the way.

The medical help here is becoming impossible. My knee was more swollen than I thought it should be so I wanted to see the doctor. Sorry, the office is closed on Fridays. Okay, how about Monday~nope, it's Spring Break and they've taken the time off. Really. Sad isn't it. The clinic was suggested and that's where I went. Took my book and waited about an hour which was good compared to Bill who waited 3 hours one time. Anyways, 'parently I shouldn't be walking about 1/2 a mile every couple of days. And it's the scraping of the arthritis that is causing the swelling~who knew. So back to sitting on my tushie most of the day. So dreary. And taking anti-inflammatory meds for 10 days~~miserable stuff.

Not too many wildlife about. Maybe it's the deep snow that keeps them in the forests. But we have seen Eagles. Beautiful soaring Eagles. One was a teenager with the most chocolate of feathers and then the adults, presuming they are the parents. No moose but there have been glimpses of deer. One day there was a fox playing with his lunch across the road from us. We could see him perfectly in the forest on the snow floor. He had on the fluffiest of red coats and a black tipped tail. A beautiful sight. Although I think his lunch wasn't too happy to be thrown about like that.

Bought my ticket for my trip to see the sister, then Bill will pick me up and we'll go to see J2. Yippee. I hear they have green grass, cherry blossoms, and rain. No matter. It isn't white. And it is always soooo nice to be with them. Also, Denise. And maybe a girls' night in Victoria. But golf for sure for Bill!

I've been putting the cat out for short periods. He doesn't last much longer than 15 minutes but not to worry. Digger really needs to get out. He's getting really flufffy and a tad overweight. And he's clawing all Bill's cedar trim. Not good. It's almost two digit weather so he can just tough it out. He has lots of fur.

The house continues~the trim is now being painted. Shelves were attached to the kitchen walls and puck lights were added. The colours in the house are delicious~~Ancient Copper, Ecru, Wool Tweed, Phantom Mist, Shellflower, Evening Glow....absolutely delicious.

We've also been out and about a little more~~~performance of the grand daughter at the high school~a wonderful evening with J1 and C and one of her daughters; K sang beautifully! Then we went to C's band performance (younger group~~around 10-13) which we really enjoyed, so much great energy~again at the high school. It is just so new to be out trekking in the cold and the snow, then warm in the local school...everyone out for the performance. We are really lucky to be part of J1 and C's families.

Time for bed. Hate this time change~but tonight the sun was still shining at 6:30pm!

So, what could have happened in four months

2010-06-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

A damn lot! That's what could have happened.

I sit here with my leg up on pillows, crutches at my side and cane hanging out with them. You cannot understand how ticked I am. It all started so innocently....a luxurious bath, the son came over and as you haven't seen him for a couple of weeks, you quickly get out of the tub~~do you remember to hold on to the side and put one leg out then the other? Of course not, you walk out of the tub, the deep, deep tub...one leg out and you are just pulling the other leg out and put all your weight on one leg, turn and S N A P! I have learned to block out seeing it~I actually watched the knee snap like a chicken bone....When people tell you that their knee snapped, believe them~it actually does make a snapping sound. Evil, cruel, horrible, painful, demeaning and downright silly. Oh, and you are also naked and shrieking, how special is that?

So, it began looking like a canteloupe when I was in ER, it has now progressed to slight swelling (after 6 weeks) and I still cannot straighten it or bend it more than 90 degrees. But it is certainly an improvement from six weeks ago. Still waiting to hear from the specialist as to when I can have an appointment. Although it's an inconvenience I am not in severe pain so I hope it heals more and more and maybe that specialist doesn't need to be seen. But, I'm not holding my breath; the meniscus seems to be mighty torn.

Never mind....

Home

Bill is doing the most work, of course, but I'm doing little things~I've sanded the entry way from the four foot level down (I sat on a stool and thumped my way around) so that Bill could put the wainscotting up. It looks great! He's put in the cedar bench in the nook area so that we can sit and put our snow boots on without turning into pretzels. Now we are trying to work out how I can finish the ceiling corners then we'll put up wood on the ceiling. The wood will all be painted so it shouldn't look too claustrophobic. At least that's what I'm hoping. We chose a lovely shade of green (light olive) for the walls. Bill thinks he can rig a scaffold for me and I'll see what I can do without having to reach for tools. It won't be easy but I'm determined to get it done.

The eating area has it's wainscotting up and looks terrific; the bathroom is done except for the ever constantly unfinished shower. That floor has given Bill sleepless nights; he doesn't mind making mistakes with wood as he feels that you can just do it again if it doesn't work...but mortar on the floor has him stymied. The Mackenzie is up in a couple of weeks to help us put down the wood floor and I think he and Bill will tackle the shower floor; the plumbing is all done and works beautifully, the tiles will be easy to put up and we just are waiting to get the floor done. I cannot wait~showers are so missed.

Our counter by the sink will be done this summer. The laminate is chosen; our neighbour will be putting the laminate on the counter that we have built and that will be wonderful. It's a colour that is hard to describe so hopefully pics will do the trick.

The house will be completed this autumn! That we can guarantee. We'll do the outside staining this summer, the floor will be done, trim outside done, gable ends are completed, half the deck will be done this summer, and all the finishing inside can be done in the winter. This Christmas the place will look so good!

Bill has done such an awesome job with our home. Still work to be done this summer but we feel really good about it all! What would we have done without all the support of friends and family???

Life in the fast lane

It's amazing the lack of moose this year. My son says it's because I'm not on the road as much and that may be true. He, on the other hand, has moose loping beside him when he is out driving. Me? Not so much. Yesterday was the first moose sighting in one year!!!!! J2 saw one at Christmas when she was up but I've seen nothing. I can't wait til I can drive. I'll be out day and night looking for moose. A friend of J1's saw wolves at the edge of a pasture this past winter and described them as the size of Fairy Tale wolves. Recently there was an article on wolves in the area and I have to say I was astounded at the size of them in the pictures. Just massive!

We have seen quite a number of deer walking through the property this year. Some lovely young bucks. And one night we drove to Hathaway and must have seen over 20 deer~honest. They were everywhere. Like rodents....read: squirrels.

Today we saw a beautiful grey fox sitting on the edge of the road looking across it with great intent~maybe his dinner? He was sitting perfectly still and so straight, pointy nose just so regal and his tail could not have been fluffier. Too fast for a pic though but he is captured in my mind.

I've been stalking eagles this year but the 'accident' put the kibosh on that. I think there is an eaglet in the nest; the last time Bill and I stopped to take pics of mom and dad on their high perch, they were answering a tiny cry which I assumed was their eaglet's....I keep watching when I drive by as I so want to see the eaglet thrown out of his nest. Thrown in the nicest way, of course.

The plant life is still working it's way out of the mud. It is almost blindingly green these days which I love~I do miss the rainforest some days~and my first flower has been the balsamroot. It isn't my favourite colour (yellow-blech) but it means that the lupines are coming, paintbrush, dwarf dogwood, the fragile tiger lily and I think the flowering bush is an alder bush but that I don't know for sure. If it ever stops raining I'll try to make it down our hill to the back of the property where so many plants thrive. The rest of the place is mud and gravel~so enticing but there are plans. Always a plan.

Will blog more later.....maybe when the floor is down.

Pics if you feel like it

End of January no snow blues

2010-01-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

Weather

What a strange time it has been with the weather. We have had nothing but warm weather and the snow pack is almost non-existent and that is saying a lot for Deka which seems to have it's own little climate. There must only be about 8-10 inches on the property with a lot of areas under the trees with nothing...heavens, I see grass! Now that we're more than halfway through winter, it seems less daunting than my first winter here. But, as I keep repeating, you never know when the other shoe will drop!

There have been a few wind storms that have passed through; you can hear the trees cracking and falling. It would be great to see the trees behind us~~about 40 dead pines~~removed by the neighbours. They are a risk in the winds and with the hot summer fire season. Hopefully, the owners will remove them this year.

We also had some wonderful misty mornings that make the lake area so very beautiful in winter.

Op

Quickly get it out of the way: op failed, next op needed in Vancouver so trip to the Coast to meet and greet then three more months til next op. Ask me how excited I am.

But good things come out of this: a lovely trip to see the daughter and stay in Vic for a week. So many things to do....golf, see friends, lunch at Azumi Sushi, the Village, Library walkthrough to hug many people, stay with J2, oh, so much to do. By the way, I don't golf...the other guy does and is looking forward to golfing with good friends.

Christmas

....was wonderful.

Before Christmas we received two care packages to die for; both from the dearest of friends and so very well received. From baked goods to gift cards at the Moose, to ornaments, to well~~liquor!, matrushkas, balsamic vinegar and the list goes on. It was so welcome during the convalescent time. What absolute fun. Might have cried just a little. Maybe.

This year J2 did most of my gift shopping down in Vic and brought them up with her. It made my life so much easier; and with the stupid op healing/not healing I couldn't cook or bake. So J2 offered to bake when here and to do the Christmas feast. Uh huh.

J2's trip up here was another nightmare journey. What is it with that girl? At least she made the decision to stay at the Aunt and Uncle's for a night and catch a bus that arrived when it was at least dusk. It was great for the Aunt to take her out for a Christmas Lights drive too. And the Uncle got to drive her to the early bus. Once on and moving in a very packed bus there was an announcement to say that the next stop had a lot of passengers and the driver wanted to pick them up so the "young" ones were asked to move out of their seats and sit on the floor so the older passengers coming on would have a seat!!! Then somewhere near Boston Bar a chartered bus met up with the Greyhound and took the extra passengers. Now is there something wrong with that??? Safety??? What was the driver thinking? Other young passengers said it happened often: overbooking and asking people to sit in the aisle. I just can't fathom it. Understandably, J2 wrote a letter of complaint. We'll see what happens.

Where was I? Right, food. So, J2 baked and learned all about the difference between icing sugar and flour. But, otherwise, the cookies were great. We cheated on tarts but cut out pretty toppings for them; and we made the immoral Chocolate Guinness Cake for Christmas Day dessert. I pointed and J2 put it all together; this recipe is so easy and so sinful...you must try it for any reason you can think of. I used Chocolate Stout this time and not Guinness. The dinners, baking and my sanity could not have happened without J2 and Bill. Oh, and the grandson dried the dishes. And J1 ate the food supplied. He's my guy.

We also made a trip up to a friend's property to cut our Christmas tree. Grandson came with us and we chose what is probably the most interesting tree we've ever had. But after J2 decorated the tree it was beautiful. I received a package in the mail from the Lindsniuks and it contained two beautiful ornaments that I will treasure forever!

Walks at sunset, lake side stops, choosing the right tree, being a kid again in the snow, enjoying her nephew....it was great to see J2.

It was the first Christmas with just J1 and our grandson. So many things change but it was a great Christmas morning for everyone. From pellet guns to fancy gumboots to liquor to mama's new camera! It was a wonderful day. Love my family.

We made plans to travel to the Coast to my sister's and spend a few days with them. So we loaded up and left on a brilliant Boxing Day morning. The weather along the way was so fantastic! From ice fog to brilliant sunshine to coast fog. We also thought it would help with J2 saving her yet another horrendous ride on the now infamous Greyhound. I don't know if we'll ever get her on another bus again. Once in Vancouver we just had such a great time. Food, wine, cranberry gin, food, great company, shopping, you name it. Wonder-ful. And J2 made it home to Vic safely and with ease. Auntie and I drove her to the ferry and made sure all went well. Some sniffles. Then the Aunt and I went to Deas Park. Wow, loved it and then we drove to Finn's Slough as I wanted to take pics. Another stroll down memory lane in the Richmond environs....the dykes, mainly.

Work continues

We continue daily to add a little here, build a little there, sand and mud....my brother-in-law mentioned that more is done than is left to be done. Yes!

Bill is finishing the cabinets in the kitchen which look so stunning; I'm sanding slowly but diligently the dining area and kitchen. Then we can prime the little devils. After that I'm tackling the hall closet area and the washer/dryer 'room'. The big guy has done all and I mean ALL the window boxes (19) and all the trim for the windows and doors!!! That was a huge job. I can't believe how fast he did it. It's all in temp because we need to stain but we've put up the venetians in the bedroom and the bathroom. The hall venetians go up this weekend. The blinds make it all so 'finished'. The living room windows have two heavy linen curtains on them now; they only cover two of the windows but that works out well as I get very claustrophobic if all the windows are covered. I have to say that the bedroom is my very favourite room! Bill might start the bedroom closet. He's also completed the hall Linen closet...love the doors! He can't wait for warmer weather when he can put his tools out permanently and we can also finish his study/2nd bedroom. And then there is still the promise of the deck....but money does slip through the fingers so we shall see. The most expensive part is the d*** digging of the trench (4 feet down) and putting in the footings and sono tubes...such heavy duty work. The deck on its own is nothing.

It does get a little frustrating dealing with the local suppliers. They are all very helpful but it's the selection and the waiting that gets a little tedious. So it does work out that we are going to the Coast so we can pick up supplies that we can't get here. Right now the big item is deciding on stain colours for the trim and floor; there are too many choices!

Ravens

I love Ravens and I love the pics I finally got of them at the Deka Lake Mall.

I lose myself in lonely places
On heathered moor and bracken fell
And with the wind hold conversation
It always has so much to tell
And should you ask am I at ease there
I'd answer yes oh yes indeed
For I'll always need these lonely places
Where springs leap down where ravens feed

Martyn Wyndham Read/with thanks to Jim Stewart of NB

DVD: Julie and Julia
Dinner: Leftovers (Jaye's dynamite Chicken Fajitas)
Listening to Glenn Miller on Grooveshark (what a blessing to be directed to this wonderful online music collection~~thanks again, Bing-ster)

Bored, bored, bored

2009-11-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

OP

4 weeks ago we drove to Williams Lake to the hospital as there was a surgical procedure that I needed. We left at 5am to be there at 8am; we were very fortunate to have good weather. It was an overnight stay and we were back on the road after lunch the next day. B had stayed at an absolutely foul (to him) motel the one night but he did have some semblance of quiet. That is one thing a hospital does not have...quiet. Even at night. Something or someone is always clanging or banging, snoring, cleaning, turning lights on or moving around...not for the faint of heart, hospitals. I promised the anaesthetist that I would highly recommend a spinal as a substitute (when possible) for surgery; then they give you Atavin (anti-anxiety drug) to help you through the procedure. Her statement was: "You don't want to miss out on the Monday morning chatter do you?"; she was right. It was perfect. As I was a cheap drunk I needed very little Atavin. There was talk of bee-keeping, canning, gardening, reading, you name it. Lovely.

I should be truthful and admit that I was scared out of my wits. When I got out of the car, my lower lip was trembling, I was sniffling and more than willing B to say, come on get back in the car and we'll go home....instead, B said : Put on your brave face, honey. I sobbed: "I don't have a brave face!" With that I turned and walked in to Reception; she took one look at my face and immediately had one finger on the Security alarm...I could tell by her expression. So~I behaved.

Anyways, enough of that.....unfortunately, it also meant that I become one with my chair for the next six weeks. Excellent...right through Christmas. Well done Jaye! What a mistake that was. I had thought oh, well, not to worry, I'll still be able to bake, etc. 'parently not. So this Christmas which I was anticipating as the house was close to normal and my kitchen was perfect for cooking and baking is once again a no go. Bother. So, J2 will be cooking and B will take care of the Turkey. Both of them under close supervision as I am the Control Freak Diva!

HOME

Before the op we did manage to do as much as possible. The living room wall is now a beautiful white primer and it goes around into the entrance to the bedroom. It is really nice to sit in the room and pretend it's actually completed. It's especially nice at night. You can't see the floor isn't done yet. I was hoping to get the kitchen/dining room done but that just didn't work out. When I asked when I could start sanding my doctor sat me down and explained in words of one syllable what she would do to me if I even looked at drywall. Finally got the point.

Bill is working on the shower because we had a lapse in judgement and promised J2 she would be able to have a shower when she came up for Christmas. It may be a serial killer's shower (all in plastic) but we'll do our best to get it done. It's such a new experience for Bill working with the wonder board or whatever the horrible material is called that goes on the walls. It's been a little frustrating. We'll tackle the shower floor soon. We want to put in a concrete floor and put in some river rocks (smooth of course). That's the plan anyways.

UPDATE: So much for plans....we have a leak~somewhere. Where, we aren't sure. It will take a few visits from our well and pump expert to figure it out. This has weighed heavily on B but the expert has put some sort of valve in to let us keep the water at pressure which makes B happy; he says it can last til spring and on but I really want it fixed N O W. The idea of water leaking in the yard somewhere gives me nightmares. Thankfully it's a very short pipe to the house, although, we really think it's at the hydrant. So we will be working on this over the next few weeks. And it set the shower back a bit. J2 may be muttering when she arrives. Used to that.

W I N T E R

There are two months of the year that I love: October and December. And December is just wonder-ful right now. Don't talk to me in March.

We have had a few really cold nights and there is another cold front rushing through this coming week but so far it has not been anything near to last year! There are about 10 inches of powder on the ground; the Spruce are dark green against slate skies with icing on their boughs; the fox is coming through every morning and leaving fox paw indentations in the snow; Cuddles, the rodent with a bushy tail, is scampering less and less but we still see her from time to time; the full moon on the snow was so brilliant; hoar frost on the tops of trees as we drove to town; diamonds on the snow when the temperature drops and there is a clear sky; fur lined parkas, big snow boots, scarves, mittens, hats have all come out of storage. The air is fresh and the silence~~I can't explain how silent it is.

And then there's Christmas! Oh, how I love the lead up and the actual day itself. There are so many great memories at Christmas for me....I grew up in an extended family that kept Christmas well. The Moravians knew how to celebrate with food, worship and fellowship. Then there were the Granparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends~suppers, carol singing, presents, hugs, kisses, desserts, horrible cottage cheese filled jellos, oranges, chocolate, hard candy, trees, poinsettas, lights, lights and more lights....the Moravian star, sister singing Morning Star , forgetting your lines in the Church play, Candlelight service, Christmas programs at school, presents on Christmas Eve at Grandma's, the lights at night throughout Vancouver, and sometimes: S N O W! But always a sense of comfort. You understand I'm repressing all the negative energy that swirled around Christmas. Repression is sometimes healthy.

Although I can't do too much cooking or baking or shopping I have managed to get out some decorations and lights. Very festive indeed. It will all come together as usual. It's always a challenge living where we do and trying to shop but I think it's worked out. The prices in town are appalling. J2 has helped so much as she can shop for me and will bring the goodies up with her. So, bring it on, Santa.

Does everyone watch Christmas movies?

We have so many movies that we love for Christmas. It doesn't change much over the years as there aren't that many good movies made for the Christmas season.

Christmas Vacation
Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim)
Love Actually
Polar Express
Scrooged (well, only J2 and I like this one)
Christmas Story
Prancer
The Snowman (David Bowie intro only, please)
Angel Square
How the Grinch stole Christmas (both)
Nightmare before Christmas (yes)
Holiday Inn (NOT White Christmas)
One Magic Christmas
and our Christmas Eve movie......A Child's Christmas in Wales

Rather a large list but December is a long month. Each one for a different reason than the previous or the next. From visuals to slapstick to crazy to cartoons to magic.

Keeping Warm

B has been working constantly over the last six weeks with falling, bucking, stacking, chopping and splitting. When you move to a place that has long winter months you need to know that half your time is spent making sure you are warm. With our wonderful stove we have been more than warm. But stoves need to be fed and that has always been up to B. He has really worked his tushie off this year as we want to use what has been felled already but that meant getting out the chain saw and buck, buck, bucking. J1 came over to help a few days and the grandson worked for pizza a couple of days to bring the wood from below to the side of the house. We are also still using dump wood which amazes us. Hopefully next year there will be just as much there as usual. It has really come in handy and has meant that we haven't had to buy a cord yet. We will next year but it has helped.

How bored am I?

Bill's doing all the cooking and cleaning and chopping and shopping and everything! I'm putting his name in for Sainthood. Couldn't hurt. I'm one with my chair and am venturing outside more and more and for longer periods. Getting there. But I'm B O R E D.

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

2009-11-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

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 ....

Holy Hannah, has it been that long??

2009-09-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

HOUSE
So much has been accomplished! During the hottest weeks of summer we decided to put up the siding. We could only work for about 4 hours at a time and as early as possible in the morning...of course, with us this meant 9am or a little later. Well, you don't want to wake up the wildlife. We had absolutely no idea how to install siding so we spoke to a fellow who had just done his shed with channel siding, got some great tips and he also loaned us his staple air gun. Woo hoo! As we thought we'd be using palm hammers (remember Bill's wrist is still painful) this was a great blessing. That air gun just does it in no time. Our first attempts on the road side of the house had the line just a little off so we did it again and finally went with the flow. As two Libras working on anything that requires symmetry it can get really frustrating. Once we decided that perfection was just foolish and "looks good" was the better option, we had a much better time of it. Although, it was stated many times that triple windows were a killer. The belly boards were done plus the flashing/drip caps. It's so easy to type about all the work we did but was it ever hard! We did an amazing job for two ol' farts and are very proud of ourselves.
Final pics of siding and belly boards
Then there is the staining and the shingles for the gable ends.....

The gutters are up, the rain chain (oh, I love my rain chain), the entry way tiles are in!, and the bedroom has been mudded and taped. And the bathroom has just had it's first coat of paint on it! Alcove with primerThere will be beadboard to put up and the shower to do but we will be putting the floor in before the beadboard which is just so exciting.

With Bill's injury we were set back about 6 weeks and dealing with local suppliers has been a bit of a nightmare (!) but I think we still accomplished a heck of a lot. It would have been nice to do the deck but we still have a couple of months yet. Fingers crossed. The biggie is to get the holes dug for the deck needs 4 foot holes with 16 inch anchors or whatever you call them. It's finding someone with time to do such a small job. We absolutely cannot dig those holes ourselves. So, maybe in October....

COMPANY

Summer was a riot of visitors. Family and friends galore. My daughter started it all off with a wonderful visit at the beginning of July...she drove the Canyons in no time at all, had no problems in her zippy, fuel efficient car and only got lost when she was one block away (well, not lost but a little turned around). It was a great visit with a day off from the house and we took that zippy little car and gave ourselves a treat to Kamloops. The big city. We did a lot of shopping and J2 helped with the picking of the tiles which really did save my little brain. It was a deliciously hot day in town (heat is what J2 lives on)and we had a great lunch at Boston Pizza as usual. I've still to find a good, diner style restaurant there. There were ice creams, visits to view the puppies and visit with the grandchildren aka niece/nephew. The camper was given the Princess Seal of Approval. It was the perfect nest for her! We thought it would give her a sense of privacy and where she could throw all her belongings without getting covered in dust! Hard to say good bye but she promised to come up again at the end of August with the Deka Lake Convoy.

Next was a colleague of mine from the Library. He stopped in for a couple of nights on his way to PG and even further north for a well deserved holiday. S is an avid amateur naturalist and while he was here I learned many of the names of plants in our plot. On his way back down he stopped for another evening. It was great to see him and to hear of his adventures and to treat him to a little Inspector Lewis. We both love our English mystery shows.

Then came C, my lovely sister. Just can't get enough of her. She arrived mid June and stayed for about 5 days at our favourite lake. It works perfectly; she gets her morning swim, walk and coffee on the deck and then visits with us or we go there for bbqs or coffee. The kids and J1 came over one night and we had a great time. C and I really enjoy our time together and see more of each other now that I'm on the mainland. This is C's favourite area in BC and travels here often.

A and L were to stay a night with us but on their way home they developed car troubles and had to cancel. Hopefully, next year.

Then, glory be~~~the sister is here again. This time she's at her annual family pilgrimage lake...the family has been going there for 15 years! It's a working ranch and therefore there is lots of riding, riding, riding! My nephew also drove up with two of his friends. The gchildren aka gniece and gnephew are always treated to a ride. On the day of the ride C and I waited at the halfway point for the riders, met them for a snack and then I went home leaving the kids for the afternoon. Then on the Saturday we had the boys and C over for supper. Although I had meticulously drawn a detailed map on how to get from one lake to another it seems the boys decided that going all the way to 100 Mile was the best way here. Hmmm. Once here it was a great dinner party. D and his friends are talented young men and it was an evening of great converstation and lots of laughs. Hope D makes it up again. There were two in the family missing in action---one with contracts up the ying yang and the other working her tushy off in Costa Rica. We hope to see them this fall, though. Missed them lots. But it is wonderful to have this opportunity to see them so often.

And then----the Deka Lake Convoy rolled into town. D and S arrived a day early and spent the evening with us and then the day exploring 100 Mile House. We met everyone on the Friday night and prepared supper for the troupe as the drive was long for them. It was the first time driving the Canyons and they really enjoyed the journey. The Lake and weather were perfect . We spent so much time with them, J2 and R joining us on the Saturday. Laughs, swims, chatter, chatter, wine, Guinness, food, ice cream and again with the chatter, chatter. It was great! They spoiled us rotten with their company and wine and many wonderful British mystery dvds as a gift. Miss them awfully. J2 and R stayed in the Princess suite and we really enjoyed being with them. J2's friend, R, helped me enormously with my mudding techniques. He was very kind with his comments and had some excellent hints for future mudding. It was hard to say goodbye to J2, ever so hard.

And now we await the next contingent of friends in September/October. Can't wait~

FIRE AND SMOKE

Everyone in BC knows the horrible fires that have been and are still burning throughout most of the province. At Deka we have been extremely lucky and the Interlakes area has not had any major fires. Those that did start up were quickly put out by the DKVFD. But there were also a few summer "residents" who blatantly ignored the signs and the newscasts saying the whole of BC was an Extreme Fire hazard. We had to actually ask a camper if they knew there was a fire ban! They had a campfire burning away; the camper then demanded what we would do if he didn't put out the fire. We just left and reported it. The camper then started another fire two nights later. Honestly! No respect for people, animals or their homes.

Smoke lay over the Interlakes area for about two weeks. Mostly it was from the Kelly Creek fire and Lava Canyon. You would wake up in the morning, a beautiful, gorgeous morning and smell smoke. It made for amazing sunrises and sunsets but so many people were evacuated from their homes; livestock needed to be found and accomodated. Quite a nightmare. We normally can see hills to the West, North and East....you couldn't see anything. It was very eery. This is the East side where you would normally see hills East of our home

WILD AND NOT SO WILD LIFE

Where to start?? The latest sighting was a mother black bear and her cubs. Three cubs...1, 2, 3! I was so gobsmacked I forgot that I had the camera and poof they were gone. It was on Horse Lake road; we saw mama on the side of the road and by the time we screeched to a stop it was too dangerous to reverse. So we watched her cross the road and wow, then one cub, then two more. They were all sleek and very healthy looking which was good to see. The mom had the most beautiful cinnamon nose. She seemed small but maybe just young. But THREE cubs!

Many deer, moose, cattle, frogs, moths, foxes, marmots, you name it...we've seen it. It's been a wonderful summer for wildlife and not so wild-life

Can I keep this blog going? Let's see....

Catching up

2009-06-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

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

Four weeks from Summer Solstice

2009-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

We are gobsmacked but I presume we shouldn't be. We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow!!! For heaven's sakes. Well, that puts staining the fascia boards on hold for a few days. And they are still forecasting 10 degrees today. The freezing level must be really low for it to snow. Costa Rica looks mighty fine today.

I made it through the first long weekend without any major harm to myself or others. That's all I'm going to say except that I'm very grateful for our neighbours.

We had our fascia boards delivered and began to stain them. They should be up next week and then the gutters. It's on hold right now as the weather became a little damp and colder. Our channel siding will come next week and we can start on that; we bought our cedar shakes from a local business and are very pleased with the quality. The shakes will go on the gable ends.

The mudding of course continues; Bill is also working on the third volume of his Wild Jack trilogy. He's had the new cover of the re-issue of The Journey sent to him and it's great! So all is well for him in the publishing world. The Interlakes store and the Country Peddlar sell his books. The Country Peddlar also sells Bill's cds along with his books and this weekend was good for sales!

On Saturday we went to the first Tailgate Flea Market at the Rodeo Grounds. It wasn't too bad, it just needed more people selling but they'll do it again in the Fall. It was also Bake Sale time for the Ladies Auxiliary for the Deka Lake FD; we picked up the most wonderful cinnamon buns and a Pineapple loaf that we have waiting for us in the freezer. We did try to go to the local store but one look inside sent me away. Too many people.

Well, it stopped snowing! That had better be the end of it.

May10, 2009

2009-05-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, we woke up this morning to find that the little bit of ice and snow has GONE.

Yes, it is a turning point for Deka Lake. The ice left the lake earlier this year, too. Last year there were still large areas of snow on the property when they began to dig the foundation.

Did you know that the ice sinks? I didn't. I just assumed it 'melted' but nope---it sinks. You can drive to the store with the ice still on the lake and when you return, poof-gone. It breaks away from the land, cracks in all sorts of places and sinks. So neat. Nice to see the water again. It's such a wonderful turquoise when the ice is just beneath the surface.

Voting tomorrow! Everybody get out and vote. It's good exercise in all sorts of ways. And I don't mean 'futility'.

Canucks? I wonder.

2009-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Dig-Dig-Digger is back home and loving every minute of it. G brought him over in a carrier late afternoon on April 30. I met G out on the road; we talked a bit about Digger. It seems something clicked in that small brain of Digger's when he saw us and he spent the night sleeping with G, something he never did. We are forever grateful to G for the care and love he gave to Digger!

The furball needed a major grooming; he smelled of diesel and his coat was soooo thick. He is part Norwegian Forest Cat and his coat probably saved his life. It's like spun silk, doesn't matt and is water repellent. At this moment, he smells better and looks like he actually has a home now. It's been two weeks and he's ventured outside (after much sniffing of the air) maybe two, three times and after less than five minutes is frantically trying to get back in. Digger is quite happy to be a house cat for the time being.

The roads, lordy, the roads! We've already put many dollars into our poor car due to the horrendous condition of the secondary and tertiary roads here. It seems the Horse Lake and Mahood Lake roads will be re-surfaced this summer! Until then it looks like you just drive down the road like a drunk trying to miss the craters. So many pot holes, so few struts and axles.

It was Mother's Day today and I was treated royally; long, lovely phone calls from J2 and J1 came bearing gifts and for a visit; I adore both of them, they are so different but such great, loving adults. Bill of course, treated me as always, with breakfast, lunch and dinner. And he slept through the movie I chose. And, to top it off, a visit to the dump.

We are becoming quite the scavengers; there is so much good wood that people throw out and we use for kindling. I guess the time to cut it up is daunting or they are construction crews getting rid of ends. Whatever, we make use of it. I also (J2 is now getting the commitment papers ready) picked up a kitschy wrought iron cat that someone fell out of love with. It's in the trees looking very whimsical. Well, I think so. It goes with the lime green wrought iron garden chair.

The house is progressing inside and we just made the order for the siding, sills, trim--inside and out. Bill thinks it should take a week to do the siding and I look forward to putting aside the mudding to help out. It will look so nice; we had the colours picked out for the exterior paint---when I showed them again to Bill he said "those are the colours?"....Okay, maybe it will take more time

The mudding goes. It's so tedious; I can't stand it; it gives me heart palpitations; I swear A LOT; bother. I'm in the kitchen right now and there are two more coats to do. Did I mention I hate mudding?

Bill moved his desk and computer into his study/second bedroom; so that shows the master bedroom to be huuuuuuge now. He's going to rough in the closet soon. We went to Kamloops recently to choose tiles for the shower and other random things that 100 Mile cannot provide. It was a one day affair as I didn't want to waste money on a motel. We even got a visit in to VV; oh, how I miss my Sunday morning church of VV!!! One of the shocks of driving to Kamloops was the overwhelming greenness once you drove into Little Fort!!! It was shocking; lime green, olive green, dark green, light green...and on it goes. So much green. And there were flowers growing on the hills. It was another world; obviously, I needed a break.

There are sooo many deer around now. They are beautiful and serene and totally careless of traffic. Not only are you trying to miss craters on the road but also need to keep your eye on suicidal deer. Then soon enough we'll have to keep a lookout for cattle. They aren't suicidal just slow and large and stubborn. It does keep you doing the speed limit. Well, some keep it.

This coming weekend marks the beginning of the tourist crowd coming up to Deka. It becomes very busy (how many ATVs can there be in the world?) and it makes a major change in the dynamics here. It's the old Townies/Gownies scenario. Ourselves, we are expecting friends to join us at the end of summer plus J2 and my sister (Yay)! We look forward to that very much. Lots of laughter, food and wine coming up.

It's been a year since Bill came up and with good friends and relatives built one solid home. The house is my design and it seems to be working well so far. There are minor things that I would change but nothing serious. I cannot believe what a few "old" farts have put together. Take a bow, everyone.

I give the snow one last day! and then I'm taking out the hair dryer. The mud hasn't been too bad either but then the rains haven't begun. I think that happens in June; plus the bugs. Must get a supply of DEET.

Mother's Day

Bill's Burgers (Ohhhh, so good)
Inspector Lewis

The last two weeks

2009-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been wonderful.

The thaw started and we were outside taking down the skirt around the house (see: Evil Frost), listening to the melting snow on the roof, seeing the colour brown, meeting many deer, woodpeckers, chopping wood, taking the tarp and roof off the camper and leaving only one tarp on, muttering about gumbo, and my ultimate favourite activity: scavenging! Yay!

The pictures say it all but we enjoyed our excursion to the Cariboo Mall to scavenge for some lumber. We wanted to create a temp path over the gumbo so that we could safely navigate from the front door to the van without losing our boots in the mud. It does happen. It was a sunny day as usual. When we entered the dump there was someone burning the very, very old wood products in a large container. The heat was intense. We skirted round the fire and made our way to the back. And there was our answer! Someone had kindly removed their old deck and put it in the dump. Excellent. We loaded up as much as the old girl could handle on the roof racks (that's me and the car) and brought it home. On the way home we passed my son and his friend; I believe they were laughing a lot. Then we had to unload! We decided to go back for another few pieces. It made a deck from the front door and up the side.

When we were in the dump we drove past some wonderful 4x10s with massive spikes in them and commented on them. After a cup of tea or two we decided to check the next day to see if they were still there (so much competition). And they were. So, another shoulder breaking load was lifted on the van (poor thing) and we brought it all home. We now have a good walkway (albeit a little tippy) to the car. Lovely. Recycling at its best.

We have quite a bit of spruce and pine in large burls at the front of the property and Bill has spent a lot of time and sweat splitting them. The spruce is wonderful; it burns fast but creates a lovely heat.

One of his other many projects was to build a shelving unit over the stove; the fan pipe needed to be covered and I wanted a particular design for the shelves. They are only for decorative bowls, etc. Another job was to create an outdoor workshop so that he could move his tools outside and start building shelves, counters, cupboards, etc. We put up the tarp between 4 trees and we think it will serve him well.

During this time I also marked out the property a little better (never perfect but it gives one an idea) so that when we build the wood shed on the east side we aren't on our neighbour's property....always good not to cross boundaries. It was a little frustrating going through bush and lining posts up but I did it. I still have nightmares that someone is going to come and say we are on the wrong lot. Bill and my son just roll their eyes. Well, it's happened! A few times. Anyways, nothing wrong in double checking everything.

And then it SNOWED! Can you freakin' believe it? My Aunt in Saskatoon always, always said that there is one last snowfall after Easter...no matter when Easter is. I am gobsmacked. But, thankfully it is melting immediately on the roads and car but the whole property is white again, no brown...and my poor Mungo!

In between all this, we had to replace the axle on the poor little car and we now have found out the wheel bearings need help. The roads out here have done their damage. Thankfully, the Horse Lake and Mahood roads are going to be upgraded this summer. Woohoo!

So, I sit waiting for Digger. I'm not sure if G will be able to get him in a crate. When I picked him up he had muscle power he never had before and it was hard then to get him in a crate. We shall see. C'mon home you silly pussycat!

Pictures of course; consider yourself let off lightly...I weeded them like a good librarian.

Omelettes with red peppers, green onions and cheese/Asparagus on the side.
Video: Australia

Dig-Dig-Digger

2009-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Digger is a cat. A smoke. Independent, scrappy, ex-street fighter, loved and adored by two Js.

We started to build in the Cariboo May 4 and I stayed in Victoria until November 1. Our home was in a wonderful Co-Op; I stayed there until June 30 and then went to live with a close friend.

On July 1 Bill came down and moved our belongings including one cat up to the Cariboo. Digger was the absolute best cat all the way up to his new home. He was in his cage between Bill and myself. Although I knew Digger was upset I also was glad he wasn't howling all the way.

We got to Deka and Digger was the first I took from the truck; I brought him into his new home and opened his cage. It never, ever occurred to me that he would head out the door. For heaven's sake, why would anyone do that? I thought he would hide under the bed, behind doors, etc.

He headed for the door. Even so, I thought he would just hide in the bush. Digger was never seen again. I was devastated. Although he wasn't a lap cat and used me mercilessly, I loved him to bits and felt very responsible for him.

I spent three weeks at Deka, looking, seeking, checking; we found him one day way up the hill in a tree. He escaped us. All I could do was go home and hope he came back to Bill.

Digger never appeared. We assumed he was picked up by visitors to Deka and had a new home with lots of food and parties.

When I moved up to Deka in November I never gave up looking for him although I knew the longer it took the more it became obvious he was lost to us. One of our close neighbours (about two city blocks away) was taking care of 9 cats. When we asked if he might be taking care of Digger and described him, he said "yes, a brown cat". No, not brown. So, I thought Digger wasn't part of the brood.

Every day, we slowed down by the property....just in case, never to see our Digger. He's very distinctive as he's a Smoke. Not a peep, lots of white, grey, you name it. No smokes.

Today, we passed the property and there he was. Sitting on top of a pile of scrap. I got out of the car, every other cat ran for it, Digger listened and came to me. He even said hello and rubbed against me. I picked him up; he must have gained 5 pounds! G came towards me and so did Bill. Digger went insane and lept from my arms leaving his calling card--a long scracth---on me.

Wow.

G said he came to his cabin in December, frozen and covered with snow. He didn't think he'd survive. Digger has been there ever since. G was gobsmacked that he was our cat. He promised to cage him and bring him over. I wish him luck.

I wait for the return of Digger after 10 months away. I don't know if he'll stay but I know where he will be if he doesn't hang around.

Cats.

Go figure.

2009-04-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here I am, the invalid. After so many months of not hurting myself, I turn over in bed one night and something went pop. It actually went "pop". I'm not sure what but I am now in pain. It's been 8 days and if it doesn't become a little better by Monday I'll have to go in to see the doctor. It is so frustrating! The dining room only needs a little more work and it would be done. Bother.

It is a variable weather day. A little of everything. I've been craving a loud rain storm but nope. There is so much sunshine up here. After living my life in Vancouver and Victoria, it's so brilliant. There is the extra of not having the pollution, too.

Bill is building a shelving unit over the stove vent as we speak. It's our design and I think it will be perfect. He used Beetle Pine for the pipe surround and the blue is beautiful.

The thaw is going along at a slow pace but fast enough for us. We have no water in our crawlspace and are knocking on wood that we can get through the melt without it. Bill did such a good job with the drains I have complete faith. There are others right now who are living with water in their basements and crawlspaces. I can't stand the thought of water in the house!

The skirt was removed from the house (it helped tremendously with the evil frost), the tarp tent was removed from the camper; trees have been marked for removal (Beetle kill)...little things that make the place ready for Spring/Summer. It's so nice to see my little pine poking his head out and new growth on the Spruce and Aspen. The lonely Cottonwood has buds, too. The mud is such gumbo. It will suck your boots off if you're not careful.

2009-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally broken out of it's below normal status and it is quite beautiful. Such an understatement! The sky is a brilliant blue; the snow is actually melting, especially off the roof; I think I see my little Cariboo Zen garden peeking out; the hat on the Johnny Depp is getting smaller every day; there are no icicles on the house. Well, it must be Spring (for this week anyways, I've seen the forecast for the next week and PPPPP)

We spent one day removing ice and snow from the front three feet of the roof on either side of the house. It was so much fun, exhausting but fun. Bill thought of using the downspout to make caves in the two feet of snow and undermine the pack. We then cracked the ice formations off. Bill needed to see that it wasn't damming and it wasn't so another crisis averted. It's been good to have a slow melt.

Sometimes it's fun to just be creative

On one of our walks we strolled and squelched down to the property on Womack that is being de-forested. There is a road leading to the lake and we ventured down to the private property that is on the lake. As there is no other access, this cottage must be accessed by foot only historically. On the muddy, squelchy, slurpy road down you can see where there will be larger plots of land on either side of the road. It's very beautiful and so quiet. But it has opened up so much with the tree removal; the wildlife must all be looking for new accommodation. At the bottom of the hill we saw where all the trees ended up. What a lot of firewood! Very tempting but of course, private. The cabin on the lake was boarded up for winter and we speculated whether they owned all the property or are now wide open to the world without their knowledge.

A walk down to the lake on a very Spring-like day

Today as I said, it was so warm. Almost 15 degrees! I spent the morning mudding and taping the dining room. It's great to be doing this out of the pantry and bathroom. I get to see the progress more. But, I do have to learn how to do the corners yet. All is done in the bathroom except the one corner. Blah! And for my good work, I went out to bathe in the glorious sun. Woot, woot.

Mudding and Sunbathing all in one day

Spice rubbed pork, Coleslaw and Baked Potatoes
Who knows what movie

2009-03-29T15:56:00.001-07:00

We've been listening to the trees coming down on Womack Road for the last month. They are clearing a large area for development. Doesn't seem like the year to be doing it but what do I know.

It has changed the vista for all of us (2) on King Road. We see more of the hills and we actually have a lake view now. It has opened up the whole view from King looking North. The people on Womack are going to be gobsmacked when they come up in the summer. But they'll be busy taking down their own beetle killed trees.

The beetle kill and it's consequent tree removal has changed the Cariboo. There is so much cleared area now; the Spruce also has a worm and the Aspen tends to have a "black heart". A neighbour has encouraged me to plant fir and we may do this. But, I enjoy my beautiful Spruce and Aspen nonetheless.

I took a few pics of Womack for my neighbours to see.

It's a brilliant day today, the ice is melting but the nights are cold and the ice forms again. It looks like April will have snow and May will be the same as last year. Bill began our adventure on May 4, 2008 in the snow and it was cold for May and June especially living in the camper. People are predicting the same this year. Costa Rica is looking good.

Roast Pork with veg
Hockey/Masterpiece Classics "Little Dorrit"
Young's Double Chocolate Stout

2009-03-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we began our road trip to Vancouver! I had not realized how much the whiteness was beginning to get to me. It wasn't hard for the two of us to rationalize going to Vancouver for a shopping blitz rather than go to Kamloops. It also allowed us a visit with our daughter who came in for two nights and to visit with my sister and her family! My sister and brother-in-law are extremely generous with their home and their time so we all had a great visit. It was great to catch up with my niece and nephew as they are very active in education and music. Two thumbs up for relatives.

And having our daughter there was icing on the cake; it could have been longer!

We started the road trip with a visit to the Interlakes store for coffee and Breakfast sandwiches (the Deli there is superb!)then over to wash the outside of the car---poor girl was so dirty. A couple of dollars later she was sparkling.

We took the 24 out to the 97. It was a brilliant day. I'm always looking for wildlife and photo ops; Bill on the other hand doesn't understand stopping the car every 3 seconds to take a picture. So I thought, I'll just click through the window in a moving car. When you start doing that you see so many wonderful sights that you just normally take for granted. Bill and I have travelled the Canyon route all our lives. We know it so well and enjoy every minute of it.

The journey down the 97 to the 1 and through the canyons is not to be missed. I understand taking the Coquihalla for timely reasons but for no other. The Thompson and the Fraser Canyons are superlative. So, after filling my memory card twice and deleting many, I was left with a mere 60 odd photos and they're not too bad. Not great but what the heck, the car was moving.

This set of pictures comes with a warning. There are a lot and some are very "arty"---but I love the Canyons and am posting them

We make very few stops along the way but like the Clinton Hotel (especially breakfast), the Blue Moose in Hope and the Hope Cafe for food. Otherwise, it's fast food. Or, a packed lunch and sit at the Goldpan Provincial Park right beside the Thompson!

On our return trip we stopped at 100 Mile to pick up groceries and I had also promised my grand daughter I would buy Twilight for her/us. Somehow Quantum of Solace also got in the grocery bag. From there, a short ride home. As we travelled on the Horse Lake Road we discussed the total lack of wildlife welcoming parties. I still had my camera ready and was getting ready to put it away....Bill braked and said to get ready; he backed up and two beautiful moose were standing there as the welcoming committee. I got pretty good pics; they are extremely camouflaged and it's hard to get good pics with my camera but click away I did.

We arrived home safe and sound with many packages of tiles, dressers, mirrors, lights and sundry deco items that makes you feel you are actually going to have a home one day. We also made it to VV---sooooo nice---so I had a few items from there. The major shopping was for tiles, lighting and drawer slides with metal sides. We accomplished everything. It's not Bill's cup of tea but he managed brilliantly. And for anyone who loves to shop: Lee Valley!!!!!

At my sister's we had a wonderful curry from B and then C cooked up a storm every night except the last night when we had Chinese takeout from a Main Street restaurant to die for. They have this Peppering Chicken that is so wonderful. There was also sweets and breads from Breka on Fraser---great sourdough and Pumpernickel. S kept us in wine and I have to advertise the Red Rooster Merlot as a very fine wine. I wonder if I could get a box of it for advertising? I wouldn't say no.

So I've managed to barely dress today and am having a great day of looking at photos, facebooking, talking to our daughter and blogging. No drywall and no sanding. It can wait. I really am not laughing at the weather forecast for the next two weeks. It's April for heaven's sakes!!!!

Shrimp Stir Fry
Not sure: Twilight? Not quite what I would choose. Maybe some Foyle's War.

2009-03-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

We had an adventure today helping our neighbours. They have a trailer on the site beside us and their porch roof collapsed. We were asked to check to see if there was any damage and yes, there was so we struggled over to the camper through 3 feet of snow. I did the scouting in the intrepid snowshoes and Bill came later using my trail but still falling in about 2 feet. It was exhausting. But we did it and taped up their windows for them. It would have been awful for them to arrive in May to see broken windows and maybe, squirrels making their home inside.

I do admit I took far too many pictures.

Neighbourly business

2009-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

There is some satisfaction in looking outside and seeing water dripping off the roof! The wind is almost warm; I've found the deck chairs; there are buds on our Cottonwood; the snowmobiles are getting stuck on the roads; it must be Spring-ish.

We are still in for some cold weather coming up but I'm positive that there will be a Spring-like essence from now on. Whew!

The bathroom and kitchen are now being discussed as to what/how we will finish them. We both agree on using beadboard in both rooms and then paint. My paint colours have the most delicious names: Bamboo, Dorset Gold, , Winter Wheat, Nettle, Allspice, Fragrant Cloves, Belgian Waffle, Caramel Apple, Moccasin....I would like a job naming colours.

'Course this all depends on me doing the drywall. Hmmmm.

I spent most of the morning wanderingon the road, around the house....looking at branches, loving the wind, watching the water drop from the roof, falling in a thigh high snowbank, picking up spruce cones, listening to the trees falling on Womack....loving it.

Just a great day to enjoy life....on our return trip from the building supplies store at Interlakes I stopped to take pictures of Deka Creek de-icing It had been frozen since December and is now turning out some lovely ice floes.

Parmesan Chicken and Coleslaw
Hockey

2009-03-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Is it Spring?

Probably not but I was in heaven for a short period of time. When Bill left Victoria in May 2008, I was car-less and was forced (it's the only way with me)to walk everywhere. So, I walked at least 2 miles a day for 6 months. It was a new experience for me and put me in great shape. Moving here---------oops, no walking. So, today was wonderful. Bill dropped me off on our way home from the Sunday newspaper pickup near Jody's street (not that far, but baby steps) and I walked home. It felt great. Still a little chilly but a sweatshirt and Miss Puffy (thank you good friends) kept me toasty. But, I did have to jump out of the way of a few rabid snowmobilers still out on the road heading to Windy Mountain. Far too fast as usual and especially on a road that loses the snow every once in a while now.

Bill has been sealing the space between the skimcoat and the foundation in the crawlspace. Another @#$! job in the crawlspace. At least his shoulder is almost normal again. Poor guy. But we are as sealed as we will ever be. And, the crawlspace is now an excellent storage area after all the cleaning he did down there.

The kitchen/living room, hall and bedroom ceilings are finished! They are mudded, taped and sanded. Yay! I am so much more relaxed knowing that I have corners and walls to do not ceilings and ceiling corners. I have found it very hard to do the bathroom ceiling and am not looking forward to the study and airlock! But my work is cut waaaaayyy down now. It was worth the money. I'm almost out of the bathroom. Just need to do some fix-up (ceiling) and sand. Then I'm going to tackle the kitchen. Woohoo!

Jen is in heaven after being offered a government job just last week. It was quite a week for her as she was very ill and still crawled in to meet her potential supervisor. It's a contract job and potentially lasts a year. It will allow her to work at her schooling if she wants, too. We were really chuffed for her. It's not easy finding a job these days.

By the way, a second picture of mine was shown on CBC Weather. Cool, huh?

Mac N'Cheese Soup, Buffalo Chicken "Fries"

David Copperfield (PBS, young Daniel Radcliffe, Bob Hoskins and Maggie Smith!)

2009-03-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

This weather is starting to piss me off. Who in their right mind thought that -25 degrees was a good temperature for March? And the truckers are saying they're hitting -36 on the highway. Excuse me? I am totally for Global Warming if it means Spring in the near future.

Bill has completed cleaning the crawlspace so I thought I'd celebrate with some pictures. It's the least I can do. He now has a sprained shoulder from the work. And he isn't a happy camper!

My son comes over in the mornings which we truly enjoy. When he leaves from the house to come over along come his trusty sidekicks Sadie and Puppies. Sadie is his main squeeze though; she's been with him for about 9 years now and they're very close. She's the perfect dog. Puppies is still that, a puppy. She's about 2 years old and knows that Sadie is alpha girl. She has tons of energy compared to Sadie who is a tad overweight (who isn't?) and has a little arthritis (who doesn't?). When they leave, my son drives the truck with Sadie and Puppies running after him. Well, Sadie kind of trundles after him. Puppies is home and back three times before Sadie gets there but it's always with dignity.

I'm going for a short walk as it's another tiresomely gorgeous day albeit effing freezing! Tonight is Full Moon----I wish my camera was better so I could take the evening shots; too indescribable.

Clean crawlspace and visit from Pooches

Pork stir fry and noodles

We've been watching on dvd: Michael Palin's New Europe (excellent)

2009-03-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of happy wolves tonight.

The moon is beautiful, high and bright, shining through our living room window. It makes up for the last few days of snowfall and cold weather!

There were a couple of 4 inch snowfalls that happened last week and this week it's decided that -25 is good March weather. What? We've come to the conclusion that 3.5 months of white stuff is our limit. This year is abnormal (I believe they said that last year) with the cold weather and the snow pack still pretty deep. It was thawing for a week and every body was thinking of parking the parkas. The roads were clear or slush. Absolute heaven and then kaboom. Mother Nature plays tricks.

Thankfully, it's the sun that saves us. Clear, pristine skies.

They are subdividing acreage just behind us and across the road. If they continue as they are we will have a lake view! And then the property behind us needs to down their beetle pines. The hills are very visible now. Amazing changes. It must have repercussions with the wildlife! It seems that acreage can only be 5 acre plots now; no more half acres like ourselves.

The Canucks are losing to LA 3-2. Honestly.

Some moonrise shots (very grainy as I have a cheap camera) and the last snow shovelling. It was a cold day and the grader had left us a few more inches than we wanted. And Twilight, mmmmmmm.

2009-03-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

A wolf! We were driving along Mahood and there on the right hand side just standing up to his belly was a big, beautiful, fluffy wolf. He was grey with black on his back. I am so excited. And so is Bill. It seems when I call out Wolf, Wolf, Wolf....it's not as shrill as Moose, Moose, Moose!
Oh, I'm so chuffed!

Although it still doesn't beat my son leaving our place one morning, driving into his property and staring at a moose standing by the Bronco. Just hanging around.

There are more birds singing lately. Even with another snowfall last night! There are Pine Grosbeak, Grey Jays and Black capped Chickadees so far. In the area we also have the Great Horned Owl so I'm hoping they decide to live around here.

The wind has picked up and it's snowing. We shovelled about 3 inches this morning in brilliant sunshine but could see that a storm was coming from the North. Big fat clouds full of precipitation. I'm glad we went for a drive earlier. It's blowing snow right now and looking very stormy. Hmmmm. Head for the crawlspace?

Speaking of crawlspaces: Bill cleaned out the whole damn space of debris, vacuuming, sweeping and now has a lovely sinus pain (even wearing a mask). We may be flooded (happens to most people up here) and we wanted the debris to be gone so it wouldn't turn into a slushy and be difficult to drain. Nor did we want the drain to plug. We may be allright as Bill really worked hard at the drainage system. Fingers crossed. As we are on clay we're hoping the water will just run off not down. It also depends on the thaw: too quick and it means trouble.

Before and after the storm and an almost picture of a beautiful, gorgeous, fluffy WOLF

Chicken Curry with Lemon Potatoes
The Girl in the Cafe. (Bill Nighy)

2009-02-27T18:21:00.001-08:00

It was such a beautiful day today that we went walking and looking for the momma moose and her chicks. We didn't see them as it was a bit late in the day but the day was glorious.

Jody saw a coyote running along side him as he drove down Horse Lake Road. Is he some sort of magnet and I'm not? We have a coyote visiting us but I only see his/her footprints. Oh, well.

Looking for moose

Miss my friends and family ever so much. We're looking forward to the Deka Lake Convoy that is coming up at the end of August! And my sister who will join us in the summer. If Jen can she'll be up too but we're hoping she will have a brand new ever so special job by then.

2009-02-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

February 6th was the last time I blogged? What have I been doing?

Wednesday is town day and it was also the day that we were having the ceilings sanded. So although it was a mini blizzard we left the warm house and ventured into blowing snow. The main roads are graded so there is usually not a problem driving; but our road was about 6 inches of powder. We had already shovelled our driveway out the day before so you just take a run at the driveway and turn onto powder. Lots of fun. But once on Womack the roads were fine; just low clouds, blowing snow and a car that was taking it's time warming up. Brrrr. It was the first time in weeks that we had on our downies and Hellies. Last week we were wearing sweatshirts and basking in the warmth of the sunshine. Arctic outflows...you can have them. I took some pictures in town as I thought people would want to see what a real wintery day is like without the sunshine.

There were very few people on the road but as we drove home there was a car behind us all the way. I mention this as it is required of the driver to slam his brakes on when I see something I want to photo. With the car behind us that wasn't going to happen so I knew I would miss out on photo ops. And yes, one gorgeous moose was about 20 feet from the road, standing up to her "knees" in a grove of Aspen with her nose fully in the snow and blowing into it so that snow was flying all around her head! What a perfect shot and could we stop? Nope. There wasn't anywhere to turn around either without having a fast moving jeep up our rear end. So I've imprinted the image in my mind. She had a beautiful chocolate coat with palomino on the backs of her "knees"....it may also have been a young male but I didn't have time to really look and the only thing I could go on was no rack. Lovely, Lovely!

Sunshine is out again and it is brilliant in the house. There is a wind outside and snow is being blown off the trees. It is such a soft powder. Although, again yesterday we had to shovel out another 8 inches of snow!! The grader had come down the road though and King was nice and clear.

Speaking of moose, which I'm afraid I do often, there is a cow and her two calves just two city blocks from us. I haven't seen them but our neighbour takes her dog out early in the morning and has seen them a few times. They are camped out on a road that has no permanent residents and runs through a "holler" so it's quiet and as there are gullies on each side of the road it's hard to see them. I'm waiting until they decide to take a walk down King into Crown Land.

Work continues at the homestead. The daily activities to keep warm and fed take up quite a bit of time and on top of that there are doors being hung, mud being applied with much creative swearing...our drywaller (for the main ceilings) became ill with the Cariboo flu and had to cancel at the last minute. Unfortunately, we had already covered everything in plastic and moved as much as we could into the rooms with doors. It took a week before he could get out of bed; the flu hit the area very hard although I think the GVPL was hit harder than I've ever experienced in my time there. It was a terrible flu up here and we are very grateful we missed out on it; we assume the flu shot contained this particular flu or maybe as we are older, we've already had this strain. What was I talking about?

Right, work...the French doors look gorgeous! Brent and Judy gave them to us and we had at first wanted to use them as outside doors in the kitchen. But, due to space in the door area of the kitchen (these are the mother of all French doors) we decided to use them as interior doors much to Bill's utter amazement. What do I know about hanging heavy, double paned, real wood doors on inside door frames. But he did it!!! and they are such a wonderful addition.

Work inside

Our beautiful doors

More work inside, more light and a trip to town

Pork chops stuffed with Cranberries, Apples and Onions.
Curling, Golf

2009-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Not much to say but I thought I would post some pictures of Hathaway Lake in the winter especially for my sister and the Deka Lake Convoy. We are also doing quite a bit lately inside the house. Bill has worked at creating the vanity...it's cedar lathe on plywood and is stained a combo of half cherry and half mahogany. It is going to look very impressive. It reminded us of when we built a table for the Sid Sirocca for our good friend Brent. Although, we were able to buy mahogany then and we must have oiled that damn table a hundred times. It was soooo beautiful and fit wonderfully in Brent's boat. Now---forget buying mahogany lathe! The bedroom door is hung, the young man came and mudded and taped our ceilings in the open area and bedroom, and I've moved into the bathroom, cursing and swinging my mudding knives.

I digress: pictures for friends and family

2009-01-30T14:23:00.001-08:00

Time to sign in. It will keep my mind off Jen and her interview at UVic for a job. Best of luck to you, HB.

I am out of the Pantry. About bloody time. All the mudding, taping and sanding is finished. I've learned lots and hope I can take what I've learned into the bathroom which is next on the list. We've asked a local (sort of ) guy to give us an estimate on doing the open area ceiling and the bedroom. He hasn't phoned us back yet so I'm still hoping we may be able to afford it. I can whine my way through the walls but doing even the smallest of ceilings just about killed me....physically. So off to buy some primer tomorrow and then some paint on Wednesday. Wahoo! Now to choose the colours....erp. How about "Fragrant Cloves" for the wall and "Allspice" for the shelves.

We had just a little bit of snow two days ago. Our shovelling skills are getting stale. The colours have changed here as the trees have lost their snow and ice. More sun is predicted for the next week. I think the seasons are all mixed up. In summer we'll probably have rain and the gumbo that comes with it.

The roads were finally graded so that the washboard goes parallel to the road and not at right angles. The Mahood Lake road was hell. It was taking us 3 times longer to drive it because we wanted to protect the car from shaking apart. I would rather not be strutless again.

There's a little mouse that is skittering around the house and down the paths; you can tell it's a mouse as you can see his little tail marks in the snow. More deer and fox around. Jody has seen a couple of white tails and more Moose plus a mink! He's up much earlier taking Sandi to work so he sees more animals.

A neighbour is feeding 9 cats and we are going to check to see if one of them is Digger. Highly unlikely but Gib seems to think he's feeding a smoke cat. We shall see. If not, Gib seems up for letting us have a cat.

It's another brilliant day with bright sunshine, clean, clear blue sky! The snow is melting as the temperature is at and above 0 these days. It's nice to be able to open the bedroom window and not have ice build on it so that I can't shut it again in the morning. I'm so particular about fresh air at night. It's so claustrophobic without it.

Bill is working on the vanity this week. He is using cedar strips on plywood and then will stain it mahogany. Today he started on the door jamb for the bedroom. The wood was so warped! It's such a frustrating job to do in the first place without having to use such inferior wood. We will also be ordering the wood for our window trim inside and also the siding! The other major project will be the deck. I'm not sure I'll get what I wanted; it may have to be a watered down version but as long as I have a spot for a chair I'll be happy. We need to get the gutters up too.

Friends are arranging a road trip up here in the summer and we're so excited. We'll be able to show off our home and have lots of hugs, laughs, giggles and gossip. There may be wine involved, hard to tell. Looking forward to the many visits. I know Coral will be up for a while and I really enjoy having her up here with us. We both love this area very, very much.

A colleague wrote to say that everyone was enjoying doing their Performance Plans!! Obviously I was doing something wrong. PPs are not my cup of tea.

We didn't get out snowshoeing this week but we hope for next week. It will be Spring before we know it although the thaw didn't come til mid-May!!!! last year.

Bill is going to enter the ice fishing derby at Deka. It's a fund raiser for the Deka Lake Volunteer FD so it's worth a cold tushy and maybe a fish or two. If it's windy I think he'll pass but if it's a day like today---wow. I shall take pictures and bring tea.

One of our friends is in Dublin right now and posts pictures on FB that just make my heart soar. We had a wonderful time in Ireland. Coral, Bill, Jody, Jen and myself had a great adventure there for a few months. We all loved Dublin and spent many days strolling the streets and sipping "the drink"; so many wonderful memories. And Sheri's photos bring it all back again. Christmas was especially great for us all; it was a brave venture for Jody as he was the one that had to go to school and everything was so different for him....and Coral refused to say goodbye to us at the airport and bravely got on the plane with us.

I am terrified of flying so Coral and Carol would bundle everyone up---4 kids: Kassan, Hayley, Jen and the Jodester, three adults (Bill was already in Ireland searching for a home for us) and we would go to the Vancouver Airport with a picnic and throw a blanket down near the runway (those who were teens in Richmond knew where to go; you probably couldn't get away with it now), cheer when planes would take off and land. We did this for a week and I have to say it worked! Although 8 hours on a plane with an anxious 10 year old and a very active 17 month old child is not recommended. Sigh. We made it but only just! It was a toss-up as to whether the other passengers or myself would throttle one of the kids or both. And the poor young man who sat beside us is probably still telling stories of the baby who insisted on seeing everyone's belly button.

Signing off. A few pics

Note: Jen's interview went well. She was a little stressed as there was a test at the end; something she wasn't aware was going to happen. Seems to be the norm these days with interviews.

Fish in batter and homemade fries. A little wine and a movie---Baker

2009-01-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

Just had a wonderful talk with Mad Margaret of the Lunatic. She makes my soul sing.

The Cariboo is covered in white crystals these last few days. Every morning we have woken to hoar frost on the snow, trees, bushes...probably even the resident fox. There are these beautiful bushes that are everywhere (hopefully lots in my back yard once I have one) and they are covered in frost. I don't think the pictures capture how magical they are. Enjoy them.

The pantry is starting to look "finished". I have the ceiling joints to do and some sanding and then I can say "I'm done" and move on to the bathroom. It's been hard work on my hands---one of my fingers on my right hand actually stays in a fist shape and then pops out. That can't be good. Thank god for Arthritis Tylenol. I'm looking forward to sewing once I have some free time and if the mudding kills my hands I'll be mighty ticked off.

Mamma Mia and Shrimp with Noodles (Bill loves this so it's on the menu once a week)

2009-01-17T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today was Snowshoe day! Yay! I am going to be so sore~

Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry and many glasses of wine!
Hollywoodland

2009-01-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

We love driving along the Horse Lake Road through the Valley into 100 Mile House. The scenery and Light are wonderful.

There have been sightings of Moose along the Road and I always have my antennae up for them. Number one I don't ever want to hit one and number two I'm determined to get a picture.

I was fiddle-farting around when Bill shouted "Moose", slammed on the brakes and reversed...too late, all I saw was a retreating Moose behind. Sigh.

We were on our way into 100 Mile to have the Van-Go's rear struts re-strutted. It took longer than we anticipated, something about a nut....I don't know. Anyways three hours and many dollars later we started on our way home. We were vigilant coming up to where we saw the moose but Bill and I assumed we wouldn't see it. Then the shriek (I don't know who shrieks in that car) "Moose, Moose, Moose!". Bill slammed on the brakes again (he was going the Cariboo speed limit totally not expecting to see her again) and he got three pictures. I stepped out of the car as she was being so co-operative and moved closer; as I did so, Bill pulled over onto very crunchy icy road and I've never seen such a large animal move so fast. So we only got the three gorgeous beautiful photos but we are so proud of ourselves.

We now belong to the Cariboo.

Oven roasted Pork and Apple Sausages to die for (from John the Butcher).
Not sure what the movie is tonight. As we didn't watch Day after Tomorrow I may beg for that. Not Bill's cup of tea.

2009-01-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

On our way from Sheridan Lake to Interlakes store I spotted two beautiful huge chocolate-coloured magnificent marvellous perfect Moose(s). It was a cow and her teenager.

Bill has requested that when I see such a sight that screeching Moose, Moose, Moose into his ear whilst he drives is probably not the best way to get him to stop safely. I don't believe I screech.

We watched them for about five minutes meandering slowly across the snow covered bog. Mom finally looked us in the eye and we left. And do you think I had my camera? Do you? Well, do you? Crap. Never, ever again will I leave the house without the picture taking machine.

The snow has settled down a little but I do believe that you should never follow a weather report. It is rarely right. Yesterday was supposed to be an accumulation of 1cm....there was at least 3 inches when we went out to shovel. Last week was supposed to be "light snow"....we shovelled close to 5 inches of snow. But, it gets us out, we do it slowly with lots of time for pictures and talk a lot. I use the West Coast shovel so I don't do as much but it is quite the workout.

Last night we were invited out to dinner with friends of my sister. The couple are retiring up here soon but have been at their lakefront home for over 20 years. There was also a neighbour who has moved up here permanently, they also have been here for about the same amount of time. So we heard lots of stories and had a lovely evening. They were great hosts and there was always lively chat. Their home is a yellow cedar log house (the logs are massive and were all hand picked down at the Coast by Jack), 3 floors and beautifully located on the water. I look forward to more evenings with them as it's nice to be in a home with an actual kitchen. Although my words about card playing may not have me back again. I hope I wasn't too rude. I hate cards...ask my sister.

Van-go, our surfer girl van, is not well. We took her in to see the mechanic and listened whilst figures danced in our heads. Van-Go has been rattling in the right rear since around Christmas and after eliminating everything we could we had to see about repairs. Let's just say we need the car therefore you pay the bucks. Poor girl. The roads are soooooo washboard here it's not surprising that the "struts" go. The one strut is "gone" so both rear struts need to be replaced. The mechanic says it's age; I don't think he was happy to deal with a Japanese make; they drive mainly American hogs up here...we think it's a combination of both: age and wear. The mechanic and his wife are from Germany and were very helpful. The only thing that bothered me was they spoke to each other in German; my Grandmother always spoke German to my mother, Uncle or Aunts when she didn't want the kids to know what the gossip was. I was thinking the same was happening here. Now I really do need to take Van-Go to the Coast to see surf this spring.

Shrimp, Garlic, Red Pepper, Udon Noodles
Movie: Day after tomorrow

2009-01-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

The light at Deka is magical. Tonight there was a sunset that made the sky look like it was on fire. It was wonderful. I was in the pantry just minding my own business and wondering how to get one of my daughter's friends up here to do the drywalling when Bill yelled from his office...check out the light. Holy Hannah! I dropped the mud and located the camera. My first venture outside involved flip-flops but after one slip I decided steel toed gumboots were a better choice. No coat, no gloves, no hat. A brave soul determined to get the pictures. Did I mention that I missed out in taking pictures of two magnificent moose? Have I?

Two fat juicy Indian spiced pork chops on a bed of onions and apples.

2009-01-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

We had Cam's birthday at our place on Sunday evening. He turned a very respectable 11 years. As he asked for Spaghetti for his dinner that's what I made. In the morning I made the sauce and the garlic bread so that I could have a more relaxed evening. Everyone came over around 6pm and we opened presents....a few model airplanes and a mini-dig with Stegosaurus. As I was cooking the Spaghettini the lights flickered about 6 times. And the power was off! Oh, Bother! Out come the emergency candles and onto the woodstove goes the dinner. Everything turned out pretty well considering.

Sandi had made a wonderful chocolate cake with cream cheese icing and Sour Babies for decoration....oh, my. And I had finally put together Les' Mackenzie Buns just in case Sandi did not have time to do a cake. So on sugar highs we spent the evening telling tales and watching Cam try to put models together by candlelight. Not an easy task it seems.

It has snowed on and off over the last few days, nothing serious, just teasers. We went for a cabin fever drive yesterday as it was brilliant! I love driving around in this light. Of course there are lots of pictures as I am still bedazzled by the snow and the light. Have I mentioned the light?

Cam's Birthday and a day outside

Bill is almost finished the basement, thank goodness, what a miserable chore that has been for him and I am on to mudding and taping again although today's shovelling put that on a back burner. According to the weather forecast this am it was predicting 1-3cm of light snow. And we must have shovelled 10 cm and as we were shovelling another 3cm fell! We decided that we were not going to win this battle. The next check of the network showed Heavy Snow today. I think they just wait to see what is going to happen and then post what they see outside the window. So we are probably in for a very long shovelling session tomorrow. Hopefully Andy comes around and digs us out with his Quad. If not, we just wait till the grader comes and start digging.

Was that not the best Canada Juniors ever! Well, maybe not ever, but it was enjoyable. We rigged up the computer to the 42 inch monster to watch the games. Have I mentioned that I haven't missed cable? At all. But I am a tad addicted to the Internet. Hmmm? One vice for another.

Roasted Vegetables, Wine and Long, Hot Summer

2009-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

How to celebrate New Year's day...spend hours in the crawlspace taping poly, shovel yet another snowfall from the driveway and bliss----talk to good friends, share travelling in the snow stories and laugh!

The sky last night was amazing---a crescent moon with Venus swinging directly down from it. It was unbelievably beautiful. We were off to pick up Kayla from work at 7pm and then take her to Thunder Ranch. Once you got to the Interlakes store the moon and Venus were just "there"!

Holidays are over for me soon...the mudding calls (actually, I believe it's shrieking) and many other things depend on it being done.

Caramelized Vietnamese Chicken, rice or noodles?...Merlot
Sigh

2009-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! What will 2009 bring for us all? Snowshoes, that's what!

Today we are going to try our snowshoes out. The pack is high, the powder looks perfect and it's snowing....again or is that 'still'.

Pictures are sure to follow if I can stay upright. The mud comes out tomorrow and I'm back in the pantry. Bill has fought off the evil Mr. Frost and it's going to be above normal temperatures for at least two weeks. Time to take advantage of the warmth. Also, I want my bathroom finished. No mudding, taping...no finished bathroom. And then there's the kitchen. I bought the new Canadian Living Baking book (with the Library's gift card, thank you) and have been challenged by Lisa F to Kitchen Aid Mixer wars. So, I need that kitchen!

Porridge, coffee, snowshoes.....silence.

2008-12-29T21:50:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

So very long since I've had time to blog.

The war with the evil Mr. Frost has taken up our minds and time; Jen has arrived and we now have a Christmas tree. More to follow---we are planning a Sushi Night for Christmas Eve, full Turkey dinner for The Day and a party at the neighbour's on Boxing Day.

The weather is changing for warmer as we speak....let's hope so!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We are very blessed to know who we know.

2008-12-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

COLD This is unbelievable! The day the pictures were taken it was -23; last night it went down to -34!!! It does not help me at all when the locals say that it's the worst in 40 years. That does not help the frost coming in the house. No, nada, not on your life, it's a nightmare.

So saying-------it's quite beautiful. Sunny skies, no wind, white, white powder everywhere. Lovely. Now if we could just get back to the balmy weather of -15.

We are having problems in the crawl space. After we talk to the Inspectors I'll give the low down. Right now what the consequence is: frost coming up into the 4 corners, into the drywall!!! I noticed it when I was in the pantry sanding (again as Jody is far too particular)and thought...hmm, this should be dry at the bottom. Not good. It is awful for Bill as he takes it on his shoulders and is using that killer HINDSIGHT. It means more work when we have other things on the go.

But, Gary the neighbour is over tonight to help with some soldering of pipes for the faucet. Yay.

Shrimp in olive oil and butter with a splash of hot peppers and lots of garlic, with Japanese noodles. And probably lots of wine.

2008-12-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

My pictures are sometimes so touched up that they load slow. Please be patient...it's so much fun to do.

It's been a long while since I've been on the blog! Christmas, snow, construction..all play a part in keeping me away.

Light snow is falling. I'm learning that flurries is what I would call light snow and light snow is "lots"; then we are getting "snow" tonight. According to Cheryl our neighbour that means fat snowflakes. Bill was out this morning doing the wood thing so that we are prepped for the -31 weather this weekend! Cheryl was walking her part bear dog and stopped to talk. She invited us to their annual Boxing Day celebration; all the locals are invited but she wanted to make sure we knew about it. Yay! Our first party at Deka. We are very lucky to have Gary and Cheryl as neighbours. They have lived here for many years and know everyone and are aware of everything going on; they have been extremely helpful in making us welcome. Their daughter Amber is Kayla's best friend. They also have a son Coltan who we have yet to meet; we only see him and his friends in their cars. Their house is all decorated with lights and critters. Our road of two families is quite well lit now.

Most of the houses are decorated from Deka to 100 Mile. They are the only light except for the snow when you are driving at night.

The nights have been brilliant with the clear skies and upcoming full moon. It's as if someone has their high beams on all night. You can see at least a block ahead of you if you were walking. Twilight is my favourite time of night. The sun setting on the hills, the sky turning indigo with the trees black against it, the moon, oh the moon, turning the ground into a light show, the Christmas lights on our outdoor tree... Sigh.

It looks like we will be able to use our snowshoes (thank you Gallagher/Truters) soon. We now have over a foot of snow outside. Did you hear me???? A foot of snow and more on the way. We are arranging to have someone come clear the driveway as we can't do it all the time. Age does limit you sometimes.

Visitors came to help Bill and I shovel the driveway. Puppies is only a couple of years old and very active; Sadie is only 10 but she has arthritis and is a tad overweight. (Sounds very familiar) Sadie is the Alpha girl though. They will start looking for Jody and we are one of their stops. Puppies waited patiently for Sadie to walk back home with her but she finally left on her own full of energy. Sadie went to the front of the van and just sat there till we opened the back and lifted her in. I thought she would curl up in the back but no she moved right to the single back seat and sat there proud as punch. Bill drove her home as commanded.

Shopping for presents has presented many difficulties here at Deka. I've learned that if possible it will serve me better to take the bus to Vancouver, spend some quality time with Coral and do some early shopping in October. It's an excuse to go to Coral's, yes, but will help me a lot. Or, (and?) go to Kamloops to shop. I will not do online shopping again. So many things are available but only in certain sizes or they don't ship to Canada or if they do....$$$$$....some things you learn quickly. But I am done and am sitting here waiting for everything to arrive. It will come, right?

Bill is gamely building the frame and door for the bathroom; when you don't buy the pre-hung you have your work cut out for you. Time consuming but very satisfying; right, Bill? Gary our neighbour is going to help us with the bathtub taps/fittings this Sunday. Bathtub, bathtub, bathtub!!! Yay.

Still snowing, snowing, snowing....

Minestrone.

Loved the Dark Knight. Finally Batman the way I remembered the dark comic book character. And the very best Joker so far.

2008-12-07T16:57:00.001-08:00

Today was Cameron day. We went for a wonderful walk with Cameron.

It was the perfect day for a walk in the afternoon. We had Cameron for a visit after taking Kayla to work; lunch at the Interlakes listening to trappers ramble on and then we went for a walk up hill and down dale in the adjacent Crown Lands. My sound effects kept Cameron and Bill laughing during the walk. Whoops, Eeek, Aaaah, I don't think I know how to spell some of the sounds coming from me. I always seemed to go through the snow into small bogs and slide over hidden logs and trip over roots. It was always with a laugh but it was not quite the sounds you would expect on the crispest of snow.

The light was again phenomenal, absolutely moors moody. The snow was soft powder and untrodden. I think Cameron was just along for the "ride" but he put on a brave face. His love is XBox and walking in the snow with his grandparents amused him for a short while. He's grown into such a lovely young boy. We haven't seen much of him since we arrived so this was a very special day for us.

We're waiting for the grader to make it out to King Road. We are the last on his map and you just have to sit and wait. It's still possible to get out so that's not a worry; it's just a little easier with the road graded. Snowmobiles have been down a couple of times (kids) and are always disappointed that the end of the cul de sac does not have a wide access to Crown land. Yay! Snowmobiles and ATVs are the terror of the lakes country.

Pork chops, apples, onions, parsnips and potato. And Gosford Park for the evening's movie.

2008-12-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

Went to bed with a skiff of snow on the ground...woke up to about 10 inches and it turned to ice pellets and freezing rain. Holy Hannah! At least it will save on the white spray paint I was going to need for Jennifer's visit. She will have her White Christmas, that is, if we can get into 100 Mile to pick her up. Not to worry Jen, there is a local dog sled available.

Current conditions

I'm listening to Christmas music on Live 365 (highly recommended internet radio!!) and enjoying the relaxing day. Bother the drywall we say. Jody and Sandi have plans to go to Kamloops to shop for Christmas but the weather looks just so dicey. Freezing rain all afternoon and night. If they do, it's transporting Kayla to work and having Cameron (permanently attached to XBox360) over until the late evening. We're looking forward to that but I'm not so sure about the games he plays. Maybe if I squint really hard and wear ear plugs? What am I saying...I'll probably be right in there shooting the aliens.

Check the new Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer??? How cool is that? I opened it yesterday and am just looking at it all day. Is it not gorgeous? Isn't it? Isn't it? I cannot wait until I use it. There may be Love Buns this year!

What is it about Christmas music? It must be the feeling of being a child again. Anticipation of Santa, Christmas pageants, songs, hard candy that stuck together, pie, that horrible cottage cheese jello mold Grandma made, Japanese oranges that came in a wooden crate, cousins, Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, dressing up, nuts, Candlelight service, choirs....all that good stuff except the jello mold.

Tuna melts tonight? Slaw with it? Ah, food. Oh, yes, maybe some wine in bumblebee glasses. Someone drank the whiskey.

2008-12-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

Do I feel smart. I've figured out (sort of) how to make the links hot on my blog. I still don't quite have the actual insert right but I'll get there.

It's been very cold for Bill and I (-13 overnight) so our little Coast van is plugged in every night and we are adding to the fire throughout the night. Snow is to come tonight and then freezing rain this Friday.

Yesterday was town day. The drive in was again beautiful as the world was frosted. We went by the way of Lone Butte to pick up my Chapters books (the post office is in Lone Butte for the Deka Lake people) and then into town. My absolutely, splendiferous Kitchen Aid Ultra Stand Mixer in sexy black was in at Sears!! Today I'm unpacking it and just going to look at it for a while. This means so much to me as I love to bake/cook but mixing bowls and I do not work well together since I hurt my left hand at work. (Yes, Library work can be dangerous; it's embarrassing that your injury is referred to as "washerwoman's syndrome"!). Coral's family and two friends gave me a gift certificate for Sears (my favourite store now) and this is what I bought. Such a wonderful piece of equipment. Jam-Jams will be made this Christmas and Love Buns (look that up).

Christmas shopping is a little more challenging for me this year. Number one we don't have the choices in 100 Mile and Number two...what money? I spent most of my time asking store owners if someone sold Emu boots. That went over like a lead balloon. They have Bearpaw boots; you know, actual boots you can walk in snow, ice, etc. 100 Mile has some nice stores but just not the choice. It will take just a little more thinking. Liquor is always nice.

Our floor was delivered on Tuesday. We were expecting large young men driving a hi-ab but nope. Roy, around 70, with dog came with a trailer load and he unloaded 1300 sf of floor, handing it through the bedroom window then through the living room window. Bill then placed the lengths on two walls. I played with "turkey" the dog who has not quite picked up the concept of chasing stick then letting go of stick. And it was freezing! Sunny but soooo cold. We got it all in, though. Bill figures we're the only people building a house ass backwards. But James has been holding the floor for a few months and it really needs to acclimatize in the house. And I like to have things paid for. Our next big money item is the siding which we hope will be in the early Spring. We're saving putting the siding up until Dan can join us. We'd hate for him to be left out of the process. He needs to bring up another tea bag as Cuddles has eaten the other one.

This morning just looks frozen out there. A good morning to play with new toys and add a few pics to the blog now that I have half an idea as to what to do. I do miss my ITS group. It was much easier to yell at Alan for help or phone John in tears. Now I have to do it myself as Bill seems to be busy with other things...building, taps, book 2 of the Jack Strong trilogy, ya, ya.

We've learned a new word "prorogue" this week. A word we all could do without knowing the meaning, I'm sure.

Movie of the day: Pete Seeger, the Power of Song
It is such an exhilarating statement on how to live your life within a community. His wife, Toshi, is my hero. I had seen it a few months ago but Bill had only seen bits of it. A good compromise movie for us. Although, he did agree on the rental of Martin Scorsese's Stones Shine a light. Looking forward to watching this. Bill's not a fan of all their music but he's interested in seeing how this group functions (can you use that word with the Stones?). We shall see.

Open present, have lunch, scrape wall, fill any problems, move on to side seems, go for daily walk.....hasta.

2008-12-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

Some new pictures for everyone to look at. Enjoy.

2008-12-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

December 1! Twenty days until Jen arrives and we celebrate our first Christmas at Deka Lake.

It's been a few days of unusual weather here. Cold and snowy then the last day has been melting weather; now it's cold again and looks like it's here to stay for a few weeks. Brrrr. The minimum over the next two nights is minus, yes minus, 13! Time to plug the car in.

I've done some more mudding and the pantry is coming along. I have no idea if it's correct but after reading far too many versions on how to do it (including the cynical "Hire a professional"), I chose one and am sticking to it. It's not perfect but Bill seems happy with it. My learning curve has taught me that the absolute right equipment is important. You can't go cheap as it will show and you'll be cranky. I would like to go to sleep one night not thinking of it, though.

As the weather has been low so have I. I am affected by severe changes in weather so I'm sure that is part of it, plus suddenly realizing that this is it! At midnight last night it just hit me---left my work, my friends, my daughter, my home---a sudden revelation. I absolutely love it up here but I need to grieve a little bit I think; there was so much happening when we first arrived I didn't quite grasp the importance of what I had just done. The house was overwhelming me too...it will be a long journey. Humans are so curious.

We have a feral cat tip tap toeing around the place at night so I decided some of Digger's treats should be left for the cold pussycat. That will help him warm up. When we were on a walk yesterday, we saw the prints of a Grey Fox (I looked them up); also, the sounds of gunfire were in the air as the locals were practicing at the nearby shooting "range". Not a sound I'm used to but it goes with the territory.

So, how about Cauliflower, Potato and Pea Curry? Then a movie later?

Movie suggestion: The Savages with Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was wonderful; great writing and acting. It isn't often Bill and I agree on a movie choice but this one worked well.

Pictures of our walk

2008-11-28T14:55:00.000-08:00

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.....

2008-11-25T16:45:00.001-08:00

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.

2008-11-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

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.....

2008-11-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

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.