Not since January 2012??? That has to be wrong~ apparently not.

I cannot believe I have not posted for over two years.  Crazy.
But, I'm rethinking how to start blogging again~ from an entirely different location. 
Should I continue with DL Dispatches or start a new blog?  And what should I blog about?
Our new adventure is pretty low key compared to our move to the Cariboo and building our
gorgeous new home.

I shall be back. 
PS~ the kids are in Kelowna~ yet another adventure.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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???

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??

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

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

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

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.

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