All the Best in 2010!

     We have been going out to a Hall way way out in the country to a New Years Dance the last couple of years.  Most of our friends join together for a big sound rythym and blues dance band and it is lots of fun.  They play lots of dance tunes and the place get really rockin'.  This may be our last year to go to this if all plans keep on track. ( unless of course we fly back for it! ).  I worked today and tomorrow off and then work the next day so we better cool it tonight - we do not drink so that is not an issue.
     Posts tomorrow and hopefully some pictures!
     Happy New Year and all the best for 2010...... as we are getting ready we are watching the Junior Worlds' hockey and the game between Canada and the US.....

Figuring and Family

Kims' parents saying' I love you' on Christmas Day

 We have not posted for a couple of days and we would like to claim the excuse that Christmas was busy, however, it was not and very quiet so we have no excuse! We had a few friends in for Christmas Eve snacks and drinks.  Our youngest son came over Christmas Day about 10:00 am, and we opened our stockings and gifts then.  We do not do very much in the way of gifts and we have been trying to cut back on Christmas and the commercialization of the holidays.  We would rather say 'I love you'. Donald and I only gave each other a gift that would work/needed for the RV. Christmas dinner was going to be the 3 of us, but just as the turkey was coming out of the oven, a friend called and he was just driving back into town after visiting his sister 5 hours away and that was perfect timing to set another place for dinner.  It was a great dinner.
   One of the strange joys of Christmas this year was finding out ( via Facebook ) on the 25th that I have many many cousins in the province that I live in and I was not aware of them. They are on my mothers side of the family and she had no knowledge either.  I have been corresponding via e mail with them for the past couple of days relaying the family history, that they were eager to learn.  So, Christmas is about family! 
   Donald's family was all in Edmonton this year.  It would be so nice to have lots of time and not be working and the roads to be good so that we could join them one year.  Plans for next year are for us to be ' down south' and our 2 boys and daughter in law to join us.  She is the most thrilled and has requested disneyland. ( Tinkerbell fan ).
   Donald and I were talking about the blogs and he has been reading those which post their expenses/budgets.  I have worked up a couple of excel spreadsheets with both present and future ( full time )  expenses/budget.  We are both fairly convinced that we will be perfectly fine. Now, to get it together to start the journey.....
   
  

Merry Christmas from all of us!           

Christmas Lights Drive

    Our youngest son dropped by to pick up his Icelandic cake, and as always, managed to arrive right at dinnertime.  There is plenty, so he enjoyed supper with the ol' folks.  I also sent along some of the peanut butter fudge ( recipe found courtesy of Rick's wife on her blog - thanks! ) along with him that perhaps he will share with the other gang at his house. 
     That is all the christmas baking that was done this year ..... no shortbread, no sugar cookies, no rumballs, no truffles.... I am on 'the plan' so I am not about to do any baking to be a temptation and for only 2 people in the house, we surely do not need it.  Christmas dessert will be an apple crisp with ice cream.  I have been very good about sticking to the plan and have managed to remove 16.5 lbs this month so far. I figure if you can go to Christmas parties, only drink water and not indulge in anything, then you will have made it through the toughest month to diet, and be that much farther ahead come January when people typically start 'the plan'. It is a good thing the staff/coffee room at work is on the second floor.  If I never go upstairs, then there is nothing to tempt me.  Donald was good and lost about 25 lbs last early summer, so he can maintain that, as long as there is not a lot of things in the house.
     I just wish it was warmer to walk! Brrr!  Tonight we are going for the annual 'drive around to see the Christmas Lights' tour. I won't take any pictures because they do not really show up well anyway.
     Thanks for stopping by for a read! 

cake distribution

     We have been busy with working ( me ) and making Vinetarta ( Donald ) which is Icelandic cake.  He has made 3 cakes and was busy today distributing pieces to some of my fellow co-workers, to his coffee buddies and the waitresses who serve the coffee group.  He also sent a whole cake to Victoria to our son and daughter in law.  He is enjoying making butter icing -  he thinks it is amazing how it seems like it won't work, and then you keep mixing and it turns out awesome.  Who says you can't learn new and exciting skills in your retirement?
     We have been going to Christmas parties - one was last Saturday night about a 35 minute drive out in the country.  There was about 80 people there and noisy!  It is an annual thing with singing carols and musicians, but I think there was too many people with too much wine.  The violinists did not even take out their instruments.  That was too bad, as we look forward to that.
     Like many Rv'ers that we read, we do not indulge very much in gifts for the holidays, so when we are on the road full time, it will be easier.  Next season, we shall be in the warmer climes, and to have the gift to our adult children be the airfare to join us, would be wonderful.
     Our cold weather ( minus 25 celsius today ) has not departed as yet so we are enjoying staying in, watching a bit of tv and doing I don't know what because we seem to be busy.

busy monday chores in the deep freeze

We attended the CNRA ( retired association ) Christmas Party last evening - mostly retired railroaders and their spouses.  It was a very nice evening with lots of conversation and I think the dinner supplied was very good ( roast beef ).  Of course, most of the party broke up before 10 pm, which was alright by us.  I had a quick doctors appointment today, and Donald has been fussing about with the satellite dish and speaking to the installer.  More on that later as he prepares to figure out things for the RV.

I managed to get our oldest son's birthday card made and sent off today.  He was due to be delivered many years ago on Christmas Day, but he hung around with me till early January. It is always a terrible time when you have your birthday close to Christmas, so we always made sure all the Christmas decorations and things were put away prior to his day, so it was more special. On his first birthday after he moved away from home, we hired an amateur opera singer to attend the restaurant where he was having his special dinner out.  This singer sang the birthday song, and I think gave him some flowers or a stuffed monkey or something.  His girlfriend ( now lovely wife ) and her parents thought it was great. He thought it was very embarassing and I suspect still has not forgiven us - oh buddy, you are way too serious!  We miss both of them very much as they very far away now.  Today we were discussing though, about moving things into storage and how to get items to their abode in Victoria.  They will be getting a few things - mostly antique furniture and china.

Well, not a real exciting day - beautiful crisp, cold ( -26 C ) and sunny.

Hmmm, Nathan, I wonder what your birthday card theme will be???????????

Early Christmas shoppers!

This lovely mum Moose and her calf came by our house at 6:50 am and then these shots were taken on the way to work about 9 am.  They look in good shape now, but by spring they will start to look
a little ragged in their fur.  You do not want to go near them - she will be fairly protective of her offspring. They also travel without a sound - your first hint is when your dog starts to whimper, that they may be nearby.

This is one of the beautiful things about living in Northern British Columbia! ( and it makes up for enduring some cold weather sometimes )

 

movie and a wreath

I had to e mail off a picture of our new front door and the beautiful wreath that Donald's sisters sent to us from Nova Scotia.  It smells incredible.  I was a lovely surprise last week and cheered us up on a cold day.  The week has been progressing with the normal chores, except that last evening we managed to wrap the Christmas presents that must go to further locations and watched a great movie.  Donald suggested we order a PPV movie ( since we have 8 free ones to use up to the end of December ).  The pick was Julie and Julia and we both thought it was very entertaining.

christmas decorations

First of all, welcome to blog followers John and Terri and MaryAnn and William - thanks very much for joining, it is much appreciated!

This morning on my way to work, Donald mentioned that this is the last year for the Christmas tree - an easy decision as is a fake tree that is starting to look fairly shabby.  I do not think a 9 foot tree will fit in the RV! Ha!

a new front door

  I just realized it has been a few days since the last post.  Today is simply beautiful outside - clear, sunny, sparkly, glistening and minus 22 degrees centigrade.  Brrr. I have a roast ready to go into the crockpot, as it is too cold to bbq something ( yes, we use our natural gas bbq all year 'round ).

We have a had a busy week with a few things.  Of course when the weather turned cold, our local supplier called to inform us that our new front door had arrived. So, with the help of a professional finishing carpenter, Donald and he installed this beautiful new door.  One more thing off the list ( as soon as the trim is finished ).   Work was insanely busy for me this week, culiminating in the annual company Christmas party - very fancy, lots of people you do not know... Some of us were remembering 15 years ago when we started work with having only 14 employees and the party would be maybe 35 people. Last evening in the ballroom of a local hotel, it was 200 or so.  Maybe my last, and I will not miss it.

  I have our Christmas cards made, and they should go out in the mail this week.  I haven't really started the shopping ( a chore I do not like ) so I may have to get busy today.Donald will be enjoying 'football day', starting at this very minute with the New Orleans/Washington game.

short post zzzzzz

This is just a short post - so have just spent from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm with our friends in the local airport as they were trying to fly out of here to make it to Vancouver and to further connecting flights after our busy weekend.  The weather is warm for this time of year, with no wind, and we have been completely fogged in since yesterday afternoon.  Some were unfortunately going to miss important gigs and teaching schedules.

We came home after a quick stop at the grocery store and visited the couch for a quick hour snooze.  It was a busy weekend - they were all teaching at a Jazz retreat here.  By Sunday evening everyone was tired, but we still managed to "yuck it up" and watch the Grey Cup, enjoying a great dinner of ribs, chili, sushi, thai spring rolls, potatoe salad, and quite a few bottles of red wine.  A good time.

a musical weekend with lots of laughs

  Whilst we have been perusing the RV dealers and the Park model manufacturers websites, we will not be making a decision till we actually go and visit the factories or rv sales lots in person.  There are too many variables in construction, and it is a big purchase.  The beauty of this decision versus other times of our lives, is that we do not have to be in any hurry to make it!  We have our RV to live in, and we will have no commitments other than people and places to visit - that will be a joy!
    So, the big things now are getting the big house ready to sell and that is not a joy.  We have ordered a new front door, and that should be ready any day for us to install.

    We have friends flying up from Vancouver Island tomorrow - they are professional jazz musicians and will be teaching at a Jazz workshop here this weekend. They are also professors at Island University, teaching there in the Music Department.   After they leave on Monday, I will be starting to purge out those 2 spare bedrooms.
     We may not post anything till after the weekend, as it is usually a very busy time when these guys are visiting! check out greg's playing : http://www.gregorybush.com  - click on the cd page and you can click on some tunes!
  

Dinner Club

  We have blue sky, but over the week it has turned to more winter like temperatures.  The cooler temps help to make the snow glisten - beautiful!   Last evening we went to our International Dinner Club get together - this club has been on going for over 30 years.  At present, the club has about 9 couples.  Our town does have dining establishments, but not a great number and this club is a way of going out for dinner with friends and enjoying far better food than any dining establishment can provide.  We have some rules and in the fall at the initial "appetizer only" meeting, the dates are picked and the themes as well.  We have used the Elvis Cookbook, every country imaginable, and some wacky themes such as ' layers' and 'stuff it'.  Last night was Costa Rican - 2 of the couples went there last winter with a group of 10.  It was a great night - Donald and I were responsible for the soup and a vegetable dish. 
    Now, almost each of the couples also has an RV, so the talk invariably turns to that topic at the table or during the cocktail time.  Last night of course it was storage and last summer's escapades and adventures.  The summer get together is with the RV's at one of the couple's river front properties.  When we go on the road full time, we may not make the dinner club nights during the cold months, but the get- togethers are about every 6 weeks to 2 months so we will be able to make at least one, and also the RV adventures with most of them!
    

tire and wheel stories

Ricks' blog made us think about tire stories - it seems kind of amusing now but back then..... three summers ago we were travelling across the prairies with our oldest son and his girlfriend ( now wife).  We started out in the early morning - Kim was snoozing in the front seat, the other two perhaps were as well, then about less than an hour into a six hour planned drive, the right rear of the suburban dropped.  Kim wakes up and says" flat tire?"  Donald says " NO TIRE!" at which point, Kim remarks very sleepily, " Well, there it goes, past us in the ditch".  Donald safely brought the rig to a stop on the shoulder - thank goodness for Saskatchewan Hwy 16 big shoulders.  And, its funny how even grown  children know better that to say anything when Dad is freaked out, turning white, hands shaking.....

We put out our safety triangles on the road behind us, and called for a tow.  When we walked back to put the road triangles up, we found lug nuts with the studs sheared off in them.

We found that if you are prepared for emergency situations with triangles and things, no one stops!  Not even the RCMP, who passed us and never even though to ask if everyone was ok.

The flat deck tow truck showed up with a car on it, and Donald immediately thought the guy was an idiot, because how was he going to haul the suburban and car at the same time!  Well, the tow truck driver lovingly said the car was for us - of course.  The brain isn't firing on all circuits under a little stress here.  We proceeded to the garage to find out we would be stuck for a day for new brake drum and brake shoes for the right rear - the tow truck driver hauled the RV to a campground for us, set it up and it was all great. Within a day we were on the road again.

Lessons learned? Would re-tourquing have helped?  Probably.  Thank goodness, damage was minimal and everyone was rattled, but safe .  It does not take much to re-tourque or check wheel nuts, especially on cast aluminum. So, one would be well- advised to do this on a regular basis.

It seems we always have "something" weird happen on our trips - and just before we left on this one, Nathan remarked to Keira ( his gal ) to be prepared for an adventure, because something always happens.  After he decided it was alright to speak after the wheel dropped, he turned to her and said
" see, I told you ". ...  and we would not have stayed in this town, where we found this wonderful barbed wire buffalo!

figuring......

  We received a quote today from a Park Model custom manufacturer in Kelowna.  This time, the quote was quite extensive, so it gave us a lot more to think about.  It was a fair price and in line with other prices.  When we left the RV lot in August, I took a number of pictures without the vehicles and RV there, so that over the winter months we could do some planning and the pictures help us to remember space available, what trees are there, what trees still have to come out and how everything will be placed on the lot.  We do not want to build a garage for a number of reasons, but we also do not want to pay for storage when we have lots of ground space available.  There are a couple of ideas rummaging around in our wee little brains that might work. 
   Ah, but it was hard to look at the 'summer' shots and not feel like you want to be right back there.If you click on the picture, you can see the bee about to enjoy the sunflower generously grown by birds who dropped some seeds.

Becoming attuned to the "r" word

  It always seems that when you are thinking about or doing something in your own life or family, others are doing the same thing.  Perhaps you are just that much more attuned in the same 'wavelength'.  As I think about retirement, one co-worker retired 2 weeks ago and another announced her retirement today for mid December.  This is from a very small office.  I think some changes in the upcoming benefit plan and retirement perks are 'persuading' people to leave earlier than originally planned.  Donald went last night to a " Last Trip" get together at the Legion, as another railroad worker made his last trip on the rails and retired. 
   There is yet to be an RV blog that we have found, where they noted on their last post that they made the worst decision of their life by changing to the RV lifestyle.  It is most encouraging to those of us who have yet to make the big leap.  The co-worker leaving in December noted today the old adage, 'life is too short...'.
   We were worried that perhaps the big house might not sell when we put it on the marketplace but we have been checking the paper for comparables and there is really nothing for sale to even make a comparison.  Another co worker's house sold within a couple of weeks, and she was happy with the price they obtained.  So, that is also an encouragement.

   More snow fell today - it was sunny and beautiful this morning and quite glistening.  Those ski runs look like they are just about ready, don't they? The hydro work project on the neighbourhood road is still carrying on and now they are pulling cable through their underground holes.  Not much excitement around the house, but there you have it.
  
 

winter morning

Yes, I spoke too soon the other day - this snow will probably stay.  It is truly lovely though with the fresh snow on the tree boughs and leftover red crabapples.  The west skies this morning are very dark as we are supposed to perhaps get more snow and there is some type of weather moving in, and I tried to take a picture of the skies over the mountain, but was unable to get the right darkness that my eyes see.  I am envious of some of the camera equipment that some of the rv bloggers are using, and perhaps that will be a retirement gift?? from Donald.  In the meantime, I will make do with my little Nikon Coolpix, which is more than adequate at the present time.

  Yesterday I was able to start making a card for a "you have finally finished your renovations" occasion. I will put up a picture of the card just before it is delivered.  Our friends have torn apart their kitchen, dining room and living room and are only days away from being done.  I have also been making Christmas Cards.

  Well, one bedroom is just about cleaned out - what is left can be boxed up for our youngest.  He was here for Sunday supper last night and went through some clothes and items.  Not much is fitting him, as he has lost about 70 pounds in the last year.  The clothes can go to our local goodwill store " New to You".  This store is operated by the hospital auxiliary with proceeds to purchasing hospital equipment and students pursuing medical/nursing careers.  The bedrooms cannot be completely finished and purged out till after the end of the month when we are host to 2 friends and professional jazz musicians from Vancouver Island who are here to teach a jazz workshop. That will be a fun weekend, as always!

Weather watching and Twinkly lights

We sure are enjoying green grass and Robins in Mid November.  Now that I have said that, for sure it will snow this upcoming week.  Donald is a real weather wizard - he keeps track of the upcoming weather and has a weather station at the big house here.  The weather station consists of a barometer, a wind thing up on the roof, a precipitation measure on the deck arbour and of course whatever he needs for temperature reading.  All this comes into the house, and there is a digital readout box on the den wall.  We also have a small one for Rv'ing, and everyone always asks " what is the little man saying for tomorrow?" It has a picture of a little guy - sometimes he wears shorts, sometimes pants, he can carry an umbrella, or have his beach chair showing.  He also tells the temperature.  I think you can get these things anywhere and they have kept us amused.  They are both surprisingly accurate! They probably won't tell you when big Arizona winds are coming though Al - those clouds are most likely a better indicator!  I read somewhere recently that Canadians are obsessed with weather matters.  I am not sure if it has something to do with our 4 distinct seasons of the year and those variations, or that we are such a large country that we can have summer weather in Victoria and a huge dump of snow in Ontario or even Calgary - all on the same day!  Check out  wheretheheckisandrewjay.blogspot.com  -  for some Calgary weather tales.

Today was a short work day for me and I was off at 1:30.  I decided to make a quiche for supper and that is now in the oven.  MMM. We receive a monthly Kraft magazine " Whats Cooking"and this quiche is in the newest issue. I am not generally a fan of Kraft products, but sometimes there are some good ideas. Donald cleaned up some more in the garage, hauled an old desk to the dump yesterday and today he is going through all the Christmas lights in preparation for placing the lights out in the crabapple tree.  We use lots of white mini lights and its looks quite lovely.  We also do the same down at the RV lot, with solar ones and those solar swirly glass balls that light at night in different colours.  Our neighbour in the lot behind us also has white mini lights on his cedar arbour and fencing.    The other neighbours behind us to the east have a fabulous fountain that is about 4 feet high, concrete looking with a ball and it lights different colours.  Our rv lots are up from the lake and in a forest area without street lights and it is really dark at night.  These twinkling lights in the neighbourhood with sitting around the campfire is kind of magical .... and makes it easier to walk home in the dark when happy hour is a little longer    :)

I have emailed a couple of manufacturers of custom Park Models and we'll see what they quote.

Ok - Donald just walked in the back door to inform me that it was now raining.  Weather guy!

Ribs and Football and Laundry

Movie Crew trailers at Oak bay marina in Victoria, BC - I wonder what they were filming?????

Its a quiet day here at the big house - laundry, NFL football and a big load of Donald's famous ribs for dinner.  Our youngest son and his friend, Doug, from Prince Rupert informed us they will be dropping by for Sunday dinner, and could Dad make those ribs? Donald cuts up the ribs, covers them with his secret rub recipe, then puts pieces in saran and tinfoil, and cooks them in the slow cooker for awhile.  Then he unwraps them, lets them cool, then BBQ's them with Cattle Boys BBQ sauce.  They are pretty good. The work project for me went again till 9 pm last night, so I am just doing some light housework today, as I am back at it at 8:30 am tomorrow.  My sister in law, Elizabeth, said it was time to retire with those hours - let me tell you, it sounds good to me.  I come home to read the blogs and that de-stresses me! We did go out yesterday to our RV storage area to block off our spot and put up a sign with our name on it reserving the area. We did the same for our RV friends also, as they are busy with a huge kitchen renovation, and we were going there anyway.  If I get up more energy, I will go and print up some of the wedding pictures to send off to family and friends.

Canisbay Cottage Bed and Breakfast

Great Blue Heron in our B&B Tree

We stayed at a lovely B and B in Victoria: Canisbay Cottage.  It was one block back from the ocean, and off our suite's balcony, we had a view of the ocean.  This lovely bird has been coming to the B and B for about four years, sitting in this same tree.  There were apparently quite a few blue heron's in the immediate area, many in Beacon Hill Park nearby.  A couple of years ago, a number of eagles moved in and ate the heron eggs or destroyed them and chased the herons away.  The owners think that this heron is one sad bird. The hosts of the B and B, Mr. and Mrs. Nicol, were fantastic and made us feel so welcome.  It was a very relaxing place to stay, and very much like home during a busy hectic time. Thanks Canisbay Cottage!  ( even though we did not have the time to take our RV all the way there, we did check out the RV park in Victoria near Esquimalt - didn't look too appealing ).

back to normal life????

We are back to the big house and what you would think would be routine, but with my big project at work, I am putting in 12+ hour days.  We flew home on Tuesday morning at 7 am out of Vancouver and I was back at work at 10:30 am!  Donald's big chore is getting the RV ready to put into storage this week.  We have a place lined up so that is a relief.  Storage places are hard to come by here.  He went and helped our friend, Lorne, winterize his unit today.  Lorne bought this RV this summer, his first, and was unsure how to winterize. He bought a Bigfoot travel trailer, which is one of those fiberglass units. Easy and light to pull, resells great. The kids ( the newleyweds ) called tonight to let us know that my parents got safely on Westjet to go back to Toronto this morning and that they, the newleyweds, are now ready to go back to work after the busy wedding time!  They also got matching tattoos of their wedding date! Ok - Donald and I have a cross stitch picture with our wedding date and the kids have tattoos. I could make some crack about both having needles but I will let it rest..... they are super happy!

The new Mr and Mrs

 

Here they are - our son and his new bride!  A lovely church ceremony, picture taking at Beacon Park in Victoria and a small reception at the Bride's parents home.

We are now in Victoria .....

We are here in Victoria and enjoying the lovely warm day.  Kim's parents flew in from Toronto with no problems, except her Dad has a very sore knee, which is being iced up as this is written ( you know RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elavation ) We also made a stop at Moore's Mens Wear to get a beautiful new summerweight suit for Donald.  Very flashy !  Our son, friends and his brother are enjoying his "stag" tonight.  I do not think we will hear from them till Friday night dinner, which we are hosting at a restaurant downtown.  Perhaps we will do some driving around the Victoria area, tourist style.  It is always a small world - our son is marrying a Victoria BC girl, and Kim's family is from Toronto, and it turns out Keira is working as a Dental Assistant in a clinic owned by Kim's 3rd cousin.  And the other cool thing today, was that we went into the tiny wee airport boarding room in Smithers BC ( northern British Columbia ) and there sitting is actor Tom Skerritt, who was in our area fly fishing.  YOu might remember him from the movie " A River Runs Through It" which featured fly fishing... had Brad Pitt in it....yadda yadda..Pictures tomorrow.

Soon to be Mr.and Mrs.

 Engagement Picture!

The wedding this weekend is of our oldest son, Nathan, and the love of his life, Keira.  This engagement picture is taken from near their home in Colwood ( near Victoria BC ).  I do not know how they got the dogs to stay still long enough as they are both still puppies!

a whirlwind of plans

the plans are getting frantic for the weekend in Victoria.  Kims' parents from Toronto and ourselves are staying at a lovely B and B ( no time to take the RV there - the ferry would be costly too! ) and dinner plans for Friday have been made, and High Tea at the Empress on Sunday. Oh yes - and of course the wedding is on Saturday! Now, we just have to finish packing.  Donald seems to think he will have trouble with the airport security guards with his Vinetarta cake - we will see.  His sister, Elizabeth has taken Vinetarta a few times when she has flown.  Friends of ours always take a big frozen home grown turkey, so I say we chance it! When we get to Victoria, we will have to find some kind of "topper" for the cake- this is not the wedding cake, so it can be a fun/weird/wacky topper.  Any suggestions?

wedding lists and chores

Vinetarta in progress

Whew! We are going like crazy trying to get things organized for our trip to Victoria ( BC ) and our oldest son's wedding.  Work for me is 11 - 16 hours a day as we have a major project under way and then trying to clean the big house for the house/pet sitter.. and it goes on.  Our youngest son moved out this week - only a block and a half away LOL! He left a few messes to clean and that is on today's list. He has decided to live in a rented house with 3 other young hardworking men, and that's ok. " Mom: if I don't like living with these guys can I come back? Yes.  Mom: When I go to school in Burnaby, it will be tough paying rent there and here, can I move back? Yes. Dad: Can I use your truck to move stuff? Ok then, I guess I will move out".  It is good to have a safe home base! He just turned 20, and did spend a year away already on his own at University, so he will be fine.  I only wanted to know if they had a washer and dryer - and yes they do - hooray!
   Donald's family on his mothers' side is Icelandic - and every special occasion like Christmas, an Icelandic cake is made.  It used to be made by his Mom, and then his adult sisters, and now he has joined in.  The cake is called Vinaterta. Apparently, the more layers you make, the more accomplished? you are. I think his sisters have made 5 and 6 layers, and Donald made 6 layers yesterday.  His 26 year old nephew last Christmas made 7 layers so I don't know if this is going to be bested or not - way to go Sean!  The cake is a shortbread/cookie type layer with a filling made of prunes, cinnamon, cardomom and other spices.  It has to sit for some time so that the cookie type layer becomes moist from the filling.  Then, it is iced using a white butter frosting.  It is cut into very small pieces to eat.  One of my co workers was married in Manitoba, and this was her wedding cake. It is extremely good!!! We will take the cake to Victoria for the wedding rehearsal night. - we didn't send it ahead, as we mailed one last Christmas to Victoria, and at 5lbs plus packing, it cost a pretty penny!

see you next season to a great park

 

View out the rear RV window at our site

The nearest Provincial Park closed this week on the 15th.  So, we were probably the last visitors to the park when we left Monday afternoon.  There are still many RV tourists passing through our area, but the Provincial Parks are managed by a commercial operator and this company feels it is not worth the effort to stay open past the 15th.  That is a shame - the weather can be beautiful and last weekend there were at least 20 units per night in the 52 spaces available.  The staff working there thought it was a shame as well. There are 2 bears in the park right now though! Donald saw the young black bear when he pulled in on Saturday.  The young one has been pulling down all the saskatoon trees to get at the berries at the top. The trees are down all over the place and he is not even eating all the berries as they are all over the roadways as well.  The staff were spending lots of time going up and down the roads with equipment to clean up behind him. The old big black bear mostly stays on the perimeter and away from people. I had my camera at the ready, but the young one did not come by our site - he had already pushed down all the saskatoons near our site and we were talking and listening to CBC radio outside.

View out the dinette window

By the way, we are "bear aware" having lived in Jasper, Alberta for 20 some years and then here. We are careful!

last weekend?

In Northern B.C. it starts to get chilly pretty fast come September. We usually have to quit RV'ing in our area about the third weekend. So, we did go out this past weekend to the local Provincial Park, and Saturday night was so warm we had the windows open for sleeping - most unusual! We could go this coming weekend, but we are in countdown mode for our oldest son's wedding and the 'TO DO' lists are daunting. So, we will have to see how much we can get done during the week. Our son seems to be taking it in stride - he was sailing last weekend and hopes to be in a sail race this weekend. I asked him if there were things to do for the wedding " Not much to do, Mom" - hmmm just wait til his mum gets there!

Beeping Chickens

I thought this picture was soothing - it is Madge Lake Saskatchewan, where the family cottage is. I must admit - I love every day that comes and we're generally happy people but this was a crazy day at work so I was glad to get home! We were going to head out in the RV tonight to the lake closest to us, and then I would go into work for 5 hours or so in the morning, but it's pouring rain, so we stayed home tonight and we'll make a decision in the morning. Donald decided to experiment and make beer can chicken for dinner - with his own secret "rub". It is a serious undertaking - he has his own digital meat thermometer for his own use. I use the old fashioned stick it in and look at where the red needle goes kind. After using tech equipment all day long, I don't need anything else beeping at me and flashing words I can hardly see - especially about a chicken - Ha!

Fall chores

As the weather turns cooler, chores await! Yuck. We still live in the big house as I am working, so yesterday I started making the 'minor' list of chores and the 'major' list of chores. The minor chores are the regular around the house things - the major chores are the things that we should/must do before we sell the house. New countertops for the kitchen;paint the kitchen; painting the laundry room, 3 of the bedrooms and one of the bathrooms; ripping out carpet for laminate in the den.... you know how it goes. We also have the last 1/3 of the back deck to complete and a new front door to purchase and install. Donald said he was so busy today, he was leaving a room, closed the room door with his foot as his hands were full and neglected to see the cat and the door hit the cat in the head. She's fine! We just like our animals so that was a little bit of trauma. Oh yes, and we are getting ready for #1 son wedding at the end of the month. Ah - we look forward to tomorrow and heading back out to the serenity of the lake in the RV.

A Fellow B.C. Blogger orders Rain - its ok!

Even though we had a big weekend planned to RV at the local Provincial Park, we did get that rain that was forecast. It was badly needed, and it is always soothing to listen to the rain on the RV and read a really good book. I am making my way through Wilbur Smith's books at the present. We did take in the Farmers Market Saturday morning and napped through some of the downpour in the afternoon. A local group, The Trainwrecks were playing at the market - they were very entertaining. Next weekend some of our gang are playing. Sunday was a beautiful day, with some of the gang kayaking on the very calm lake. We had a lovely potluck dinner together that evening with lots of laughs, cuban cigars and some scotch around the campfire. This summer, most of the province had a campfire ban, so that was something that we all had missed. I don't miss the campfire smell in our clothes!

May LW: Tyhee September LW: Tyhee

Tyhee Lake Provincial Park is only a 10 minute drive from home. The gang always starts the summer season on Victoria Day weekend at this park, because being so close to home you can run home for whatever you forgot to pack into the RV. This year, there were no leaves on the trees and it was quite chilly - the furnace ran lots in the RV. But, as you can see, we still BBQ and there is a little bottle of sha - la -la to make a pretty special coffee to keep warm. We camp there on the September Labour Day weekend to take advantage of the Farmers Market in town on Saturday. There used to be teenagers to keep track of as well on those weekends, but as of this year, the gang no longer has any teenager at home to worry? about. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but life proceeds on. We all have good kids/young adults so the problem was not with the kids, but rather with us as slightly? overprotective and involved parents. And as some have remarked in the last couple of days, that's a good thing. So, here's to another weekend at Tyhee and some fun around the campfire! ( ok - you're going to ask what sha - la - la is? That's what we called a coffee liquor when are kids were little - I don't know why!)

September and THE Corn Roast

We won't be there this year, but last September Donald and I flew to Toronto to visit my parents and go to the family reunion and THE Corn Roast. Why is it so special? Well, a sunny Sunday afternoon, a couple of hundred people ( mostly family ), fresh corn, potluck, live music and best of all it's held on a family farm just outside the Greater Toronto Area. ( One of the largest farms outside of Toronto, still owned by family ). There were games, a corn maze, good laughs, catching up with relatives I had not seen since I was in elementary school, visiting the cows at milking time and listening to some really good country music played by family and friends.OHHH and that fresh corn picked minutes before being put into the big boiling bags and into the huge pots. What could be better. The interesting thing, was that most of the talk around our little group area was about Rv'ing! Many of the first cousins ( to my mother ) are retired and most belong to the same RV Club as my parents and travel south for the winter. So, even though you haven't see relatives for a long time or perhaps never met them as in the case of Donald, if the conversation is about RV's there is lots to discuss. Have a great time this Sunday to those family and friends attending!!!!!!

rv blog of the month???

Hey - not too often I do this, but I had a look at Sitemeter to check some stats, and noticed in the referrals that some hits were coming from Hitch Itch ( thanks guys! ) and from rvresources.com. I had a look at that particular site and it seems were are RV Bloggers of the Month. Who knew! Thanks rvresources! Now I feel this heavy pressure to write something extraordinary. Not. Life for us is just day by day normal with a love of the rv lifestyle. If we can encourage others to enjoy the same pursuits, or perhaps visit some of the great places we have managed to see in our area, well, I am happy with that. I read other fantastic blogs for the same reasons. My BFF called tonight ( she of the turning 50 and the pink dress and other strange clothing - see earlier August blog ) to arrange the next 3 weekends of RV'ing. Those rv'ers in the Hardwall Hippy group who are in the teaching community are back to work this week in anticipation of those students starting back on the 8th, so they will only have weekends off now. That's ok - we will stick close to the area, having our short times away from home and potlucking our gourmet meal on the Saturday nights. We have some lovely Coho in our freezer, thanks to our youngest son, that will bbq up nicely!
Photo: checking out Elizabeth Lake Forest Service ( BC ) Site - 3 RV sites, very private, dock, looks like a great lake to Kayak on.

take the hints and helps from other rv'ers

Last time we were at this dumping station, the fellow behind us advised that the pavement was sloping the wrong way, and that this pavement movement had been happening for a while. We had already commenced our dumping at the time as we were ahead of him. We watched afterwards when he put some big boards under his further tires to lift up the one side. This time, we managed to take his advice and put at least 4 - 5 inches of board height on the opposite wheels to tilt the rv towards the drain. Worked great. This is always a busy dumping station during the summer as : 1) the scenery is spectacular 2) the station is set up great for getting in and out 3) lots of room to park afterwards 4) fantastic info centre on site 5) usually some vendors selling vegetables, fruit or fast food. We always like to take a look at the other RV's there - and sure enough HUGE fifth wheels ( Presidential ). One of them was being pulled by a Freightliner M2. There were about 7 units parked there, and most of them had a yellow number on them, so likely it was a caravan group coming back from an Alaska trip. Have fun guys!
( FYI: the dump site is Hazelton, BC )

a wonderful time at Kleanza and Seeley Lake

The pink salmon were running up the creek - the adult males were quite humpback by this time and very white and scarred. There were hundreds in the creek jumping and the females were on their sides digging up the gravel with the males hovering right behind them.Hopefully you can see this humpie male with a green sleek female beside him in the picture. It was great weather so were were able to stay and watch them for a long time. Kleanza Creek Provincial Park is just wonderful - has the IT factor. No services ( not even a tap with water ) so you camp there prepared. There was 30 sites ( a few doubles and a triple as well ). Half are right on the creek/river. We left today at 11:00 am, taking our time. On the way back, we stopped at Seeley Lake Provincial Park ( 20 sites ) to see if that would be a nice place in the future. Way too close to the highway. Today though, we parked in the day use area, and I read my book on this picnic table and Donald had a snooze in the RV. A Perfect day.

kleanza creek tommorow

After work tomorrow we shall be off to Kleanza Creek Provincial Park ( if we can get a spot ) to relax, read a book or maybe do some shopping in Terrace. The trees there are lovely big dripping cedars of the rainforest. The sites run right alongside the river. The weather looks "iffy" but what does that matter??? You got to get out there as much as you can with the RV! When we mention about having an RV ( a nice RV with micro/slide etc - no roughing it ) some people always remark about how much rv's cost etc. I always reply that it's our "cottage" - and if you had a cottage you would be going every weekend during the summer and on your vacations. The taxes and upkeep on a cottage property can add up as well, so I think an RV is a great alternative. The other thing is that with the RV you are not stuck to one place ( in order to justify the cost of keeping up the one place ) and we can go where we want and see new things or partake in festivals in other towns. Always something going on! If we do not go to Kleanza tomorrow, we shall likely take in the Bulkley Valley Fall Fair. Anyone like fresh BBQ lamb kabobs from the 4-H kids??? MMMM.

sad to leave

Ah - we were very sad to leave the rv lot for another year. A neighbour will water the plants till the late fall and most should make it through the winter. Now there's a word - winter. Yuck. I will be working through another winter and reading the blogs of those lucky ones who are going to be heading south with great envy. It won't be long till we will be one of them! This weekend we are again in the RV - we just haven't decided which direction and where. So, with a good attitude we shall be making a plan tonight and the rv is just about ready to go. Most of the Hardwall gang are away taking their university students back to school so we might be on our own, and that's ok. The other thing to do is to make some plans and preparations for our trip to Victoria at the end of September for the wedding of the oldest son!

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

On Saturday, Donald and I went to the beach for a few hours as we were leaving the next day. As you looked across the lake, there was the big smoke of another forest fire. It was behind the ridge, so were not sure how far away the fire was from that particular ridge. At suppertime, it had cleared over the top of the mountain and started to burn its way down the front side. At this point we could see the flames and red, especially when it was darkening into night. We watched this till about 11 pm. Very scary for those residents below ( Sorrento BC ). On the radio news the next morning, it was mentioned the RCMP were delivering evacuation notices all night. By the time we departed from the RV lot, it was 7 km from the town of Sorrento.

adventure to a lumber mill

After the Roots and Blues festival, we have spent a relaxing week visiting neighbours at happy hour time and puttering about the RV. Donald has an idea to build some stairs and a small retaining wall at the end of where the RV is sited. Along with this wall, he also has plans to build an arbour with trellising and planters to create a little shade area. This will be a project for next year. So, we drove to Chase to see about some timbers, as the 2 building centres in Scotch Creek do not have what he wants. It turns out neither does the building centre in Chase. So, off for another adventure. Remember when we wanted rock, we went off to find the quarry?? Well, this time is was off to find a lumber mill. We found one - Last Chance Lumber = on Little Shuswap Lake. No one was around, but we drove looking at the cedar timbers and managed to get a couple of phone numbers. A beautiful drive to the mill overlooking the lake - the skies in the pictures are hazy due to the nearby forest fire - more on that tomorrow!