A Full Day ...

April 19, 2014

A well needed break from working on the tree fort ...

the kids had the fire just perfect ...

for cooking hotdogs ...

Grandpa found some willow branches ...

to make the perfect cooking sticks ...

next for dessert ...

was toasting marshmallows over the coals ...

mmmmmmmmm

Back to work after lunch ...

clearing out the trees that grandpa had cut down ...

the kids driving and hauling them out to the field ...

It was a busy day ... and we still had to colour eggs ...

for Easter ...

the grandchildren took crayons and drew patterns ...

or whatever they wanted to ...

then dipped them into the coloured dye ...

Once the eggs were all done ...

it was time for a snack ... bath ... and bed ... !!!

The Easter Bunny was tired too ... waiting for the children to go to bed ... !!!

I do believe that they were all sound asleep ...

before their heads ...

hit the pillows ...

Grandchildren Arrived ...

April 19, 2014

The grandchildren finally arrived for a visit ...

after receiving our hugs and kisses ...

it was time for Grandpa to start up the tractor ...

and head to the tree fort ...

James decided that we needed a fire ... to burn the scraps ...

and clean up the area ...

then all of them mulling with grandpa on how they were going to ...

build a roof over the fort ...

The boys were going to give Grandpa a hand  ... gathering the tools needed ...

at the construction site ...

Ella helped Grandma out with gathering twigs ...

to burn in the fire-pit ...

In order to build the roof ...

Grandpa decided that the four trees needed to be topped ...

Everyone kept their distance as the trees were cut down ...

More tools and supplies were needed ...

the kids just having way to much fun ... 

taking turns driving back and forth ...

to the shop ...

Let the building begin ... !!!

I snuck into the house to get lunch organized ...

perfect day to cook outdoors ... !!!

ICF 2014 Choral Festival ...

April 12, 2014

The East Kootenay Schools Children's Choir 

at practise with Chuck Bisset the director for ICF 2014...

We were pleased to welcome so many students and teacher directors ...

who represented several schools ...

from our local communities including ...

Cranbrook, Invermere and Kimberley, BC 

At the performance the mass choir joined in with the children as they began singing ...

"Pie Jesu - Karl Jenkins"

along with a soloist Audrey Bisset 

The children then entertained us with three wonderful pieces ...

The Bisset Singers up on stage ...

singing our 3 pieces ...

O Magnum Mysterium - Morten Lauridsen

Sleep - Eric Whitacre, Charles Silvestri

and 

I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields, are Kirby Shaw

Each of the other choirs entertained us with their 3 pieces as well ...

Naramata Community Choir ... Camerata Club ... Leavenworth Village Voices ...

Wenatchee Valley Appleaires ... Wenatchee Apollo Club ...

and Trail Harmony Choir ...

At the end of our program ... all the choirs came up on stage ...

singing

Omnia Sol - Z. Randall Stroope

I Am In Need Of Music - David L. Brunner

and ended the Festival with 

This Little Light Of Mine - Traditional Spiritual, arr. Patti Drennan

We were delighted with both our performances ... we had a great time ... singing ... !!

The finale for our choirs ...

was a party at the Columbo Hall ...

with the band "Steel Wheels" playing ...

we were all energized and ready to kick up our heels ...

We had a light evening buffet ...

a raffle of some fantastic items ... that were donated ...

also a few prizes to be given away ...

the only way to receive one ... was for individuals or groups singing a song ...

The Wentachee Apollo group surprised us all  ....

they made their way up to the stage  ...

and sang a chorographed rendition of "Help Me Rhonda"

It was a wonderful day all the way around ...

we are already excited for the ICF 2015 ...

to be held in Yakima, WA

ICF 2014 Welcome Reception ...

 April 11, 2014

This was our itinerary to welcome our out of town choir members ...

A reception ...  with Wine and Beer tasting ...

a tour of the Museum ...

and

Historic Train Cars ... 

The Bisset Singers welcomed our guests ...

greeting them at the door ...

all of us being easily identified ... wearing our evening Music hats ...

to 

give them direction for registering and the evening activities ...

Live music was held in this beautiful hall ...

at times throughout the evening ...

a few members were kicking up there heels ...

square dancing ...

others sat back and enjoyed the music ... 

some waiting to have their turn on the railcar tours ...

It was a great evening ... all were excited for the next days activities ...

for the

ICF 2014 Choral Festival ...

Cleaning Up the Grounds ...

April 13, 2014

We had a community Work Bee ...

down at the schoolhouse ... clearing out trees ... 

there were quite a few that had fallen on the ground ...

from the strong winds ...

also picked up branches and other debris and tossing them ...

into a few of the bonfires that were started ...

Don hauling a section of the tree ...

over to the other side of the schoolhouse ...

to be bucked up ... split ... and stacked ...

All of us doing our share of hard work ...

as you can see I was a big help to Don ... 

wanting to go for a log ride ....

 After our work was completed ...

we had a BBQ ... 

hot dogs and hamburgers were provided ...

and a variety of salads and desserts were brought for the potluck ...

nothing tastes better than eating burgers and hot dogs after a hard days work ...

mmmmmmmmmm

It seemed as if ... Don had had enough of me taking pictures ...

after I had asked kindly for everyone to gather for a picture ... it took awhile to be heard ... 

so I stood up on the picnic table ...

whistled to get their attention ... snapped the picture ... 

said thank you ... and before I knew it I was grabbed and flung over Don's shoulder ...

He said,  "that is enough little one" ...

of course everyone howled with laughter ...

It was a great day ...

the grounds look fabulous ... now 

ready for activities and the picnic season ....

Happy Easter Everyone ...

Wishing all our family and friends ...

a wonderful day ...

Sending our Love ...

Spring has Sprung ...

Some pictures of the crocuses and buttercups ...

flowering down at the school house ...

Finding them hidden in the tall grass ...

during a Work Bee on Sunday ...

cleaning up the grounds ...

Road Block ...

After enjoying a lovely afternoon ... visiting Tammy ...
making my way home ...
I was brought to a complete stop on the road ...
by a herd of sheep ...
they had taken over the whole road ...
and then kept meandering from side to side ...
deciding which side of the road had more to eat ...
Finally after a bit of time had passed ...
I was able to continue driving home ...
It was great watching them ...!!!

Travelling Gifts ...

My dear friend Dagmar  ... gave these gifts to her sister Evelyn ...

to bring back home from their visit ...

from Arizona ...

I was delighted to go and pick up my gifts ... 

from my "across the river neighbour" ...

excited to try out the new cookie cutters  ... this year for a new Christmas display ...

as well as brewing up a pot of coffee ...

 using the coffee grounds that Dagmar had brought back ...

while vacationing in Panama ...

and then ... 

new crafting material to make ...

new friendship bracelets for and with the grandchildren ...

Thank you so much my friend ...

hope we can spend some time together ...

this year crafting once again ...

First Ride of the Season ...

 April 8, 2014

We decided to haul out our bikes ...

and go for a ride ...

thru the valley ...

It was a beautiful day to be touring ...

 although we had a few glitches along the way ...

both of our chains had fallen off ...

no big deal  ... just stopped to put them back on ...

then I had an issue with the gears not shifting ...

so we made our way back home ...

stopped at the neighbours  ... for a quick visit ...

then continued on ...

Happy Mike was home ...

so that he could have a look at my bike ...

and get it fixed before our next adventure ...

Counting Down the Days ...

A few more days until our Festival ...

the choir is so excited to host this event ...

all the preparations are near completion ...

The other five choirs will be arriving on Friday ...

 then ...

the fun will begin ... !!!

Another Glorious Day ...

April 1, 2014

It was a beautiful day to go on a hike ...

Mother Nature was not playing a joke on us this day ...

the road had a few large ice patches and puddles ... 

that we had to work our way thru ... or go around ...

we started at about the 2km mark on Ha Ha road ... 

hiked thru the bush on trails to the 4km mark ...

continuing back to the truck on the main road ... 

It was so nice to see all the young trees sprouting and growing ...

where they had logged the area years ago ...

Our trekking record ...

Happy to spend my Tuesday afternoons with the ladies ...

going on mini adventures ...

we hope to start biking in the next couple weeks ...

A Wonderful Event ...

Bisset Singers bring choral festival to Cranbrook

By Cranbrook Daily Townsman

Cranbrook will play host to a gathering of seven choirs from western Canada and the United States in April.  The International Choral Festival will be held in Cranbrook at the Alliance Church on Saturday, April 12.  Cranbrook's Bisset Singers, who have been members of the festival for six years, were invited to host the festival in 2014.

"Each year, a choir that is a member hosts. In the concert, each choir does a set of three pieces,"explained Chuck Bisset, vocal coach and founder of the local choir.The Bisset Singers are rehearsing Eric Whitacre's "Sleep", a performance of "O Magnum Mysterium" and a unique version of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love".  

The local choir will be joined by choirs from throughout B.C. and Washington: the Appleaires women's choir and Apollo Club men's choir from Wenatchee, Washington;  the Washington Camerata Club from Yakima,
Washington; the Washington Village Voices from Leavenworth, Washington; the Naramata Community Choir from Naramata, B.C. and the Trail Harmony Choir.  

"The great crescendo is the last three pieces which are performed by the mass choir," said Bisset Choir member Jim Abbott said that when the 380-odd voices of the combined choirs come together, it's a special experience. "I didn't realize how much of a bucket list moment it would be for me to be a part of a mass choir. It's an emotional thing when you have all these voices around you."

As the event's hosts, the Bisset Singers were able to invite another choir to join the festival. They choose the Cranbrook Elementary Schools Mass Choir.  "At the Christmas event, Chuck said, 'Why couldn't we have them as our voices for it?'  So we approached the teachers and in all sincerity said, 'We would like to give the elementary school students an opportunity not only to perform in front of a big audience, but also to be part of a mass choir,'" said Abbott.

The school choir will perform three songs, and then join with the entire choral festival for one piece: a majestic Pie Jesu.  "That is the core showpiece of our performance," said Abbott. The Bisset Singers, which has about 30 members, came together as a choir 14 years ago. "We started off as a group voice lesson. I started the choir so people could learn to sing," said Bisset.  Abbott added: "Bisset Singers is virtually an extension of Chuck's teaching. It gives Chuck's students a chance to take part in performance."  Bisset said that the participation of the school students has caused a buzz in Cranbrook.  "The thing that really excites me is how Cranbrook as a city seems to be really getting excited and embracing it. You have all these parents of the kids taking time out on a Saturday to get their kids to rehearsals."

The festival weekend will kick off on Friday, April 11 from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a welcoming reception at the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. The public is invited to the reception, which will feature wine tasting from Wynnwood Cellars, beer tasting from Fisher Peak Brewing Company, and tours of the rail cars.

The festival will feature two performances on Saturday, April 12 at the Cranbrook Alliance Church, a matinee at 2:30 p.m. And an evening performance at 7 p.m.

I am so excited to be part of and singing with this wonderful choir ...  !!!

 the Bisset Singers since 1996.

Nice Catch ...

The family went out on a camping trip ...

with some friends ...

the boys were excited to be catching fish ...

this is a type of Grouper fish ...

Good for you Daigen ...

Nixon was interested in touching it ...

Glad you had a fun time ... !!!