Christmas in Mayook ...

December 18, 2016

A beautiful evening with family and friends ...

celebrating an old fashioned country Christmas in Mayook ...

Thank you to Van ... for playing his guitar ...

accompanying us in our song of Christmas Carols ...

It is always heart warming to see the children come forward ...

and sing their favourites songs ...

 

Santa had heard the children singing ... "Here Comes Santa Claus" ...

and made his way into the School House ...

bringing gifts ... mandarins and candy canes for each and every child ...

and a few adults as well ...

The hall is a buzz with excitement of the children ...

After Santa had delivered the presents ... we continued to sing and visit with our friends ...

and of course indulging in all the wonderful assortment of appetizers ... Christmas baking ...

and hot and cold refreshments ...

 

It was time to sing the "Twelve Days of Christmas" ...

a delight for everyone ...

the room was divided up into groups ... each of them taking one of the days ...

It was a challenge to get everyone singing the right verse ... when it was their turn ...

I usually end up helping out with cueing the groups ...

and it seems that the group that sings "Five Gold Rings" ...

always drag it out and act up ...

This time Allan and Don ... with their operatic voices ...

were in competition on who could hold the note the longest before continuing on ...

We had so much fun with it ...

The evenings last song to be sung ... is always "Silent Night ...

The lights were dimmed ...

then Van called on everyone to be silent ...

before we began ...

It is the most angelic atmosphere ... with all the voices singing ...

This is the beginning of the Christmas season for most of us ...

in this community ... and what a beautiful way for it to begin ...

We continued to visit for a few more hours ...

cleaned up the hall ...

and wished everyone a very Merry Christmas ...

 

 

New Lights for School House ...

December 16, 2016

Our neighbours had contacted us ... saying that they had some antique light shades given to him ...

and wondered if the Mayook Community wanted them for the School House ...

Mike and Chris had made adjustments to the shades ...

adding chains and hooks to be hung from the fixtures ...

December 17, 2016

Mike and Chris went down to the Schoolhouse ... to install the new shades ...

new plates for the fixtures were added ...

for the chains to be hooked on ...

All this was completed before the Mayook Christmas party ...

 

Thank you to Michelle and Chris ... for donating the light shades ...

and to Mike and Chris for installing them ...

What a difference they made to the lighting ...

of the old School House ...

 

 

 

Garden ... Picnic ... Pool ...

June 5, 2016

I was up bright and early on this glorious sunny day ...

While everyone else was still sleeping ... I ventured out to the garden ...

It was wonderful to see all that has grown and ready to be picked ...

I thought a bowl full of fresh strawberries would be perfect for our morning breakfast ...

I couldn't stop ... just so much was ready to be picked ...

I kept working and gathering ripe produce ...

so involved I didn't even hear Fred enter ...

He loved my little garden ... he was quite inquisitive ...

asking questions on how it works ...

We enjoyed our breakfast on the deck ... eating fresh made waffles ...

and fresh strawberries from the garden ...

We had a relaxing day ...

then ventured down the hill to the Mayook School ...

for annual summer picnic ...

The cooks were in the cookhouse busy barbecuing hot dogs ...

hamburgers and grilled onions ...

We had a great time visiting with the neighbours ...

Fred and Michelle were welcomed into our festivities ...

and enjoyed chatting with everyone ...

 

June 6 & 7, 2016

It was already Monday ... we planned to have a day at home ...

relaxing ... swimming ... and whatever else ...

in between Fred & Michelle packing to head back to Ontario the next day ...

We had a wonderful time with our guests ...

hoping they plan to come out for a visit again ... we had so much fun ...

(I do believe they will ... !!!)

 

Mayook Work Bee ...

May 1, 2016

Today was the day to head down to the schoolhouse ...

and spend the day working ... cleaning up the grounds ...

It was still okay to have a couple of bonfires to burn the brush ... trees and limbs ...

A few of us would pile up the twigs and branches ...

then wait for Barb to come with the tractor ...

for us to put them onto a brush rack ...

Barb would then take it either to the fire ...

or to a new pile to be burnt at a later time ...

It was fun watching Barb maneuver the tractor ...

as this was her first time working the controls ...

Some of the crew were working by the schoolhouse ...

Knocking down dead trees with the tractor while Larry was falling them ...

The fallen tree would be hooked up to the tractor ...

and dragged to the front of the schoolhouse ...

for another group to buck it up and be stacked for the bonfires ...

All of us pitching in to help ... hauling the limbs away and stacking the firewood ...

I had to chuckle with Shelagh when she used a Kleenex as earplugs ...

using the whole Kleenex instead of taking smaller piece off ...

We were almost done cleaning up ... raking ... and stacking ...

we were taking a well deserved break ... some with liquid nourishment ...

and for myself ... I needed a hot dog ... roasted over the fire pit coals ...

It was a grand day ... a lot was accomplished with this group ...

Well done ...!!!

 

Nephew and Family Arrive ...

May 18-20, 2015

It was nice to see Nathanael, his wife Amada, daughter Natasha and Tanya ...

(Amada's sister visiting from Mexico)

This was their first visit to our place ...

They picked the perfect weekend ...

as this was the long weekend and the Doogie Boogie ...

our annual neighbourhood Music Fest ...

Amada and Tanya were happy to talk to others that spoke Spanish ...

They were in awe of the whole event ...

especially sitting by the fire ...

and enjoying the music ...

The following day ...

we took the quads and toured around the property ...

Nathanael and Natasha were eyeing up the old Apple II GS computer ...

wanting to get it fired up and play some games ...

Everyone enjoyed having a bonfire ...

and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows ...

Mike was getting the little quad started ...

so that Natasha could try it out ...

she was very cautious ... but had fun riding it ...

After lunch ... we went on a valley tour ...

stopping at the fish hatchery in Bull River ...

then making our way on the dirt road ... up to the falls just below the dam ...

It is a breathtaking view from up there ...

we then headed towards Fort Steele and into Cranbrook ...

showing them as few of the sites there ...

Enjoying a nice dinner and then heading home ...

with one last dip in the hot tub to end their trip ...

It was a busy weekend ... having lots of fun visiting with family ... !!!

 

Mayook Clean-Up Crew ...

April 12, 2015

It was that time of year to clean up the Schoolhouse grounds...

bucking up and splitting trees that had been knocked down by the strong winds ...

each of us having a job to do ...

Gathering all the twigs... branches and debris ...

then starting small fires to burn it all up ...

of course stopping for a quick bite to eat ...

roasting hot dogs over an open fire ... 

A crew still raking ... and keeping an eye on the fires ...

 while the others started stacking all the splint firewood ... 

End of the day ...

sitting around the campfire ...

enjoying the company and having a few sociables ... (beer) ...

A job well done ...

the Schoolhouse grounds look great ... !!!

Early Gifts ...

December 22 & 23, 2014

We headed into town to do the last of our Christmas shopping ...

and to pick up a parcel from the bus depot ...

We have been discussing getting a new utility trailer ...

so on our way out of town we stopped at the dealership ...

and drove home with a new trailer ...

It will be perfect and easy for us to haul the quads ...  

to go Huckleberry picking ... or fishing in the small mountain lakes ...!!!

Mike received an early Christmas gift ...

 a bottle of Tullibardine 20 year old Scotch ...

pouring himself a shot ...

and savouring every sip ... 

MMMMMMM ... smooth ...  !!!

 We went to the neighbours for their yearly Christmas party ... on December 23rd ...

gathering together enjoying an evening of carolling ...

visiting with friends ... 

and munching on delicious varieties of festive appetizers ...

while waiting for Santa to arrive ...

It was a wonderful evening ... plus we were going to have a White Christmas ...

 as it had started to SNOW ... !!!

Christmas In Mayook ...

December 21, 2014

 Our annual "Christmas in Mayook" get together at the little schoolhouse ...

complete with Christmas carols ... Santa Claus with his elf ...

good friends ... children and delicious treats ...

 is when the holidays really begin for me ...

A great time was had by all ... 

the children playing with their little gifts that Santa had brought to them ...

others mingling and chatting by the outdoor fire ...

as the carolling continued inside the hall ... !!!

On The Post ...

Mike was travelling home thru the valley ...

just down the road from our place ...

when he spotted this Eagle perched ...

on the fencepost ...

Thank you for taking these photos ... !!!

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 ....