Visiting Friends ...

March 6, 2017

We had a great time ...

visiting our BC neighbours home in Sunlakes, AZ ...

It was a lovely day to sit outside ...

and enjoy the view and activities on the golf course ...

Eric and the guys went on a tour of the area ...

and Sharon took us ladies for a tour ...

We all met up at the Palo Verde Dinning Restaurant ...

at the golf course for lunch ...

It was so beautiful ...

We were lucky to enjoy our lunch outdoors ...

 

 

 All of us toasting to good friends ... good food ...

and good times ... !!!

Some pictures of cacti and flowers ...

in the neighbourhood ...

 

Thank you Linda and Dave ...

for driving us to the Chandler area ...

to visit our friends ...

   

Music Break ...

February 8, 2017

Yes it had snowed again this morning ...

and yes it was cleared again ...

No pictures of this activities ... it was the same ...

I had decided to go to the next on the list ...

"Home Routes" ... concert series ...

  The concert series consists of bands from all over ... they have a scheduled circuit (Red Square, AB) ... traveling from town to town performing and staying in host homes.  The group from last night were from Nashville.  It is quite enjoyable being in a small group setting with friends.  You can get info on the website ... HERE

Mike had gone to a meeting ...

so I decided to call our neighbour to see if they were going to the concert ...

as I wasn't sure my car would make it down the host family's driveway ...

And boy ... was I glad to have gotten a ride ...

our road had not been plowed thru all this snowfall ...

And ... the driveway to the concert was treacherous as well ... People were having to leave their vehicles at the clearing ... and hitch a ride with others ...

We made it to the house ... enjoyed a lovely evening of music ...

When we left the concert ... 

Don decided to put the chains on to get out ... 

it was still snowing and blowing ...

Thank you Don for bringing us back home safely ...

An Epic Day ...

January 27, 2017

While James and I had our 'one on one' time ...

we went to Costco again ...

I had seen this area rug the day before and decided ...

to purchase it for the living room ...

Mike and I took this morning to roll it out ... and place it ...

I am happy with how it looks ... it adds a new look ...

We decided to go into town to visit with Oma ...

and do a little shopping ...

We ended up making our way into the Telus Store ...

and bought new iPhones ...

We had been talking about upgrading them ...

Mike ended up with the iPhone 7 ...

and I chose to get the iPhone 7plus ... the camera feature sold me ...

We also picked up some accessories for the phones ...

I could hardly wait to try out my new phone ...

Yipeeeeeeee!!!!

 

Snow Removal Day ...

December 5, 2016

So much snow had fallen ... it was going to be a busy day ...

clearing a path to walk around and plowing the snow in the driveway ...

Mike was busy clearing the snow ... on the roads ... with the tractor ...

while I was clearing the snow off the decks ...

I was happy to find the hot tub ...

as I was sure we were going to need it after we were done today ...

The decks and stairs were all shovelled ...

Mike was still out plowing ... even as darkness came upon us ...

Love the soft lighting on the house ...

Mike had finished up with the tractor ...

and before we went in for dinner ... we both slipped into the hot tub ...

oh my goodness ... did we need this treatment ...

It felt good ... easing the aches in our muscles ...

After our soaking in the hot water ... we made our way into the house ...

to enjoy sitting down ... having dinner ... then relaxing ...

We were happy to have all the snow cleared for now ...

the weather forecast is calling for more snow ...

 

 

First Snowfall ...

November 15, 2016

Snow and rain falling early this morning ...

It was long before it turned into large ...

fluffy snowflakes ...

It was lovely to see the ground covered in white ... for a few hours ...

By the end of the day the snow had all disappeared ...

I was still excited ... as I knew it wouldn't be long now ...

before the snow would be here to stay ...

 

Heading To Horn Lake ...

September 10, 2016

 

 

We left Nanoose Bay early in the afternoon ...

travelling to Horn Lake to spend a couple days with our dear friends ...

Rob & Cindy ...

We were excited to see them and to see the inside of the house finished ...

It was a lovely afternoon to spend it out sitting on the dock by the lake ...

We eventually made our way back up to the house ...

to enjoy a lovely dinner ... Rob was going to BBQ a chicken ...

and the ladies took care of the side dishes ...

After dinner the guys watched some TV ...

while Cindy and I played our favourite card game ... "Peanuts" ...

and chatted into the wee hours of the morning ...

 

September 11, 2016

 

 

We awoke to a beautiful morning ... a little cool but ...

the sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly ... 

Cindy is a Green Bay Packers fan ... and because they were going to play a game today ...

all the green Jerseys came out ...

one for each of us ... to wear while watching the game ...

(unfortunately we had planned to leave before the game was on)

I did put on a Jersey ... to join Cindy ... at the breakfast table ...

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of hash browns ... sausages ... and scrambled eggs with cheese ...

on a bed of fresh spinach ...  

Robe & Cindy's son ... Dan ... called to say hello ...

Mike and Dan had talked for quite some time ...

it was great to see and talk to him via FaceTime ...

 

We also had the opportunity to see their new condo in Parksville ...

They were picking up the keys today ...

It was a beautiful little home ... the interior was nicely decorated ...

The previous owners left Rob & Cindy a bottle of Champagne ... 

 to welcome them to their new home ... and to celebrate their anniversary ... 

 

 

When we travelled back to the cabin ...

Rob took us on a tour around the lake ...

The surrounding area is so beautiful ...

We really enjoyed out short time with Rob & Cindy ...

and loved seeing the interior of the house all done ...

It's a cozy ... warm ... home ...

 

Mike and I were leaving for Port Alberni ...

We were going to be spending the night there ...

so that we wouldn't have so far to drive the next day to Ucluelet ...

for our fishing trip ...

Our Old Home ...

July 11, 2016

On our way back from Alberta ...

we also drove by our home in the Crowsnest Pass ...

we spent 4 years in this little town ...

The grandchildren were eager to see it ...

some changes had been made ...

The first picture is of what our home looked like without the fence ...

and the deck on it ...

One of the new owners after us ... built the deck ...

The owners that live there now ...

had taken part of the front stucco off ... to expose the logs ...

We were surprised to see that the original log home ...

in the backyard had been torn down ...

Apparently it was no longer a safe structure ...

Nathan, Ian and their friends loved playing there ...

this was their domain for their dirk bikes ...

and other toys ...

The new owners saw us drive up to have a look at the house ...

They thought we were stopping to check it out ...

as there was a For Sale sign in the front yard ...

I had the car window open ... pointing in the back yard ...

telling the kids about it ...

The owner came down towards the car ...

and we told him that we used to live here ...

and the grandchildren wanted to see it ...

The gentleman had said that there had been a lot of changes in the house ...

that they had done within the last few weeks ...

they had actually just moved in that weekend ...

He invited all of us into their home ... the kids were so excited ...

We were surprised to see the changes ... a few walls were torn out ...

to open up the space for their living room ... and the new wood stove ...

Walking thru we remembered how it was ...

our bedroom was now part of the living room ...

The computer/laundry room is now the dining room ...

the kitchen was exactly the same ...

except for the painted walls ...

We then ventured upstairs ... on the very, narrow steep stairs ...

we talked about some of the shenanigans... that when on ...

In fact ...

the owners mentioned a defect in the wall at the bottom of the staircase ...

They said that the renters had damaged it ... Mike and I chuckled ...

we told them that it was a friend of the boys ....

that had slid down the stairs on a sleeping bag ...

and put a large hole in the wall ...

The only difference in the two bedrooms was the color of the walls ...

We had a lovely visit ... and fond memories of years gone by ... !!!

 

 

And So It Begins ...

December 3, 2015

It was the perfect day to start my Christmas baking ...

as nothing was planned for today ...

The gingerbread men, angels and trees ...

are always the first cookies to be made ... they take the longest to decorate ...

Mike had gone into town for an appointment ...

and to pick up a few things ...

I was delighted when he bought me a new cookie press ...

as my other one had seen its days of making cookies ...

He had also picked up an Advent calendar for me ...

I had always gotten one ... before we had our children ...

It feels like my birthday is still continuing ... !!!

We had picked up some new outdoor LED Christmas lights ...

when we were in Alberta...

So while I was indoors baking ...

Mike spent the afternoon putting up the Christmas lights ...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... !!!!

 

A Refreshed Look for the House ...

October 28 - 30, 2015

Since the guys had finished with sealing the logs the day before ...

It was the perfect day for us to clean up a bit before the guys ...

came back to finish with the caulking ...

Mike and I had a beautiful day to work ... vacuuming the dust off the decks ...

we even managed to clean a few windows ...

using the scaffolding to make it easier ...

It was a nasty ... rainy ... wet ... day for the guys to be working ...

After they had cleaned up from finishing with the caulking using Log Jam ...

They were invited inside for a hot lunch ...

I decided to make a couple pizzas ... caesar salad ...

and a fresh apple pie ...

They really enjoyed having a few hot meals while working on the house ...

I was happy and thankful to receive a bottle of wine from them ...

that was so kind of them ... !!!

I waited for a sunny day to take these pictures of the house ...

We love the look of our new/old log house ... !!!

 

 

Work & Break-time ...

The crew have been working really hard ... cleaning up the logs and the wood ...

in the cool ... damp weather ...

They were invited to join us for lunches ...

coming indoors to warm up ...

First day was Potatoe Leek Soup ... and cinnamon buns ...

next was Chili with Skillet Cornmeal bread ...

Then the following day was Homemade Chicken soup with dumplings ...

and baked goodies ...

With all the fresh vegetables from the garden ...

I decided to make a pot of Borsht ...

fresh cabbage ... carrots ... onions ... garlic and beets ...

and fresh baked biscuits ...

Today was leftovers ...

chili ... chicken soup and BBQ moose Brats ... (thank you Nathan for sharing them with us)

then a Fresh Peach Crisp for dessert ...

I love spending time in the kitchen ...

making and baking all sorts of dishes ... !!!

 

Log Work Being Done ...

October 21, 2015

We were pleased to hear from the crew of Ram Creek Log Homes ...

that they were going to start working on the logs ...

sanding ... grinding ... staining and sealing them ...

It was a beautiful sunny morning ... perfect weather to get this done ...

It was impressive how well these guys worked ...

finishing all the prep work ...

and spraying and brushing on two coats of stain ...

in one day ... !!!

The front of the house was the last to be done ...

It looks great ... !!!

Calling it a day to let the staining coat dry ...

returning the next day ...

to put on the seal coat ... !!!

Hoping this weather holds out ...

so the top part of the house will done as well ... !!!

 

Eavestrough Installed ...

September 22, 2015

It was the perfect day ... weather wise ... to have the eavestrough installed ...

It was an interesting machine ... making the continuous eavestrough ...

a flat piece of aluminum fed thru the machine ...

producing a well formed tray ...

We were impressed with John ... working alone and getting the task done ...

by the end of the day ...

He also attached all the downspouts and leaf guards ...

Happy to have this part of the renovations finished ... no worries now if it rains ... !!!

While John was working on the house ...

Mike was out in the shop ...

working on the VW ... sandblasting parts ... getting the pieces ready for the next phase ...

Mike welded some pieces of metal on the frame ...
and ground it down smooth ...
I enjoy watching the process of the VW being restored ...

It is going to take a bit of time to before it will be put back together ...