The Gangs Here ...

"Softies" Have Arrived 
Oct. 18, 2011

I was excited to see the box arrive safely from Kelowna ...

hand delivered by Dagmar ...

these little stuffed creatures were hand made ...

the materials were re-cycled, re-used & re-purposed

for my grandchildren ...

Craig, James, Ella and Daigen were here during the summer ...

and would talk to Dagmar on Skype every day ...

they loved all her creations ...

So here they are ...

back row

"Miss Ella"... "Frank" ... "Henry"

       Ella     ....................    Craig       ................   James

"Darby" &  "Daisy"

                        Daigen  ....................   Baby due in January

Each of the grandchildren were specific ...

 about the colours they wanted their "Softies" to be ... 

These "Softies" will be delivered to their new home this weekend ...

Thank you Dagmar ...

the grandchildren will love them ... !!!!

My Gifts from Dagmar

These are the gifts that Dagmar brought for me ...

a new bag to carry all my knitting and crocheting supplies ...

a cute little snowflake towel ... 

and a variety of specialty yarns ... wool and patterns ...

we both take time throughout the year ..

to collect, craft and make special treasures to give to one another ...

This is what I gathered together for Dagmar ...

We had a great time visiting yesterday ...

and both of us were thrilled with the gifts we received ...

Thank you again Dagmar for my gifts ... 

and especially for the "Softies" 

 you made for the "kidlets"

xoxoxoxo

My Visit With Dagmar ....

Dagmar arrived in Bull River yesterday ... I was so excited that I was finally going to see her ... the plan was for me to go there and that I was invited to stay for dinner ... after meeting everyone there ... Dagmar and I exchanged the gifts we had for each other ... both of us thrilled with our treasures ... it was such a beautiful day ... We decided to go for a walk ... up past the bridge to the barn and up the hill to the flats ... finding a log to sit down and continued chatting up a storm ... it was as if we did this sort of thing everyday ... hard to believe it has been over a year since we last saw each other ... that was our fly fishing adventure last July ... It was time to head down the hill back to her sister 's place ... Evelyne was at the house putting on a pot of stew ... We had a good visit with Jim, Evelyne, & Richard ... before helping with dinner preparations ... dinner was ready ... Beef Stew ... fresh baked Cheese Biscuits (Dagmar & I couldn't wait for dinner to try one out ... fresh... hot right out of the oven ... mmmmm) and a lovely Garden Salad ... Stefani joined us for dinner as well ... we had a great time ... !!!

It was wonderful to spend the afternoon with my dear friend Dagmar ... thank you for the lovely day ... !!!

Remembering My Dad ...

With Music
May 29, 1926 - Oct 18, 2008

Taking time to reflect on my dad ...

his passion was music ...

he was so talented ...

and could play any instrument he chose ...

We spent many hours together ...

dad playing and I sang ...

we performed at numerous outings ...

around the community ...

at the Studio Stage Door in Cranbrook ...

and Centre 64 in Kimberley ... 

Just Dad & I ...

1. Beauty of B.C.

2. Kufstien

3. Spanish Eyes

4. Track 4

5. Vagabund

6. Track 6

7. What'll I Do

8. Your Cheat'n Heart

9. If I Should Lose My Way

The spring of 2007 ...

I decided that I wanted to record a CD ...

so that I would always be able to hear his voice ...

and the music he loved to play ... 

These were special moments for me ...

spending time with my dad ...

I miss him very much ...

always in my heart ...

I love you,  Dad ...

Oma's Smiling ...

Oma loves her new headboard and bedding ... !!! 

Ian & Kendall were so kind to give it to her ... Look how happy she is ... !!!

Thank you from Oma ... !!

Today's Task ...

Splitting And Stacking

It was a great day to start working on this pile of wood ...

some of this wood has been around for 7 years under tarps ...

waiting for the woodshed to be built ...

Where's Mikey  ? ...

Somewhere behind all the split wood ...

didn't realize we still had that much of the old Tamarack logs left ...

what a bonus ... !!!

After a couple hours ...

this was the last log of the pile ...

to be split ...

Taking a few minutes ...

before we start to load all of this ...

into the woodshed ...

We estimated that we split about 3 1/2 cords of wood today ...

Thank goodness for the tractor ...

to haul the wood over to the shed ...

it took us another couple of hours to unload and stack the wood ...

we have almost 4 rows of short wood  (15"- 22 ") ...

and 3 rows of long ones (3' - 31/2' ) ...

A couple more loads ...

 and we should have our wood in for the winter ...

It was a good day ... !!!

Peeking Thru ...

Snow-Capped Mountains

A beautiful morning in the Valley ...

Reflections ...

On Edith Lake 

On my way back from getting firewood ...

I stopped along the road ...

a beautiful, sunny, still day ...

in awe of the reflection in lake ...

of the bright fall colours ...

noticed the mountainside ...

the Tamarak (Larch) Trees

starting to turn a golden colour ...

The Beauty of Fall ... !!!

Gathering Firewood ...

From the Slash Pile

Helping to stack the logs ...

so that Mike could go along and cut them up off the ground ...

some of the heavier ones I needed help with  ...

Mike stacked the larger logs together ...

then proceeded to buck them up ...

my job was to load them into the truck and utility trailer ...

We also cut some firewood for mom ...

Kurt and mom came out to the property ..

to help with the splitting ...

mom worked the controls ... 

I placed and held the logs on the splitter ...

and Kurt tossed them into the trailer ...

Mike took the trailer up to moms ...

and helped unload it into the woodshed ...

We cut one load in the morning ...

loaded, unloaded and stacked it in the new woodshed ...

then had time to get another load ...

 in the afternoon ... 

we figure we cut 2 cords today ...

as well as getting moms firewood ...

It was a beautiful day to be outside ...

we accomplished quite a bit today ...

looking forward to sitting down ...

and relax ...

as tomorrow we will head back out to get some more ...

approximately 8 cords still needed ...

Oh My ... !!!!

Morning Sunrise ...

A beautiful morning sunrise ... rays of light ... watching as it emerges ... over the mountains ...

Thanksgiving Day ...

At The Resort

We spent our Thanksgiving Dinner ...

with mom & Teresa ...

it was nice being served ...

grateful I didn't have to clean up ...

or do dishes ...

This is the table where mom usually sits in the dining room ...

with her friends ...

Rose & Burk ...

(Rita was absent today)

it is wonderful to have entertainment ...

while waiting for the meals ...

Burk plays all the tunes that dad played ...

brings back found memories ...

We had a lovely evening ...

visiting ... laughing ... eating ... reminiscing 

Happy Thanksgiving ... !!!!

Turkey Dinner ...

Morning Preparations ...

I decided to bake this Austrian cake ...

 Gitter Kuchen ...

(Criss-Cross Cake)

my  Grandmothers' recipe ...

start with a pastry cake dough ...

roll half of it in pan ... spread jam of your choice over the entire surface ...

with other half of dough ...

roll into rope shaped pieces ...

place them on top of jam ...

bake until golden ...

Great to have on hand for guests  ... 

or package them to send as a tasty treat to family and friends ...

After the pumpkin pie was baked ...

and the side dishes prepared for turkey dinner tonight ...

we had time to get a couple loads of firewood ...

the first picture was the pile I had cut a while back ...

loaded it into "Old Blue" 

then waited for Mike to finish cutting more logs ...

for me to finish loading them into the truck ...

Went back to the house ...

to put the turkey in the oven ...

have lunch ...

then go and unload the firewood into the woodshed ..

and go back for another load ...

before I had to finish with dinner preparations ...

Our guest were arriving around 7:00 

Sitting down for our Thanksgiving dinner ..

with our neighbours Don & Bonnie ..

who generously donate garden produce ... their time ... and machinery ...

when needed ...

this is our way of saying thank you ...

We had a lovely evening together ...

grateful for the abundance in our lives ...

Happy Thanksgiving to all ... !!

Still in the Kitchen ...

With All The Vegetables
Oct. 7, 2011

Tomatillos peeled ... washed ... ready to process ...

Inside a Tomatillo

Blanched ... chopped ... cooked ...

Scooped into jars ... into the water bath ... to be processed ... 

voila ...

Tomatillo Salsa 

While salsa was processing ... washed ... chopped ... parsley ...

put into vacuum sealer bags ...

to be placed in the freezer ...

Fresh carrots ...

just to be eaten ...

It was a busy day ...

Cabbage Rolls ... Tomatillo Salsa ... Borscht ...

packaged Parsley ...

and carrots ...

Next rainy day ...

won't be in the kitchen ... !!!

Cooking Begins ...

At 6:30 AM
Oct. 7, 2011

It was a rainy day ...

good day to spend in the kitchen ...

first I did have my coffee and breakfast ...

then prepared the cabbage ...

to make Cabbage Rolls  ... 

All the ingredients put together for the filling ...

Placing the rolls in the Crock Pot ...

covering with diced tomatoes ...

Eight hours later ...

it was finished ...

I had a lovely dinner ...

it was delicious ...

I vacuumed packed a few packages ...
and some fresh Borscht soup ...
made today from all the leftover veggies ...

they'll be quick meals for Mike ...

and busy days ahead ...

getting firewood ...