Birthday Wishes ...

December 5, 2016

 

We hope you have a wonderful day ...

and that your year ahead will be filled with love ... health ... happiness ...

and all the great things that you desire ...

Sending our love ... always ...

mom & dad

 

 

An Afternoon at the Symphony ...

December 4, 2016

Oma and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon ... at the Symphony of the Kootenays ...

Opening up the show with a 4 concert stroll ...

thru Vivaldi's iconic Four Seasons ... these were lovely ... movie pieces ...

Then next on the program was ...

"Stealing Back the Holidays" with Allison Girvan of Nelson ... presenting the season's best Christmas songs ... which were arranged for a vocal soloists and Symphony Orchestra ...

After the intermission ...celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Christmas television debut ...

of Dr.Seuss" classic "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" ...

featuring the Selkirk Secondary School's Who-ville choir ... as the story was narrated by Michael Jones of Kimberely ...

This was a beautiful beginning to our Christmas season ... now Let it Snow ... !!!

 

The snow had begun to fall ... when we left the theatre ...

It was an interesting drive home ... very ... s l o w ...

Compact ... slippery ... deep snow ... blizzard conditions ...

It was difficult to find our road to turn off on ...

but

both Mike and I made it home safely ... as we were driving 2 vehicles ...

At the rate it was falling ... we're sure to have a good 8-10 inches of snow ...

before it would stop ...

 

 

 

Cookies and a Christmas Tree ...

December 3, 2016

My morning started out with making the Gingerbread dough ...

dividing it into four discs ... then placed them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours ...

After the dough was cooled ...

it was time to roll it out and start cutting out the gingerbread men and angels ...

placing them on prepared cookie sheets and putting them in the oven to be baked ...

 

I decided to make a double batch of Vanille Kipferl (Viennese Vanilla Crescents) dough ...

while the Gingerbread dough was in the refrigerator ...

The dough was divided into sections ...

the pieces were then rolled by hand ...

into small logs and shaped into a crescent ...

Once they were baked ... they were taken out of the oven ...

cooled for one minute ...

then rolled into vanilla flavoured icing sugar ...

The cookies were place on cookie racks until cooled ...

then rolled in the icing sugar mix again ... and stored in a airtight container ...

These cookies are one of the families favourite ...

 

 

We decided to go out in search of a Christmas tree today as well ...

after the Vanille Kipferl cookies were baked ...

The weather this afternoon was perfect ... plus there was a snowstorm ...

in the forecast for the next couple days ...

We headed out down the road ... to Oma's place ... to find a tree ...

We found a beautiful ... tall tree ...

Mike proceeded to cut down the tree with the chainsaw ...

While I stood aside and watched ... taking a picture as it was falling ...

Mike stepped out the length of the tree ... marked it and cut the top of the tree off ...

I sure hope he marked it correctly ...

It took the two of us to pack it to the small flat deck trailer ...

to be hauled home ...

It was a good thing that we had built the new car shelter ...

Mike backed the trailer in to store the tree ... to protect it from the deer and elk ...

from eating it ... until we could bring it into the house ...

Once that was done ... I continued to bake Gingerbread cookies for another hour ...

 

Another Year Older ...

December 1, 2016

 

Today was my special day ... my birthday ...

my morning started with a lovely breakfast ... made by Mike ...

It was snowing ... the trees and ground were blanketed in white ...

Gifts were given to me to open ... also received many cards ... phone calls ... emails ... texts ...

from friends and family ...

Love my gifts from Mike ... a new curling iron for my hair ... chocolate ...

a pair of jeans and two new tops ...

( I had picked out when I went shopping with mom )...

Mom had bought me a new outfit as well ...

A knitted purple top with leggings ... and my favourite ... a package of Liquorice Allsorts ...

All this was done before our guests were arriving today ...

 

Mark and Sandy drove from Castlegar ... to come for a visit ... and deliver my gift in person ...

Sandy had started paintings ... a while back ...

and decided to create one for me for my birthday ...

This painting is her "Tree of Life" ...

Mark and Sandy had lived out here over 25 years ago ...

and now reside in Castlegar ...

Our friendship goes back to our school days ...

back in Sarnia, Ontario ...

We had a lovely evening ... Mike and Mark celebrated my birthday ...

with Mike's famous martini ...

We enjoyed a Halibut dinner ... (my choice) with pan fries and sauted vegetables ...

then Peach Crisp for dessert ...

We spent the evening chatting ... reminiscing of days gone by ... with lots of laughter ...

and visiting with family and friends on FaceTime ...

We couldn't believe how quick the evening went by ...

we talked until the wee hours of the morning ...

 

 

December 2, 2016

 

After a short night's sleep ... we enjoyed having breakfast ...

of fresh fruit ... waffles and freshly brewed coffee ...

Mark and Sandy were heading home this afternoon ...

but before they left ...

we hopped into the truck and drove them around ...

to see how much this area had changed over the last 25 years

Mike and I will plan a trip over to Castlegar ...

sometime in the New Year ... to visit them and their family ...

Thank you to everyone ...

for my Happy Birthday wishes ...!!!

 

Movember ...

November 30, 2016

 

The beginning of November launches the Movember event ...

of guys growing there moustaches ...

with most of them shaven them off at the end of the month ...

Nathan taking part in the November event ...

Luv it ... !!!

 

 

New Home for VW ...

November 28, 2016

The sun was shining and no rain in the forecast ...

we decided to finish erecting the car shelter ...

All the hardware needed for the next step ...

was laid out ...

Mike pounded in the stakes to hold the frame down ...

The end and front pieces were attached first ...

 

The main cover was unrolled flat on the ground ...

2 bars were put thru the pouches ... and then 2 ropes were attached ...

The ropes were flung over the frame ... and Mike an I pulled on the ropes ...

to raise the tarp over the frame ...

Once that part was done ... we move inside to finish tying it down ...

The bars were put thru the channels ... brackets attached ...

then the ends were tightened ... using the rachets ... pulling the straps ...

The shelter was now ready ...

for the VW and parts to be put inside ...

It took us a couple hours to complete this project today ...

 

 

The Baking Begins ...

November 27, 2016

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

The first batch that was baked today ... are the ...

German Pfefferneusse

(Pepper Nut Balls)

Once the cookies had cooled ... the special icing was made ...

A few cookies were placed into a bowl ... with a couple tablespoons of icing ...

then tossed around to coat ...

The cookies were then placed on the racks to dry ...

This process was done until all the cookies were coated ...

They were stored in an airtight container ... when they were dried ...

for the flavours to blend ... until Christmas ...

 

 

Another Shelter Needed ...

November 26, 2016

 

Well ... it was decided that another car shelter was needed ...

as the shop was getting a little crowded ...

Mike would like to put the VW chassis out under this shelter ...

along with some of the parts that will be needed at a later time ...

 

We ran out of time to put the cover over the frame ...

it was to cold to work with it ...

 

We hope to finish it within the next couple days ...

hopefully it will warm up a little ...

 

Winter Ball ...

November 26, 2016

It was a special evening ...

for Oma and Joe ...

at Joseph Creek's annual Winter Ball ...

They had a lovely candlelight dinner ...

with music playing in the background

...

Then after dinner ... they enjoyed visiting with everyone ...

The band started to play ...

and they danced up a storm ...

Even those in wheelchairs and walkers ...

joined in ... twirling around ...

I was happy to hear ...

that they all had such a lovely evening ...

 

Happy Birthday Oma...

November 24, 2016

We went to pick up Oma and Joe at Joseph Creek Village ... to take them out for dinner ...

All Oma wanted for her birthday ...

was to go have a Prime Rib dinner at Frank's Steak & Schnitzel Haus ...

We were all surprised at the large plate set before her ...

wondering how in the world would she be able to eat all that ... !!!

All of us ended up asking for a take out box ... to take home our leftovers ...

The portions were so large ... that we will all have an extra meal ...

Oma was surprised to have received a piece of Birthday cake ...

and the staff coming over to sing Happy Birthday ...

We had a lovely time being together ...

 

 

 

Switching Car Body ...

November 23, 2016

Mike had been talking to some of the guys in town ...

They all think the value would be more ... and he should still restore the original body on the VW ... I totally agree ...

Sooooo ... Mike moved the gold body out with the quad ...

taking it back up to the storage site ...

I came up with the tractor ... Mike attached the straps around the body ...

then I proceeded to lift it up off the trailer ...

and Mike helped with walking it over to set it on the ground ...

We then went to where the original body was ...

Again Mike attached the straps to lift it off this trailer ...

It was then lifted and walked over to the little trailer ...

I then started to lower it onto to the trailer ... very carefully ... stopping when Mike asked me to ...

so that he could make sure it would be set down where it needed to be ...

 

Once the blue VW body was on the trailer ...

we picked up the gold VW and moved it over to be set on the trailer ...

Mike then hooked up the quad to the little trailer ...

and brought it down to the shop ...

Upon visual inspection ... this one is going to require ...

a lot more work ... !!!

 

Removing Parts ...

November 21, 2016

These pictures were taken before Mike moved the VW ...

Showing the gas and brake pedals are on ... along with the gear shifter ...

The motor all installed ... now it just needs the body ...

Mike started to remove some of the parts ...

taking a closer look at what needs to be done ...

It's going to take some time to get the work finished ...

 

 

VW Body Next ...

November 21, 2016

Mike rearranged the shop ...

moving the VW chassis to the front of the shop ...

the tractor was moved to where the VW was ...

and now the VW body can be moved in to the hoist side ...

This should make it easier for Mike to work on it ...

It took a little time to get it situated just right ...

Mike will be inspecting it to see what needs to be done ...

 

 

Cooking With Rosa ...

November 16, 2016

Today I am having a cooking lesson with Rosa ...

learning how to make her famous meatballs and sauce ...

First of all I was sent to Rick's Deli to pick up her "Rosa special" ...

When I walked into the store to place the order ... they knew exactly what I needed ...

the beef mix was ground fresh ... and the rib sections were packaged individually ...

We had been planning this day for quite some time ...

finally going to make her meatballs and sauce ...

The first order of business was to place the ribs into a baking pan and bake it in the oven ...

The hamburger meat was put into a bowl ...

then all ingredients were added ...

mixed together and then set aside for the breadcrumbs to moisten ... flavours to blend ...

The next step was to heat some Olive Oil in a pan ...

add a few slices of onion and saute them ...

Once they were browned ... the onions were removed and the oil put into the large pot ...

Then adding jars and cans of crushed tomatoes .... seasoning ... 

The cooked ribs were then put into the sauce ...

The sauce was brought to a boil then turned back to simmer ...

While the sauce was simmering ... we sat down at the table to make the meatballs ...

Rosa had her own technique on making them ..

I paid close attention on how she rolled them in her hands ...

When the meatballs were all made ... they were placed into the oven to bake ...

The meatballs were finished baking ...

they were put into the sauce ...

Rosa then cooked up her homemade Gnocchi ...

(which I had learned how to make earlier this year) ...

Rosa had set the table for lunch ... made a salad ...

and I was served this delicious dish of 

"Rosa Special Meatballs and Sauce"

All I can say is "Bellissimo"

I enjoy spending time with Rosa ...

learning how to cook real Italian food ...

from someone who has cooked these meals ...

all her life ...

Thank you Rosa ...

 for taking the time to teach me ...

the recipes from your homeland ...

that were passed down thru the years ...

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 ...

 

Watching Curling ...

November 13, 2016

These pictures are of the winners ...

of the curling tournament ...

This Grand Slam of Curling was held in Cranbrook this year ...

The ladies team is from Winnipeg ...

and the men's team was from Sweden ...

Mike and Rocko spent the whole weekend at the curling arena ...

watching all the games ...

in the Round Robin and the playoffs ...

They had a great time ...

I had watched the event on TV ... and saw the two of them in the stands ... the first night ...

I was later informed that they were invited to sit up in one of the boxes ...

for the rest of the games ...

The only game I attended ... was the men's final ...

and grateful to have had a seat in the luxury box ...

It is a totally different experience watching it live ...

as opposed to staying home and watching it on the TV ...