STIX AND BRIX .... Life in the slow lane: June 2018

I feel it is important for me to blog if for no other reason than to chronicle our day by day life. Doug has kept a photo chronicle for the past 10 years and we refer to it often. Where have we been? what was the weather like there? and where did we eat out? I know that last one is funny but then, I have a food addiction and can often tell you where we were by what we ate there. Doug - "Where was that place......?" Toni - "Oh you mean that place where we had......?"

Our son Graeme came for a short visit the other day. It was good to see him. He doesn't mind the long drive, even alone.

This past weekend we had a party. This old house just told us that we needed a party. So we invited old friends from the coast and some new friends from Penticton and our neighbours. I made a lot of food (ha ha) and the guests brought more food and wine. Although the party was to start Saturday at 4:00 o'clock, some came Thursday, some came Saturday noonish and others all day long.

A game of Scrabble before others arrive.

It was so much fun. There was no one under 55 and one of the neighbours is 84. New friendships were made and old ones rekindled. What fun!

We continue to ready the motorhome for travel. We have a line on a solar kit and have ordered an inverter. A "two up" trailer for the little car is the next step. We are planning a couple of short trips before we head out the prairies in September. We have a tentative plan to head for Arizona after Christmas.

The lake is a wonderful source of entertainment. For several days there was a red "ball?" in the middle of the lake. It didn't move in the wind and no one visited it. One day it was just gone. A mystery. The sailboats are beautiful. We sit out most evenings until the sun sets.

The garden! Well, what can I say. It is beautiful and we are constantly surprised at what there is out there. Roses, lillies, ornamental thistles, clamatis, the list is endless. We are eating raspberries already and the fruit trees are all doing well. Cherries are almost ready. Doug's veggies are growing so well. Lettuce is ready, peas are flowering and the corn grows about a foot a day. This climate is perfect.

We are doing our best to explore our community. As I have mentioned before there are 100's of wineries and orchards in the area. We also visited a cottage distillery (one of several in the area). Yes, you can do tastings there too. We stayed and enjoyed a cocktail on the beautiful patio. Next time we will try the food.

One of the things I was looking forward to do when we settled for a while was quilt. I haven't started that yet but I have knit a blanket and sewed a couple of things for myself. I feel a bit intimidated by the quilting department of the local fabric store. Maybe I will find a quilting class to go to.

More pictures of the garden to close.

We are all moved in and settled. Wrong. We like to tune things up, change them around and see how that works.

When we had our fifth wheel, at first we had a nook. We found that very confining and inflexible. We changed it. In the big motor home we had a dining table and chairs. That works well because there are chairs. Chairs can be moved around and useful. So we have now taken the nook out of the newest motor home and replaced it with table and chairs.

The nook

Table and chairs and new floor

And here is the nook now. We have our breakfast outside some mornings. Very pleasant.

Our deck

The bedroom in the motor home is pretty basic. We are working to spice it up. First up, places for our books and clock.

Doug was pretty creative here. A simple Walmart box, split it in half and mount it on the wall.

See our "night stands"

Doug is a fabulous gardener. He learned it all from his mother and his grandfather. Everything is coming along so well. We had our first raspberry yesterday and there are also lettuce and radishes. Funny story, the Italian lady next door who is in the cherry business, told us that when she wants her cherries to ripen she swears at them and they turn red.