FIRES, FOOD AND FUZZY FRIENDS

Fires, fires, everywhere fires.  We don't see any fires from here but they are close and the smoke is depressing.  We haven't seen the lake for over a week.  We don't have much summer left and we really would like to see the sun.  We do see the sun but we don't recognize it.

The view from the lake on a clear, sunny day

Almost the same view, yesterday

Both Doug and I have developed slight coughs.  I would imagine that older folks and those with breathing issues are having really suffering.  It is still quite warm outside but we cannot open the windows because the smoke comes in.  

The setting sun through the smoke

With just 9 days left at our "summer" house, we are trying to harvest all our fruit and vegetables.  We are both learning the ropes of canning.  We have made jam and juice.

Fuzzy friends you say.  Well you have all met Zoe.  Zoe is part of our little family.

Outside the yard is full of quail chicks.   They are quite illusive and difficult to see in the yard.

It's hard to tell, a few chicks and a couple of parents?

Hard to see

There they are,  quail chicks

The New House

We did it.  We finally found a house to rent.  And it's a beauty.  We can be there for as long as we want.

The house is in Summerland.  Summerland is just across the lake from here.  Funny because the GPS shows it as being 5.1 k from here.  True, but that's almost all the width of the lake.  

Summerland is much smaller than Penticton and mostly residential.  We will continue to do our shopping in Penticton which is just a 20 minute drive.

The house:

From the front

The kitchen

The view from the deck.  There is more of a lake view that this picture shows.

The living room

The living room from the kitchen

The "family room" in the basement.  This fireplace is approved for actual wood burning,

There are a ton of amenities including brand new central air-conditioning, in ground sprinklers, and a hot tub.

In total there are 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. The garage is all finished with closets and shelves.  There is a shop for whatever projects off the garage.  Doug is free to make as many gardens as he likes.

Yes, I know.  Why would we need a house this big?  Well,

seriously, because it's the Okanagan, there isn't much to rent.  We will eventually build our own home but for now, this is home.

We will continue to travel in our motor home in fact we will be setting out for Manitoba as soon as we are settled.  

By the way, there is still lots of room in our driveway for an RV or two.

ANOTHER MONTH

Wow, August 1st.  Where does the time go?

We THINK we have found another home to rent.  The owners are on holiday and we have been emailing back and forth.  We have not seen the inside but plenty of pictures.  I am not going to jinx it by showing you any pictures.

As soon as we have heard on the house we will start the unenviable job of packing up.  We will be able to use the motor home for a moving truck for boxes.

There are forest fires, now called wild fires, all around us.  Being on the side of the lake and high up we are very safe.  We do get the smoke though.  This morning is relatively smoke-free.  Last night we were in town at our friends' for dinner and the cars were sprinkled in ash.

Smoke makes for interesting sunset

Bits of ash all over our friends' car

We have found a little beach off the beaten track.  The people in the village are very friendly and invite you to join them.  Doug just wants to cool off and go.

We have a whole flock of quail chicks in our back yard.  They are just tiny balls of fluff.

When the fruit and vegetables are ready, I can or freeze them.  There will be a few things that won't be ready until the end of the month and a couple more that we will have to leave.  

We  have some peaches as well but most of them are not ready yet.  The ones that are well, let's just say, there's no need to can or jam them.