Another Busy Week

I can hardly believe how fast the time is passing. Mid week we had one big hail storm. The hail was so heavy it looked like a snow storm and we could't even see the lake from the house even though we are only a few hundred feet from the water.

 It looks like we may have a renter from Alberta for our retail building that is on the main highway near the University and Airport. Our air conditioner needed servicing this week and I thought it would be a good idea for me to do it. I seem to hate heights and I also hate climbing up onto this roof but I am a Scotsman and like to save money wherever possible. To get up there I have to go into the mechanical room and use a crappy 20 foot home made wooden ladder for starters. I climb up onto a platform is about 18 feet in the air. Next I have to climb a 22 foot vertical ladder that is bolted 3 inches off the wall. That scares the crap out of me. At the top I have to hang on with one hand while I open a trap door. I hate doing this. I am going to hire a company from now on to change the filters. I did it but after going back down to the parking lot I realized I had left my glasses on top of the roof top air handler .  I would like to share a quote said 25 years ago from my over weight friend Jimbo as he looked off of our cottage deck down to our dock in Sioux Narrows. He had puffed his way  85 stairs up to the cottage from the dock after  a boat ride realizing he had left his sunglasses on the boat  and said "Screw it , I'll buy another pair ". That's exactly how I felt about retrieving my glasses. I hate coming up here.

So we had a wonderful day planned. We started at our good friends home with a garden tour. Rob and Shelly have the most beautiful yard in the Okanagan. It is because of all the hard work they do . Shelly is a banker who seems to spend much of her spare time working on the yard and Rob is a retired orchardist who can't relax. He spends about 36 hours a day grooming this place into perfection. I love looking at all the different areas they have built on this property.

The sitting area just outside their bedroom is beautiful with the open deck and stone sitting area with fountain.

 So Shelly has the week off and we were invited out to their cabin that is on a beautiful mountain lake about one hour from town. We were invited to stay for a couple of days but with the new dog we felt that it was too soon to leave him with the neighbours and not the right time to take 3 dogs to a friends cabin. We followed him up there even though I thought I knew the way. Good thing. I would have gotten lost and never found his cabin. I pointed out to Ruth every turn that I would have missed. Ha.

 We dragged the kayaks off of the trucks and got them ready to go. We had a great paddle. There are two lakes connected and we went thru them both. I wish I had taken my camera on the paddle but I am a little gun shy in the Kayak. I was very conscious to make sure I emptied my pockets , left my cell phone and didn't take sunglasses with me. I am so insecure in a kayak and don't want to loose anything in a spill.

 What I do wish I had captured on film was a beautiful Loon that we happened to paddle a little too close to. He was with this mate and only one baby when we encroached into his space. He was only about 30 feet away and would dive many times as we paddled by him. When he surfaced he shot straight up in the air and seemed to stand on his feet while doing 360 degree spins on his feet. All this time he would be making very loud and aggressive loon calls. It was something we have never seen before. I really wish I had it on film. It was wonderful to see. Anyways , We came back to the cabin after a great paddle and relaxed in the sun with a bottle of Rose' from Cedar Creek and a table full of great food. It has been a Wonderful Day. We are so lucky to live in the live in the Okanagan and have  Such Great Friends.

 I also should say that Water Mellon is my favourite summer treat.

Jack Turned 4 Today

Today is a big day for Jack. He is now 4 Years Old. Where is the time going? So Ruth and I strongly believe in a music education for our Grand children and thought this was a perfect age to get Jack involved. We got him his own piano as a  birthday present.

He came in about 10:30 with his parents and was wondering what we got him for his birthday. I had to do a few things before we told him to look under the cloth. He was so excited to be having this birthday celebration. I love watching how he enjoys the moment.

He has that look on his face that is wondering if this is something he is going to have to work at. He actually did seem to like it. I 'm glad he now has a piano to play at home.

So the kids started to show up with their parents and the pool got busy. It is about 86 degrees which makes it so comfortable.

Ruth made her famous Mennonite fried bread eaten with Water mellon and sugar. It was great.

This little guy never did jump in but he had us all watching for about 10 minutes. Very cute.

Jack was so excited to have Happy Birthday sung to him by everyone and then get to blow out the 4 candles on his Birthday Muffins.

He was even more excited to get to eat them. This kid makes me laugh. He does everything with such intensity. He was great today. He thanked everyone for his gifts and I think I saw him hug everyone when they left for home. After everyone was gone he told us that he was sad that his friends had left.  He is very sweet.

What A Wasted Day

So we had a dinner party planned for today. 

I was gone on business until 2:00 this afternoon and when I got home Ruth had the table set and the house all cleaned and ready for company.

I cut up 3 chickens for tonights dinner last night and Ruth made up a spanish rub with a mustard sauce this afternoon. I went to the wine store and also got the tank off of the BBQ filled at the garage down on Lakeshore. Everything looked perfect.

I laid down for a 20 minute nap around 5:15 . I understood the guests were coming at 6:00. At about 5:30 Ruth came into the bedroom to inform me that our dinner party is on the calendar for next Wednesday and not today. We ended up having a lovely dinner together tonight . Just the two of us. I was too tired anyways to be entertaining  tonight. I look forward to next Wednesday.

Getting Our New / Old Dog

We drove to the Island on Sunday to pick up Caleb. Hard to believe that it was 37 in Kelowna but there was still snow in the mountains.

Ruth and I are thrilled to have a new member in our Kelowna family. He has been in the Moir/Burge family for 10 years but not with us. He is Caleb the Australian Shepherd who has been raised on the island by Sharon our oldest Daughter.

They have raised Caleb at the Bible camp that Chris works at. It is Camp Imadine on Masachie lake. Likely one of the most beautiful places on the Island but not a place for a herding dog. Caleb is very protective and does a great job watching over the house but unfortunately there is a problem with that in a kids camp.

 Our kids decided they could no longer keep him at camp but he is part of our clan and we wanted him to stay in the clan. Therefore we drove to the Island and brought him home. While there we did a few events. Sharon taught Ruth how to play Pickle Ball. She did all right considering it was her first time and she was wearing rubber boots. Caleb was the ref and gave all the unsure points to Sharon. Little did he know at this time he was coming home with us and the food rations were going to be decided by Ruth. Otherwise I am sure that Ruth would have won.

We did a walkabout on Monday looking some of the improvements that Chris has built for camp Imadine. Two years ago he built a BMX track for the kids. The local police dept donated about 50 BMX bikes that they had rebuilt. It is a cool track. The only thing it doesn't have is the official starting gate. Otherwise they could be sanctioned by BMX as an official race track.

We went for a paddle. 8 year old Isaac was chasing Ruth across the lake and when he caught her he pretended he was going to dump her. I DON'T THINK SO. She is too skilled in a kayak.

Chris came out in a canoe just before we headed back and their kids mooched a ride from him. I love how this family all love each other. They are nice to be with.

Isaac has his first new real bike and is so proud of it. We came back together from the main camp building and he was showing me how he can do tricks. He is so cool.

So after we got off the ferry we stopped in to see our friends Pat and Robert. They are moving back to Manitoba tomorrow and have three truck and trailers loaded for the trip. I helped load a few of the bigger items for about one hour but luckily I was not here for the 4 days of packing they had just gone thru. They looked very tired.

We got home and the first order of business was to take the dogs for a walk. They all get along like they have been raised together. I think Caleb is going to fit in to this house just fine.

So Caleb has a bit of a problem with two of his feet. He has licked a couple of spots raw. We soaked his two paws in Epsom Salts to try to ease any itching.

Then we bandaged the feet and put a cone around his head for night so that he couldn't lick them off . He seemed quite all right with it all. He is such a sweet dog and we are happy that we have him living here with us . I know that Sharon is going to miss him and if she ever wants to have him back he will be there in a heart beat because Caleb is still her baby.

A Great Weekend So Far

We were invited out to Brad and Colleen's place for dinner last night. They now live on a wonderful acreage in south east Kelowna.The reason they bought this place was that the property also has a barn and pasture that can house their two beautiful White Arabian horses which Colleen has started to race. It is quite a place. Last year Brad and the kids all worked together to build a tree house for Mia. She slept in it for about 60 nights last year and Ruth was asking to get the tour of it tonight.

I thought she was a good sport to climb this rope ladder . There is no way I was going up there.

I stood down at ground level with the boys while Mia sat on deck with Ruth telling her stories. We have always enjoyed our times with Brad and Colleen . They have the nicest kids I have ever met which makes it even nicer to spend time at their place. This was a great evening.

We had dinner in the cabanna while looking out at their beautiful yard. It was hard to leave but we finally hit the road just before the sun set.

Made it home just in time to have a swim in the pool and watch the sun do its final set. What a great night. I really love the Okanagan. It is hard to leave here in the summer for holidays somewhere else.

Funny Little Guy

This little guy can really give it. He slept over last night and put in a full day of activities. Ruth dropped him of with Carrie for 7:00 A.M. and a couple of little girls came over for a play date. I came by at noon to see Jack passed out on his chair. Sort of.

Got Lots Done In 4 Days

 This weekend was a scorcher. We had Randy over for dinner one night and spent a couple of hours floating in the pool. The solar had put the temp. at 96 degrees. A little on the warm side.

It was a great evening to just hang out on the deck after the pool.

The next evening we had Rob and Shelly over for a swim and dinner. Same program as the night before . A couple of hours in the pool and then hang out on the deck. Only difference was that we had gotten the temp down to about 90. Now it was very enjoyable.

Jack was in and out of the pool all day. Whenever he was out he found lots of adventures to experience. Here he is riding across Canada on my bike.

So I finished my latest piano last week and had it playing in the garage for the last few days to break it in. This piano has the new High Def Pianodisc installed in it and I am very impressed with how it plays. I enjoyed listening to it play in my shop so much that I almost didn't deliver it to my customer this morning.

But I did. Here we are waiting for the crane truck.

Hooked and just starting to fly.

The neighbours all came out to watch the excitement. It was a huge lift. We had to hire Marv's Crane service which did a great job and was very reasonable for what they had to do.

I also hired 2 of the movers from AMJ Campbell to come and help. All they needed to do was help me catch the piano as it was coming down and move it into the house with me. It took them about 10 minutes of their time to do these and when I drove to their office this afternoon to pay the bill their boss gave me an invoice for $275.00.  Needless to say I am a little choked by this.

Anyways , The piano is installed in one of the most beautiful condo's I have been in. I'm thrilled with how this turned out.

Another Great Week

So It was Dana's birthday. He turned the big 55 and I am quite sure he was glad to be on this side of the grass. We had a birthday celebration for him here at the house that I am sure he enjoyed.

Now you can tell by the picture that he doesn't like to be the centre of attention and was acting quite humble by the fact we all showed up to wish him the best.

Sunday morning we headed out on the lake for a kayak. I got about half a mile from the beach and told the gang I was going back. I have built a narrow kayak that is great for the advanced paddler but I am a novice. I hated being out there . Too much work. I also almost tipped a few times. So Randy came back to the beach with me .

He said that it was to make sure I was all right on the return ride but I know he has forgotten his life jacket and wasn't comfortable being out there without it. I still appreciated the company. So we got back to the beach and I told him to try my kayak and let me know if it was unstable or if it was my imagination. He only went out about 20 feet before coming back in. He hated it . I was laughing because he had just as much trouble as me if not more to keep it upright.

Sunday afternoon we drove out to a friends place in the desert near Cawston to see the house he is building. It is unbelievable. He has done this all by himself over the last couple of years. He has also planted a huge farm that is producing all kinds of food. When I see what he has done I feel lazy.The water table is only a few feet below the surface here and he thinks there is a possibillity the vally could flood so he has built this house on a floating cement  hull. If there ever is a shift in the world and the valley floods he is prepared. I was so impressed.

The inside is beautiful. He used crop circles as the model that he formed his design around.

My friend isn't afraid of hard work and has built this place in his spare time as well as run a successful business in Vancouver. Ruth and I were tired when we left his place just from seeing what he has done.

So Dana and I went to the gym this morning and after we sat on his beach with a Timmy's. It was the perfect way to end a workout. What a view.

I got home and Ruth was in the pool with Jack. He is such a great kid. We love when he comes over.

This is a funny story. I have been working in the garage for most of the day on a piano. I came in and Jack had play dough all over the dining room table. He was making all kinds of things. He asked me if I would like a chocolate cake so I said I'd love one. He brought over a piece of green play dough on a fork and said "Here you go". I thanked him and asked if I had to use a knife and fork to eat it as I slipped it out of my hand and onto the table while he wasn't looking. He said I could eat it with my hands so I pretended to throw it into my mouth and chew away. Then I did a big swallow followed by a big smile and thanked him for the chocolate cake. He looked horrified. He yelled at me "Oh No. That was just play dough".  I smiled and showed him the play dough on the table and said "I fooled You." When he saw that he laughed and laughed. He is such a great kid.

Jack and I had dinner / bed time snack together. He loves cereal and yogurt and I love steak. I love this time of year when we can sit out on the deck and enjoy the evening even though there is a thunder and lightning storm on its way.

Bed time and jack has just had his last swim of the day. He knows how to open and close the pool so we have made it his job to be in charge. The great thing about this automatic pool cover is that it needs a key to operate.

So Jack has hit the sack for the night. He wanted to sleep in the tent for a treat. He loves camping. Ruth is going to sleep out there with him and we may throw one of the dogs in with them. I really should take this picture over again because it doesn't look good with the beer can laying near the tent door. It actually was a can left over from a few days ago when a friend had a beer in the courtyard with me and I never put his can away. The wind blew it into the picture a few minutes ago.

So sweet pea is a food hound but is also exactly like her mom. Every time we had a thunder her mom would hide in the house under beds or in the shower. There has been a storm coming for the last few hours with a little thunder happening. I have always been able to set a clock by Sweet peas eating habits. 5:00 she is jumping around the bag of food in the back room.Today she was no where in sight. I found her and called her onto the deck where I had poured her food as well as mixed in a treat. She wouldn't leave the house to eat outside. I finally had to bring her dinner into the back room for her. Its funny how she has the same tendencies as her mother.