Sunday, Aug. 30

Vernon is finally getting a bit of rain, but not enough. I'll have to water the cedars tonight. We don't have the fierce winds that hit Vancouver yesterday, but the trees are blowing around and losing some of their drought-shrivelled leaves. 

Yesterday, Jay, May, the girls and I hiked to the top of Silver Star. The winds increased as we climbed until it was quite invigorating at the top where low clouds whipped around us. May ran down powered by high spirits and a need to get out of the cold. The girls each had one of my poles and did their best to stay up with their mom. Jin Hee was definitely motivated by the promise of hot chocolate and a chocolate croisant at Bugaboos in the village. The girls had hot chocolate again this morning when we went to Lumby for breakfast. And it's not even fall yet. Wait 'till it really gets cold. They'll be needing vats of it.  

I'm planning to leave Vernon early Friday morning and drive east. I will take mom and dad's urns to be interred when Bill can gather his kids together in the Boyce plot in Elmwood Cemetery in Winnipeg.They arranged all the details years ago. Then I will carry on to Thunder Bay, Walkerton, Toronto, Ottawa and Wakefield. Jay has given me his cd case so that I will have lots of my favorite music and a couple of books to keep me company. I have fond memories of my solitary drive west. I hope I haven't suppressed a lot of negative ones that will rush back at me as I cross the prairies or the vastness of Ontario. I'm looking forward to visiting relatives and friends. 

Jay working on the trench

The trench that will join the new plumbing to the main pipe. I love its symmetry. It looks almost like a body splayed on the basement floor. 

Another one of May's feasts. This time with Mo and John. 

Jay, May and the girls huddled in the trees near the top of Silver Star

Hot and Dry

Summer in the Okanagan continues hot and dry. We had a good thunder storm on Friday night but not enough rain.  Saturday was a bit cool and Jay and I worked in the yard. He really opened up the back yard by cutting the hanging and dead branches from the horse chestnut and maple. I cropped all the iris and day lilies in the front. 

Jay's work with CIC seems never ending. The latest snag concerned a 'missing' medical assessment for Min Hee. Fortunately our neighbour was able to help by connecting us with a new clinic in Kelowna, so the gang drove there last week, saw the official CIC doctor and paid the required fee. Now, after an assessment this week and the exchange of more money, this glich in the file should be behind them. Immigration involves a staggering amount of paper work and palm greasing. I don't know how Jay has done it. He overheard me on the phone last week dealing with a minor insurance problem concerning mom's death. My irritation was evident in my tone of voice, and after I had hung up, he said," Imagine going through that on an almost  weekly basis, dealing with more serious issues in three languages for over a year?"  I can't. 

Tomorrow the work starts with a bang on the basement renovation. The man with the machine that grinds through the concrete floor to clear a path for the pipes that will connect the new bathroom to the original plumbing arrives tomorrow. His reputation precedes him. Apparently he has equipment that rivals what was used to construct the 'Chunnel' between England and France. Most of the dust will be sucked up by a vacuum as the tunnel is bored. I don't think there will be any way of eliminating noise; however, so I am grateful to be house sitting for Mo and John for the next four nights. The girls will probably rise earlier than usual and go with May to either the Rec. Centre or climbing wall. They've been enjoying both those places lately. Jay will be lugging the big chunks of concrete out to the back to be hauled away, along with all the branches he removed from the trees. We're into the big work. I've always enjoyed that, although now more at a distance. 

Min Hee and Jin Hee feeding the goats at Davison's Orchard

Bill, Sharon, her daughter and grand daughters enjoying one of May's feasts. 

A view of Eva Lake in Revelstoke National Park, last Sunday's hike

Family Day in BC

Our second week together begins appropriately with Family Day in BC. The girls got up admirably early, and after breakfast, we all walked over to the Vernon Farmers' Market where we bought an enormous cabbage, spinach, corn on the cob and samosas. We've just finished a great lunch of rice, May's chicken curry, samosas that Jay thought were too potatoey and spinach salad. They are going to drive to Kal Park for a hike and swim, but I'm staying at home for a quiet afternoon. I went for a long hike to Twin Lakes in The Monashees with the VOC yesterday and my legs need a rest. 

The weather in the Okanagan continues to be hot and dry. Even some of the leaves on the big maple and horse chestnut trees in the back yard are starting to yellow, wither and fall off. Jay has been doing a lot of pruning that had to be done anyway , but I'm hoping it will also lessen the load on the stressed system. As for the cedars I so rashly planted, as soon as I moved in, I'm watering them regularly. I've lost three small junipers that I planted this spring. I was so thirsty myself this Friday evening as I walked directly into the sun down 30th Ave. at the outdoor downtown market that I accepted a chilled bottle of water from our Conservative candidate. He seemed like a pleasant person and his idea of getting people's attention with cool water was brilliant, but I will never vote for the 'Harper Conservatives'.

The gang at the market. 

May with some local Alpacas.