September 21, 2015

Birthday Fun!  
Melody is 8 - unbelievable.....

A last minute decision and I was on the plane from Kelowna to Edmonton last Thursday. My wonderful daughter, Tammy, picked me up at the airport that afternoon. On Friday evening, my son Farren along with his girlfriend Jade and baby Violet drove down from Grimshaw. Saturday afternoon we all partook in Melody's birthday party. It was held at Centennial Park on Sylvan Lake.  What a beautiful day for an outside party. The sun was shining, and a good time was had by all, especially Melody. (Melody is Farren's eldest daughter and lives with her mom in Sylvan Lake. 

Melody loves her baby sister Violet.
What a lovely picture of my two beautiful granddaughters.

It was wonderful to spend this time with my kids and granddaughters. My grandson Tristan was unable to make it to his moms this weekend so it was disappointing not seeing him. But I got lots of cuddle time with the girls so that will have to tide me over until spring. 

 

My daughter and son chatting. It was a long day regardless of the fun. 


















Sunday morning photos ....


This is the first picture I have of Farren and his family. As much as most people hate to sit for photos I was happy to get them to sit still for a short time - even the dog Sasha sat still.



The weekend went by so fast it was almost a blurr.  

Melody, our little monkey, chillin on Sunday morning.

Aunty Tammy holding Violet, our little munchkin!

And I suppose you all think while I was off having fun I left Michel at home to tend to the mess in the yard....  not true.  

Michel took this time (Thursday to Monday) to spend in Kelowna with his parents. They are both 87 and still living in their own home. So he visited with them and helped them with whatever needed doing.  He was the chief cook and bottle washer for a few days, oh and don't forget taxi.... but he enjoyed it.  He said he cannot remember the last time he spent such quality time with them. Usually we're in and out inside of a day.  

September 15, 2015

August 29th will go down as a very memorable day. Not only were we getting company that day, but this is the day our sewer backed up. We had 4 inches of sewer water in both bath tubs, and of course the toilets were full. We were fortunate in that there is an elderly gent in this town who does plumbing and has tools, so we were able to get the water flowing again the same day.


Michel began digging the day of the disaster. Had to, in order to snake a clearing in the pipes so the water would flow.  So he dug under the shed and up to our fence. Then we had to wait for the City Forman to get back from holidays (2 weeks)

AND -  17 days later this is what we are faced with..... The city crew were here yesterday to dig up their side of our fence, only to discover that the fault wasn't on the city side but on ours.  






Our sewer pipes are sloping toward our house instead of away from it.... we all know that s__t does not flow uphill - and we cannot believe that we haven't had a problem before now. We've been here for 8 years!







So here is Michel with his trusty shovels to begin the digging process under our mobile home. 













I think he's a pretty fast digger, he's probably one third of the way to the main. 








In the mean time, we're in a bit of a mess, and this all happened in the midst of all our company.

But - slow and steady wins the race, so they say.  

September 15, 2015

Ann and Bob Bjarnason were here to visit for a couple of days. 

They visited us last year from West Kelowna and we were just thrilled that they made it this way to see us again this year. We spent a couple of days just catching up and visiting. Had a little fire in the backyard firepit early Sunday evening, and even played a couple of games of 'Sequence" later on. We gals dominated!!
Then on Monday evening we played some cribbage. The guys just killed us  - almost skunked us one game! 
We had a great visit. Didn't take a 'this year' photo, but they haven't changed  - - wonderful couple, love their company! 

September 13, 2015

Another fun filled weekend!  

Rich and Tina were here to visit. Arriving on Thursday from Ranier, WA, they left this morning. As always, so sad to say good bye. But this time, it's not for 6 months, it's only for one month....







In the few short days they were here we sure did have some fun. We did a lot of talking and planning as we are hoping they will travel to Panama with us this fall. As I've mentioned before, they are our 'go to - go do' buddies.  When we want to go somewhere they are always so willing to join us.  




Thursday evening we had a nice fire in the backyard pit. The first since last spring.

Friday morning we had a quick visit from old friends Ray and Judy Jesse.  Coffee on the deck.....








Our Island friends, Ray and Judy, we met in 2005 in San Felipe. Although we don't see them often, we do think about them, and it was wonderful that they took the time to stop in Greenwood.  We wish them safe travels and good health until we see them again!








Friday night we had a little soiree around the campfire again. This time we were joined by Steve and Doreen, with guitar in hand.








Steve's brother Keith was here as well, so we had 7 of us around the gazebo. We had a great time visiting, and singing. 










Keith plays guitar and sings too, so as well as singing along to all of the old favorites that Steve plays, we crooned along to a different set of songs. 









Michel bought a little drum thingee on one of our cruises, so he plays along with guitar. Fun had by all!

The evening went by so fast, before we knew it, it was 1:30 am - time to pack it in!


On Saturday afternoon Steve and Doreen cooked burgers on the bbq for us all. Thank You - awesome burgers!  
One last hoop-la before Rich and Tina went home.......

Until next time - thanks for reading.

September 8, 2015

Last Saturday our sewer backed up and Michel spent all afternoon digging a trench down to the sewer pipes in order to find the source of the problem. Because it was Saturday, we had to wait until Monday to get a hold of the City Water crew. 

In the mean time we welcomed Dennis and Nola back that afternoon. They arrived around 4:00:  just in time for a well deserved happy hour! They were only spending the night as they were on their way back home. Always welcome you two. It was nice to return a little hospitality.



Said good bye to my bestie this morning and it's always so sad to see her leave.  

Deb and her husband Len were here from St. Albert for a short visit enroute to see his son in Belingham, Wa. 

We had a great visit, although too short. 

While they were here we did a little touring (a drive around town and a quick visit to Rock Creek), a little tubbing and a whole lot of visiting!

A couple of late nights and not so early mornings. Love you guys - until next time, travel safe, and be happy!!