December 28, 2017

Main Christmas Tree in Living Room

Sarah baking for Christmas Dinner

Merry Christmas from Phoenix!!



I have to say that this season my blog posts have been few and far between.  Not because I have forgotten but we haven't had very many adventures, or I didn't have my camera. We left Fiesta RV Park in Bullhead City on December 7th. 



From there we went to Parker where we met up with Rich and Tina then drove over to Black Meadow Landing to see Dennis and Nola (friends from Spillamacheen, BC). From there we spent a couple of nights in Quartsite then down to Yuma. We parked at the Quechan Casino while we visited Algodonas. 

Michel and Jim solving the problems of the world!

We were on the road until December 20th when we arrived in Phoenix at Jim and Sarah's.  We spent the week with them enjoying their company and the solitude of the ranch.  

Michel and Jim took Sterling and Tewa out for a ride

Michel riding Sterling

November 23,2017

Thanksgiving at Fiesta RV Park. They always put on a great dinner and this year was not disappointing. 




Our good friends Rich and Tina joined us and we were joined by another couple Donna and Brian.





They are new to this park and hail from Whitecourt, AB.  We had a good afternoon chatting and eating (of course). 











Here are a couple of odd shots of the group lining up for the feast.

And last but not least a good picture of the four of us.
Rich, Michel, Myself and Tina!

November 11, 2017

Ten days into our stay here at Fiesta RV Resort in Bullhead City, AZ. and I have to tell you all that I haven't done anything!! Since we arrived I have been battling an awful cold/flu. Most of my time has bee spent in bed (or not far from it). It is a good thing this park has lots of activities. Michel has managed to keep busy getting reaquainted with the place and the people who stay here for the winter.

Finally this last week I joined the land of the living and yesterday we drove over to Laughlin to meet up with some old friends!!  Carol and Trevor Gill, our English friends from Vernon are on their way to Lode Marco, Mexico to spend their winter. We haven't seen them in years!! Met them at Onac RV Park in Teacapan, Mexico way back in 2007. Since then they have been everywhere!! RVing through Europe was their latest adventure. They sure do have the wandering spirit...

It was so great to catch up with them and share our stories. We wish them many more years of travelling and exploring!

November 01, 2017

Hello friends and family. No, we did not fall off the face of the earth. October was a busy month. I had surgery on my left hand, and we are confident that it has turned out better than the surgery on my right hand. So far - so good!!  

Michel took a day-trip to Karemeos to visit with his friends Jim, who lives in Keremeos and Ron, who was up visiting from Philadelphia. He had a good visit! 



Then we were busy loading the motor home and getting it ready for our trip south. 


We had a short visit from friends Bob and Anne from West Kelowna before we departed on October 26th. 







We landed here in Bullhead City got all settled into Fiesta RV Park today. Our journey was quite uneventful. We spent two nights at the Pahranagat Wild Life Refuge, just north of Las Vegas. 


It is always so peaceful here and usually pretty hard to get into because it is usually full. It is probably one of the last parks that is FREE!! 

Anyway - we arrived safe and sound (well pretty sound - lol) and our plan is to hang out here until after Christmas.

More later - thanks for reading!

September 27, 2017

Three days ago Michel and I were sitting outside saying "It doesn't even look like fall. The leaves on the trees are still green"... Then all of a sudden yesterday "BAM!"  Its Fall!  









The trees across the creek are beautiful. Reds and yellows. There is so much beauty in nature but fall is especially awesome! 










Our yard looks like fall for the most part. We have been busy putting the plants to bed for the winter. But we still have some blooms out there.








Someone needs to tell my roses that summer is over. They look better now than they did all year. But we had such a hot, dry summer I think they are just enjoying the coolness that we have going on now. 

A month from now we will be heading south again. Leaving our place here on the creek is always bittersweet. Hate to leave, but that makes coming back extra special.  

Life is good - thanks for reading!

September 12, 2017

Where has the summer gone? I cannot believe it is already September, and half way through September no-less!!

The long week-end came and went, much too fast I will add, but we had a very nice visit with my bff Deb and her husband Len (Wald). Can't say we did much, but we certainly did chat a lot, ate a lot and even had a few brewskies (and wine too of course!)









It's always sad to see them go, but I am so grateful that they take the time to come out this way to see us. Until we meet up again - take care of each other - we love you! 💖






So, this past weekend we took an over night Casino tour (bus)  to Worley, Idaho.  

Not particularly something Michel wanted to do, but I did, so off we went. We played bingo on the bus both on the way down and on the way back. Then we played some more at the casino for quite a few hours. We didn't win anything but two people from our group managed to take home just under $1,000. Not bad I say. 




It was fun and we got to get to know a few more people from our little city. Had dinner with a small group (l to r clockwise) Leo and Solange, Michel, Ron, Bob, (toasting with a huge beer) Jacqui and Charlene. 

I think a good time was had by all  👍
Most everyone goes 3-4 times a year, but I can't see us doing that. I can say now that I've been there - done that and had fun!

August 6, 2017

We had a nice visit this weekend from Michel's son Richard, his wife Shannon and his two adorable little girls Addy and Halle. 

They have a very busy life in Kelowna and don't get down here to Greenwood very often, so we really enjoyed having them around, even if it was only for a short while.




It was a very hot weekend and everyone really enjoyed playing in the creek. The creek water will never be warm enough for me, but their dog Charlie and the little girls sure did have fun paddling around and splashing Grandpa Mike!







They brought their bikes and had a nice long ride along the Canada Trail to town. Addy, (the oldest of the two) got a dirt bike this year so she's in her glory bombing around on it. 

It was a busy, fun weekend and the little girls were excited to sleep in the motor home. 

Thank you for coming to visit. You are always welcome! 

July 23, 2017

The past week has been a busy one.... with company! 
We were expecting my cousin Karen and her husband Tom (from Florida) the last week in July, but an unexpected change in their plans brought them to our neck of the woods ten days earlier. 




We also had a visit from a girlfriend from Kamloops. Ginette is a working gal and had a few days off, so we welcomed her as well.  We had a good visit.








Ginette has known Steve and Doreen for many years, and Karen and Tom met them the last time they visited us, so on Friday night of the weekend we invited them to join us. 









We had a fun time, had a few beers (wine too), visited, ate and sang some songs. No campfire though... that fire ban doesn't put a damper on our sing-songs....









Steve and Tom took turns entertaining us, and we all belted out the songs they were playing.









After the weekend we took a little trip to Osoyoos. We picked cherries, had a late lunch and hung out for awhile. We enjoyed our time with Karen and Tom. We played a little 'sequence'; took a little tour of our back country up to the 'City of Paris', and to check out an old mine in the hills.  It's always sad to see them go, but we had them here for almost a week and they had to push on. 


Karen and Tom left on the 20th, my birthday. Michel took me out for dinner then Solange and Leo and Steve and Doreen came over in the evening.  Once again we enjoyed a good time, lots of laughter, a little wine, and more song!  

We do live the good life....Thanks for reading!  

July 9, 2017

Good friends Barry and Helen from Saskatchewan are in our area these days.....

This being Founder's Day weekend here in Greenwood, we took in some of the festivities and walked around the grounds on Saturday. This morning we enjoyed a pancake breakfast sponsored by the 2018 Graduating Class then followed B & H in their Jeep up to their property. 

It was a nice warm day and we enjoyed our ride.

This is an old cabin along the trail....

Here is an old mine we drove to on our way back home.  Michel walked into this mine for as far as he could. He said it was very cold...

Another enjoyable day - good company, a good ride.  We even went back to the Founders Day grounds for late lunch (2:30) then watched more of the entertainment.  

Steve and Doreen came over in the evening and so did Barry and Helen, so we visited in the gazebo, sipped on a beer (wine) and sang a few songs.

July 1st, 2017 Happy Canada Day!

Another trip to Osoyoos. This time was to buy more paint! But while we were there we took in the Canada Day fireworks. They didn't start until after 10 pm so we wasted some time shopping around then we had dinner at the Owl Pub on the corner of Hwy 3. As the outside seating area was quite full we shared the corner booth with two wonderful couples we never knew before. 


Left to right - Elena and Wes from West Kelowna and Pat and Paul from New Zealand. We enjoyed getting to know them over dinner. In the end we all exchanged emails and numbers in hopes that our paths with cross again in the future.



Later in the day we met up with Solange and Leo, set up our lawn chairs and waited until after 10 the for the fireworks to begin.  They were very much worth waiting for lasting for about 40 minutes.  Because Kelowna's fireworks were cancelled this year due to the high waters the beaches in Osoyoos were just packed!! It is estimated there were more than 40,000 people in attendance to take in the show! Pictures just don't do fireworks justice, but here is a little clip of the fireworks bouncing off the lake....

June 30, 2017

We had a pleasant and unexpected visit from Terry Gold a couple of weeks ago.  Terry is from Kelowna and he and Michel worked together back in Michel's 'real estate' days.  Terry owned Gold Realty and Michel talks about him with great respect. He says he learned everything he knew about real estate from this man.

We made a trip to Osoyoos too in June. Michel picked some cherries - Rainiers - Yummy!

June 5, 2017

Sunday - Fun Day! 

Our first run with the Greenwood/Boundary ATV Club and their first run of season.  

Our newest toy - the red one - LOL!
the one on the right. It's an Arctic Cat 500 - and it's a two-up so we can ride together. 




Our first stop along the way was the ski chalet up at Phoenix Ski Hill. 


The view from the top was quite grand. 











Stop number two was to visit the old Rock Oven Camp. Here we parked and walked up.



These Rock Ovens were widely used by people living in the bush in the railroad era. Those ovens were a marvel of efficiency. 


Early in the morning a large fire was built inside and when the rocks reached the required temperature, the coals were scraped out and the entrance carefully sealed to allow several hours of baking, roasting and heating food. 







Onward and forward - another stop - the old trestles, part of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

These treasures are a well-kept secret, as many of the people who have lived in this area for years had no idea they were even here...






Our final stop was Marshall Lake, located high in the hills between Greenwood and Grand Forks. Here we were welcomed with a campfire and a number of non-riding members of the ATV club. Not much beats the taste of the first campfire roasted hotdog of the season! Yummy! 






The Greenwood Boundary ATV club is an active club with over 40 members. On this day there were 15 ATVs and Side-by-sides on the ride and over 30 members and guests in attendance. It was a fun day - made it home just before the rain came pouring down (3:00 pm). 




On Tuesday, we had our first fire in our gazebo. A much smaller group, just our buddies Steve and Doreen. Always enjoy our time with them. A little guitar pickin a lot of talk and laughter!! 


 

May 29, 2017

My two grand-daughters Melody and Violet 

Family time .....
On Thursday May 18th I flew to Edmonton for a couple of weeks of family time. Michel stayed at home and entertained himself with yard work .. I think I got the better deal!

My son-in-law Rob picked me up at the airport then on Friday we left for Peace River, where we visited with my son Farren and his little family for the long weekend.  

Farren flipping burgers for dinner!

We had a wonderful time - a little family reunion so to speak - the only one missing was Tristan! But I got lots of hugs from my little girls which made this grandma happy! It's always sad for me when we leave. 

Tristan (my grandson) and Tammy (my daughter)

I did get to see Tristan for a while when we got back to my daughter's place. He's a working man now so was only home for the day and gone again. Still had hugs for his grandma though!!








I spent the whole of last week at my daughters house and on
Wednesday morning my cousin Norman and his lovely wife Alice drove out for the day. It's always wonderful to spend time with them and this time was no different. They drove over at the beginning of the storm that swept through southern Alberta and by 4 o'clock we were without power and it was pouring down buckets! So much for the BBQ I was planning. But that didn't hinder anything. We cooked on the stove and talked, laughed and reminisced by candle light. They left for home the next morning. The storm had passed but we were still without power until 1 o'clock that afternoon. It's always so great to visit with Alice and Norman. Thank you for coming over!!



Friday evening my oldest and dearest friend Deb and her husband Len drove over from St. Albert to spend the weekend. I can always count on a visit with Deb. If I can't make it to her place she will definitely come to see me.  The weather cooperated for the weekend with sunshine and a lot of outside time. We had a super time as we always do when we get together. Thank you for driving over to see me. We'll see you again in August!!



Today I get to spend the day with Tammy. She's been working all week and now has two days off.  This is our only mother-daughter day this trip so I'm going to really enjoy it. Tomorrow I fly back home. Thank you sweetie for allowing me to treat your home as though it were mine - lol