Two more sleeps

Two more sleeps before the big guy in the red suit shows up!  I'm very disorganized this year and so with a lot to do one would think I would be in a focussed and efficient mode.  Naah, that would make things flow too smoothly.  Instead I annoyed the dog by playing dress up:

Yessiree, that is the tree skirt - wrapped around the dog.  Brooke is vindictive though and while I was decorating the tree, she thought it would be a good idea to help rearrange decorations and spent 30 minutes removing any decorations she didn't like that were up to three feet high on the tree.  She would knock them off and I would rehang them, she would stick her head in the tree and knock several off and I would rehang them, she would rub on the tree to knock off a few and I would rehang them.  We finally agreed on what should go where and got the job done.

Merry Christmas to all.

Cue the marching band

Well, we survived Grey Cup weekend in our own city.  The result:

A great outcome.  Since you probably already knew that the Lions won, in their own city after starting the season 0 and 5 I will give you a sample of the festivities leading up to the game.

We did the usual party rooms.  Ian doesn't travel to any of these parties without his crash helmet, which inevitably everyone has on their head at some point during the night:

Yes, that's me getting kicked around and roughed up.

Dan had his turn and didn't get nearly as roughed up:

You're number one.

We attended the Grey Cup parade.  Typical Vancouver weather resulted in us standing around for two hours in these:

Like those orange toes you see, don't ya!

Lots more crazy stuff went on this weekend, which you won't see here.  I will however give you a peek of game day preparations.  Game day always seems to start to early due to late nights the night before.  However, the guys managed to get their make up done in time for us to head down for more fun before the game:

The pictures are a little out of focus (although the guy on the left looks like he's been added in after the fact!)

Once the boys had their war paint on, we headed out on transit for a ride downtown that got us a lot of odd looks.  That might be because the men looked like this:

How come nobody wants to sit with me?

And looked like this:

And, our Grey Cup virgin, who looked like this:

Once we got downtown it was all good.  They blended right in with the crowd.  No make up for me this game - my hand wasn't very steady that early in the day.

After some socializing with a great bunch of people, it was down to business.  Can you please stand and remove your hats for the singing of Canada's national anthem.

I won't say it was the outcome we all wanted.  Our Edmonton fan friend is still crying.  He's blaming it on a little bit of beer that got sprayed on his prized Ricky Ray jersey but we all know he can't get over the *ss kicking his team got in the western final.  GET OVER IT.

A very expensive but great weekend as a result of:

and

and the rest of the BC Lions.

Only seven months before next season starts.  That will give Edmonton lots of time to get over the spilled beer and their loss.

I am such a girl

Yeah, I know, I have been a girl for, well err, since day one.  However, I did not think I was that much of a girl.  You will see what I mean soon. 

Recently that lovely husband of mine and I went and got me that ATV that I've been wanting.  I did not go with his brand but got me a Yamaha - probably far too big and powerful for me.  That will change, at least I'm determined to prove that it is not too big and powerful for me. 

So, here's my new ride:

See, even the dog thinks it is far to mean to get close to!

So, we arrive at our wonderland in November and unload.  I take the beast out on the gravel road and think to myself  'hmm, this fun'.  Don't forget that I mentioned I was ON THE ROAD.  It is flat.  I return when I can't feel my fingers anymore (did I mention it was November) and Dan decides he would like to try the beast:




See ya all real soon.

 The next day we headed out on the bikes together and I'm thinking to myself 'gosh, this will be fun'.  Yeah, wake up lady - not so much.  This is where the 'girl' thing comes in.  We got out on the trail beside the property and it wasn't long before the husband started thinking to himself  'what have I gotten myself into'.  At the same time I was thinking 'what the HELL have I gotten MYSELF into'.  I don't want to mislead you into thinking the husband took me on some hard core trails.  We were on what most probably think were easy going trails.

I preferred this speed:

I could not adjust to the shifting sinking feeling - leftsidedipdown, rightsidedipdown, reallydeeptotheleft.  We rode for a bit (a short bit according to the husband) and I managed to get up and back down a hill that was iced up before husband says 'okay, come on, i will take you to an easy trail'. He was somewhat having fun and hoping to extend the ride:

I will end this part of the story on the trip by saying that the trail here looks nice - looks can be deceiving.  And the ride to our friend's place on the 'easy' trail resulted in "if I wanted to walk out in the bush I would have left the bike at home".  Yes, he who loves me most had to get off his bike, walk up a hill and ride mine down cuz I was a 'girl'.  Later that day I suggested to one of our neighbors that I should have gone out riding with her.  Her reply - just get on the damn thing and eff'ing ride it!  Yup, time to suck it up and stop being a girl.  The weather changed and we didn't get much riding in after that.

Back at a neighbor's one afternoon, we watched a storm move in. The day was beautiful but you could see the dark approaching.  We were by the lake and it was a good afternoon - for November:

That lake is starting to get iced over.  Fortunately, we were there for a fire.  Not a fire like us city folk build such as:

We have a good size fire pit according to city standards.  However, those that live in the 'boo have different ideas when it comes to a fire:

As you can see above, people were moving away from the heat.  It really makes the whole 'go big or go home' saying make sense.  It was just serious heat:

Brooke was happy to be invited over for the fire.  She got to see her Hwy 24 beau before his hair got messed up by the snow:

Shaggy is twice her size, and we don't live with a small dog!  He is a gentle giant.  However, the 'no fun police' dogs that were also present didn't allow them to play much.  Once the snow started falling, this is what the big dogs resorted to:




Honey, u still there?

 The snow started on day two of our trip.  By mid afternoon of day three I was starting to get worried because although it was not coming down hard, it had not stopped.

Then one morning I spied tracks in the driveway.  Very hard to get a picture of but oh so interesting to look at:

As I said, the snow wasn't stopping.  Then the power went out.  We are city folk - no power is NOT  a good thing.  We tried to wait it out but decided when the batteries on the trailer we starting to get low that we needed to drain water and winterize while we could.  When Dan was nearly done that project, the power came back - but the snow didn't stop:

I would really like to preserve that tree, in that state, bring it home and set it up in my living room for Christmas.

This might make you smile

Somebody sent this to me by email the other day.  It in no way reflects Dan and I.

"My husband, being unhappy wih my mood swings, bought me a mood ring the other day so he would be able to monitor my moods.

We've discovered that when I'm in a good mood it turns green.

When I'm in a bad mood it leaves a big red mark on his fucking forehead. 

Maybe next time he'll buy me a diamond."

:)

Getting away from it all

My sister recently passed away and after taking care of what was required on that front we packed up and escaped civilization.  Politics and/or family bullsh*t mean I will not comment further on my sister here other than to say she fought a long hard battle.

En route to our little piece of paradise we came across every driver's dream when they have a sleeping passenger:

Yes, that's a semi facing us head on.  Fortunately, Dan wasn't quite able to sneak up on it fast enough before I opened my eyes. 

We got to the property and it was a chilly day.  That did not last long though.  The balance of our trip was 30+ day time temperatures but it cooled down in the evenings, so much that a few mornings we had frost on the windshield.

Our neighbors stopped by one afternoon, and their dogs followed.  Everyone we've met are dog people.  So, meet Inky:

And Sunny:

Two pound Pom Sasha also came for a visit but did not want to hang out with the big dogs, so no photo of her. 

The kids (no pics of them either!) had ridden their bikes over so they got settled on the deck and I got them some water.  The dogs started milling about and I asked 'should I bring out cookies'.  At the time I asked my back was to the kids, whose eyes I understand lit up with delight.  It only took a second before the neighbor started laughing and pointed out that she thought I was talking to the dogs.  Much to the dismay of the kids, I WAS talking to the dogs.  And, I didn't even have any human cookies to offer the kids.  Though my dog biscuits are human grade food I didn't think it wise to offer them to the kids - not until they get to know us a bit better.

As I said it was H O T during the day.  We got footings(?) poured for when we extend the deck and then took the rest of the time to relax.  We headed to Crystal Lake which we are told is a great fishing lake.  There's a little forestry campsite on the edge of the lake, about ten minutes from us.  The place was nearly empty so we just parked in one of the campsites.  I enjoyed the view:

while Dan and Brooke enjoyed the water:

Dan swam and Brooke, well she's not a water dog AT ALL, so she waded:

After cooling off we all sat down to enjoy the quiet:

Until Brooke spied this:

Yeah, chipmunk/squirrel  (not sure which is which now) had helped himself to a freezer bag of bread from one of the campers.

He sat and ripped a small hole in the bag and had lunch.

I went a little closer and he/she was trying to roll up his stolen goods and take off.

We went to a party up the road one night and Dan took some serious ribbing from one of the locals about the 'no hunting' signs he posted on the property.  And there was some good teasing about which of the locals should be allowed to hunt on the property.  It was a great night with great people which resulted in Dan deciding to leave them with this:

Dan posted it on one of the trails on our property:

We checked with one of the locals, just to be sure of everyone's sense of humor.  She assured us that Dan had probably just opened the door to some serious pranking. 

Back to the rat race now but still thinking about the lake:

I got nothing this time

Seriously, I have no crazy tales to tell from the last trip.  We spent a week at the trailer and WORKEDWORKEDWORKED.  But we finished the job.  And, no sign of my slithering nemesis nor the bruin. 

However, the weather this time was excellent, so nice in fact that the back of my knees burned.  How the he** do you manage that?  Well, I'll tell you.  All it takes is standing in front of saw horses and painting plywood in 30+ weather. 

Dan stopped (yes, you read that right) on the way up at 'my' tree so I could get a picture with my phone:

It hasn't changed much.

Then, just before 70 Mile, we took an intentional detour.  Yes, you read that right too!  We stopped at a little place called Chasm, not a town, just a picnic area.  This is just like BC's own mini grand canyon.

My pictures don't do it justice, it really is something to see.  It is a very deeeeeep canyon that goes for miles.  These pictures are all from my phone.  On the camera I have a picture of the sign that explains how this occurred (ice age etc.) which I will pull and use to edit my explanation.

Yessiree, we pulled over, got out of the truck and took some pictures.  Like I said before, the times they are achanging. 

One evening after we quit work on the skirting for the trailer, we had a fire in the firepit.  Dan was relaxing and Brooke was making sure no wiley chipmunks were getting close:

I probably should have edited the extra beer can out of that one. The flame is what caught my eye though - it almost looks fake. 

We also got to meet a bunch of our human neighbors this time.  We were invited over for a property warming party for a couple who just bought some property.  Great bunch of people and lots of fun.

So, uneventful for you readers but a very productive trip for us.  Let's hope the next one involves less work!

Dog days of summer - finally

July 24 and summer is finally here.  Brooke is missing her feline friend and now Dan as well since he's off cavorting in the Kootenays.  So, we got up early this morning and went to the beach:

The weather was perfect, not too hot but nice and warm.  Brooke did some playing with the little ones then headed off to find someone more her size:

When that got old she found a couple great danes who made her look like a kick dog.  They were HUGE and moved fast so I couldn't really get a group shot:

The funniest part was that the two Danes had a little sister, a two pound pomeranian!  If you click on the picture it enlarges, then click on it again. You can barely see the little peanut behind the leg of the whiter dog in the left of the picture.

(Not sure what is up with the bottom of the pictures, I took them with my phone and lower portion seems to be missing.)