Opening the Circle

Last night we had 3 people over for dinner on our deck and it's the first time that we've tried it in quite a long while.  I've gotten a little deterred from "doing dinner" over the past two years - mostly to do with my mental health I suspect.  Anyway, we had good weather and a huge storm started about 2 hours after the others left.  It's been raining heavily and we're getting evacuation alerts to be ready to leave at any time.  We live on high ground so I'm not the least bit concerned but do think of some folks that I know.  Dinner on the deck went quite well in terms of socially distancing and I didn't have to clean up the house much because I doubted if anyone would come inside.  They didn't.  And the mosquitoes didn't start to drive us crazy until nearly 8:30!  So we opened the circle of guests a tiny bit and I hope to keep doing that as the weeks unfold.  The boys return to school for 2 days next week and we'll see how that plays out.  It was lovely to pick my first bouquet of lupines on Saturday.

My Baby Is 40!

I know this is weird but I can't even post a photo of Wednesday last, May 20, the day that Andrea turned 40.  We did go up to Rossland and had a hike with the family and then lunch.  We got back from the hike (near Rossland and on one side of Red Mountain) just as the rain started to come down.  One thing about hiking in Rossland is that there's lots of bikers on the trail.  We saw at least 20 and we were only out for a couple of hours.  

I know Andrea has celebrated in many ways during this week, hopefully all at outdoor parties.  It was a rainy week and she finally got to do her desired 40 km bike ride yesterday, May 23, with a bunch of friends.  Part of our gift to her was to take Atley and Miro for a couple of days so she could have "free time".  We had lots of fun with the boys (even if it was rainy) and hiked the river trail, did our school work, walked down to Kootenay Lake, biked, and they practised lots of stunts on their scooters.

Tomorrow, my baby grandchild turns 6 and that does make me feel a bit old.  I really don't want her to get older; I didn't even see her through her entire year 5 except online.  She will get to have a birthday parade with a flower theme and the cupcakes that the family ordered from a local bakery do look charming!  She will only share those with her immediate family and her Morris Plains grandparents.    Wish we could be there!  They will take pictures which is more than I did for my 40 year old!  I never remember to drag that phone around with me.  

Avalanche Lilies

A couple of weeks ago I was out to a clearcut with a walking friend and we hiked up Strawberry Ridge.  Now it is true that clearcuts are the scourge of the environment but they sure do provide good views and early flowers can take over some areas.  This particular hike is handy.  It's an easy couple of hours walk from the town of Kaslo over some pretty terrain.  And the views of Kootenay Lake and the mountains are stunning too.  I may get some of those pictures onto this blog at a future date.  Good to have hiking season underway!

First Harvest

I sure thought that I'd have time to keep up this blog a few times per week.  I'm finding it difficult to do.  It's been busy!  Teaching is only an hour a day, but there's also planning and searching for activities.  Then there's the time change on the days when we see the Jersey Girls and need to be ready for 4 pm our time.  I really haven't had time for more than a couple of hands of bridge each week - that takes about 2 hours per round.   And the garden goes on.  Maintaining 3 gardens and acting as a volunteer at one of them is becoming a big thing in May.  And our library service is opening up for curbside pickup and I'm a library volunteer.  Is life going to just go back to being too busy???  Anyway, great to have our first harvest of stewbarb yesterday and I'd say the salad greens are ready to pick very, very soon.  So glad to have some sunshine and warmer weather!

Nelson, BC

Yesterday, I had an appointment in Nelson and had to do the drive to town.  I have to say that visiting Nelson in spring and fall is a joyful thing to do.  There are a lot of flowering trees in town and they look stunning!  It's a very steep place to take a walk but good exercise.  Generally, walking in spring and fall is the good thing that I have found about Nelson.

Nelson has a reputation of being a "cool" town and seems to be a sort of mecca for lots of people.  When I first moved here I thought it was a place that might be a better "fit" for me.  I don't think so.  Real estate in Nelson is very overpriced and I understand that the property taxes are pretty high although I've never investigated it.  What I would say is that real estate is "difficult" in Nelson.  Much of it is located on very steep hills and I'm not of an age where it is easy to park a car on a steep hill and have to carry my groceries into my home.  So many homes don't seem to have "parking" and outdoor adventure equipment can be found in the oddest places.  

For the past couple of years Nelson has been doing some major infrastructure work on its main route through town.  People from Kaslo make weekly trips to Nelson, although I don't think they are doing that now.  I drive through Nelson and rarely stop.  Now that the main drag is once again torn up I'm very glad to NOT be making the trip through Nelson.  I do know of an alternate route that climbs above the construction and will come out on the highway to Salmo which will be my route this summer.  In my opinion, Nelson is a beautiful town, but overrated.

Dogwood tree in bloom in Gyro Park in Nelson 

Interesting bird accommodation at a Nelson home.  

Meal Trains

I've had the opportunity to participate in a few Meal Trains in the past year.  Today was the latest one.  It's a super idea but since I no longer deal with FB, I don't know if I could ever set one up for a friend.  The way it works is very slick - all of the details are given about what foods are acceptable, who has signed up for which date and what type of meal they are preparing, when and where to drop off the meal, etc, etc.   Reminders are also included.  Today, it's a good thing that I had a good look at the unacceptable foods a week ago.  This individual has tons of dietary restrictions.  I came up with a beef and veggie stir fry served over rice (gluten free).  Here's what it looked like before I added the beef which had been double cooked.  To me, it looks good enough to eat!