Four Stops at Costco

Four Stops, each at Costco. Moiya Wood and Wyona Bates have come to visit me. They are the only two women I know who can make 4 stops to Costco during a nine-hour trip.

“But how could we have had lunch, without stopping there,” one of them asked me. The first stop was in Calgary and so was the second stop. By the time they got their stuff to the car Moiya had already determined to return something. Costco one, Costco two.

The next Costco stop was in Kelowna. 

Lunch of course. Costco three.

The final stop included supper and was at the Victoria Costco.

"I needed a drink," said Wyona.  "And the Polish will be a gift to Duncan."

 Arta

Celebrations: Mother's Day and Easter

I received cards in the mail this week

Freya sent gifts.  Long earrings for Rebecca, a teal

scarf for Arta and messages of love to Duncan who

has the best coiffed hair, ever.  Yesterday as he was walking

along the oad, a random car stopped, the window rolled down

and someone called out to him, "Best fro!  Don't let anyone

ever try to cut it.

from Betty, Alice and Michael. 

Alice promises to send me one card a week. 

My favourite kind of cards are the ones with personalized messages. 

Maybe my favourite all-time card came from Doral’s kids to Kelvin when we knew he was dying of pancreatic cancer. 

The card said RIP and had a nice tombstone on it. Michael sent me a lot of quavers and semi-quavers, plus lyrics to go with them. Betty gifted me a coupon: one free ice cream cone. Alice sent me a finely detailed and decorated cat. This would be one of my favourite kinds of cats -- one that can come in the mail. And now that I've mentioned the word cat, Moiya reminds me that Cruise her outdoor cat is missing. Moiya is sure that if she just leaves the garage door open and some food out, the cat will return. Which it did. I have heard but th been aat there were a few body parts of other animals: , ie, the tail of a squirrel, and what Moiya has to offer for food may not be up to the standard of squirrel for supper, but that cat, 

Cruise, he will take the easy meal when it is available.

Can You Send Me a Quote

Dotral Pilling

From Laynie Hicks,

I want to share a story.

I was trying to figure out today what I was going to do on our holiday. Glen determined this morning that we were unable to burn piles on our lot. Not only am I here at the lake to celebrate my Dad’s retirement, spend time with my kids on spring break, enjoy the beautiful lake, but am also here to take steps on our dream of building a house on our lot. What Grandpa wanted us to be able to do.

Graham and I finalized our building plans and are now at a stage where we can request quotes from General Contractor’s (GC’s) to build to ““lock up”. I decided today was going to be the day that I was going to make some calls to local GC’s.

I started with Timberline Solutions Ltd. They were happy to take my call and receive our drawings. They will be sending a quote. My next call was to a company called Green Emerald Construction. I was so pleased that another person decided to answer my phone call as I had been warned that builders are really busy right now. This very friendly voice said “hello”. I went into my introduction. My name, I have plans for a house, want a price, yada, yada, yarda… .   The gentleman asked me where I was building. I said Annis Bay. He explains to me that he used to play with friends on the bay. He then went on to ask me where I was located. I said I was on the “other side”. He says, “oh the Pillings”.  I remain silent.

The man I was speaking with goes on to ask me if I know any of the older Pillings. 

 I say “Yes”. 

 He says “who”.  

I am reluctant to say Earl. I think a good place to start is with Doral’s name. He say “yes” that was him. I said “That was my Grandpa, my Dad is his youngest son. 

 He says “I have a story about your Grandpa”. So I listen.

“In my early 20’s, my friends and I were on a houseboat. We were travelling along the lake close to a beach and we were drinking beer, having a great time. We came across a boat, what looked to be an abandoned boat. It had moss in it and some holes. We took the boat with us by strapping it to the back of the houseboat. When we returned to Sicamous we were met by the police. They charged me and my friends with theft.

When it came time to go to court I was the only one that showed up. The reason I showed up is because the Judge lived a few doors down from me and he knew my family. When I showed up to court I was put in a room with your Grandpa, Doral Pilling. I told your Grandpa the story about my friends and  me taking the boat. He listened and then explained that he used to fall asleep in that boat and would hit rocks all the time, which is why there were holes. Ultimately your Grandpa dropped the charges. He was a really nice man.”

I told Gary Arsenault that this story would make me smile forever. I thanked him for it and then said ,“Can you send me a quote”?

If you feel this is bloggable please share.

Laynie Hicks

Chicken

Who me? Chicken?

 

Songs we sing with children

Do you have a favorite song you sang as a child?

I don't think the following wing could ever be said to have been a favorite of mine, but it sure is memorable.

Nobody likes me,

Everybody hates me,

Think I'll go eat worms ...

As a child I had my moments of wishing I had someone to play with, play what I wanted to play that is. 

It must be a common childhood (or any age) feeling, because this song captures that feeling with almost a school yard nanny-nanny boo boo taunt rhythm. 

I can remember thinking the child in this song was really nasty, all the mean things they did to worms.

Well, I was digging in my garden on Sunday, and let's just say, some worms may have accidentally met their end at the top of my shovel. 

Sorry worms. 

Those that lived and rescued were named by my helpful and friend Noella.

Wormy worm.

 

The Endoscopy Appointment

March 27, 2012

Rebecca made plans to come into the endoscopy conference for the signing of the consent form.

And to make sure I got to the right room. 

Morphine has a way of getting its way in my path, and I forget where I am going, or decide to change horses in mid-stream, ie like trying to go through a corner instead of around it.

I don't like dogs, but Penny doesn't know that so

she hangs out with me on the couch.  To get off the 

couch she makes a flying leap and somehow my

stomach is her launching pad.  Ouch.  I have changed

couches -- easier than teaching her just one animal/person

per couch.

Catherine has been coaching us on how much time a person might really get with a specialist.

Five minutes if you are lucky, seven minutes outstanding and 10 minutes right over the top.

Catherine told us to go in with a small booklet and a pen because it would be unusual to remember everything that the doctor says to you in these cases.

Catherine said I should have all of my questions written out.

I had 2 questions, a small book and a pen.

As well Catherine was willing to interrupt her clinic to be there.

By the miracle of cell that all of us carry, all questions were asked and answered.

Yellow band means this person might fall.
White band is my name and birthday.
Red band? Potty Mouth.
Just jokling.  Red band yet to be determined.
Yet to be identified.

As well, Catherine asked questions I wouldn't have thought to ask.

Who is the attending physician? answer, the doctor at the ER isn’t a fulsome enough answer. I’ve seen him once and will probably never see him again.

 
Is my attending physician, my regular doctor back in Calgary?<br/><br/>I haven’t seen her for over a year.

Should I use Bonnie’s new physician as a referral patient.

Is it my attending doctor Dr. Lam, whom Rebecca goes to, one who will give you the option of Eastern medicine or Western medicine, licensed to practise in both systems?

I think we might have saved a week's time doing the paper work that Catherine suggested, having the endoscopy medical unit refer the paperwork right to the oncology people. 

A new journey.

My COVID Immunization Shot

Photo Credit: Rebecca Johnson

"Clinic Entrance"

March 27, 2021

At noon, I started to get anxious about the Covid shot. The reason my senses were on high alert is that I had just done the oncology procedure the day before, and I was afraid that I might fall asleep on my bed during my afternoon nap and miss this evening 6 pm appointment.

But I did my shot yesterday. 

My COVID shot. 

When I finally sat in the chair and had the nurse beside me and she had the vial in her hand, I was just shaking my head in amazement over the wonder of it all — line up, show your health care card -- only 45 minutes including the drive there and back, and the 15 minute waiting period.

All of it a miracle.

The nurse went over all of the possible side effects with Rebecca beside m, and then sent us home with a list of these side effects, telling us for each of them or for any signs for one might be alert, -- that is the moment to go to the hospital Emergency Room.

The hardest symptom to manage is nausea. I was surprised that eating too much has to be carefully managed alongside the fact nausea from the shot might present itself.

I was in the category of those who have you eaten too much, and then bolted upright knowing that I only has less than a second to make it to a place where the cleanup would be easier than later.

Arta

Guess Who is Retiring

Here is a picture of Glen Pilling with his dad, the 

day Glen was getting married. 

Who knew that he would turn his suit in for work clothes in the forest.

The years have rolled away and now he is going to retire.

 Two more days to go.

The count down.

Day Two, today,  Day one, tomorrrow.

A work life well lived.

Welcome now to the best job ever, as my brother-in-law Ralph Sabey told me.

The best job ever:  retirement.

Arta

30 minutes of gardening

Today I had some help in my garden. Noella came over to help me get a start for spring planting. Look at the change in these raised garden beds from the before to the after photo! I can't believe what 2 sets of hands and 30 minutes could yield.

I thought these weeds would take hours to pull, but the top dry layer was takes off in minutes. The rest of the time was spent loosening up the soil and pulling out pernicious roots from the trailing vine that grows along the nearby rock wall.

 

We left in the two green plants that might be weeds, but I think they are the plants I bought that are supposed to be stinky to cats. My plan? To decrease the number of times my vegetable bed is treated as a litter box by neighborhood cats. 

Do you have a favorite garden vegetable? Noella recommended green beans. One of my neighbors suggested I plant sunflowers and pumpkins. She thought they'd require  less maintenance support than tomatoes, and onions we planting together last year.

Noella and I unearthed some  carrots I missed harvesting last year, or were they from the year before? I didn't test their freshness, but am now wondering how they would have tasted. 

Noella has sparkly gardening boots.

Hot Cross Buns

... 4 kinds of Hot Cross Buns ..
.

March 28th

 
Cobbs Bakery must be very close to us.

Early Saturday or Sunday morning Steve often slips out of the house to bring us home cinnamon bread, or a Danish Seed Bread or a Jewish challah.

He is so regular so often that it's not a surprise to me anymore when it comes in. I don't like to think that his trip has become a right.  I recommend to mysefl, calling it a privilege.

Rebecca went out last to Cobbs last week and when she came home she had purchased four kinds of hot cross buns, each of which she cut into four pieces, put on four plates, and then delivered a tasting menu to all of us who were near the kitchen. That was quite a bit of fun, to have each recipe delivered, still in that warmish state as though the bread were freshly baked.

I can tell when bread has been freshly baked. To illustrate this point, I'm always telling Rebecca not to use the word very as she types, but in this case it would be correct to say the bread was very freshly baked. So delicious and and just the right amount on each plate. I think we had regular hot cross buns, mixed fruit, cinnamon and apricot --, one quarter of a recipe 4 times around.

Arta

Link to Hot Cross Buns: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Cross_Buns

Cousin Time

Zoe and Bonnie choose their crib peg colours.

Zoe dropped by Lot 3 today looking for Cruise the Cat. Instead she found Bonnie the Cousin. David Doral had just finished baking Costco cookies, so it was perfect timing. 

Zoe beat me at a game of Crib. One was enough for us today. She came really close to Skunking me, but I mugginsed her. I have to wonder if she left counting that last pair for two to save my pride. In the end I only lost by 18 points.

Zoe told me a few good stories between hands. She had taken a very long walk in Calgary with her father Greg. She had had more stamina than him. She noted that he was getting old. He had been sweating.

When we took a little walk outside later, the same comments applied to me. We tried out Marina and Dan Wood's new driveway by foot. It was really nice to walk up (for me). Zoe ran. I was the only one sweating at the top of the road/driveway.

We didn't see any sign of Cruise, or any wildlife other than a few birds. Zoe had seen quite a few deer on her drive to Brandy's new home. Three of the deer came quite close to Brandy's car. I said I might have been frightened. That made Zoe laugh. She hadn't been afraid of the deer at all.

While Zoe was with Brandy, they tried out a Korean restaurant. Zoe said the food was very good. Fries and seasoned meat were mentioned along with many other items from the menu, but I was only half paying attention because I needed to keep my focus on the cards.  

 

Zoe, if you read this blog post can you send me some of the photos you took with your camera during our stay walk? I think you took some good ones of the new landscaping Arta had done between Lots 3 and 4. It was fun imagining sitting at a picnic bench near the new retaining wall at the edge of Michael, Alice, and Betty's Ninja Line area.

Even though it was a great day at the lake with loved ones, it's always a little bitter sweet because our other loved ones were not there yet and summer vacation days are still a ways off. Oh for the gift of only seeing the glass half full.

Becky Johnson for President

 

Firth Brings Forth

Photo Credit: Kelly Firth

From Kelly Firth, to Arta: 

 Hi Arta,

Here is a small collection of photos of various breads I made this year.

Recently I’ve taken to making no-knead bread that you simply leave to ferment overnight.

I also just acquired a BBQ and have learned that grilling pieces of my homemade bread is hands down the tastiest form of toast.

The second picture is of some delicious burger buns, and the last is crazy delicious naan made on the BBQ.

I wish I was still in Victoria so I could drop off some yummy samples!

From Arta to Kelly Firth:

Hi back,

Kelly, Morven, Kim and Arta (photo credit: Rebecca)

Not everyone will know that you were one of the law students who came to Rebecca's house to learn how to make bread.

That day was really fun -- we made a batch of bread for everyone.

I had just barely done my own naan.  I made a big mistake on the first batch.  The dough was so soft.  I just added more flour, not thinking that the measurements could possibly be correct.

It took written instructions and a you tube video for me to find out that here is a dough that is handled best with soaking wet hands.

Photo Credit: Kelly Firth

I know from candy making that there is a fondant so soft that only palms covered with cornstarch  can handle those centres.  So making  the balls for my naan worked out that way.  Now maybe that is not the Indian way since time immemorial, but it works for me.

Based on the pictures you submitted for the bread making workshop, I give you an A++ and invited you to apply for breadmaking graduate school.

Perhaps you could even T.A.?

Arta

Bread Making Blogger and  Instructor

The Going Rate

... Greg checking out a fallen apple tree ...

I have written this post so many times in my head, that I thought maybe I had already got it onto the blog.

To check that presumption out, I went to the search engine of this blog to see if I had already put it up. No, the last time I wrote a putting Greg Bates’s name in the labels was in 2010.

I suppose it's alright to do one post every decade so here goes the one that has been turning around in my head.

In the past few months, I needed to go to Calgary, for a doctor's appointment. Usually I can just ride along with someone who is coming from or going to Calgary, , but in this instance there was no designated driver in a designated car. Greg Bates said he would drive me. Rebecca offered her new electric van. On the road, Greg and I were pretty enthralled with its pick up and the way it almost drives itself down the road, leaving plenty of room between us sent the car ahead. We watched how it would, run on all of that electric energy,eEtc. The ride that doesn't seem that long when there's an interesting conversationalist in the car. As Greg was talking I was thinking to myself, too bad I don't have a tape recorder and could record some of these stories he is telling me, because they're truly interesting. But then that thought slipped away as many thoughts do.

Along the way, Greg told me that when his grandchildren go for interviews, he wished they knew the phrase “the going rate” when an employer asks them what pay scale they would like to be on.

... may I have this dance? ...

I have never heard that phrase. 

 I asked Greg how he had learned that phrase. 

He said doesn't everyone know that? 

Then he said, “I learned it from Les Bates, my stepfather. I was going for my first job interview and as I was going out the door Les said to me, when they ask you how much you want to be paid for your work, tell them the going rate. If they tell you no, you will have to be on a pay scale under that figure, then that job is not for you.”

I wouldn't have known to have told any of my children or my grandchildren that phrase, the going rate. 

Then I asked Greg if I could tell this story, he laughed and said yes and any others you can remember.

Squashed

Cooked:  3 squashed
Many more to try ,...

Rebecca has been buying us squash at the store, going down the squash isle, picking up one of each variety. 

I peeled off the small thumb-sized, green plastic sticker on the first squash and read its name: kabocha squash. 

 What kind of squash is that? I go to the internet to find out how to cut it and then how to cook it.

In a couple of days, she brings home more squash. Acorn and then honey nut squash.

I therell her that I'm not strong enough to cut through the tough skin of these gourds. 

Kombucha Squash -- cut like a cantaloupe

So she's the one who put the next 2 squashes in the oven, with essentially the same instructions I had, except her instructions had said, cook the squash as long as you like, it doesn't really matter how long.

Alex and I are the squash eaters. 

I like the flesh when it's right hot out of the oven and brushed with the juices from the butter and brown sugar that have sizzled on top as they have been cooking. 

Almost tastes like candy. Almost. Oh, so good.

Arta

3 reasons today was a good day

Today a stranger wished me a good day as she headed on her way. Then a different stranger said, "Isn't everyday a good day?" 

"Yes, I replied. It is."

Brandi and Bonnie

What made today a good day for me was getting a new haircut, getting a load of laundry done, and spitting a poster of an art show I will plan now to get to.

Memories return of childhood trips to this Laundromat

My list is longer than 3, but I titled this post when I was trying not to be over ambitious.

Other great things about today included:

I wonder who I'll bump into at this exhibit.

- time in the Gardom Lake area with friends

- seeing David do a successful second run with bacon in The Ninja Air Fryer

- getting compliments on the distressed  potatoes that Is turned into fries for my loved ones at home

If only Brandi could style my hair every day.

- Zooming with Doral, and speaking with Arta, and then Mary, and lastly Catherine by phone today

- running into Andrea when we were both downtown doing chores

- thinking about bone china and how lovely it is set the table with, eat off if, and even wash up and dry

The End (of today)

 

Why do I never tire of this view?

I can't put my finger on a specific memory, but my heart says my earliest memories must have been formed at the Shuswap.

My evidence is that my eyes never tire of this view, and every photo I take evokes the feeling of a memory.

Today's photo was taken on a walk with my friend Andrea. We had planned to take a walk after work, and lucky me, she was open to a walk in Annis Bay.

Most of the snow has melted. There were a few patches here and there, but none as photo worthy as the blue lake. 

I took photos on the way down to the beach.

Photos while down at the beach.

And photos on the way back up from the beach.

And still, there are images in my mind that I can see I missed when I go back through my gallery of photos from the day. I wish I'd also taken photos of ...

- the rocks Trell arranged under the Yew tree, and the ones Ina painted in the shadow of the Cedar whose roots are partially exposed

 

- the spot by the Meadow Reach of Campbell's Creek where Mary went last summer to do Yoga

- the Wedding Reach where Miranda and Richard got married, exchanging vows there in 2009 and then again maybe 5 years later

- the quiet place under Arta's deck that my brother Kelvin found for reading the last time he was there

- the road between Glen and Janet's place and Arta's that has been worn down with kiln runs by Rebecca each summer, some trips late into the night

- the space in front of the BBQ on Arta's deck where I want Doral to return to, since I was dreaming of him cooking me some  fajitas last night

- the lawn where Catherine's children ran up and down the lawn with Harry Potter wands Aunt Rebecca bought dowels for

I could go on ...

And that is probably why I never tire of this view. Because it is connected to family.

Bonnie

Ravens in Kootney National Park

 Kootney National Park is not on the drive from Calgary to the Shuswap.  It lives on the very periphery of my BC awareness.  I just know, get in the car in Calgary, drive with anticipation for 5-6 hours stopping only for gas and a snack in Golden.  

Now that we live in Lethbridge though, Kootney National Park is more than an afterthought.  We decided to take a short family trip to Radium in February to visit the hotsprings and see that part of the province.

One side adventure was a drive through Kootney National Park to Marble Canyon for a hike.

In the parking lot we drove up beside a pickup truck and came across this character grabbing and tossing garbage out.

Yes, we know you aren't supposed to feed the wildlife, but by the time we got out of our van, we considered him a friend and we had a muffin handy.

 

 

Eventually the muffin was gone and the hiking trail was calling, so we said goodbye to our new friends.

 

 

Rhiannon's New Haircut

 Rhiannon had been thinking for a long time about getting a haircut. As soon as I was about to book a haircut in November, Alberta went into a lockdown and all hair salons were closed.  So we finally were able to book an appointment in February, and this is the cut Rhiannon picked.

I love it. Rhiannon loves it.  Rhiannon does not love it when I take photos.  But I did manage to snap a few (with sort-of-consent).