Snow and Symphonic Music

Finally, it snowed in British Columbia!  I love the snow.  Now, for those who know that I hate the cold (or extreme heat), may find it hard to believe that I actually love the snow...:-).  But, it's true!

Needless to say, that when I woke up the other day and saw this outside, I was thrilled!
whoooo hooooo!!!!

Isn't it lovely!!

We had a breakfast date with each other and since it was snowing, I decided to think of some other things that we could do while we were out.  I gave Chris a bundle of blankets to put in the trunk...just in case.

then there was the task of getting the snow off the car so that we can get going......

I decided to snag some pics of the beauty around me before heading off to find...well, more beauty...:-) This was taken across the lane from our condo.

This is a walking trail that is also across from our condo.  I love the snow covered bridge that you have to walk across to get to it.

We made a couple of stops and then I got the "whim" to go to the beach!!  Well, you couldn't really see the beach because visibility was so low and it had not been plowed.  Scootard didn't dare venture any farther inward....So, I had to settle for some pics of the surround mountains.

Here is another shot from a different direction....:-).  My friends in California can't relate to this....haha

I remember when I first came to Canada.  I had only been West once in my life which was a quick trip to Oregon.  But I had never seen so many Christmas trees in one place in my life!  I mean you can drive for a long time and see evergreens everywhere in the Northwest.

I took a picture of this couple out on a stroll in the snow.  I knew I was not the only one who enjoyed being out in it.....:-).

And Scootard was snapping pictures of me snapping pictures.....

After our adventure, it was time to start heading home....:-).

And so it was we returned to our home. I was content, except for one thing  I had not done yet......If you look closely, you can see my target at the door in the background.......(hee hee).

oh well.....  I missed!  LOL...but it was fun just the same.  And now, preparations to attend they upcoming symphony.  Not until the next day, but something I was looking forward to..

After a not so busy day the next day, we made our way to the Lion's Gate  Symphonia.  They were doing a Christmas program and we had purchased tickets weeks before.

We made sure to get there early to avoid standing in a line.  I knew (from previous experience) that they did not appreciate the use of "electronic devices" during the program.  So, I took this picture of the auditorium 30 minutes before the program started.
  

I was happy as a tick on a dog since I love the arts.  The evening was going to be filled with song, ballet, more song and more ballet....:-).  SWEET! Chris doesn't get the whole dance part....haha.  Notice the facial expression.  And they hadn't even started yet!

I was able to snag this picture of the orchestra warming up before the program started...

The program was wonderful and I really enjoyed it.  Scootard enjoyed it too....most of it any way...haha.
I hope that all of you are having as wonderful a time as we are.
From our house to yours........

 
Have a wonderful Christmas!!

Adventures In The Kitchen

Hello all!  I know, I know....I've been like a run away that just came home.  haha.  The good news is I have been busy trying to get a business started clear in another country, preparing for Christmas and trying not to lose myself in the whole process of things.
I have been kinda taking it easy lately in the kitchen.  We have been eating this and that, something or nothing; until I finally had to go shopping or we would have to break into our emergency stash!  Yes, we have one of those...:-)

Soooo, I purchased a large, smoked hock.  I had every intention of cooking it down and adding it to some cabbage, but got inspired in the kitchen along the way.  You know,  a little of this and a little of that.  It's amazing what you can pull off in a tiny kitchen like the one we have here in Canada.

Anyway, here is the finished result of slow cooking it with a special mustard sauce that I pulled out of my head while it was cooking.  I just put some stuff together with mustard and .....BOOM!  There it was....:-)

The thing was so large that even after cooking it, we had to put it on a platter.
I made a side of rice with the onions and spices from the hock and some broccoli.

I think I may have gotten 4 fork fulls in and noticed that Chris's plate was just about empty and there were a lot of sounds coming from his spot at the table.....

sounds like; "ummmmm"...."wow"......."um, um, um"  hahaha

And then there was the ultimate compliment of "you can make money on that!" accompanied by a thumbs up....:-).

Just another adventure in the kitchen with yours truly....:-).  And it ain't even Christmas yet!  haha

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!  I plan to.......:-)

Listening To The Inside Of My Head

Its been quite some time since I posted on my blog.  Partly because I have been busy and partly because....I have been busy...haha.

It has been so cold here (at least to me) that I think I can hear my teeth chattering on the inside of my head!  We are not planning on decorating for Christmas this year since we will be out of town with family.  We usually take a Christmas photo and post it on our social network page.  But since we will not be around, I thought I would post this for you......

This is me, trying to keep my teeth from chattering in my head!!  And by the way, I'M IN THE HOUSE!

  Chris is sneaking a picture of my calamity from behind me....notice the "Phablet" in the picture?

Stay warm, ya'll!

A Worm Whisperer......

If you have been following me for some time now, you know that I have a desire to beautify my surroundings; particularly my garden areas.  In the complex that we currently live, we are subject to Strata Laws which are the equivalent of a "Home Owner's Association" in the states.   If you have ever lived in that type of a situation, you know that it can be very restrictive at times leaving one to wonder who REALLY owns your home.  With that in mind and having been informed of a change of Strata companies in our long absence, we decided to seek permission to continue our flower garden outside.   It was granted......YaY!

We have been having terrible problems with our Rhododendron that has just about killed them off while we were away.  So, I have decided to do some composting to help remediate the soil for Spring and hopefully we will not have to pull them out of the ground.  First line of defense,  The Worm Factory 360. I ordered this earlier in the year and had intended to take it to the states with me, but the car was too full.

I was excited to open the box and get started on the setup.  Since I had one in the states, it was going to be easy to get this one up and going....

It is a fairly complete kit with all of the things that a person would need to get a healthy compost bin up and running.  Mine is going to be kept indoors, so doing it properly is important.  The kit comes with some shredded paper, pumice, and I threw in some crushed egg shells to help keep the ph levels in the safe zone.

They also include some coconut coir which is the brown square at the top of the screen, a scraper, aerator, container, four perforated trays and a DVD that explains how to set things up and what the composting worms will need to be productive.

They also included a thermometer to keep the little creatures happy......

The coconut coir has to be soaked in water for it to expand.  It becomes almost 4 times its original size. I  I soaked mine for 24 hours.

After the soaking is completed, it has to be wrung out to the wetness of a wrung out sponge, mixed with a handful of pumice rock, shredded newspaper and the eggshell.  Sheets of paper are placed in the bottom to keep the contents from falling through and the mixture is placed in the tray.

Next thing to do was to get the Red Wigglers or Eisenia Fetida to start munching away on some food that had been sitting and naturally composting in a container for them.  Here is a picture with everything mixed into the tray.

Below is a picture of some finished compost from my system in Oklahoma.  This is the material that I hope to have by next January.

If all goes well, I hope to be able to save what is left of my garden that was left unattended during our stay in the states.  My next request from the strata will be for the use of some space that may have been abandoned to start a square foot garden.  I would like to plant some vegetables for myself and also to give away to a local food bank or a shelter for the homeless if possible....:-). Hopefully, I won't have to have a license to do this.

A Trip Through Keremeous, British Columbia.

It's amazing how you can become wired to rise early and hit the road even when you don't want to!  We were up early and hitting the road again before 9:00am.  We knew we needed to get the situation with the trailer lights worked out at a shop and not press our chances of staying out of an accident or getting a ticket.  Best bet was to head out early and stop by the shop that put the lights on our trailer for us before we left on our big adventure several months ago. The sky was beautiful.......:-)

Trying to capture what you see in a small point and shoot camera like the one I have is fruitless.  Nevertheless, here are a few shots of the morning sun coming over the horizon...

I remember when I first came to British Columbia from the United States.  I was fascinated with the amount of Christmas trees that seemed to be in abundance here!

But I still think the most beautiful thing is the sky no matter where you are in the world.....:-)

We came upon the little town of Keremeous.  I promised my friend that the next time I went through her old stomping ground that we would take some pics for her.....:-).

So, here we are......:-)

This is a shot of the main street......

Some of the pictures didn't load in the order that I took them.  I think this one was first, but any way......

We had already eaten breakfast, so we didn't stop here to munch on anything......

This is a shot overlooking the town.......:-)

 You gotta love the horses......Chris called out to them and the one on the left turned his head to see who was making the strange sound.....:-)

There are fruit and vegetable stands everyone in the little towns in the Okanagan.  These pics were all taken in Keremeous....

I like to visit them and see what they are featuring at the time......

Here is a picture of another one which looks like a great candidate for a rock slide........

there were corn stalks and pumpkins everywhere......I don't much like pumpkin anything though......

Chris and I have stopped at this stand many times over the years and bought fruit, veggies and honey to take back with us....

After filling our eyes with all things Keremeous, it was time to hit the road again and start our long trek back to our own town.

The fall colors were amazing and we enjoyed a nice ride back to our own town having stopped to get the trailer fixed and pick up some groceries to put into our empty refrigerator....

Time to unwind and settle in after being on and off the road for close to a year.....:-)
This was the view from my window when I finally got on the other side of it.

Thanks for hanging out with us.....:-)

See you next time!