I Want to Show You Something

There are certain words that cause trepidation among spouses, a trigger for what you fear in your bones will just not have a happy outcome.  In our house, its "Hey, can you come here?  I want to show you something."

Pretty innocent sounding, right?  But its often followed up by a finger pointing at the garbage you forgot to take out, even though you were in the middle of it and something else just took your attention away ... paint that got spilled ... a toothpaste tube squeezed in the wrong spot ... something that was left out and the cats played with.  All causes for a finger-wagging at the very least.

In the latest case of "I want to show you something," Bruce brought me out to the balcony and handed me a pair of binoculars.  This is unusual.  Normally, whatever the big show, it's within touching distance.  Bruce asked me if that tree had always looked that way .. and pointed at the dogwood.  Now, if you've been following my blog, you know I've taken a gazillion pictures of that tree this year.  Spectacular is a word I think I've used more than once.  So yea .. I was familiar with it.

However, what he was most concerned about was something I'd not seen before that point in time .. and it caused a great deal of consternation for the pair of us for the next hour as we determined what it was and how we'd deal with it.  Not just "it" as it turns out .. we have a pair on the property.

The one in the dogwood is about the size of a volleyball and sits high in the tree over the birdbath.  The second is the size of Bruce's fist and is waaaaay up in the eaves.

So today, the exterminators came with their ladders and spray gunk and took care of things for us.

Neumans:  2 .. Hornets:  0 .. Exterminators:  $100.

Best $100 I've spent in a long time.  

Pretty little street

Although quite tiny, Coombs packs a huge punch as far as interesting pictures go.  Here is the last bit for you .. the actual shops and scenes along the street.

Like cheerful kites and flags, the clothing in Coombs draws your eye and pulls you in.  Bev and I spent a few wistful and wishful moments basking on imaginary tropical beaches and patios wearing some of these summer dresses.  I'm not sure about her vision, but mine also had a tiki drink with a little umbrella.  I think its important to keep perspective on important vacation details while daydreaming.

This last one shows that even in the heart of British Columbia bohemia, you can still find Alberta pajamas.  Ha ha ha .. I actually thought of my brother George.  Wish he knew how to operate a computer because I could find grand new ways to tease him.

Bring your wallet

Although the grocery store is the prime draw for the tourists, a thriving little street of Bohemian shops has sprung up to support the need for touristy trinkets to take home.  In amongst the jewellery and clothing shops, you'll find puppets, statuary, fudge, dreamcatchers, wind chimes, garden accessories, oriental furniture, plants, pottery and produce.

Goats on the Roof

Today, I grabbed Bev and took her off to a little town named Coombs .. about a 20 minute drive north of Nanamio.

A small touristy area off the main highway on the way to Port Alberni or Tofino, its main attraction is a grocery store.  

While the interior of the store boasts some non-standard food ... a lot of imports from China, Denmark, Holland, India and a batch of catch-all tourist items like t-shirts .. it's the exterior of the building that has made the town somewhat famous.  Built with a sod roof, you can sometimes catch the goats out grazing.  Or perhaps, playing up to the tourists in the hope of getting a handout.

I have a ton more pictures to show you, but I thought I'd break them into smaller posts .. I've been guilty of some pretty large downloads for some of you.

On Dr. Suess

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.

Dr. Seuss (1904 - 1991)

♦♦♦

I'm fairly certain Dr. Suess found inspiration in ordinary things.  Here are three pictures of my dogwood tree.  Can you see how a pencil in the hand of a permanent child can find a jumping off point for a story?

See??

A little cottage in the country

Kelly shared pictures and story of his house renovations, so I thought I'd pass them along.

The first three pictures show how it looked when I started. I didn't like leaves so I cut down the poplar, then decided I didn't like to paint - and the window trim needed redone. So I changed out all the windows and doors to colored steel and vinyl. When that was almost finished I decided I liked the Spanish style of the house and should make the roof match. After much looking around I found the style of roof I liked and ordered it from Kentucky. So as you can see, doors, roof, windows and half the outside walls have been changed - as well as half the walls on the inside. All the flooring on the main floor will be changed to porcelain, granite and hardwood this winter, as well as the counter tops.

George and I have been slowly working on the landscaping and hope to be done this year. By the time I get home in next couple weeks, the stack stone should be done on the front of the house. Everything else will slow down now that the money pit is starting to show the bottom of the hole. I hope to get the last of it all done next spring when me and the girls get back from Ireland .

Love ya, talk to ya soon ; Kelly
PS say hi to Bruce for me

When you said you removed all the trees, I was wondering. But this isn’t too bad. Dude, you totally need a back deck that is amazing. That little one does your house no justice! Have you seen that show “Decked Out” with Paul LaFrance? Omg .. that guy does amaaaaazing shit with wood.

Also, you really do need some green around the house .. such as lawns or flower beds ... too much gravel is not good for the soul.

Mo


I'm still not done with the dirt moving yet , but I am going to have some flowers also & the tree movers can't move the rest of the trees till October (to much stress on them ).  I'm going to

•  extend the top deck at the back of the house the full length of the house and 
• put in another set of garden doors out of the master badroom when I redo the master bath and
• put a roof over the top deck ( when Hugh moves). 

So far the renos are about $70,000.00 so I've started to slow down a bit . I'm just really hoping I can be all done by this time next year and I won't have to touch the house ever again, but I'm not going to put off going on holidays to do it.  Also you bet you can put whatever you wish on your blog . Oh Trina also said to say hi the next time I talk to ya.

Talk to ya soon , Kelly

Keepin' cool on the long weekend

If your August long weekend was anything like mine, you were looking for any sort of way to cool off.  I actually spent a bit of the night sleeping on the patio.  However, many of us headed for the water .. just like this fella I caught enjoying my birdbath.

I've been playing around with the Google Chrome add-ons .. this one is called Psykopaint .. Cezanne brush style.

Family Update

Talked to Dad just as he and Dorothy were headed into breakfast after finishing up hauling of load of bales.  He's been keeping fairly busy and has the second truck on the road as of the beginning of August. Dorothy's kids have given her a new granddaughter, a healthy six pound girl named Nikita.  We were laughing and talking about the possibility of all of us stepkids (kinda, sorta .. without legalities getting in the way) getting together and she said she'd always wanted to have 12 kids.  Seems her mother had been one of a dozen kids and Dorothy had wanted that warmth and family around her as well.  Can you imagine how many bedrooms .. and bathrooms .. the size a house would need to be in order to cope with that much sheer living?

Dad had just been paid for a government job he'd done earlier in the Spring when he helped with some .. I don't recall if it was groundwork or seeding ... at the agricultural research station where Dorothy works part time.  They'd taken a couple of months to get him on payroll and he'd - just two days previous to our chat - received his paycheque.  He said it was all zeroes.  Must have taken the government  at least five dollars to cut and mail that cheque for zeroes ... and no one questioned it.  Tax dollars in action.

Next call was to Ralph and Debbie who I caught at a car show in Red Deer .. they were down to visit with the brothers as it turns out, so a mini-holiday was in the works.  Ralph's had some tough luck with engines in his big Kenworth that cost him a great deal to repair.  That, combined with the fact that he's covering for his employee who loves to mud bog on the weekends, keeps him from living the life of the idle almost rich.  Hope things pick up up for ya, Ralph.

When I checked in on Jamie, he was in a good mood, but then that's pretty much normal setting for James.  Kelly was outside working on Jamie's yard, so I got to have a good banter with both of them.  George is considering putting some time in on a pipeline down in Empress.  It's a 100(ish) day job, but Jamie's insisted on having long weekends off.  We wandered off into chatting about the differences between Alberta's hard-driving agricultural work ethic as compared to BC's generally more laid back beach attitude.  James says the difference is diminishing.  Darren is working on his final push to get his welding ticket and Hugh, although having some time in the US studying sound engineering, is back at Kal Tire in Eckville working on saving  more money for studies.  I may have his area of studies a bit wrong .. it's something to do with sound and music.

Kelly's a happy camper too; he's sending me pictures of his house to show off since he's plenty proud of the work he's done there.  Says the yards are looking quite nice as well, although he also reports that he's pulled down the trees around the house.  Pictures, Kelly .. pictures!  He says that our family friend, Hugh Leslie, is living in the house so someone is there to look after things while Kelly's away at camp.  Trina has quit her job in Red Deer and moved to Ponoka.  Kelly's thinking its time for a trip to Vegas or somewhere with his yearly travel companions, a couple of ladies from the area.

And there you have it ... half of a Christmas card update!

Playing hookey

Today, my friend Cécile and I goofed away the entire day.  We started early  .. as it turns out, we both began by checking emails, working our way through responses and a steaming hot cup of morning tea.  We'd planned to meet up at 9:30 or thereabouts, knowing that Cécile has a penchant for having her own notion of time that doesn't always coincide with .. you know .. world clocks.

We drove off to have the quintessential girl day ... time at the spa and lunch after.  Tigh-Na-Mara Resort is the perfect marriage of log cabin and seaside chalet with high-end services.  If you get a chance, I highly recommend a visit there.  It was here, while sitting out on our balcony one late September night, sipping wine  and watching a cruise ship slowly moving up the strait, that Bruce and I made the decision to move to Vancouver Island. We'd found a chunk of paradise we wanted to hold onto.  So I guess I'm rather partial to the place.

At about 1:00, we emerged from the spa with fresh rosy faces, completely relaxed and .. hungry.  We headed around the corner to a small sushi place that Cécile knew, only to find that they were closed Wednesdays.  I guess business must be good when you can run a restaurant that is only open from 11am to 7:00 pm every day but Wednesday, when it doesn't open at all.

Since we were around the corner from the beach front park, we headed there, with the ice cream concession in mind .. only to discover that the sand carving competition had been recently completed and they were taking donations to view the completed works.    I really like this part of the Parksville Beach  Festival .. competitors come from all over the world to to carve up the local sand.

This one took first prize for a work done by a solo artist

A cup of tea .. loved that splash

Bruce .. another practical gift of a heart of stone.
Or sand .. whatever.

Not really too sure about this one, but man, that font work is great.

This one made me laugh .. and think how much my brother Jamie would love it.

The sculptor of this entry hailed form Europe

Not sure what this represented, by I thought it well crafted

This took 2nd place for the group work (you can see first place in the background).
The next two pictures show different views of the same piece

Add caption

After the sandcastles, we took in a Vietnamese lunch in Nanaimo at Huong Lan Restaurant.  The service was amazing and even at 2:30 in the afternoon in a somewhat sleepy strip mall, business was hopping.  Food was pretty good too.  Cécile had her first bubble tea and decided that perhaps tapioca bubbles were not really the thing she most wanted to find in her drink.  I whole-heartedly agree.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing vacation day.