Christmas 2015

1 Holidays can bring a variety of scenarios to your door can't they? We had quite a mix ourselves. The kidlets were around for Christmas dinner and a few people who had no place to go also came to our home. Zoe wouldn't let me set the table because she found the tablecloth much too tempting and the plates and cutlery would have gone flying and almost did.

2 Izzy, Kes and I made gluten free sugar cookies and there was plenty of icing to go on too. Little fingers were busy!!

3 A quick trip to see my sister and her guy. Love her front/side yard. It's magical throughout all the seasons.

4 We came home to 15 inches of snow yesterday. No snow accumulated today which was a nice treat for sore backs.
5 All the decorations are put away into homes until next year.
6 Zoe loves playing in crinkly noisy plastic bags. Lots of holes in there to keep her safe.

stat, about my sister, and all together again

1 Monday is a holiday! Happy BC Day!
2 My sister is from a very small town so when she comes here visiting it's a big deal. This is the first time she's ever stayed at my home in all the years we've been adults. Either I've lived too far away or we lived close by and there was no need to. So I have the opportunity to share my home with her, share our food and share the fun. And yes, we did share a box of wine!
3 The family was all here. We filled up a tub and the kids splashed about, then we sat down to a family BBQ dinner and lastly we Skyped with Nick and Sara. So great to have us all together ~ best loves ~

 

Sundays, sister, and "that place"

1 Sundays are typically considered a day of rest but someone forgot to tell the world! It was a busy work day, busy highways and busy, busy, busy! Home however was not busy, it was the perfect place to be.
2 My sister and her husband came for a visit this long weekend.It's BC Day and a stat holiday  on Monday so they are spending a few days relaxing and enjoying our hot, sunny weather. Sitting on the deck, looking at the lake and just being together is exactly how we'd planned our first days visit.
3 We find a bottle of Ice Wine in the cabinet and test it out. We are a bit silly, a bit tipsy and soon find ourselves in that place of laughing at everything. One conversation goes like this, "I wonder what kind of fruit they make ice wine out of?" "Oh yeah, grapes!"

nutty, pump it up, and my sister

1. New starts. This year has been a time of new beginnings, changes and growth. It’s been an exciting journey so far and I’m looking forward to more adventures. We headed to a Nut Farm today and had a lovely walk about in among the trees and thoroughly appreciated the shade these big trees provided.
2 I am back to working out. In this heat it’s been the treadmill or the yoga mat in our cool basement area with a view of the lake and mountainside. My body, mind and spirit are thankful.
3 I am grateful for my sister. She’s a part of me. We might not be in the same town, or have the same hobbies, likes or dislikes but we’re always together in spirit…always

catching up on things and now it's monday again

1 My sister and her partner stop by for a short visit on their way home. It's been since Christmas that we've seen each other so this is exactly what we needed. They'd made a trip to Calgary and then Vancouver so they were doing a lot of driving and were ready to get home to their own beds.
2 I started a new switchboard operator job this past week and basically had time to eat,sleep and work. Here are a few highlights.
3 Day one and two of work were kind of what I expected. Sitting back and watching, jumping in here and there, getting bailed out a bit and coming home feeling overwhelmed.
4 Day three was a totally different story. My trainer pushed me, let me sink but never let me drown. I suppose it was a hazing of sorts. Weed out the weak.
5 Although I came home in tears the day before I used some good distress tolerance and self soothing skills, when morning came I reassessed and decided that yes, I could do this job. So I showed up, spoke up and was pleasantly surprised when the girls came to my aid and said that the shifts I had been given were not appropriate just yet. Need more training.
5a We find our way to good friends who are visiting with their granddaughters in the Okanagan and enjoy a glass of wine, bbq burgers and a bit of a sit on the beach. It's just what the doctor ordered.
6 More training but this time with a trainer who had the time to help me put notes together, and who I could laugh with.
7 Last day of training and mid morning I have to call three code blues back to back. My heart was racing but I knew what to do. My trainer put her hand gently on my back and I was instantly reassured. I think more codes, stressful as they are would be helpful in the big scheme of things.
8 We took the grandkidlets to our Iranian friend Zora's farm to play with the sheep and goats and pick cherries. With a little help from Grampa they ended up in the trees.
8aThe moon is full, orange so it's time to play with the camera and tripod. Not bad for a first attempt at a moon in the clouds