Grandchildren Gallery 2021

 

This is our youngest grandchild, Nellwyn Gabriella.

Learning French with Nelly 

                                Nelly's getting ready to help in the kitchen.                                 Roar!

                                   (age three-and-a-half in these pictures)

More French games outside in their back yard.

                                Matteo, nearly 10, on a Father's Day hike.

Zachary graduated this year, and we were actually allowed to attend the ceremony! A celebration followed in Stephen and Susannah's back yard.

He's building delicious pizzas at the moment at Famoso's.

Zachary is 18 in December 2021

Caleb spent the entire first year of Video Game Design on his own computer at home. Now he's actually in Vancouver, working on the course in person.

Emma has only a few high school courses to complete after Christmas before she graduates in June 2022. 

Caleb is 19, and Emma, 17.

Caleb is holding some of our wedding pictures at the 50th anniversary celebration.

Bower Ponds, a wonderful park in Red Deer, has these extra-life sized geese to ride. Earlier in the spring, someone had attached 

face masks to each of them.

Nellwyn, 4, and Livi, 6, before their long ponytails were trimmed.

Lego is always an attraction at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Ellis, 8, loves to climb trees.

That's all for Grandchildren Gallery for 2021!

A reminder to myself: take even more photos next year!

A Stellar Day

 "You're having a stellar day!" exclaimed my husband on our way home. I'd been giggling over our latest two experiences of the day.

First of all, we climbed up the Peach Cliff trail in Okanagan Falls.

This is the rocky outcrop of Peach Cliff, with a 600 m rockface, as seen from our condo parking lot. When it was first suggested that we climb up to the satellite tower, it looked impossible. How can we get up that cliff, I thought. 

The All Trails app, however, revealed a more gradual ascent, on the back side.

OK, I thought. This is our last day here. We've got to do this.

After a bit of a steep climb, the path levelled out and wound through a Ponderosa pine "forest", which looked like a former Boy Scout camp, with little lean-tos made of scavenged dead wood.

A ramshackle shed nearby was full of trays of rock core mining samples, remnants of an old mine. I later found out it was the Dusty Mac Mine, which produced silver and gold from 1969-1976.

We even saw our condo from the top! I think this shot is enlarged a bit. We're very near Skaha Lake.

I was thrilled when I finally spotted the cell tower. It had taken us an hour to get to that point, and seemed easier than the trail exactly a week before. The steep sections seemed more manageable.
After documenting reaching the summit and congratulating me, Terry had a surprise idea.

"I'm going to call Bruce and Val, and we can wave at each other!"

That little dot in the purple circle is Val, standing in her driveway at the mobile home park underneath Peach Cliff. She's looking up on the cliff side, that looked so scary from below. When Bruce came out, we all waved at each other. I wonder how well Bruce saw us through his binoculars.

Terry wanted to take me out for lunch in Penticton, about 20 minutes away. I readily agreed, despite the food in our fridge that was supposed to be eaten up before we left for Alberta. It wasn't exactly 20 minutes to the restaurant, though, as we had to find it first. We drove further and further downtown, until we came to Okanagan Lake, at the other end of Penticton. The GPS was not at all helpful towards the end. 

We went around the block 3 times before we finally found The Prague Cafe. There was no sign at all, except for a small notice on the door, that you had to walk up to, to see. Just like the little "hole in the wall" shops in the Czech Republic. 

My sandwich was the most delicious Caprese sandwich on a croissant, equally yummy as the first one I'd ever had in the San Francisco Area more than five years ago. 

Michal, the owner, was born in Prague, and I shared where my parents were born. We even conversed in Czech, as he lapsed into his native language, explaining how he had made the gingerbread cake. 

It looks quite ordinary, but oh, it was tasty. I asked him where he bought his spices, knowing they came in little envelopes, specially mixed for pernik, gingerbread cake. Surprise, he just bought his spices individually--cinnamon, clove, nutmeg , ginger, and sometimes cardamom and anise. I think his secret was the long mixing, to properly blend all the spices. 

I'm going to try his method when I get home.

The other cake is a kolach ( phonetical spelling, as I don't know how to access the accents) with blueberries. It was ok, but they are best fresh out of the oven. 

I was 'over the moon' with my unexpected cultural experience,

 really glad I had forgotten the A & W coupons at home. 

It was unusual for Terry not to get upset as he kept going 'around the block', which was not at all rectangular in shape as a block should be. It was also unusual that he agreed to try a new eating experience, rather than sticking to chain restaurants. 

It was in the car on the way home as I burbled on and on about Michal and his cafe, that Terry made the comment, "You're having A Stellar Day." 

I'd say a Five Star Day!

Tackling the Oliver Tower Viewpoint Trail

First things first. We had a job to do this morning. Preparing apples was different than at North Okanagan Valley Gleaners. We only had to remove the stems, cut out the scabs and bruises, and give the apples a quick rinse. Terry was one of the people coring the apples. Then the chunks were put into the dicer, spread on cookie sheets, and put into the dryer.

Our morning's work was finished so quickly, I suggested an adventure before we drove the 20 minutes back to Okanagan Falls. "Let's go check out the hiking trails above Fairview," I said. "It's going to be showery for the next few days."

Terry looked up his All Trails app, and found a trail. Parking at the bottom of a steep cliff, we gazed up and saw a well-worn path of scree, large loose rocks and sand. This is it? I thought. Talking briefly to a hiker striding down confirmed it. 

"You can go straight up here, or around where it's not so steep. I find it a great workout twice a week," he said.

We decided to just go up. "I just want to see what's on the other side of this ridge. You know, like the song":        The bear went over the mountain....

                  To see what he could see... 

                  And all that he could see...

                  Was the other side of the mountain..."

The first thought that crossed my mind as I plodded through the deep sand was I'm not as fit as I was on the White Goat Falls trail  ten years ago. Terry had been so impressed at the time, and called me a mountain goat. Today I had to stop every once in a while to catch my breath and still my pounding heart. Terry kept asking anxiously, "Are you all right?" 

Finally at the top of the gravelly part, we reached the ridge. That's where we saw the "other side of the mountain." You can see how difficult it was to wade through this loose stuff. 

Already the view from the ridge was looking spectacular

As the path levelled out, long-needled Ponderosa pine trees dotted the dry hillside. No sounds, but we did see and hear a covey of quail at the bottom of the hill. Here and there clumps of tiny, low-lying

Prickly Pear cactus peeked through the long grass.

 

Rusty remnants of an ancient fence

"Look up, there's the tower!"  

I didn't know there was a destination to this climb. I didn't know the trail was called the Oliver Tower Viewpoint Trail. But I made it up there, 3.7 km, 830 feet up, on the top of this "mountain."

From that vantage point, you could see all over the valley. 

Various trails meandered down the mountain, so it was much more relaxing on the way down.

When we got to the bottom, Terry again said, " You did great, I'm impressed!" 

For me, a little encouragement goes a long way!

Gleaner Adventure Part Two

 Let's backtrack a bit from yesterday's post, and explain why we're in the Okanagan, in November, no less. 

We weren't planning to be in this part of the world, at this time of the year, but an offer came up that we couldn't refuse. We were given a condo to stay in, with a suggestion that we work at the Gleaner's, the one in the south Okanagan that we hadn't been to yet. We liked that idea, so here we are. 

 We didn't know we would be thrust into the tail end of a week of actual soup mixing. This was an aspect of the whole gleaning process that we hadn't yet experienced . 

Here is a picture of the set-up we found ourselves in:

It's a metal shelf with a COVID shield separating masked people on both sides. Not exactly a conveyor belt, more like a shuffleboard. The white stuff you see is salt, to facilitate the buckets sliding down the "runway".

I'm there in my trusty purple cashmere work sweater, with Terry behind me. I'm scooping lentils into a yellow bucket as it comes shooting towards me, every three seconds! Terry is scooping dried carrots. Because he's only the third person in line, his bucket occasionally tips over, it's so light. I have to be on my toes to scoop my lentils before the next bucket comes sliding along. If too many buckets stall together, they're more likely to tip over. Eventually I get into the rhythm of putting out my left arm to intercept the carrot bucket, while scooping with my right hand into the lentil barrel. A man off to the side keeps his eyes on my barrel, always making sure it's full, so I don't have to strain my back leaning down too much. That's valuable servanthood on the sidelines. 

See the big square bin? It was two-thirds full when we started, and we went through about one and a half in a morning.

I was so thrilled with this fast-paced operation I refused all offers to have someone take my place, despite the fact that by the end of the morning the fingers of my right hand seemed permanently fused in place. And despite the fact that, as a newbie, I had probably displaced someone who regularly worked on the line. But they humoured me, and I toughed it out. We did have a stretch break after half an hour, and then a welcome coffee break. Despite the chilly weather, most of us sat outside bundled up in tuques and warm jackets. That's what you do during COVID, right?

The part I didn't see was the actual bagging.   The buckets, which now contained dried potatoes, beets, carrots, lentils, barley, peas, salt, and other mixed vegetables, were tipped through a large funnel, into sturdy plastic  5 kg bags, and sealed. I had taken part in this aspect at the North Okanagan Gleaners in Lavington., B.C.                                      

All these dried vegetables flying around creates a lot of dust, so we spent the next day washing walls and floors. I had to laugh to myself. When I heard we would be cleaning, I said to myself, But I'm not washing walls! God has a sense of humour. That was the very job I was assigned. I did my best to eliminate all traces of dust in my section of wall.

Stay tune for the next installment: apples! 

I can't wait.

The Blasted Church

 

A friend of mine who lives in Okanagan Falls, B.C. would drive by a certain landmark every day on her way to work. “The Blasted Church” she would read. “Oh, that's so sacrilegious! Why would a church be called 'blasted'?" Sure enough, there was a story behind this unusual name.

In the late eighteen hundreds, gold had been found near present day Oliver, B.C. A whole city sprang up. A small Presbyterian church was one of the amenities built to support a burgeoning population. When the gold petered out, the miners left the town of Fairview, and it fell into disrepair, becoming a ghost town.

Nearby Okanagan Falls had become a ranching and freight centre. The residents decided to transport the neglected church from Fairview for their own use. It seemed a daunting task, until an engineer suggested boarding up the windows, and lighting four sticks of dynamite, suspended from the rafters. The explosion from the dynamite loosened the nails, and the boards were easily dismantled to be transported to Okanagan Falls. The United Church in the town is nicknamed The Blasted Church, and lends its name to a winery as well.

The boards of the church were transported to Okanagan Falls in 1929 and reassembled.

Nothing exists now on the site of the once booming town of Fairview, except an information kiosk. Plans are to upgrade the 1 km walking path around the grounds, and to designate a few more landmarks. Terry and I walked around in the blustery wind.

The site of the original Presbyterian church.

Close up of the sign.

The story of The Blasted Church is a reminder not to judge a book by its cover! Or to jump to conclusions based on the outward appearance of something or someone.

 Samuel 16:7  The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. [NLT]

A Happy Re-connection

 During this pandemic, the pace of life has slowed down considerably for Terry and me. This is the first year out of the nine years since we've been retired that we've been home for the entire fall and winter season. At first I wondered how I would fill my time. Now I have too many projects. The most satisfying has been pursuing my dream of writing devotionals. For years I've kept a diary/journal. I would write down ordinary happenings that, to me had a spiritual significance. Sometimes the implications of an event didn't hit me till much later. I began writing with the idea of submitting stories with a monetary reward attached. That has had limited success. 

Then I remembered that God had spoken to me: 

"Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does." Psalm 96:3 (NLT)

So, now I write little stories for which I don't get paid. I'm surprised at how satisfying it is. I didn't used to be able to write a logical essay when I first went to university. It didn't help that I had to write my assignments in French, since I was taking a French major. Now I am mostly able to write a coherent sequence. I've been practising. Twenty-five years ago I learned a lot through a writing program with Long Ridge Writer's Group, which taught me how to write and submit articles to magazines. 

A surprising side effect of writing to PresbyCan Daily Devotionals, a site which publishes daily inspirational messages, is belonging to what they call a "community of Spirit-filled believers". It's been fun receiving encouraging messages from those who have read what I've written. 

The other day I had the biggest surprise! I got an email response via this site from a friend I've known all my life. She wondered if I was the same person she had gone to school and church with. I had tried to contact her four years ago when we were on a SOWER project on Vancouver Island for two  months, but hit a dead end. Now I excitedly e-mailed back, and we had an hour-and-a-half Face Time visit, getting caught up on the events of the past.

 Here we are as babies:

I'm on the left, and my friend, Edie McCaffery (as she was then) is on the right. My mum is rocking the barrel at my birthday party, probably when I was two.

Here we are when I was 21 and Edie was 22, in front of Edie's house in Port Alberni, B.C.

                                           

Now, nearly 52 years later, we've reconnected, just because Edie "just happened" to read one of the Daily Devotionals on the PresbyCan site! I can't wait for the day when we'll be able to travel once again to Vancouver Island, and visit my brother, our other "old" friends, and my newly re-discovered friend, Edie.

God is good!

Here's a link to an article about PresbyCan Daily Devotional's history. https://renewal-fellowship.ca/5027/  Its roots go back about 55 years, and this May is the official 25th Anniversary celebration of this website.

Where is that Snowy Owl?

 Since we are in Alberta for the winter this year, it has been Terry's goal to add Snowy Owl to his yearly bird list. This bird has been an important missing piece to The List for at least ten years, even fifteen. Three trips to the area broadly referred to as "North East of Calgary" by people on the Alberta Birds Face Book group yielded nothing. We had been looking in vain for the last couple of months.

After the last fruitless trip at the beginning of January, I was ready to give up. Terry brought it up again yesterday. "Are you ready for another car-birding day?" he said. 

    "Fine. But let's try going north this time instead of south." 

    "OK."

    "Lord, we'd really like to see a Snowy Owl today" I prayed for good measure.

    Terry pored over the map, plotting his route on less busy roads, avoiding the QE2, the freeway.  "Let's go to Vegreville."  Having a destination made it more of a fun trip; we would be able to see the world's largest Easter egg, a Ukrainian pysanka.

    We set off just before sunrise, which was at 8:29 this morning. I kept my eyes peeled on fenceposts and telephone poles to my right, while Terry watched his side of the road, as well as the road. 

     Snow Buntings was the first sighting of the day. Previously we've seen them as they wheel and fly up in a frenzied cloud  from the side of the road as the car approaches. They're so skittish we didn't positively identify them earlier this month. Today we saw them feeding in a grain field, and later, actually sitting together for a few seconds in a small bare tree. I got a good look at them through Terry's binoculars. This is actually a shot taken by our birder friend from B.C., Gary Davidson. "Our" Buntings against the snowy field, however, looked just the same.

      A few kilometres from Vegreville, I suddenly called out, "Stop!" I had seen a lump in a tree. We turned around and drove back..  A Great Horned Owl! We had seen and heard this large owl last March at the school in Tucson AZ, but only at night. Today it sat serenely on the edge of a grove of trees, and was even in the same spot on our way home again, an hour later. 

    "We're getting closer!" exclaimed Terry.

    About five km from Vegreville we hit the jackpot. "Stop!" I called out again. There on a pole in the middle of a field was a Snowy Owl! Our search was over. This is a female, so not pure white. Again, I'm grateful to Gary for allowing us to use his photo. "Our" owl faced the same way, and looked much the same, but was on a higher pole than this one. 

    "Good, we can have lunch now!" said Terry.

    AT Vegreville we discovered the temperature was -25 degrees Celsius, -33 with the wind chill, quite a bit colder than in Red Deer. Climbing out of the car, we only lingered long enough to take a selfie with the giant pysanka, then rushed back into the warmth to eat our delicious ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches on whole wheat buns. The sun shone in Vegreville, and we watched the metal egg partially rotate back and forth with the breeze like some sort of bizarre weathervane.

   

Weighing 5,000 lbs, and 31 feet high, the giant pysanka is constructed of aluminum triangles, set in place like a big, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

I was glad we finally solved our own puzzle: "Where on earth is that Snowy Owl?"

Thank you, Gary, for your wonderful photos.