back in q-town

We made it home tonight - 7 hours from Langley - which is very good time for us. Stop at a few places along the way for pee breaks and snacks.. long day - I was super tired but just pushed through it all. I'm sore tonight and just looking forward to a hot-smelly shower (lol) and then back to work tomorrow.

We stopped at Horstings Farm (Cache Creek) and had sandwiches - we went last summer and it wasn't great, but tried our luck again and it was WAY better - WAYYYY... so definitely worth the stop if you are travelling north or south on 97 - far better than some fast food... you can get a great sandwich, yummy soup or chili and pie.. I passed on the pie (totally regretted it later), as I started thinking about calories and caved on getting it... blah...

Camera - well I'm just thinking about it - I'm still mad about the whole thing

Ha - just watched a commercial from BP... love the ending... we are going to be here until the oil is gone... HA - HA - that is hilarious - of course they'll be there until the oil that is usable for something else is gone, but this clean up will have negative impacts far past that date... I loved reading in a magazine recently that the reason they aren't seeing millions of gallons washing up on the shore is that there is a microbe eating it all... the ocean is a big place... who exactly is out there looking for it... I watched a special in the states on how terrible the disaster really is and how BP has screwed up numerous times in the past and that anyone watching their track record should have seen it coming... that another disaster would happen and soon... it was a pretty interesting show... I'll have to find out where it was from - as I'd like to watch the whole thing.

alright - well I'm done... must sleep - my Dad is going to be here at 6:15 to give us Max back

11' o clock

So tonight is a good night to go see Mars - it is on the right hand side of the moon - brightest thing next to the moon... would be spectacular in a dark place... I also saw a shooting star tonight.

I went to send out a -hip hip hooray - to Mr Clean's Magic Eraser... I've burned through two of them in my mom-inlaws kitchen and bought four more to finish tomorrow... they have taken off stuff I couldn't scrub off and have made the corner that is finished pretty nice... I'm going to clean the stove top tonight and then call it a day.

We've visited this house for years and every visit we talk about a cabinet in the living room - that it needed to be moved - but no one ever took it upon themselves to do it - so... I'd had enough... let's move the damn thing - it was actually less of an ordeal than I thought it would be - it weighed a tonne but we got it out of the house (down the front stairs only to find out that it was too wide.. then back up the stairs and out the back porch which is rotten in the corner and was worrying...) and then brought it back through the front door and put it in the living room downstairs. Afterwards I took the kids in the living room that was free of this 300 lb chunk of early 1980's crafted tv holder and danced... danced in the spot it used to take up - hooray!

Then it was onto cleaning again - last night I cleaned for an hour but didn't get far and then started again tonight for an hour... I could easily spend another six hours - just in the kitchen... madness... I likely won't though, as we are heading home on Sunday and tomorrow is a day of visiting Uncle Derek and Aunti Wendy.

I'm feeling pretty lowly tonight - tired... plus my throat is bugging me... blah... of course... of course I'm coming down with something... I have a 10 hour drive to look "forward" to and having throat pain is just what the doctor ordered... and speaking of doctors anyone watch the Lions play tonight - one player ran through the crowd and cut his throat on the coroplast signs on the side lines.. he didn't get it very deep - apparently just his adam's apple - but it was quite the thing... poor guy... I know - how knew that I watched or even cared about CFL...
xxoo

blog name change...

So friends - I want everyone to help me in mourning the loss of my canon... it died - it was an ugly death.

I haven't written in a few days because Andy and I have been in the states - Seattle - walking around downtown and checking things out and without photos I didn't really have much to share - sure - there have been some funny stories... but I was at a bit of a loss without my canon... boohoo... I know - suck it up... so I will... and did...


This is from downtown seattle and this guy with giant hair was given-er down the middle of the street - he looked like he was enjoying life...

We went to Pike's ... of course... they have the best piroshky - and beautiful flowers

We went to 'icon restaurant' two nights ago - I could write a blog post just about that experience... let's just say that it was NOT what I expected, my dinner sucked, Andy's didn't - and I met the new generation of dating... these two little love birds sat next to us and played games until dinner arrived - the waiter actually approached the table and said... 'dinner's ready' just like your mom would do... very fun.

Space Needle - $18 to go to the top... meh... it was ok - it didn't bug me at all to go to the top.. again without a camera you kind of hang out and just look around.. all good... all good...

View from hotel room - was able to take this with photobooth.

More about the trip and days ahead when I get back to Canada - xxoo :)

summer... what happened

Ok - so I'm not really that sad that it was cool today, but since we were going to go to the water slide... it would have been nice.. we decided not to go after some thinking-rethinking on the issue. So what did we do then? Ahhh - well we went to the eco-dairy in abbotsford - very good - those guys know how to do agri-tourism in an upscale way! Then we went to try and visit aunti paula but turns out that she was busy in training - so then we went to our back up surprise - the Abbotsford Hatchery - it is a bit run down but it is nice - and the guys loved it... then well we headed out to White Rock and walked the beach and had lunch and then made our way to Richmond.

Tonight was chinese food from T&T Supermarket and then I made a few dishes. We had cake to celebrate Derek and Wendy being pregnant - hooray - they are about 3.5 months along... hooray! More babies...

So I won't be loading photos tonight - I'm tired .. Michael woke up at 4:30am with a nose bleed - big time - first really big one - and of course he keeps trying to blow his nose and then he is half asleep - he bled for quite a while - so then we got back to sleep but it wasn't great sleep... so I'm done for today... need sleep - need a break... night

hello city

Well we made it to good old Chilliwack tonight... and it smells just like the last time I was here... awesome!
Tomorrow we are surprising the guys by going to the waterpark - which I'm less than interested in... but they'll love it - so I'm in.
The trip was super smoky - from Quesnel to 100 Mile it was less than great... and about 20 minutes into our ride...

Lights, and an officer in the middle of the road
Um - you were going 32 over in a construction zone...
Wait... class 4... that makes you a paramedic....

And then you see how the system really works - if you are part of the "team" (super heroes are us) you get forgiven on speeding... I'd love to know what else is forgivable... I gotta say I'm furious about it - do I want a ticket - no - but I would have laughed because he wasn't paying attention to the speed and was going over in a construction zone - the officer did note that those funds could be spent on me.. that's about a $400 ticket - he noted $250, but that was without excessive speeding - so we'll see how that plays out... what was also funny is that the guy comes back to the car and he asks for me by name... so now you know he has called in and someone said - hey I know that guys wife... so you should totally bring that up... and then later on we can laugh about it.

Alright - so photos and fun tomorrow night..

(Paula - I texted you back.. I don't have your new number - I'll call your cell tomorrow)

a little bit of fishing

Kyle's biggest fish to date


Here is Michael, my mom and Kyle fishing it up - Michael actually caught the first fish of the day, but it was a baby and we put it back... then Kyle got the whopper he caught about an hour later... so what else does that mean? It means that I got some wicked sun - I'm burnt, burnt, burnt... but I was wearing a hat - so at least my brains aren't fried tonight. :)
Love to you - hugs and kisses!

patients

Kyle's attention span - well it is a little lacking sometimes...

Michael - Can you stop doing that? (Kyle is pulling on a blanket they are trying to share.)
Kyle - no comment - he is watching a cartoon
Michael - Can you stop doing that? KYLE
Kyle - no comment
Michael - (starts to get pushy and then pulls on the blanket this gets Kyle's attention - he turns towards Michael)
me - Kyle, can you listen to Michael, and stop pulling on the blanket, please
Kyle - Squirrel - look squirrel...

AWESOME!

and what of today...

Tonight we went back to Punchesakut Lake - it is pretty smoky out there - not as bad as it was - but you can just see it thick it is out in the Nazko Valley...


Kyle likes to find snail shells - so he took it upon himself to find as many as possible tonight.. and then he needed a photo of it...

Then we played with this new friend...


Other highlights...

Music - Second Go - Lights -
Michael - "What is she doing, why is she painting her house like that?"

the pool

Tonight I decided to take the guys to the pool - even though I totally hate the pool. The last time I went I got sick... this time I just wanted to peel my skin off. I managed to last for a total of 45 minutes and then my skin was aching so bad that I had to call it... the guys had fun and whined about leaving and then were silent the entire way home. Within in 15 minutes they were changed, showered and into bed.. sleeping... and now I'm getting my camera gear and heading outside... helllooooo meteor shower.

Reading this and it is still Thursday night... what are you doing... go outside - see something amazing... something that will make you want more... enjoy it - love it - it is part of living in the universe, on a giant planet... let the meteor counting begin! Woohoo!

And later that very night...


Cassiopeia - beautiful!

I hate barking dogs and being lonely.

And... 10:52pm...

Really, really hate barking dogs... can't help but think something is out there when they can't stop barking and barking and barking... managed to see two really good ones and then busted out the equipment and waited - and then... of course - my battery died - just as I was thinking - I wonder how much more juice I have in this thing.. so now I wait for it to charge... it is ok - this show goes on until 4am... until the sun rises... woohoo... need coffee.... hmmmm... maybe that will be the next thing since the wine and toast wasn't working that well for me. And before I forget - Kyle begged me to wake him up to see the show - after I saw the two good ones I went in there and tried - and tried and tried and got a loud long snore... - I just wanted to record it somewhere that I did try.

bath

I miss my tub

and another creepy crawly

I actually took this more because the web was really cool. This spider is easily 1/3 of the size of the one from last week. I've been calling these potato spiders, but now that I've seen other spider websites, I'm not as sure... what do you think?

five days

Anyone who has been reading this for a few years might remember that a special time of year is coming.. it is time to hope for clear skies and a nice glass of wine and for me... my trusty camera... Aug 12 - that is the night this year for the Perseid's Meteor Shower. The moon sets at 10pm so it should be really good this year - if you have a clear view of the sky.

Sky is nice here tonight... the smoke cleared a lot today...

stupid oven smell

The oven continues to stink and so I decide it is time to read the operating manual from start to finish. Finally at the back - at the end of the troubleshooting section I find the following:

Problem:
"Burning" or "oily" odor emitting from the oven vent
(They missed the smoking part)

Possible Causes:
This is normal in a new oven and will disappear in time
(I assume that this means the headaches will also disappear)

What to do:
To speed the process, set a self clean cycle for a minimum (MINIMUM) of the three hours. See the using the self cleaning oven section.

Awesome...

So I'm hoping the banana bread that I chucked in there kills the disgusting smell and then doesn't taste like the disgusting smell...


In case you were wondering - here are some other interesting things about my new oven:
1) Never wear loose-fitting or hanging garments while using the appliance. Be careful when reaching for items stored over the range. Flammable material could be ignited if brought in contact with hot surface units or heating elements and may cause severe burns.

So I guess I need to move my hair spray and gasoline from the kitchen.

2) For your safety, never use your appliance for warming or heating the room.

(We use to do this when we were kids....)

3) Ovens can cause burns.

Usually it is me who causes burns the oven is just an innocent by standard - but I like the idea of blaming the stove.

good

It is raining.

That is all :)

sleep

Michael - Mom... mom....

Yes

Michael - I can't sleep, my tummy hurts

Ok - well come and sit with me for a few minutes

Michael - what ya watchin'

Well there is a shark show on

Michael - holy look at that (as a shark jumps out of the water)

(And then we just hang for a few minutes...)

Then this amazing shark jumps out of the ocean - look at that

Michael - snoring...

Ahhhh - back to work

boooooo

Tonight I try out the new oven and in 15 minutes I'm realizing this was a bad decision. It starts to smell funny - like plastic-y, and metally and totally gross - but I think - it is the first time I've had it on and maybe that is why... and then it starts smoking... like smoke is pouring out of the stove - through the elements through the handles and it smells worse - so I turn the damned thing off and now the house stinks - so we evacuate the house and go into town - had to anyway - needed to feed the dogs.

Frustrating for sure... so I'm wondering if this is supposed to be the case when you use an oven for the first time.

And yes, I had removed all of the plastic and cardboard before turning it on...

freakin' ew!

Michael - "Mom, come and see this spider I found."

I take my time as there are plenty of spiders out here in nature and rural BC...

Michael - "Look, look"

And then all I can do is run and get my camera because I've never seen anything like this...



This spider was the biggest, most disgusting one I've ever seen in Northern BC - with its legs extended it would be about 2 inches across - its body was like a loonie - if something like that landed on you - you'd feel it and you'd be running wondering if a monkey had jumped on you... a hairy, poky, disgusting monkey... GROSS!

Anyone know what this might be... ok outside of it being a spider...

long weekend

Alright - so three days off... hooray! Not sleeping great because my back is terrible in one spot.
I thought I'd post on my parents because I'm sure that some people may be wondering...
So there is a fire at Pelican Lake - well there is more than one - a bunch of big ones. So the fire started tracking north and then cut right back towards Nazko... it looks like the fire is about five-eight miles (last night) to their house. This is significantly closer than the fire from four years ago. Houses five miles from my parents have been evacuated so they decided to bring in the valuables and the dogs and head to the Island (Haidi Gwaii) to take my brother home and take in some fishing. A friend of theirs is watering the garden until he can't stay any longer - his place had a fire at it two days ago and this puts a fire within one mile of their home. So I'll post things as they occur - right now I'm waiting for my update on how the trip went today and if they heard anything about the house.

I'm going to go and read... I miss having a house that I can have a bath in - I bought some special bath "teas"... guess I'll save them for a road trip... night all - love, hugs and smooches!