MY NEW MO-MUDROOM !

 It took us a few weeks and there was a lot of prep work (hate it) --   insulation, moulding, caulking, sanding, the making of shelf etc. by the K-man,  and lastly the painting. I've come full circle on the 'white' and I'm loving it.   

 Finally I was able to do the fun part -- pull everything together.  Had an idea of creating new bedazzling & bejewelled  knobs for the old mexican armoire.  So got out my glue and glass beads and old buttons--and there they are.  Then WOW--how black paint transformed that old pine piece into a chic, modern storage unit.  I remember buying and hauling that thing from Ensenada, Mexico oh so many years ago.   I couldn't be more pleased with that and the old trunk of the same vintage.  Of course, found at long last the perfect spot for a 'fleur-di-lis',  courtesy of Joey-ho my personal 'f-d-l' supplier. 

 It seems to be working as this old MO-bile is feeling 'MO' like 'home' all the time. 

Buried Alive!!

Just a few scenes from around the place to give you 'southerners' an idea of  'what is what'  up here in the great white north.  I understand that you don't care but I can't  care that you don't care.    Hence,  here are some of the adventures that you are missing out on.   

• There is the slipping & sliding & falling which can be a hoot. (Kind of like how Ashton Kutcher is a 'hoot'(NOT)...what was Demi thinking?)

• There is the shoveling & salting that is a major part of  the daily winter workout to try and avoid the above.    

• There are the daily trips to the compost bin and the recycling containers.   This may sound simple but here these mundane tasks require several minutes (and lots of grunting by some) to  properly  layer clothing in order to avoid hypothermia.  Of course I exaggerate somewhat but not a whole lot especially about the grunting by you-know-who.     Layering is very important and if one does not resemble David Byrne is his infamous 'Fat Suit' then one is at risk.  It is not pretty as the many humiliating photos floating about  show clearly.

• There is also the entire 3/4 of the property that is inaccessible and can only be longingly looked at and fondly remembered.    Okay, we could slide down there now that the lovely blanket of snow has turned to a glacier but really, why would we?  

• There are also the comings & goings to get to the car,  to get to the STORE.     I now happily (yes happily!)   shop for my coffee creme at the gas station-video-liquor-beer-potato chip-propane-cigarette STORE.   Besides, they have the better brand of creme anyway and now they know me and I usually run into other peoples from the hood.   That's fun and also nice that we all look a little plumpish.

•  Then there is the absolute best thing which is finally, the quiet. Yeah, that is one pretty nice thing about being buried in snow.

BIG DOG SMILE

       My mexi-mutt is all about the snow!  Right now it is so deep that she has to 'swim' through it and that suits her just fine.  For some reason the fun  is more, better, bigger, longer, louder when I am out there with her.     No matter what it is we are doing -- could be just hauling the compost out or shoveling the walkway-- she is MY dog when we are out in the thick of it--and she lets me know it.  She is jumping for joy  all over the place and her be so happy makes me get big smile.  We aren't dreaming of a white Christmas we are having one.  

Something about today

I like graveyards.  I especially like ones like this one just off the road somewhere in the middle of the USof A.   They have been having a drought down there for a few years now and lots of things besides people are dead or dying or drying up.  No more rivers, creeks, streams, lakes, ponds or reservoirs...all gone....all dried up.  Most of the city folks seem oblivious and continue to use water like it is plentiful.  Their cups are running over.  Their glasses are more than half full.  Their lawns are very green. 

Today we walked along the river here in the valley.  It's a big, wide river.   So much water.  Water gushing everywhere.  Water seeping out of rocks.  No snow here yet which is worrisome in the grand scheme of things and quite warm temps for  December,  but reassuring to know that there is water still close by.  

Pity, pity pot

I had a slight stumble this past week but I've since recovered my balance.    We're talking 'emotional' stumbles here not the break-a-hip kind.   I shall blame it on the 'headache' that lasted for 4 days and led me to believe that I was not long for this earth.   It also could have been some dysfunctional family interactions but,  whoa, babies,  it's dark in there.      Well, off the pity pot am I now,  so listen up little ones as the message here is loud & clear:   
          
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YUXIKrOFk  

 Me back and as delusional as ever...will I ever grow up and not enjoy this stuff?

THE GOOD LIFE...

'the good life'

 

 

this wine has a story

                                                             

'chicky pot pie'

larch trees in autumn...need I say more?

 

 

Woke up this morning to the first snow which is always so beautiful.   Maybe one day, I will come to loath it like so many others,   but for now,  I am simply awed by the quiet and the clean beauty, especially this first day.   It still amazes me that nine years ago we left our California beach cottage and headed out to find something 'else' and did we ever.   Fast forward to today as I sit in a tidy little MO-bile  (read: trailer) all warm and cozy and watch the ever so teeny snow flakes falling in slow-mo.
  
 The 'good life' step you are wondering about is a recent gift from our stone mason/artist known as  'the Gavinator'.   There are pieces of coloured glass imbedded in the concrete and he kindly installed it immediately upon delivery!   Wow. Beyond cool.

The three bottles of wine pictured above were purchased by 'Mr. Cheap'   at a discount store a few years ago.   They have been kept around because we like the labels and never intended to drink them....sooooooo.....upon 'googling' we come to find out that $2 wines are now worth  $125, $150 and $175.  Well, according to the internet, that is.   It is somewhat doubtful that the wine is still good, as our storage policies & procedures these past 9 years have been somewhat loose and fairly negligent and basically, ignored.    Anyone want to join us one night to pop them open? 

The 'chicky pot pie' needs no explanation except to say it is a fine example of how the colder weather brings on different food yearnings -- this being one of them-- yeah,  homemade and really, really good. This would never fly in the heat of summer that's for sure, but last night we (just the 2 of us) devoured it almost completely.  It could have been our last meal, you don't know.

Then there are the larch trees on this property that I have come to know and love.  I did not know anything about this tree before moving here.  Last year I thought they were dying  when they turned this pumpkin-orange colour in the fall.  Not so, just flaming, freakin' beautiful.

That's the story for now from the Valley of the Crescent.

TIDBITS

 

The change of season happened so suddenly.  It seemed that  we were all  so hot & bothered just the other day, weren't we?     The leaves all turned from green to beautiful  and then that W.I.N.D. came barrelling through the valley for a about 10 minutes one afternoon and voila...leaves gone, bunch of trees down, temp suddenly quite chilly and now its very hard to get the dog off the bed.   I feel bad but I have to resort to the old "come on, let's go for a ride" ploy.  Anyway, she falls for it every time and seems to forgive & forget after running around the property like the banshee that she is. 

Our neighbour's chickens are now laying eggs and we are the recipients of these beauties -- once a week!

The last of the fruit stand's bounty.

My sage before drying it--so lovely. 

SHEET METAL SHOWER SURPRISE

Here is the project we have had under wraps for the last couple of months.

I had this idea brewing in my head for a while now and just had to find a talented 'guy' to help make it a reality.

I finally did.

Let's just call him 'Donny' and let's just call him a really

 fine 

& 

creative

&

open-minded

&

willing-to-try-something-different

'guy'.

He did a superb job making this into a reality.

I won't elaborate much now because there is a lot of finish work to do -- silicone caulking, painting, more sealing, increasing the water pressure -- the behind the scenes, essential but boring stuff. 

 Then the re-vamping the rest of the bathroom (lighting, new sink/fixtures, some kind of counter top etc.,etc.).  Oh, yeah, some ideas are incubating in my wee head.

I must also thank K-grrl for delivering the most beautiful coloured glass blocks from California to BC.

They light that comes through those two blocks is

sublime.

They are perfect.

I am having so much fun with this MO-bile!

 

 

 

 

Thank You Very Much

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

All one-in-a-million girly-girlfriends....me loves big.

Flat, Flatter & Flattest

Greetings from the USofA  heartland... a place of vast environmental degradation, cattle feedlots  and  sweet puppy mills.  A land of 'GMO' corn, soybeans & cotton.     A land where  pesticides and chemical farm aids cloud up the air and the  creeks and rivers,  if not completely dried up,  are  polluted.  It's a place where people seem to be very thirsty and only a  67oz sugar drink can quench that thirst.  And let us not forget the flies...yes, the flies,  which provide countless hours of outdoor entertainment for the whole family.  Are you getting the picture?  I have been. I have seen. I became a bit depressed.

Yes, I did get to ride a South Dakota pony and spend time with my little 'sister'  but it was not under the best of circumstances.  Life has thrown her, and her guy, a real, big sucker punch and she was still reeling from that reality of life,  and almost death.  So you see my point?  Things were a bit skewed all the way around and I wanted to go home.  I wanted to be home.  I was happy to go home.


But, hey, what can you do?  I did get back home and pulled on the trusty rubber wellies and started mucking around again. Oh, yes it felt so good.   Sometimes you just have to put on your blinders and forge straight ahead,  get dirty and do  your part to save your own little world.   Maybe  try to make a teeny tiny difference in someone's life besides your own.  I hope I do some of that, some time, for someone, somewhere.  Not fishing for compliments here, just wondering and reflecting on a road trip that still has me puzzled.