the 3rd season

Here's to the end of October. These pretty pumpkins grew on their own from the compost I spread over my garden this past summer.

They were a pleasant surprise and I take no credit for them at all.

I just think their colour really says 'autumn'. Oh, and there is a light dusting of snow on the mountain this morning with the sun shining and the temp hovering at 0' Celsius. xo

Moving Tips & Tricks

Sometimes even in the midst of a moving mess, a girl has got to keep up her appearance. I was told several times over the week that I was looking real good which leads me to another very valuable moving tip.... get that 'sleeping chamber' set up first thing. One must have at least one tranquil area to retreat to when the sight of all your 'stuff' starts to drive you insane.

Bumkins? Hillbillies?

It only took a week of moving, bit by bit, everyday and then...voila...it was done. It may be just a "van down by the river" but it's all ours...all 1.06 acres of it. Every moment has been spent unpacking and putting things away in the 'MO-bile' as well as long-term storage (for the winter) under the Mo-bile. Who knew there is this whole area underneath these things that you can put stuff and it stays dry and safe until you need it again! WoW. And the SHED! How can you not love the SHED? A HUGE thank you to our moving crew: Keiron (Superman), Mike (Kiwi Kamakazi), Mossimo & Bonnell (Sproule Creek Amigos mejor) and Gavin (aka the 'Gavinator'). You are all the best friends anyone could ask for. Also a big, BIG thank you to Stephanie for cooking us a 'traditional ' T0Furkey Thanksgiving dinner...yum...and to Bonnell & Gimel & Natasha & Wynn for the best 'brine-free' Thanksgiving turkey ever...OMG...and to my knitting superhero, Kathy, for the grande finale, big Canadian family Thanksgiving affair with all the trimmings...Mmmmmm. You fed us when we were tired, dirty and oh, so hungry.

LOVE YOU ALL!

MOVING

People! Even when you DO NOT have a lot of stuff, when you move, you still have a lot of stuff. Seriously, it is amazing. I cannot post any pictures right now because I cannot find the cord thing for my camera. I don't know how to do it the card way and I am too exhausted to try. HAPPY THANKSGIVING FELLOW CANADIANS

adieu la vue

Just realizing that very soon I will not be seeing 'la vue' on a daily basis. This has been the scene out the front door for the last six (yes 6!) YEARS. Countless hours have been spent and many glasses of wine have been drunk on the deck watching the changing scene over the water.

No, it has never been taken for granted. Every day it was cause for pause. Every day it was a reminder of just how beautiful this place is. I've got dozens of pictures and not one of them is the same. So do all the friends and family that have visited us here. Every one of them seemed stunned at the first sight and proceeded to try and capture its beauty. Amazingly, many did. Stay tuned for pictures from the 'la nouvelle vue' as the move to the country starts in just a few days! So excited! 'adieu pour maintenant'

PonyGirl Progress Report

Some thoughts on the PonyGirl experience, so far. My dog has come a long, long way. It seems that once she hit 2 years old, a subtle change took place and she suddenly became more 'domesticated'. Her 'wildness' seemed to wane a little bit. She now comes when called (most of the time). She actually 'leaves it' when I say 'leave it'. We figured out that 'wait' is something she understands and is willing to do. This comes in so handy on the trail. Yay! Slowly, we have come to an understanding of each other. She is still the most unusual dog I know. She is not the Cowgirl, as I have finally accepted. But, I have learned to read her like a good book. She is still a reactive type dog so it is important for me to pay attention to her and everything around us. ALL. THE. TIME. We still work on 'impulse control'. This is a tough one. But she tries. She can now restrain herself in the presence of a cat, but only when she is on leash. The good thing is that if a cat holds its ground, PonyGirl just stops. She doesn't attack, and for that I am so grateful. It's the 'chase' that delights her. But still....well, I guess she IS a dog, after all. Oh and the one real sweet thing is that she is learning to like cuddling in bed. I guess she decided I was serious when I kept telling her that this was a non-negotiable issue. She is still just a bag of bones but now she lets me kiss her and hold her close. I am relaxing more with her and she is too. Funny how that works.

Good Eats

I realized that the earlier pictures I posted of some of my harvest were rather pathetic. Granted, it was not a stellar year for the garden. Not just mine, but most everyone around these parts experienced lower than normal yields. Things that normally did well, didn't, and vice versa. So as we are finishing up our season and I took stock of the produce I did get and well, maybe not an abundance, but for a former dweller of a major metropolitan area, not too shabby. There is something wonderful about growing things that you can eat and it does seem that the garden gets bigger every year. That's a good thing, yes?

Maya and the High Heeled Canadian Adventure

These boots are NOT made for walking...no they are not. But haven't we all fallen in love with a pair of shoes when we were young(er) and had to have them? We ignored the voices of reason telling us "NO, you'll be sorry" , "they're so impractical", "it's your money". Recently, when I had my favourite kid here, we went shopping together and much to the chagrin of her 'bad-dad', we came home with these beauties. I could not help it as it reminded me of myself and MY high-heeled heart throbs of so long ago. Sorry no pictures from those olden days. Need I say the 'girl' looked mighty fine when she pranced around the basement 'SATC' apartment to show off her style and her runway stomp. Alas, they were a bit of a disappointment when we went downtown and had to walk around the marketfest on the Friday night out ..."ow"...she said...and ended up taking those high-heeled sneakers off and going barefoot. Oh well, once again, fashion vs. function and like a true fashionishta, my favourite kid, is not giving up.

A Bit of a Bounty

It took a while to get here but once it did, summer has been spectacular. So many long, hot days and cool-ish nights. But, most likely you are all experiencing the same thing in your neck of the woods, so I won't belabor the point. The garden wasn't the best one ever, but there were and still are some surprises. My flower garden newly planted last year, survived a very harsh winter and generously graced us with beautiful blooms. The bees have been very happy. I snitched a few peas before the deer got them all and they are in the freezer. Fabulous beets! Tomatoes...not so good. Yummy lettuces all season long. The squashes are still going strong and we should have a mess of them to store in the basement for eating this winter. Even the potatoes did okay. My sage, oregano, parsley, thyme, tarragon and savory are ready for drying. Basil was a disaster but thank god for friends with sunnier yards. By far, the stars this year have been my shallots and onions...aren't they just gorgeous?

Idaho Peak and My Favorite Kid

This has been an amazing summer. We finally went on the Idaho Peak hike and my favorite kid came to visit. The vistas were amazing, both, far and near, and I feebly tried to capture some of the AWE we all experienced. It was so cool to share it with Sweet Maya. There were others too of course including (BadChad, her dad) and the dogs who were running around and enjoying themselves and provided many blurred & fuzzy photos. I am also including a terrible photo of me (eeeek...my neck!) but a great photo of the favorite kid. That's how much I love her!