Grandma’s Excellent Adventure

Yesterday I made the long and tortuous journey into Vancouver, to visit with my most favorite people in the world, Kelly, Sumeet and Logan.

And because he makes my heart go wild when I see/think of him I’ve decided that Logan’s newest middle name is Be Still My Heart.

Between Sumeet leaving for work and Kelly coming home from work I had FUNFUNFUN with Logan! We listened to cheesy Christmas tunes, we read some Christmas Carols and stories, we walked around and around the apartment where we got stuck at some point by the table. On the table was a baby food cookbook, and on the cover of the book is the adorable face of a happy baby. Logan was mesmerized by that face. He spoke the language that only other babies can possibly understand….baby gibberish.

Which reminded me of a story that Sumeet had told me before she left for work. She was standing in a line-up with Logan in his carrier…in front of them was a baby approximately Logan’s age. Logan made full eye contact and began speaking to the other baby. What do they say to each other? What is the thought process? I still can’t stop thinking about it.

Once Sumeet left and it was beyond obvious that Logan had no intentions of falling asleep I set him down and we took some photos. Cheesy Christmas photos…I love them!

By the end of all the mind tiring fascination with all the beaded garlands and large plastic Christmas balls, and the strange red hat he was exhausted, as was evident by this last photo.

I absolutely cherished my first foray into grandbaby-sitting. More please!

Life Lessons

My sponge-learning years as a kid, living at home, were from 1957 till 1973. ( I left the family home at 16 )

My father, in an earlier role in his life, was an RCMP member. He patrolled in cars and *walked the beat*, but he was also an RCMP dog handler, and before that a member of the Mounted Squad. Apparently, in those days the *brass* encouraged members to be well rounded in all aspects. Through my father I was taught the basic core thinking of animal respect. And that is that every animal is a sentient being. Once I realized that, my whole world opened up.

I have known since then, that all other animals outside of the human animal, inherently have rights. My worth is of no more importance than theirs.

The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That, is the essence of inhumanity. ~ George Bernard Shaw.

As for a life lesson in race relations, I learned that through example. Not one time in my parents home did I ever hear one racially skewed term. Not once. Not in joke, not in anger. Nor from anyone else who came into their home.

So, I spent a very small amount of time working on racial issues with my son as he was growing into a man. I remember only once being peeved with him concerning it. He had come home from grade 4 singing a little Christmas song he had overheard on the playground. I can’t recall all the words to it, but they were derogatory. After a short discussion concerning race, hurtful lies and exaggerations I gently reminded him that he himself was a mixture of races, Caucasian and Cree on my side and Sicilian on his father’s side. He was ashamed of himself. Ever see a 9 year old boy ashamed?? It’s the most pitiful sad thing ever.

Because of the way I was raised, with good and decent core beliefs, and my passing those on to my son, ( and the wonderful same values from Sumeet! ) I know my first grandbaby Logan is going to be empathetic and kind all the way around. Of that I have no worries.


There’s a great group of organized folks with a grass roots website called Empathy Symbol. Some wonderful literature and links there. Click on their logo below to check them out.

Random Thinking

My brother and sil are moving back this way from Winnipeg. They’ll be a scant 2 hours away up country…oh lawdy lawdy the drive there is stunning. All mountains and trees, I will be in my element.

I was going through some clippings and misc. papers I’d hoarded saved through the years. This is one of my all time favorites…

I had an interesting conversation with an acquaintance a week ago. The subject reminded me of film noir meets the 3 stooges wrapped into one dumbass package. And it brought around to mind just why I chose to separate myself from specific people and groups . So to anyone who believes things, without concrete proof, and not simply because you’d prefer to believe it, I give you the following:

and they also get this next one…because…well…it fits!

and this one too!

The days are shorter, the humidity has dropped, there’s a really lovely crispness happening all over…I warmly welcome Fall!

Fir and Cedar rusty and gnarly

The colors, the easier to breathe air, the lovely smells wafting up from 6 inches of leaves on our mountain walks, the hoodies and sweaters and thick puffy socks, flannel bedding with wool blankies on top, oh my yes! I welcome Fall!


The other day I went down to the river by myself to sit, think and ogle the mountains. I was sitting far back in the trees when these boys pulled up and set up a fireworks display way out on the rocky dry river bed. Totally ruined the peace and quiet but it was a welcome interlude. After they were done they picked up all their debris and drove away. Love seeing young people being responsible for their messes!

These beautiful colors are courtesy of Chrissy’s hanging basket…love these bright colors right now!

I’m mentally gearing up for tomorrow. I’m going to be going through all my books and knick knacks and just general *stuff* and dumping what doesn’t make my heart go pitter patter in 2 seconds. I seem to accumulate so much I have to purge twice a year!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

The dog who hated toys

That dog would be this dude

Okay, hate is a ridiculous word to use. More like has no need for them.

At all. Ever.

He favor’s the bottoms of my jeans, most especially when I am putting them on. Or scooping poop is another great time to trip me up by going between my legs, grabbing the bottom firmly and yank!


Or the shop vac extension. He kept nosing open the closet where it was stored and stealing it, so I allowed him to claim it. And it’s not like he chews the crap outta’ it, he just gives it a few chomps and then stashes it. A couple times a week after Ticket and Watcher are in a deep rem sleep, he will bring it out, chew it a few times and nose it back.

Weirdo.

Did she just call me a weirdo?

Watcher and Ticket on the other hand, are game for any kind of fun with anything, anytime or anywhere. They especially favor ripping up stuffies and chewing apart sticks. Any species of tree will do, although they seem partial to Willow and Maple. Not weirdo's.

I like this ingenious idea from some folks in Vermont. Sticks, cut from Maple trees marketed and sold to idiots other folks who for whatever reason, are clueless stickless. Fetch Stix

I don’t do TV

I believe it is now 6 years that I have not possessed a TV. The bill for the luxury of it had climbed from $72 to $80 per month when I called a halt to the whole damn thing.

It was becoming horribly expensive, the packages were stupid, and I never watched it 3/4 of the time it was on anyway. It was background noise that had become a normal part of everyday living.

Youtube started the ball rolling for me. Do you realize that you can watch full length movies, tv shows, documentaries, cartoons…you name it, for free there? All genres and all eras! Playlists and playlists. Look at it as a free Blockbuster’s.

TV stations all over the world stream their news online now. A lot of those stations as well have their scheduled TV shows available for FREE an hour after they have aired!

Then there’s torrents. If it’s not available somewhere for free online you can always download it from one many tracker sites. Want to watch all seasons and episodes of your favorite TV show…voila! Want to watch a hard to find film…voila!

I have a few favorite sites that I frequent when I want to soak up some fun and or brain info. One is the National Film Board of Canada. Over 1500 films of all lengths, documentaries, interactive…all genre’. Love this site.

One of my favourite films I’ve watched there was about the Mohawks on their reserve in Kanehsatake in SW Quebec. A short summary: In 1990 the town of Oka ( on the edge of the reserve ) decided they wanted to take some burial ground land, that was an obvious cemetery with numerous headstones etc., and make a golf course. The Mohawks said fuck off. It became the first well publicized violent conflict between First Nations and the Canadian government in the late 20th century. The Quebec Provincial police, local police, RCMP, and finally the army came in. First Nations bands across Canada held blockades along all major roads, highways, railways etc. It lasted more than 2 and a half months and one person died. Read more about it all here and then watch the film below or on the NFB’s site here.







Another site I like for watching online is Top Documentary Films. A tip for this site…sometimes it says it is only a short clip for the documentary. Don’t turn it off, just let it play out, the entire film will be there. Crackle is another good site and Viewster is not bad either.

I’ll never have to buy another TV ( on average they only keep their full potential for 1 and a half years ) every few years, not one more outrageously expensive bill, nor not one more increase in cost. And, aside from some opinions, it is not a major ( or minor ) wear and tear on your computer! As well, you can take your computer/movies wherever you go, unlike your TV.

Now, after I've said all that, go outside and play!

Wow...what a view!

After 7 years of apartment living, Kelsie has become a first time house renter! And whoa, what a great rental!

It sits on top of a mini mountain just outside of Hope, with a view that made my jaw drop. Every room, except 2, has a magnificent view of the Fraser River and Cascade Mountains.. And those 2 that don’t, have views of the forest. Le sigh…it’s absolutely beautiful.

The view from the extremely spacious deck on top of the garage, and the view from the living and dining room…

In the yard was this odd plant. Is it an Elephant’s Ear? It looks like it, but the leaves on this one are much wider than any other I have seen.

Along the back of the property were these bundles of Curly Willow branches, and thicker stalks. I’ll grab a few next time and get my craft on. :)

Happy first time house renter!

The sun was shining all day…

But the smog was disgusting. I haven’t seen it this thick for a few years. Crazy!

Yesterday was a great day. The company was as always lots of fun and the view made my heat go pitter patter. Yay!

Winter’s on my mind

What happened to summer? There were no where near the hot sunny days I had expected. Now, I am by nooo stretch of the imagination a *sun baby*, but dang it, I wish we had seen the sun more this tiny corner of the world! I have never once in my life laid myself down to tan; not even in my teens when it seemed to matter the most to others of my age group. If I am outdoors on extremely hot days you’ll find me walking through or sitting in the shaded forest or down at the river under trees. Or, like now, sitting in an air conditioned cool trailer while it is 88 Fahrenheit out doors. But still, I wished we had seen more sunny and warm days.

In spite of, or maybe because of the great weather we’ve been having, aside from an entire 24 hours of rain, my mind has wandered to winter. And the cold it brings.



Friends, Dianne and Dave, have some extra asphalt roof tiles hanging around and so I need to nailed down to the 4 wooden steps into the trailer. Last winter they were just too slippy…I worried constantly about the dogs and pulled muscles/broken body parts. The broken body parts was of course the high end of the what ifs but still. Watcher and Ticket can at least see what the steps and ground look like and what to avoid/be careful with, but Henry just plods through life thinking all is fine. I need to make sure he can keep on plodding safely.

The Plodder

Also I need to get under the trailer and stick insulation in all the places that I can see light enter through. I thought I had done a pretty good job of that last year but apparently not, as the propane for heat was at $200 per month. I guess that’s not too bad as the walls are only 2 inches thick. I think a fair bit of heat was lost due to the thinness of the door. I was thinking that maybe the only way I can bandaid that is to find a good looking wool blanket, attach double sided sticky tape and tape ‘er up when we’re indoors. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions

I will never, ever again live where I don’t have at least one sunroof. This one of the two is in the kitchen.

Climbing Nightshade beautifying the chain link fence.

Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? ~Robert Brault




Hope you all are having a great day!

Hope Photo Day

Some photos of my little burg, Hope.

No home delivery, all mail is picked up at our teeny Canada Post.

A great place to sit and watch the river, and contemplate.

The same bench, a few months later, when the yearly rise of the Fraser River overtakes it.

This is a one stop light town,( seriously ) and here’s the corner where it’s at, Third St and Wallace.

and another angle with a beautiful flower basket hanging from the entrance to City Hall

The war memorial in our gorgeous park

The only *department store* in town.

Hope has had a lot of movies filmed here, but the most famous of all was Rambo First Blood. And so there is an extremely cheesy face cut-out thingy I try to force upon drunk nice and obliging cousins when they travel here. Here’s my cousin Denny hating my guts smiling and happy while I take his pic!

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into where I am ( at the moment! ) calling home.

And leave a comment dammit! 

Touching the tops of trees

My heart loves these mountains. Any mountains will do, but because I live amongst these beauties, this is where my heart beats.

I quite often oogle and ogle at all the switchback logging roads around here while on Google Earth, and dream of the time I’ll go. But, my piddly little van would never ever make it to the top, or even near. And that irritates the hell outta’ me.

I got an invite yesterday…. I went with Kelsie and Doug to the top of 5000 foot Stoneman Mountain. It was absolutely one of my favourite day trips since I’ve lived here in Hope.




I think we crossed 5 bridges and 2 different valleys. The only wildlife we saw were Ravens, plenty of other birds, and a few Trout. Not surprising though as Doug’s truck runs on propane and was as loud as a freakin’ freight train. Oh, and the proof that were indeed other critters around. Bear scat and Elk prints. Without further adieu…here’s the trout, poop and print.

The first valley…where I willed the bears to come out and start lumbering around. Which they didn’t.

What is wrong with these trees? Sad looking things…

And down to the valley above…

Heading up…

Came to this mess, realized we were only about 100 feet from the top and stopped.

And the foliage…a Wild Yellow Raspberry…and only one!

It was a really great few hours! Thanks for the invite Kelsie and Doug!