CORRECTION

I wrote a post back in late November, early December about how I had packed, unpacked, packed fridges..so many times in one year.  And I think I foolishly mentioned that at least now, that I had a brand new one without a dented door,  it would be a long long time before I would have to do it again.  Yeah.  Right.

This morning there was water all over the kitchen floor by the fridge (and also a puddle of very yellow dog pee...thank you very much little jerk dog).

What the hell?  I cleaned it up and hoped for the best.  I grabbed a V8 out of the fridge.  I drink an ice cold delicious V8 every morning...(and late morning, and lunch, and mid afternoon, and supper and two more before bed...I am addicted).  It wasn't ice cold.  It was medium cold.  What?  So I went to investigate.

Long ugly story short neither the upper fridge or lower freezer was working.  In fact the stuff in the freezer was well into a thaw...including my halibut!!!  Oh NO!!!

Kathy and Kerry had invited me right about then to MacDonalds for play time with Ainsley, but I told them why I couldn't and they came up, bless them, grabbed a cooler and took the fish and everything else that was still somewhat frozen.  They are filling their freezer and god knows when this thing will get fixed.

I spent close to four hours on the phone talking with various departments of Samsung.  Honest to God I kept my cool right to the end and then they asked me to take pics of my receipt and email it to them...won't fix it til they get that.  Well that was the last straw and I lost my sh*t all over them.  That pissed me off royally!  I've done it and if I don't hear from them within the next 48 hours I am going to go back to Best Buy and tell them to do the phoning and arranging.  I'm done.  I didn't have a fridge for four years when Aryn and Kevin were little and it was back when it actually got hot here in Kamloops.  We survived.

I also tried my first loaf of bread in my brand new ridonculously expensive bread maker.  I have decided to make four loaves of bread and if I don't like it I will take it back and buy a cheapo for fifty bucks.

So I started with plain white bread, rapid yeast mode, light brown crust, 2 lb size.  I followed the recipe exactly.  Well, when it was just coming to the end of the last rising cycle, just before baking, I checked it.  And it had risen and risen until it ran over the pan, stuck to the roof of the machine and when I opened the lid it sunk down somewhat in the middle.  Jeez!!!  It was like that old nursery rhyme about the peas porridge hot that ran over the pot and ran down the street.  Crazy!

I had a hell of a time getting that loaf out of the pan.  The pan has a handle so the loaf gets stuck and it was such a mess on top.  But, the bread itself was perfect!  I didn't know bread machines could make bread like that!  It rose beautifully and the texture was textbook!  I am going to make the next one a little smaller and see how that goes.

Anyhoo, I now sit here just a little traumatized with a giant cooler that has ice blocks (thank you Monte) in it to keep my tons of condiments cool.  I still have to clean up the guest room for Shannon's arrival tomorrow!  I can't wait!  TTYL

THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS

Does anyone remember this book or movie?  Triffids were big plants that took over everything and everybody.  Well I think I will write a book called "The Day of the Zucchinis".  Jeez, those things have a life of their own.  And the blighters hide their fruit so that when you finally dig your way through the thorny painful vines and leaves, you find one thats been hiding and now so huge and woody they are useless and inedible.  Its like a game!

Anne came up to visit me today and after a trip to the mall we hauled out the mandolin and old timey grater and grated up bags and bags of zucchini...froze them in two cup batches...just right for the bread I am going to make in my brand spanking new Cuisinart bread machine.

Yup!!!  I went to Hudson Bay today and bought one!  That sucker makes gluten free bread (not that I need that), low carb bread, white and wheat bread, raison bread, pizza dough, pasta dough, and it even makes jam!  Crazy!!!

Monte and I don't eat much bread.  But when we do I want GOOD homemade bread.  So a loaf now and then, then frozen, is perfect.  And...we now have a hand crank pasta maker and apparently this machine makes awesome pasta dough!  And you never know when you have three cups of berries hanging around with nowhere to go....bam! into this machine along with sugar and stuff and push the right button and Presto! you have jam!!!

Well tomorrow is clothes closet day.  My closet is in a total disaster mode.  You can't even walk through it.  So I am going to sort and pack, store, throw out, put away a million clothes.  And right now the guest bed is covered with all my Paris options.  That must be packed until closer to the trip.  I need to clear off that bed.

Then....the dreaded hell hole.  I just don't understand where all the crap comes from.  I don't get it.  Once again you can hardly walk in the room.  That is going to change.  I just don't know how!  

Off to bed now.  I have had a long and good day.  TTYL

FAT LADY BUCKS

Holy Hannah!!!!  Talk about spend money.  I made out like a bandit.

I took Molly up to the kennel, oops, resort, as they like to call it.  She came back from there in pretty rough shape last time and I do believe its just from all the running around and playing with the other dogs.  So this time I have asked them to keep her a little more quiet.  They said they would keep her in her 'suite' a little more.  Plus they are going to feed her three times a day.  She is so raggedy skinny.  Its always such a freeing feeling dropping her off.  I still haven't picked her up!  I could have this morning but I want to work in the garage and not worry about her taking off.

We had a fantastic trip to Kelowna.  I didn't get much at Additionelle...the more expensive fat lady store but I hit pay dirt at Penningtons.  They had just put out all their new stuff...which was quite nice for a change.  I am def down two sizes!  Always exciting when that happens.  So, with Paris in mind, I bought about ten new gorgeous tops.  Now the problem is what to put them with.  I cannot find pants to fit..even though I have lost weight.  This was a problem back when I was 114 pounds...yes! all you disbelievers, I WAS 114 pounds once upon a time!  Then babies, tumours, menopause and quitting smoking happened.  Sigh.

But back to the most exciting conversation about pants....oh never mind.  Just believe me when I tell ya...there ain't no pants out there where the waist istn't  up to my armpits or the crotch hanging down  around my knees.  So I am not sure what I am going to do.  Tights are great but if it gets hot I am hooped.

Kelowna is quite the place.  They have more shopping in one square block than all of North and West Vancouver has.  They have everything...even a Lenscrafters, which I almost had to go to.

It was the middle of the night.  Monte was sleeping on the giant King size bed.  I was sleeping on a narrow love seat...my preferred choice.  It was perfect for my hip. 

Well it was pitch freaking black in that room.  And when I got back to the couch from a bathroom trip, feeling carefully all along the way, I sat down and swivelled to lay down and completely fell off the couch, flat on my back and royally smacked my head on something really hard on the way down.  I tell you, I saw stars!  I had to lay there for a minute to regain my composure! It's not often one falls!

The next morning I couldn't find my glasses.  I had left them on the little coffee table in front of the love seat.  Eventually I found them on the floor, totally bent completely out of shape.  I must have whacked them when I took that tumble.  And no matter how much I bend them and fix them, they don't quite sit right now.  Dammit!!!  And there's no lenscrafters here in Kamloops.  Its driving me nuts.

We had a great trip home.  We stopped in Vernon for a while and went to a record store.  That place was the venue where Monte's band played.  It was such a beautiful day and beautiful trip home.  Kalamalka lake was an incredible colour.

Well I am back into the garage to do some more sorting, storing and sweeping.  It's just too easy to let the garage get into a crazy upheaval and mess.  I am determined to keep this house two weeks from sell ready so that means keeping the garage clean.  TTYL

ONE OF THE SHIRTS I BOUGHT...AND A BLACK ONE AND A PEACHY ONE

KALAMALKA LAKE

ANOTHER ONE...FUZZY PICS SORRY

I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE

I GOT THE CAPE...IT LOOKS SO COOL  ITS MADE OF SOFT WOOL AND WILL SMELL LIKE A WET DOG IF IT RAINS....AND IT RAINS A LOT IN PARIS.  MAYBE I WILL SCOTCH GUARD IT...CAN YOU DO THAT TO CLOTHES OR IS THAT ONLY FOR CARPETS AND COUCHES?

FLASHING BLUE LIGHTS

Something woke me up around two in the morning last night.  As I opened my eyes I noticed the room had a flashing blue light reflecting.  Then it came to my attention that there was a lot of yelling and screaming going on outside.

There is one house below me that tends to party late into the evening.  They are very noisy, but usually they sound very happy.  Often there are kid noises too...so no concern really.

But last night something went wrong!  Holy Hannah!!!  I couldn't see much but as I listened I could tell that several men and what sounded like one woman were pretty agitated and angry and NOT co operating with the cops.  Finally a paddy wagon showed up and several people were hauled off!  This is not something we see here in Stepford 'Burbs.  And then do you think I could go to sleep?  No!  I read for the rest of the night.

A friend of Monte's has been here for the last couple of nights.  She is so awesome, smart and totally enjoyable.  She lives in Prince George, last year of nursing and stopped here on her way back up to continue her schooling.  What a delightful girl!  And it gave me a reason to make dinner...not something I do very much anymore.

I made scalloped potatoes.  As I have mentioned before I always make Betty Crocker mix.  Home made are never good...runny and taste faintly like fish.  Idaho brand tastes like margarine.  And that was the only brand I had.  They liked them but I sure didn't.  So take note, let me be your experimenter, only cook Betty Crocker...they are so damned good, especially compared to any other.  And...most exciting...I cooked up our first feed of zucchini!!!  Awesomely delicious!  I fried up a batch of onions and added the chopped zucchini and tons of garlic and bay leaves chopped up.  Mmmmmm...so good and so fun to hunt down those rascally zucchinis hiding in the vines.

Okay, I have a 'vent'.  This is a very boring one to all of you so you can skip this.

Nothing fits me anymore.  All my nice clothes that I would wear in Paris, the clothes I took on cruises, are waaaaay to huge on me.  They are pretty much all 5X....I do actually like my clothes to hang, not cling to rolls, so I would buy clothes that were looser than maybe they needed to be.  But they looked okay, much better than tight ones.

Well, I dug out the usual batch of dressier stuff I would pack back a year or two for the latest cruise.  And they are ridiculous!  Actually I looked like I was playing dressup!  I cannot believe how much smaller I am.  I know I am still fat so in my head I don't feel like I have changed that much.  I mean when I sit down I still have a big fat roll around my gut.

At lunch with the native ladies the other day I felt right at home.  Native ladies tend to have solid large tummies, no ass and skinny legs.  I felt like I fit right in.  One lady asked what band I was from!!!

But here is the dilemma.  The fat lady store here is closed while its being totally revamped.  And it is in the kind of dismantled disarray that says its going to be closed for a long time.  And seriously, it is the only chain store in Canada that sells clothes that fit me.  I might have to make a trip to Kelowna or Vernon...whichever is nearest.  I need to get my clothes issue settled so I can pack. I can't sleep properly until I am packed.

Okay, enough rambling.  TTYL

GOOD FRIENDS, FISH AND THE 'C' WORD

Well, starting with the 'c' word, I apologize to my more delicate readers, I am actually referring to that 'c' word.

Right as we were dishing up the delicious turkey dinner we all had a hand in, there was a knock on the front door.  I was the only one dished and sitting in the front room. (thats because I insist on having the pope's nose (or parson if you must) of the turkey and the only way to ensure that is to be FIRST in the food line).

At the door was the neighbour lady, again, asking us to move Monte's van, that they need the parking spots in front of their house and in front of Pat's house.  WHAT??  and this was the second time this had happened since we got here.  We said no the first time and this time I said no again.  He is eating I told her and as he is parked in front of Pat's he won't be moving.  Not only that, anyone can park anywhere when its street parking.  So she went away.

But....when Lonny, this lovely native lady who was dining with us, and Ange came in and I told them, they went ballistic!!  Seriously ballistic.  They both put their dinners down and barrelled outside and verbally started to yell at those neighbours, as they were unpacking their truck.  Holy Hannah!!!  I thought they were going to kill each other...I have never heard language and screaming like that in my whole entire life!  When Ange came back in to the house eventually she was positively vibrating!  And the neighbours were in absolutely no doubt about what part of the female anatomy they resembled.

The male half of the next door neighbours is absolutely huge.  Not tall so much as massive in bulk.  He got pretty mouthy with Ange and even threatened her and called her a crack head...and thats the nicest name.  The 'c' word was bandied about liberally, at a thousand decibels, and insults were hurled back and forth...very colourful ones.  Finally Pat came and got a very very reluctant Monte and hauled him outside with him and the minute that huge next door neighbour got a gander at Monte, who is much much bigger in every way, he roared into his house and shut the door.  And that was the end of that.  Jeez!  A very entertaining dinner I must say!

Every Tuesday at the first nations friendship house they have an 'everybody' welcome lunch.  Lonny and Ange invited me to come along so I did.  What a wonderful time I had.  I sat beside two elder ladies and had such a wonderful conversation with them.  Lunch was delicious and we ate to native music, which my children can tell you is really my most favourite music.  Half way through lunch the music was switched to Elvis.  I had such a lovely time and I know anytime I see those elders I will be treated like their friend.

Pat and Monte made some phone calls, drove out to the reserve and put the general word out that we were on the hunt for fish.  After almost being hosed by one couple and another deal falling through, we finally hit pay dirt.  One guy had exactly what I wanted...for a good price too.  I got fifteen enormous sockeye from him.  They were huge!  I also got four more that have been filleted, and four bags of halibut!   

Monte and I just got home.  The fish are in Bill's old fish cooler that Kathy and Kerry now own and its full of fish and salt ice.  Sue is coming up in the morning to get some.  We are just carrying on Bill's yearly tradition.  He loved to give away salmon!  Kathy has a bead on someone's freezer space we can borrow if need be thank goodness.  I didn't think this through very well!

Well I am off to get some unpacking done!  TTYL

FRIENDSHIP HOUSE

ANGE ON THE LEFT, LONNY IN THE MIDDLE AND THE ELDER JEAN ON THE RIGHT

PORT ALBERNI

Its a good thing I like hotel rooms.  Not to throw Monte under the bus but it seems once I come back to my room late afternoon, thats where I stay til the next day.  I don't really mind though, as long as I have snacks and a lappy and phone I am good to go!

I always stay at the same hotel, The Hospitality Inn.  Its not the cheapest place and not really special...just really comfortable.  The rooms have all been redone nicely but....there are some drawbacks.  The toilet.  Lordy be!

If you move too much whilst sitting on that thing, it tips over.  How it even works is beyond me.  Anyway, Monte came in with me yesterday.  I warned him royally about the john and by the sounds of things in there, and he was in there a long time, it all went okay.

Later, much later, I went in to use it and it was plugged.  Totally plugged!  So I went down to the lobby to tell the really nice girl at the front desk.  I asked for a plunger.  She looked completely panicked!  No No, she says, I don't know where there is one....I think you should change rooms.  Well I put the immediate kibosh on that.  In spite of the turlett, I LIKE my room.  The bed is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and the bedding is heavenly.  I am trying to figure out how to steal it!  So she made a couple of phone calls and said that housekeeping would be back in half an hour.  I said I would wait.  That was at 8:05.

At 9:10 Monte called.  He was leaving his friends house and heading to Pats, where he is staying.  So I gave him sh*t for plugging the toilet and asked him to go to Walmart and buy me a plunger.  Which he did.  At nine thirty he waltzed in here and handed me a plunger.  No, I said, you plugged it...you unplug it.  Which he did, gagging and gasping and carrying on like a weenie!!!  But he did the job.  I told him to tell the girl on the way out we didn't need housekeeping anymore...not that they were ever going to show.

We have had a good time here.  The trip up was beautiful.  We had planned to stop in Coombs but it was fairday or something and there were so many cars for so many miles you couldn't even think of parking.  So on we went.

THIS WAS MY LUNCH.  VEGGIE QUESADILLA, GUAC, CORN SALSA, PINAPPLE SLAW.  IT WAS AWFUL.  THE TORTILLAS WERE LIKE CARDBOARD, THE VEGGIES WERE SOGGY AND TASTELESS, THE GUAC AND SALSA OKAY BUT THE SLAW TASTED LIKE HIPPIES...PACHOULI  

MONTE HAD SOMETHING CALLED SEAFOOD HOTPOT.  IT WAS SALMON AND PRAWNS IN A VERY STRONG KORMA TYPE CURRY.  NOT THAT GREAT...HE DIDN'T EAT MUCH OF IT.

  Yesterday we tripped around and went down to the pier.  We found an outdoor piano and we both played for a while.  Monte collected quite a crowd!  We bought amazing donuts at the most famous donut shop on the island and then back at Pats we cleaned out the van and repacked it in a very organized way.  And all that in forty degree temps out.  Its crazy hot in this town...sometimes its the hottest town in Canada.

I am not sure whats up for today.  I just want to get out of this room.  TTYL

THIS WAS AT THE MALAHAT LOOKOUT.  I WAITED AND WAITED AND WAITED AND THIS STUPID WOMAN WOULD NOT MOVE OUT OF THE WAY.  WHY DO PEOPLE STAND IN FRONT OF STATUES ETC AND NOT MOVE?  HAPPENS EVERYWHERE AND DRIVES ME NUTS.

THIS CAT WOULD NOT LEAVE MONTE ALONE AT PAT'S HOUSE.  MONTE HATES THIS CAT...IT SCRATCHES APPARENTLY!!!

THE FAMOUS DONUT SHOP

LOOKING DOWN THE ALBERNI INLET

SHE FILMED HIS WHOLE PERFORMANCE

BUYING MORE JEWELRY I WILL NEVER WEAR

I'M SORRY CLARE

I simply could not get away this week.  I was in Vancouver for a couple of days but was either tied up or didn't have a vehicle.  I want to see you folks so badly too.  But I do believe I have to come down in the next two weeks or so and I shall call you.

I had a lovely time with April one day.  She was off work and painting a turtle picture.  So we had lots of time to visit and show each other music and you tubes.  Monte dropped in and out and not too late he came and picked me up to go back to the hotel.  We had an early night.

The next evening Myles, April, Myles folks and Baka and Aryn met us at Seymours for dinner.  We had so much fun!  Heli is so funny and kept us entertained.  And it was nice to see Myles and his dad busy talking about work.  His dad, Gary, was a longshoreman for years and Myles is a two year newbie so lots to talk about.  The food was good and the company was stellar so a good time was had by all.

The next morning we had to get up at 4:45 am to get the six ferry to Nanaimo.  Gads!!! getting too old for that.  We slept in the van all the way over.

We stopped in Langford and drove by our last house.  Its looking pretty rough.  And the saddest thing of all...they let my mom's dogwood that Aunty Jan gave us and Bill planted...die.  Stupid people.

We went into  the Langford Market Place, our fave store when we lived there.  I picked up all kinds of things that are hard to find elsewhere.  And Kathy, if you are reading this, I picked up a number of various curry mixtures to experiment with making curried chicken.  I also got our fave pickles and a host of other stuff.  I also popped into Stokes and got stuff I wished I had bought whilst we lived there:  cream and sugar, pasta maker, salt and pepper shakers etc..

We met with Austin last night and went to Pagliacci's for dinner.  Jeez, their food is good.  Then Austin gave me a tour around Victoria in his ancient but well preserved BMW convertible...Arctic Monkeys blasting.  What a hoot and sooooo much fun!!!  We made Monte drive his van to Austin's place and wait there.  Spent the rest of the evening drinking hand ground coffee and listening to music and arguing about the virtues, or lack thereof, of Kanye West.  Fun!!!

Today we just tooted around and took pics and sightseed.  I did pop into the fat lady store and bought two new t shirts...five bucks each!  Score!!!  and I am three whole sizes down from the highest I have had to buy.  I don't know really how that happened but I aint complaining!

Now its mid afternoon and we are back in our crazy room at the Zed, taking a rest and gearing up for the evening...whatever that may bring.  Tomorrow we are off to Port Alberni.  TTYL

STOPPED AT A COSTCO IN THE STATES

A SHOT OF DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER FROM GRANVILLE ISLAND

THE KIDS AT GRANVILLE ISLAND

A TINY HOUSE I COULD LIVE IN HAPPILY...WINDSHIELD MARKS UP THERE

ON THE WAY TO VICTORIA

JOHNSON STREET BRIDGE IN VICTORIA

DOWNTOWN VICTORIA

PROBABLY ON HIS WAY TO A BAGPIPE PRACTICE

HEADING INTO THE FOUR MILE PUB FOR LUNCH...GREEK SALAD AND CRAB SALAD

PIKE PLACE MARKET

I took pics of Kevin's place but, as I was clicking away on the inside of the house, they were giving me such a hard time about taking pics when the house wasn't pristinely clean that I had to quit.  And the place is so cozy and cute and it wasn't all that messy!  But I told them I wouldn't post the pics.  Jeez!

We left around noon and stopped on the way out of town for a bite to eat and a stop at London Drugs to look at camera stuff.  My stomach has been really off this whole trip.  I can't eat meat or really anything except for.....milkshakes.  And milkshakes are NOT something I have more than once a year.  But it is the one thing I can enjoy and keep down.  So I figure one milkshake a day won't be too awful on my system.

We drove all the way to Wenatchee for the first night.  We drove through a million apple orchards, a million wooden apple crates, a forest fire and lots of dams on the Columbia river.  A very pretty drive it was.  I don't remember much about Wenatchee.  Not the prettiest town we've ever seen.

Off to Seattle the next day.  We drove through forests and mountains and suddenly popped out in Seattle.  Thank God for the GPS...we would have been hooped!  We checked in to our hotel which turned out to be in the nether regions of very North Seattle.  

Yesterday we spent the whole day at Pike Market. That place is enormous and amazing!  We saw all sorts of things...I will put some pics at the bottom. I walked til I dropped.  There were so many people there that in places you could only stand there and not move.  We lunched at a unique funky little place...best clam chowder I have ever eaten.  Almost like a milkshake!

Now its eight in the morning.  Monte is still sleeping and I decided to catch up here.  Sorry its such a boring post.  I don't want to go into too much detail...thats as bad as showing someone a thousand pics of your trip!!  Today we head up to Vancouver...shopping along the way.  We will be in North Van for the next three nights.  Clare, I will give you a call and maybe we can get together for lunch!  TTYL

THE ONE PIC I KNOW THEY WON'T MIND ME POSTING....THEIR LIVING ROOM

MY NEW SHADES...25 BUCKS...NOT HUNDREDS LIKE SOME PEOPLE I KNOW SPEND!

YOU CAN JUST SEE THE HELICOPTER DUMPING WATER...THE ROAD CLOSED BEHIND US, WE WERE LUCKY TO GET THROUGH WHEN WE DID

THIS BLEW MONTE'S MIND!

Add caption

PIELLA   DELICIOUS

I LIKED THESE GUYS SO MUCH I BOUGHT THEIR CD...THE GUY BENT OVER IS THE MAIN SINGER AND HE SOUNDED JUST LIKE SATCHMO!

THE GUM WALL...SO GROSS AND THE WHOLE ALLEY SMELLED FRUITY

MT. LOLO TO PENTICTON

Well I can now cross Mount Lolo off my National Bucket List.  (I have both a national one and a more ambitious international list)

Back in the day you couldn't get up to the radar station but the land has been returned to the natives and they aren't quite so touchy.  We drove right up there and it was so exciting.  We couldn't get through the gate of course, but close enough to see.  There was also the oddest structure up there.  I will put a pic of it below and maybe a reader will have an idea of what the heck it is.

Monte and I spent the last few days cleaning, packing, gardening, mowing, cleaning dog crap, tooting around, dinnering at Kathy's with rellies etc..  Finally yesterday morning (Tuesday the 2nd) we hit the road.

First we dropped Molly off at the kennel.  It reminded me so much of the days of yore when I would drop the kids off at Mom's for a few days.  Such a feeling of freedom!

  The lady in there doesn't know that I am def not one of those kootchy coo dog owners.   Kennel girl: "Ohhhh shes soooooo keeeyooot!!!!Do you want to come and see the suite she will be staying in?"  Me:  No.  I don't really care.  Girl:  "Awwww...do you want to take her for one last walkie and good bye before you go?"  Me:  No.  Girl:  " Do you want to call later to see how she is handling being away from home and Mommeeee?"  Me:  No.  Even if she is seizing in grief I am not coming back til planned.  Girl:  "oh, okay.  Now then, if something were to happen, shall we call you for decisions on vet care?"  Me:  No.  My sister is the emergency contact.  Call her.  She can decide whatever.  She will tell me when I get home.  LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!

  We then continued on the old Merritt highway to Merritt.  It was still early so we dropped into a diner and ordered breakfast.  I'm so totally off meat right now (makes me pukey) so I had white bread toast with marmalade and home fry hash browns.  Real healthy!!! but oh so delicious.  

We continued on to Penticton...such a beautiful trip.  It rained billy oh for part of it which made the scenery even more spectacular!  We stopped at a truck chain up spot so Monte could use the outhouse.  In he goes and jeez if he isn't in there FOREVER!  After a long while some guy showed up, tried the door, looked at me in the van, then stood there and waited.  And waited.  And waited. Finally, knowing that for sure Monte had taken his stupid phone in with him, I texted him to get the hell out of there, that some guy was waiting.  He got the message and got out of there but the guy was shaking his head when he went in.

Kev's house is about the cutest little old house you've ever seen!  I will take pics today and post them tomorrow.  Its an old war house but the homiest, most comfortable little house ever.  Last night I was in the living room (they furnished the whole thing with wonderful furniture from Sally Ann), listening to Fenton and Monte in the kitchen making apricot, absolutely delicious, apricot pie.  As they murmured and worked together, the drawers would make that scraping wood sound as they were opened and closed and the floor would squeak as they walked around, such old familiar sounds that only an old kitchen can make.  And as doors were opened and closed they made that funny wood on wood sound because they didn't quite fit, the screen door would squeak and slap shut.....I just love it.

Last night we went out for dinner.  The place is called Burger 55.  Take a moment and look up the menu...its indescribable!  The stuff you can put on your burger...from fig jam, to mac and cheese, to baked beans, to eggs, to every sauce known to mankind, deep fried pickles etc.....is mind boggling!!!

I will describe Monte's....the burger was beef (could have been bison, lamb, turkey, chicken, tuna, portabella mushroom, and ten I am forgetting, the bun was two grilled cheese sandwiches, (and could have been whole wheat, white, brioche, salad, and more) fig jam, cheeses, and whole bunch of sauces and other stuff!  Elise had quesadillas and Fenton had a burger from the kids menu, Kevin had the messiest burger I have ever seen (pic below) and I had my all time fave....corn dog and beans.  Soooo much fun that we are going again tonight!!!!

Now I am sitting in the most comfortable bed ever, thank you Fenton for giving up your bed for me!!! and its too early to go downstairs just yet.  I don't think anyone is up yet.  Today, and this is soooo exciting, we are going for a drive around the area and we are stopping at some fossil beds!!!  I bought a stepping stone kit at Michael's the other day and we are going to make one using the fossils we find.  Should be a spectacu

THATS THE STRUCTURE...IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE ITS AND OLD LAUNCHING PLATFORM FOR HANG GLIDERS, BUT THEY CAN JUST JUMP OFF THE CLIFF THERE

MOUNT LOLO

INDIAN PAINT BRUSH...MY FAVOURITE WILD FLOWER

MONTE'S GRILLED CHEESE BURGER...I SEE HE ADDED SPINACH TO IT

THIS IS JUST CRAZY....WHEN HE WAS LITTLE HE WAS THE FUSSIEST CLEANEST EATER EVER...I HAVE NEVER EVER SEEN HIM WITH FOOD ON HIS FACE AND HANDS LIKE THIS!!!

ELISE EATING HER CHEESE AND TOMATO QUESADILLA

MR FENTON HAS DONE HIS BURGER ALREADY!

I STILL CAN'T GET OVER THIS MESS!  THATS CHEESE HANGING OFF OF HIS BURGER!  IF YOU LOOK UP THE MENU ITS THE HERO BURGER....WORTH A TRIP TO PENTICTON FOLKS!!

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS PIC GOT IN HERE.....ITS THE WOOD STOVE AND MESSY CORNER OF THE LOG HOUSE IN BAMFIELD, BEFORE THE FLOOR WENT IN!

lar fun time.  Tomorrow we head off for Wenatchee!  TTYL