Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sointula. Part two

After a 20 minute ride on gravel roads we arrived at our friend’s house. What a beautiful area they live in. The driveway is a little steep but that makes the house overlook the ocean from a higher vantage point. Only the road is between them and the beach.
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We had not seen each other for a long time so that night we had a great sockeye salmon dinner with a nice bottle of wine and a good talk session.
The next morning the fellows went off in the boat to catch some fish. They could not leave too early because the fog had rolled in. It cleared in due time and off they were.

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They came back with 3 nice Coho.
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Meanwhile Donna and I went on a trip around the Island and stopped in Sointula to do some shopping. Fridays and Tuesdays are Donna’s shopping days.
http://www.island.net/~sointula/

“The 800 or so residents of Sointula (on Malcolm Island) are proud of their heritage - a socialist commune founded in 1901 by a group of far-sighted Finns. The name "Sointula" means "place of harmony" in the Finnish language.

Today the Island boasts a more diversified population, but still retains much of its founding philosophy and lifestyle. It is no cute, commercialized tourist trap. Instead, Sointula is genuine, from the commercial fishing boats in the harbour, to the oldest cooperative store in British Columbia, Canada, to the network of gravel roads that allow access to a natural wonderland.”

We had a great time on that trip and collected 3 shopping bags full of discarded cans and bottles. It never ceases to amaze me why people have to throw their empty cans etc. just out of the car. Don’t they realize that somebody will have to pick them up???? Anyhow, we turned them in and got some cash for them. It was a fun thing to do, almost like looking for Easter eggs  Smile
We stopped at a campground by the ocean. Not too many people were there since the holiday season was over. I loved the smooth rocks that the beach consisted of and took a few home with me.
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This is getting too long, so I better say Good night ☺
more to follow.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Back to Mini Holiday

I am feeling better and hope it stays that way.
We left home on Thursday, 9th Sept. around 9 AM. The weather was beautiful and the drive up Island great. It took about 5 hours to get to Port Mc.Neil where we would take the ferry over to Sointula on Malcom Island.
After Campbell River the scenery was breath taking at times. We stopped many times to have a look around. The traffic was very light, only a few cars and some logging trucks. I tried to take a picture of a logging truck but they were gone too fast.
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Part of a logging truck
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Coming closer to the North Island the weather deteriorated a little bit but we did not see rain the whole trip.
Arriving in Port Mc.Neil we had lots of time to look around before the ferry left for Sointula. We bought a few goodies from the local Field’s store. Later on we found out most of that stuff came from somewhere in Asia and was out-dated. Live and learn. We ate it anyway ☺ and most of  it still tasted OK. Normally I always look at the best-before date but that time my eyes just fell on the yummy packaging. We very seldom even buy cookies and such, so this was supposed to be a treat!
One of the packages was particularly “un-tasty” so I started to throw a little piece to the one crow that was looking for hand-outs. Should not have done that…. within seconds a whole herd of them arrived. They were so bold they tried to hop onto the window and on top of the car. Boy, I was ticked off at myself.

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In due time we caught the 4.05 PM ferry. It only takes 25 minutes and the weather was still quite nice.
To be continued later ☺
Good bye everybody ☺

Friday, September 24, 2010

Feeling better

Last night I took the last of my antibiotics. Even this morning I still felt faint and had to lay down as soon as I climbed the stairs. Now I feel a lot better. It looks like the effects of the antibiotics have faded. It sure is great to feel more like myself. I even have my appetite back which maybe is not such a good thing ☺.
We had 2 ice cream buckets of tomatoes waiting to be processed and between sitting and resting I was able to make a tasty spaghetti sauce. There was not enough to start the canner so I froze 4 cottage cheese tubs full and kept the 5th one in the fridge. I also did all the dishes today so I am a happy camper now.
Good night everybody ☺
just

Friday, September 17, 2010

Mini Holiday

It started great but then turned to be not good at all.

We went to Sointula on Malcom Island across from Port McNeil. Unfortunately the bladder infection I have had since beginning of August kicked into high gear and now my day consists of bed, couch and dining room table. I had 2 courses of different Antibiotics for one week each  which in the end did not help so now I am on my third different one and this one will be for 10 days and is supposed to kill even superbugs. I hope it works. I have lots of pictures of the first 2 days of the trip which I will post when I feel better.
Off to bed again.
Good night everybody ☺

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Shopping

We needed a few groceries and decided to go to town after lunch. The weather was nice and sunny as well as warm. As we were getting closer to Duncan we saw a large cloud that looked very menacing. Since it was so nice at home neither Cliff nor I were wearing a jacket. No umbrella either!! Cliff dropped me off in front of Superstore and then went to get gas for the car. When he met me in the store he had an umbrella in hand. It was in the trunk of the car. As the nice guy he is he let me use it and got wet himself!!! Am I lucky or what!!
While we were watching the News tonight Cliff saw a large bird scoot by the window flying to a tall fir in the back yard. He thought it was an eagle but turned out to be a Horned Owl. It stayed in that tree for quite some time. Maybe it is waiting for the grey squirrel that lives there. That squirrel is persona non grata here. It and it’s relatives wreak havoc with the plums and apples on our trees. It is amazing how heavy an apple they can carry in their mouths running across our lawn. This year there will be slim pickings because our fruit trees are not bearing well at all. I guess we cannot be lucky every year.
We are still enjoying our flower baskets. They turned out very well.

This is the beginning:
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and this is how they looked a few days ago:
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Time to move on.
Good night everybody ☺

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Dreary Day

We had one moment of sunshine the last few days but I am not complaining. We really need the rain.
I decided to wait until today to do laundry but it still rains so I had to use the dryer. I guess from now on I have to get used to it.
Last week we got word that our granddaughter got engaged. What a lovely time for her. We wish her and her husband-to-be all the best.
When we went shopping last Sunday at Home Depot I saw a pallet with a big sign “6-pack of solar lights $ 2.00 each” but unfortunately they were all gone. I really wish I had been there earlier. Our neighbor has Solar Lights along all edges of her circular driveway. It looks so neat at night.
On Sunday night we came home and our 4 lights in the flower baskets were shining brightly. I would have loved to take a picture but I know it would not have been great so I decided not to.
I remember that my Mother used to make a wine soup with little egg-white-balls. I really liked that when I was a kid. Since I have 2 bottles of white wine in the fridge that have been there for ages I googled for a recipe. I found quite a few and they look like they might be what I remember. I have not made it yet but will in the future.
That’s it for today.
Good bye everybody

ne6k4j

Friday, September 3, 2010

Computer background

I am with John on this. I love to have my pictures as desktop wallpaper. I have used this free little program for over a year now and really like it. I made a folder in my Documents under “pictures” and called it “Wallpaper” When I get tired of a picture in that folder I take it out and add a new one. It’s nothing earth shaking but it gives me pleasure to see my pictures on the desktop. Maybe somebody feels the same and can use it.
We went shopping again today and this time to Duncan Canadian Tire. They had several items on that I could not live without ☺ One of them was small solar lights. I now have one each in my flower baskets and one outside by my windsock. “Small things amuse small minds” I can hear that already ☺
The traffic through Duncan was unbelievable. It took us over 20 minutes to get through on No. 1 highway. Lots and lots of RVs on the go. The same thing will probably happen on Monday or Tuesday and then the School holiday’s are over and we can get back to normal.
Now I am waiting for it to get dark so I can see if all my lights are working.

Good night everybody ☺

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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Quinoa

Pidge and Judy asked yesterday what Quinoa is. Here is an excerpt of what I found on the net:

”Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel! Quinoa was used to sustain Incan armies, which frequently marched for many days eating a mixture of quinoa and fat, known as "war balls." Beginning with the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, there was a 400-year decline in the production of quinoa. It became a minor crop at that time and was grown only by peasants in remote areas for local consumption.”…
You can read the rest here.

We really liked it and I added some of the leftover to my soup last night and to todays ground beef mishmash. We had the rest of that tonight.

This afternoon we took a trip to Costco. I “needed” some of their great prunes. Since I discovered those we have used many packages. Cliff and I have 5 prunes each afternoon when we watch the News.
On the way back we turned on to Stebbins road off West Shawnigan Road. We followed that up, up and more up. Very few houses but quite a few  lots sold and still lots available. Most of them were around 5 acres. We saw a price tag on some of them $ 369 000.00 Canadian. The views were breath taking. I cannot imagine living there though. OK in the Summer but to drive up there in snow and ice must be hair raising  even worse trying to drive down. If I lived there I would never get off the mountain in the winter!! Not for me I’m afraid but it sure was nice today. I took some pictures but they did not turn out too good.
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The day looked so clear but there must have been a haze.
Now I have to package some of the meat I bought.
Good night everybody ☺

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

3. fixing problem

I hope this is it. Our water filter tap leaks and we have to wiggle it lots to shut it off. It is only 4 years old but the valve does not have a guaranty. Darn. We called the company in Toronto and they are sending a new one out by mail. It was under $ 10.-- including postage, so that was not too bad. I only wish we did not have pony mail here in Canada. Trying to shut the tap off is very annoying.
The weather has been beautiful here today, sunny and warm. I noticed that when Rick describes our weather here in Cobble Hill we quite often differ. He does live close to us but there seems to be a distinct weather line between us. I often notice that when I drive to Duncan.
Today I cooked a first for lunch. I was watching a program on CityLine this morning (I have a TV in the kitchen) where they were preparing quinoa. I decided to give it a try. First I looked on the internet to make sure I cooked it right. I combined it with chopped red pepper, celery and carrots. I had a bit of chicken left over and added that too. It was very tasty. I used a cup of quinoa but that was way too much so I decided to make a soup for tonight with leftover corn that we did not eat at lunch. My cooking for today is done already. I love that.
Now I better go out in the garden and pick beans. There is not too many of those left. I am actually glad about that because I am just about “beaned out”
Hope everybody has a great day.
Good bye everybody ☺

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