This is a small town, but there are always things going on to bring everyone together. The first air show was held a few weeks ago. No big planes in this small airport, but a fighter jet from the Canadian forces  did a scheduled show all by himself - then landed at one of the region's larger airports and flew back in a small plane to talk to the crowd personally about what his job is. A personal touch that would probably not have occurred at a large air show.  All in all, for its size, it was a good show and fun to watch.

This weekend we had a parade for the upcoming Canada Day (July 1) and there were horses from all over the province for the races today, as well as an art show. Some very talented people here. Photographers, artists and potters joined together to show their wares.

Next weekend there will be an antique car show. Last weekend Penticton had their Peach City Beach Cruise, with over 600 registrants, many of whom drove through here to get there, so we got to look at many them too as they stopped to eat and refuel. And, this weekend in Penticton is the Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival, with lots of 'Elvises ' wandering around town between performances and free shows for the public in parks and restaurants. The tribute artists are serious about the competition, but out to amuse and entertain the public the rest of the time. If you like Elvis, it's a fun week.

Coming up in Osoyoos, which is another town not too far away, close to the U.S. border, is the Cherry Fiesta. The cherries are beginning to ripen.... I have a box of fresh ones in the fridge right now - dark red, juicy and sweet! Nothing better........ except maybe when the peaches come!

There are many more festivals in the area, each town having their own as a way of bringing the community together and celebrating the abundance. Keremeos has 'Cars under the K', a music festival, rodeo, as well as the Pepper Festival. Hedley has Stamp Mill Days, Princeton has a rodeo and fall fair, Penticton has the Peach Festival, Square Dance Jamboree, the Jazz Festival, and on it goes. Summer is a wonderful time in this part of the world.  Always lots of things going on, people coming for vacation to enjoy the fruits of our world, to bask in the sunshine and cool off in the water.

These celebrations build a sense of place and encourage coming together as a community, as each one caters to something special about that specific area. We celebrate our wines, beer, zucca melons, fruit harvests, old cars, historic moments, music, and independent films among many other things. It's a time to be grateful for the abundance that we are blessed with. It's a time to get to know your neighbours, and to share the wealth of knowledge we each have about our own favourite things. It is part of what we call our culture, and it focuses  where each area, each person excels. It says "These are the things this area and the people in it are good at producing - come join us and share our abundance."

This one was fun! He was coming right above me and I couldn't resist.

We had a mini air show here recently, and these were three of the planes that did some loops and manoeuvres for us. The group is called the "Fraser Blues", and originate from the lower mainland near Vancouver.

The Peach City Beach Cruise took place in Penticton not long ago. Over 600 registered antique cars. I didn't get to wander through the show and shine this year because I was busy laying a floor - but passed a few of them on the highway returning home after it was over.

Have to have horses in a parade.

Wouldn't be a parade without the firetruck spraying water on the crowd and the participants - especially in the 37C heat! Need to keep everybody cool.

Endeavours taken on by the whole community help us get to know one another, to remind ourselves that we are all the same, we just have different interests and abilities. They offer an opportunity to work together; to glean the best ideas and turn them in to something we can be proud of; to share our expertise not only with friends and neighbours but also with visitors from other parts of the world.

They are also lots of fun!

The flooring is down, the baseboards are on, and now I have to put things back where they belong. I swear that I am going to cut down on what I put back into my rooms. Honest! There has to be a big yard sale coming up  --  one person can only use so much stuff.

Over the past week I have managed to get three rooms cleared of absolutely everything that was in them, rip out all the old and bring in the new, and now I face the decision making process. But it has only been accomplished with the assistance of helping hands. If I was doing this as originally planned, all by myself, I would no doubt still be working on the first room. It is only because I have had help that it has all been done so quickly, and it made me think about the friends I have made over the years.

I have done my share of 'club hopping' and partying till dawn; plastered on the cocktail smile and made my way through the crowded rooms; met lots of wonderful and interesting people as I travelled through the stages of my life. Every one of them has enriched my life in one way or another, be it through lessons learned, knowledge gained, or just plain fun. These days though, I am more of a home body and don't do much socializing. I don't have a steady stream of friends dropping by on a regular basis, but the ones that I have made and kept over the years are really steadfast friends. Ones who have stayed with me through all life's ups and downs; through all of my moves; through all my crazy ideas. Who but a true friend would drive for an hour to get here, work hard for two 12 hour days, and coax and cajole me into letting them help put the heavy furniture back where it came from (when I would preferred to have curled up in a ball and slept)... for free ... and still go home with a smile on their face? The assistance was offered, not asked for, and that makes it even more generous. I consider myself blessed, and friends are definitely on my Gratefulness List.

I am also grateful for the fact that I live in this time of history. When I get one of my 'brilliant ideas' to tackle a project, all I have to do it start up my trusty computer and with a few clicks of a button I can find the answers to all my questions - and then some. There are so many helpful websites with tons of free information on how to do almost anything you can dream of. I have looked up how to install vessel sinks and the appropriate pop-up drain; how to decide what kind of flooring to use; how to install the chosen floor; alternative energy choices; low maintenance gardening and how to organize my 'stuff' just to mention a few. If I see a critter and want to know more about the place they occupy on the planet, all I have to do is check it out on the internet. If I want to live leaving a smaller footprint on the earth, there is a wealth of information on how to start making changes. Oh, I know, there is lots of 'junk' on here too, but if you investigate the sources and stick to some trusted ones, the world is your oyster. You can open the shell and pick out your prize. Someone, somewhere has spent the time to record what they know, what they are good at,  and offer it up to the world - share it. They have shared their time, energy and expertise just as my friend shared the physical labour. With the assistance of all of these helping hands around the world, I live a very contented and blessed life, and in return I do my best to offer up what I am good at and knowledgeable about, so that someone else may enjoy the fruits of my labour. To me, it's all about sharing - in whatever way we are able.

So, today I am going to take a few hours for myself - to ponder over what is really important - and then I will get busy and organize the belongings that are still waiting for a place to be. For some things, that place may be in someone else's home.

This was underneath the living room carpet. Looks like gold veins in quartz to me, but probably not to anyone else ; )   I know there was another pattern under this as well, because I could see something red and black in one corner, but was afraid to pick at it to find out. It could have opened up a whole new mess to deal with!

If you are wondering what this Rosy Finch has to do with my new flooring, well, nothing really - but he is a helping hand that keeps the bugs out of my evergreens so they stay strong and healthy and  don't come crashing down on my house.

You could say I'm a day late and a dollar short with my post today. I like to put one up every other day but yesterday was one of those days when it didn't work out. I am still working on my little house and there were just too many tasks waiting to get done. I finally called it quits at about 11pm when my attempt at cutting a corner for my baseboard was horrendously out of whack! All the others I had done previously came out great and made me proud - but not that last one! So I gave up - took a pill - left some windows open to get rid of the paint smell - and went to bed!

The original carpet that was on the floor in three rooms. In reasonably decent shape, but I am not a fan of carpeting. It collects all the bits and dust and who knows what, and no matter how hard I vacuum it never seems clean! So I decided to replace it with something cleaner, easier to look after, and easier to roll my chair around on (cause what's the fun of having an office if you can't roll your office chair across the floor!)

Now, my original plan was to do one room at a time on a schedule that worked for me, keeping up with business work, photographing things, posting, and resting my body when it needed it. I was going to be sensible about it. Then I had a friend offer to help. Far be it from me to refuse assistance offered out the goodness of the heart, so I said "Wonderful!" and moved the schedule into full speed ahead. I cleared out two of the three rooms thinking that if we didn't finish both, I could at least carry on without too much trouble. When I reached the point where all the furniture was out, I ripped into the carpet and pulled it up - but it took  a bit of courage to actually start pulling up the underlay because in an old house, you just never know what you might run in to! But I finally took a deep breath and began ripping.

This is what I found underneath! My reaction was "Holy cow - they lived with that on their floor?" and then got to work pulling out nails and staples to get the floor surface clear.

After a full 12 hour day of fitting and fiddling and cutting and re-cutting, we had both rooms of laminate laid, and I must admit I was impressed - ecstatic even! Before I called it a night I made sure I slid across it in my sock feet like I used to do on our hardwood when I was a kid. It was fun! Made my day. I slept well.

The next day I took a run to get some baseboard and chose a wide base heritage pattern. Then I spent an hour or so with family and friends to catch the last little bit of an old car show ('cause I was being sensible this time - right? - and a break now and then is good). Then went home and began to paint the walls and baseboard. I planned to work on the office first so I could get my equipment back together and keep up with work, then start on the spare bedroom. First coat of paint here, first coat there, move in some furniture and sort some paperwork to cut down on what has to go back in. Then second coat here and second coat there, move some equipment in and sort some more stuff. On it went for the next day and a half.

Then I got a call from my friend who said "What about if we do the living room on Wednesday?"............ panic set in! By this point in time I still had the door frames to strip of old paint and refinish, two walls of the bedroom to paint, the cupboard floor to finish, strips to put on in the transition areas, some corner molding to apply, lots of stuff to sort through for the bedroom.......... and I still didn't have all the office equipment connected!!! Not to mention the problem with my knee.

I have a knee that likes to complain very loudly when I do things it doesn't like - so to keep it quiet I had a tensor bandage wrapped around it with a cold pack strapped underneath. Every hour or so I would take it off, throw the cold pack back in the freezer until the pain was unbearable again, and strap it back on.  I was beginning to feel like I was back at work moving furniture and equipment, working 14 hour days on someone else's schedule! Whoooaaa! Wait a minute - I moved here to get away from that!

So today I decided to make a stand. I will do what I can and nothing more. I will take the time to rest my knee when I need to, and I am posting on the blog because I want to. If I am not ready to carry on tomorrow, then I guess I do the rest by myself.

Yes, this is the corner I messed up on! And the funniest part of the whole thing is that the colours I chose for the walls would have looked great with the original lino flooring! Guess the last laugh is on me eh!

But it is going to look sooooooo good when it is done. Can't wait! Will keep you posted.

Summer is here! 'Tis the first official day. For a while this month I was beginning to think it was never coming! Even now, this late into June, we have had nights when the temperature dropped to within a few degrees of freezing (which is not normal). But the sun is out today and the weather is warm and everyone is enjoying. School will be all done very soon, if not already for some, and families will be traveling. Everyone is outdoors enjoying the balmy weather while it lasts. Even the plants are looking good finally. After all that rain, now a little bit of warmth and sunshine, they are growing by leaps and bounds - bursting forth in bloom to celelbrate.

I am still working on my bathroom and my flooring, so no lengthy thought provoking babbles today. I am in the midst of pulling up the carpet underlay to prepare for new flooring. Must admit, once I got the carpet itself up and out the door, I was hesitant to actually take up the underlay as I wasn't sure I wanted to see what was underneath!!  I will take pictures and show you soon. Had a good chuckle and wondered if I should just go with what was there ha ha ha ha. Funny how time changes our tastes. When I reno'd my last place I found linoleum all throughout that was squares of red, black and white design........ and the walls had black and white wall paper (except for the one wall that had green fern leaves)!!!!!!! Don't know where that came from, but I guess somebody thought it was pretty.  It's always one of the fun aspects of renovating an old house - you never know what by-gone treasures you may unearth in the process. Wonder what someone forty years from now will think of my choices ..... hhmmmmm. Probably have just as good a laugh as I did at the previous ones and say "Wow, how could they live with that?"

It is 10 pm and there is only just a touch of light left outside, this being the longest daylight of the year. The birds are still singing. It makes me think about when I went to the Yukon the first time. I had ridden the bus for three long days to get there, and my partner was so excited about showing me around the area, that he decided to take me on the tour right away!  I stepped off the bus at 3 in the afternoon, and at 3 the next morning we decided maybe we should head back to camp and get some sleep! It was still light enough out to see everything all night long and I had no sense of time passing. I did know I was tired, but traipsing around the old cabin sites was so interesting that I kind of perked up every time we came across another one to explore - or a fox, or porcupine, or bear.

So I leave you with some photos of what everyone else is doing - I will say it in pictures - as I get back to pulling up underlay, and pulling out staples!

This may not look like a busy airport to you ...... but there are four planes on the tarmac all at the same time, and for this small town, that's busy.

The speed boats are beginning to make their presence known.

The farmers are cutting their first crop of alfalfa ............

....... and beginning to bale it.  Aaaaaaaaahhhhh - the sweet smell of freshly mown alfalfa!! How can you tell I grew up in the country?

And those who don't farm are out on the golf course - of course!

The vineyards are looking nice and green.

And the forest floor is a beautiful yellow.

In between snapping pictures of birds in my yard and flowers in the garden I am busy working on changing my bathroom sink and rearranging things that had just sort of been 'put' there waiting for this opportunity. I had purchased the sink and taps several months ago, and they have been patiently waiting for me in a corner of the bathroom under a chair!  I not only want to get it completed so that I can again put my toothbrush and soap back into the bathroom where they belong, instead of on the kitchen counter (!!!!!!! - I took my old sink out several days ago) ..... I also have boxes of flooring stacked around the house ready to be laid down. I would like to finish the bathroom so I can start on the flooring and once again live some semblance of a normal life in my little house!

I bought this place about two years ago and used it mostly as a weekend get-away until about 8 months ago when I sold my other place and moved here lock-stock-and barrel (and believe me I have lots of stock and several barrels full of things!) I liked the house because aside from changing colours on the walls and getting rid of wall paper that was out of the 80's, I didn't have any major renovating to do before I could sit back and enjoy. Most other places I have lived in have been ones where I had plans to change things even before the papers were signed. I like to  buy the possibilities rather than the reality, and with a great deal of elbow grease turn the reality into the possibility. But this time I didn't want quite so much hard work. So here it is, two years later and I am finally getting around to exchanging an old 'harvest gold' sink that was beginning to leak around the edges for an above-counter glass one - with shiny chrome dual handle taps that don't test my strength every time I turn them on and off.

So......... I am a bit short of time right now.

In that regard, I have come across a singer/songwriter who is just beginning her career and has a wonderful lyrical voice through The Get Clear blog. So lucky people you ---- you get to listen to some music instead of me gabbing! There is a YouTube video posted below, but if you like her voice, check out Priscilla Ahn's blog page for some more songs, and Amazon to download for your mp3 player! She's great and I wish her much luck with her future.

Now, sit back with your coffee/tea/beer or whatever, relax and soak up the soothing sounds of a great new talent - and I will get back to doing some physical labour!

Oh gawd yes, I have been thinking again! Scary thought for those who know me  ; )
Been thinking about lots of things lately. There has been much conversation on one of the facebook groups I belong to, about taking action in regards to changing the world. Yes, we need leaders to show people the way, yes we need thinkers to come up with new ideas, but my personal feeling on all of this is that the planet is large, and it isn't going to happen overnight. That is not to say that we shouldn't try - because we need to, but rather than follow the masses and create conflict, I like the idea of each person who is able, just doing their own part. Action always speaks louder than words. And rather than continuing, status quo, until someone comes along that is strong enough to lead others, we should each be responsible for changing our own habits.  So what action can we take all by ourselves? How do we start? How do we break the habits that are already ingrained?

If we can each do our best every day to treat those we come into contact with, with compassion - get to know the person rather than just their comments - maybe there will be less fear and ignorance.

If we each think about where our garbage came from and where it is going to end up each time we wrap up another bag and put it to the curb - maybe we can make decisions that are environmentally aware.

If we think about where our food came from and how well it does or does not nourish us as we prepare it- maybe we can make a positive contribution to the food situation on the planet and be healthier as well.

If we actually take a minute to look around us where ever we are, and take note of how much nature there is or is not - maybe we can add something somewhere to re-balance the planet.

If we express our appreciation to at least one person each day - maybe we can make their world a little brighter.

If we smile at a stranger, just because - maybe they will pass the smile on.

If we refuse to just accept the way life is and bend the envelope just a little to make it more the way we would like it to be - maybe it will diffuse the power of those who seem to want to destroy it.

If we educate ourselves on how the planet works - maybe we can see our own part in the cycle and become content with it.

These are small things - they don't cost any money - they all take place within our own individual brain. It is a matter of how we think. It is how we approach life that makes a difference in our own little world, and as our own sphere changes
so does the rest of the world. There will always be 'bad guys' and 'corporate plunderers' - but if we refuse to give in to them they make less of an impact.

And in keeping with my 'rosy outlook' ...... (pun intended! - mine is a quiet revolution)  - took some photos of roses budding out in the municipal Rose Garden for you to enjoy. It is one of the ways the City tries to give back to the planet in return for all of the development - by keeping lots of trees, flowers and green space available for people, birds and critters.

Wild roses are my favourite-alltime-ever! Grew up going to sleep with their aroma drifting in through my bedroom window on early summer evenings, so the scent really brings back memories. No one has tampered with them, they are as they have been, and they pop up in unexpected places in nature.

A white rose bud with a tiny hint of pink in its petals, just sitting waiting to be marveled at.

This one combines the beauty of yellow and orange - slowly beginning to unfold.

It is mid June, we have had a couple of weeks of damp, cool days, and the sun is shining once again. It feels good to get out for a walk in the warmer weather, and just saunter along noticing things. The world is green (for the time being) - the rains brought a good dose of moisture so everything is growing like crazy while it can - the animals and birds are warming up and drying off.

Thought I should post a few photos of things I have noticed along the way.

The robin is sitting in the sun, preening and drying out his feathers. He has been looking pretty sad and fluffed up lately, trying to keep warm and dry on the rainy days. Humans can hide in their houses when the weather is wet, but birds still have to feed the young ones, and the search goes on regardless of turns of the weather.

A family of marmots has moved in to someone's log supply for next winter.

The buttercups are beginning to poke their waxy little blossoms out in the sunshine.

Cottonwood trees are getting ready to let lose with their 'summer snow'! To anyone with allergies, this may be a frightening photo - but fortunately I don't have any allergies! I love all the white cotton drifts across the earth when the seed pods pop.

This young buck is starting to show his antler nubs. He has lost all his winter coat and is sleek and shiny - ready for summer.

Wonder if our urge to preen up for summer is a naturally inspired urge. When I think about it, animals sort of do that, and we are one among them. I know that they change colour to blend in with their habitat, and that the weather is hotter so they need less fur or hair on them - but there is more to it. They don't just change colour and moult. They become sleek and shiny - their sinewy muscles are shown off to advantage - their strength and power becomes obvious. You can see the muscles rippling under the skin as they move through the forest.

There will undoubtedly be more rain, but for now, everything is soaking up the sunshine - myself included.

Today's post doesn't require much brain power to read - after all, it's Friday (in this part of the world), the weekend is coming, everybody has put in a busy week, and the last thing they want to do is think - right? Just want to coast through the day and get it over with.

Waking to sunshine after many days of rainy, cool weather, helps keep an optimistic outlook for the coming weekend. Funny how that works. If we wake and find cloudy skies it seems to depress people immediately. There is the groaning complaint ..... "Ooooohhh shoot! It's raining!" ....... as if that meant we can't do anything because of a little rain. In reality, all it means is that it will be damp doing what ever it is we do. So put on a rain coat and do it anyway.

It seems to me, that rainy days can be really wonderful. I thoroughly enjoy the sunshine and mild temperatures - but misty or cloudy days can look hauntingly beautiful and smell fresh and clean.

Taken from a spot close to Olalla, looking towards Keremeos - on a sunny day.

Taken from the same spot - on a rainy day when the clouds hang low.

The first photo is descriptive, and we look at it and say ' it looks like nice country' .....  but the second one on the rainy day evokes the emotions. For some reason it strikes a chord within and we experience something different. We can hear the sound of tires running over wet pavement - we can taste the moisture in the heavy air - we can feel the dampness. It's the same place, the same scenery, and pretty close to the same time of day at the same time of year. But, you can tell by the greener fields that it has been raining! That's why we need rainy days (well, at least one of the reasons). So shouldn't we enjoy them?

It's much the same with many other day to day experiences in life. They are there for a reason, so we might as well accept them and be grateful for the fact that life works. Know that whatever it is you are experiencing is only temporary, you will come out the other side eventually into something different ... just as we float through Friday, knowing full well that Saturday will come along soon enough, so we might as well get our job done the best we can in the meantime.

Received a leaflet in the mail box the other day from a local group regarding a 'Community Forest Initiative'. The Provincial government would grant forest management rights to a community of stakeholders in a particular area. It sounds like a good idea - I think. Several groups of stakeholders would be involved in putting a plan together - the town, First Nations, the regional governing body, other currently licensed users. The leaflet sent out was a survey to get an idea of what the local towns people thought about the project, and what their opinions were on several areas in question.

Among the survey questions asked were; what we felt might be the most important benefits of such an initiative, what values should be considered when developing a plan, and for suggestions of improvement of the current system if this initiative does not go ahead.

Sounds like a good idea - as long as the process does not get bogged down in government red tape and paper shuffling. Seems to me that if the stakeholders in a specific area can have a say over how the forests around their watershed are used, it would help bring their attention to the fact that we need to keep ecosystems functioning in a healthy way so that WE can continue functioning in a healthy way as a community of human beings within those ecosystems. Any education of people on that level can only be a good thing... in my mind. Now, I know - it opens up a whole can worms as well. 'What ifs' such as;

what if the majority of people in a proposed area want to cut down all the trees,
what if the people cannot come to an agreement, who makes the final decisions,
what if the stakeholders do not have the knowledge to make environmentally sound choices?

Hopefully, the plan would include enough basic regulations at the Provincial and Regional level, that these 'what ifs' could be covered with processes set out by those who do have the knowledge to make choices. Maybe I am just being naively optimistic, but I would like to see the initiative go ahead. I like the idea of local people being able to have a say in how their area is developed. I like the idea of there being an awareness of cause and effect - a connection to what is going on around us. We live in an area of lumber mills and mining, so it is going to be interesting to see what new processes might be put together to keep these economies functioning as well as keep everyone else happy. There will, of course, be meetings and plenty of rhetoric on the subject in newspapers and coffee shops, and to me this is all to the good. Get people thinking and  talking about it. Make them aware. Even if the initiative does not come together, the awareness will linger.


We get together as a community to promote cultural and social enhancement, and economic stability, so why not environmental stability as well? So, we will see how this goes forward, or IF it goes forward.

Two things important to human survival - water and trees.

Have been running back and forth to Penticton to check out flooring alternatives and snapping pictures along the way (of course!).  Each day brings a different light and different atmosphere, so there is always something to catch my eye. Really do have to stay focused on the driving so that I am not holding people up or crashing off the road while I gawk at the scenery and try to find a place to pull off and take pictures! Don't want to miss too much, but don't want to die yet either! Have too many things left I want to do. I figure if I live to 120 I just might get it all done. ; )

I am going to change the flooring in three rooms in my house. There is carpet there and I don't like it. Too much fluff and dust!  So I have been looking at wood floor choices and had been rather impressed with the bamboo idea until I found that the colour choice I wanted was extremely hard to nail, the warranty was negated if I did not keep the right humidity in the rooms, and if my floor has bumps they may well show. Well......this is an old house, so there definitely are bumps in the original flooring, I have absolutely no control over the humidity, and I don't want to spray WD40 on the nails to get them to go in to the strips of flooring. Now I know there are methods of circumventing all these problems and the bamboo really looks nice, but I want to do this in the easiest way possible and for a reasonable price - so am still searching out ideas. As it is, I have a ton of stuff to move out of the rooms, find a temporary place for, and move back in again after, so don't want to add to the labour if I can help it. I figure I can weed out some more things as I put it all back in the rooms. (I really need to do that!)

As well as the flooring, I am picking colours to paint the outside of the house.

And have a new floor and sink to put in the bathroom.

Then I have some garden work that I would like yet to do this year.

Not to mention the work I have planned on the internet.

Or the trips I want to take (to visit family and take more photos)!

Think maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew?

But life might as well be fun - (right?) and I may as well live in a house that I am excited about coming home to. If I am able to do these things, why not take the bull by the horns and just get it done?

I do spend lots of time just sitting and reading or watching the birds and critters around me - and time to consider the exercise I get and the food that I eat.

It seems to go in an ebb and flow - like ocean waves tumbling onto the shore and then slowly drifting back again. I get busy in a whirlwind flurry of activity for a while and get a multitude of things done, and then I spend copious amounts of time just watching, thinking, reading and writing (seemingly doing nothing!). It is how I function best and I am content. This is not the way for everyone, and even I have not always done things this way. I used to roll (literally) out of bed at 5 am, do my exercises to wake up, and just keep on trucking until midnight (when I would lay down, close my eyes and be gone into dreamland instantly because I was exhausted)! If I stayed still too long in any position, I was likely to nod off! I fell asleep one day (and this is embarrassing to admit) as I crawled under the kitchen table to retrieve something that had fallen. I made the mistake of laying my head on the carpet to see if I could see the item in relief - it was small and round and the same colour as the carpet! That was all it took. I have no idea how long I was there, nor what my children were doing whilst I was napping under the kitchen table! 

Now, I take the time to replenish and enjoy. Even though I am running back and forth with umpteen things on my list, I make a point of stopping to notice what is going on around me and frequently capturing it in photos.

It works for me. I'm having fun.

This is the swimming hole at Bromley Rock when the river runs high. No swimming at this time of year! (To see the difference, check the April 19,2008 post)

The chipmunk sitting in the shade of my lilac bush, under the fir trees. Just nibbling and preening.

The sun was shining just right to catch the roofs on the Mascot Mine buildings in Hedley this time. You can see the slope they are situated on!!! The zig-zag line above them is the steps you come down to get to the buildings. These were built by the company that fixed the mine up as a tourist destination. Not sure how the original miners got there. Will have to check that out. (My original post about Hedley was May 1, 2008)

In the photo above, with the sun was catching the roofs and windows, you can see how much of an incline the buildings are on. In this bottom photo, if you look in the top left - just about touching the sky - you get an idea of exactly how far up these miners worked! It truly is mountain goat country up there.

On Okanagan Lake, someone was taking advantage of the bright, breezy day and testing out their sailboat - getting ready for summer.