Keeping Busy

Between going with B to the Dr. to have a mole removed and taking Mom to the Dr. I've been canning pears and making "Grandma Syrup". I think I'm going to need another holiday pretty soon!!!

We're home Again

I wasn't able to blog for the past few days because we actually got to hook up the trailer and take off. Even though the park we were in has wireless internet at the clubhouse, we only made it down to the clubhouse once, and I didn't have my computer with me....no blogging and no e-mails!!

Had great fun taking advantage of the casino's cheap (but delicious) meals and cash give-aways. Can you believe at Skagit on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, if you give them $20 they'll give you a $30 slot ticket and on Mondays they give you $25 for $20. It's great fun to get "free" money...the only trick is you have to know when to quit, so you don't lose "your" money, only "their" money. We didn't win big but we did manage to keep "our" money and had fun doing it!!

It sure rained a lot, but we were dry and cozy in our trailer and on Sunday our good friends D&M came to visit and have dinner with us...we had such a lovely time!!!

Goodbye, my Friend

Today B and I went out to Abbotsford to say goodbye to a dear lady who had a very deep faith in our Lord. We met N&D down at Beachwood shortly after we started taking Alpha. They sat by our campfire one night and were so happy because D had been cancer free for 5 years and they had just celebrated her birthday. Three or four weeks later we again met at Beachwood. By this time B&I had discovered a wonderful church that was being held in the factory outlet mall and were telling them about it. Sunday morning D knocked on our door and asked how to get to the church.

Our lives intertwined for a couple of years then we got an e-mail saying her cancer had returned. She had chemo and radiation and was in and out of remission. N found it very theraputic to write e-mails about D's progress or lack of it. Always they put their faith in God and trusted him completely, calling Him the Great Healer. During this time we didn't see much of them, but last spring we ran into them at Beachwood again. Had a great time with them and told them what an inspiration their e-mails had been to me when my Dad was dying. Last Tuesday she lost her battle with cancer. We're going to miss her infectious smile and positive attitude.

Turning 40..No Way!!

I don't feel old enough to have our youngest child turn 40, but life does have a way of sneaking up on you!!!

They had to go to a wedding so I said I'd keep the little ones overnight and they could spend the night in a nice hotel downtown.

We had a great time with the grandkids and A and I decided to bake a cake for her Daddy, then she got to go through my cake decorating stuff and decorate the cake. We had a little birthday party when they came to pick up the kids, unfortunately M had to go down for his nap so they couldn't stay very long.

Labour Day

This morning we got up early and met our Cultus Lake camping friends R&C and M&S at the local casino. There was a free pancake breakfast there...2 pancakes, 1 sausage, 1 bacon, hash browns and coffee or tea. We had a great time eating and chatting then we played the slots for awhile and B was even up $20 or so...so that was a bonus...can't say the same thing about myself, but I didn't lose much and we had breakfast and fun, so it was worth it!!

Yesterday at church U asked us if we'd be available to go to her place for lunch today so we headed out there. Among the other guests was a couple who have a girl from Germany staying with them so she can learn better English. She speaks very good English and we not only had a wonderful lunch but a great discussion on the differences between Germany and Canada. The girl is very intrigued with all the scrapbooking supplies we have here. She also showed us a picture of the new puppy that her parents have acquired since she's been here and was very excited and amazed at the pet supply stores we have here, so she's going to bring the puppy some gifts when she goes home!!!

Sunday

We went to church this morning. Our friends J&H said they got 10 sockeye delivered this morning. They had asked me earlier if I could show them how to can fish. The only day we both had time was this afternoon, so after lunch we started work/school. It went really well, they both got right in there and learned what to do. Soon we had 16 pints ready to go into the pressure caner then we started filleting and cutting steaks so we could vacuum pack them. We started about 2:00 and finished about 8:00 and they even treated us to pizza for dinner. Yum, yum. It was a busy but very fun day!!!

Visiting

We had a delightful day yesterday. We took Mom and went out to see my cousins J&A. She made a delicious lunch of corn chowder and home make buns for us and we talked and talked and talked. Mom really enjoyed herself.

From there we headed further out in the valley. The freeway was plugged so we took all these little back roads that Mom had never been on and saw all the little towns and the huge farms. Stopped at a farm and bought some "horse carrots" for $8 for a 50 pound bag. These carrots are not able to be sold because they're split or mis-shapen so they sell them to feed to horses or they can also be used for juicing...which is what Mom will do with them. Then we stopped at their vegetable stand and I got all sorts of fresh veggies.

Since we were so close we went up to Cultus Lake Thousand Trails to see our daughter and the 4 grandkids...they're up there camping. Sure lots of RV's on the road and the Provincal Park was full...so was TT. On the road out of the lake we were stopped in a road block checking on drinking drivers. It's nice to see the RCMP checking up on people, if it can save one life, it's worth it!!!