Category — General Stuff

Yikes……… where did September and October go?

September arrived and that meant it was time to get back driving the school bus.

Brenda was back exercising at the YWCA on an even more regular schedule with all her gal friends! This exercising also includes at least one special dance occasion followed by a party. So, this September they did a dance routine with drums sticks to Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” at the Kamloops version of Dancing With The Stars. The whole group did really well and helped fill the time right after the mid-way intermission.

The Kamloops City Strummers got together for our regular Thursday night practises and also entertained at  Kamloops Seniors Village.

Brenda and I also are back ushering with Western Canada Theatre and in addition to taking the mandatory training session we also ushered a couple shows in September.

We also got a visit in to Princeton where we helped get a bit more yard work done for Kevin and Tamara, cleaning up after they had the big yellow pines in their yard removed…….. toppled. It is hard to believe the amount of needles, branches and wood from just two big trees.

October is here and early on we had all the kids and grand-kids here for Thanksgiving weekend… what a lot of fun. We had a big Thanksgiving dinner and had GGPa and GGMa over for dinner. The house was filled with laughter and love……. it does not get any better that this 🙂

The rest of October just happened!

However, take a look at these cuties on Halloween 🙂

June has arrived and our focus is pretty much all about our upcoming Ottawa and Newfoundland trip.

On June 29th we set the house alarm, head to the airport early and our first stop is Ottawa for Canada Day. We have done a bit of research for Canada Day in Ottawa and have a rough idea of some of the events and venues we want to attend, so that should be a busy fun day.

After Ottawa we then fly to St. John’s NFLD and we have been scoping out some things to see and do in that City. After that we then start driving across Newfoundland and have a tentative route and searched out local events, celebrations, etc. along the way.

As far as activity on the home front, we have been busy with regular stuff like exercising at the “Y”, Line Dancing, bus driving, golf and Kamloops City Strummers practises and concerts.

The last weekend of the month we headed to Kelowna for Oliver’s 4th birthday party. We have made all the grandkids birthdays up to their 4th one; after that Pops and Namma feel that the kids have their friends who they want to invite and have sleep overs, etc. etc. and so there isn’t much sense in us attending after the 4th one.

Anyway, Oliver’s party was at Bertram Park in Kelowna, the weather cooperated and it got nice and warm in the afternoon after a cloudy start to the day. The kids played in the water, kicked balls around, ate pizza and veggies and fruit and of course cake.

Attached are a few pictures.

Earlier in the day we attended Oliver’s graduation/year-end ceremony at Little Owl Academy where he attends pre-school. The kids were all so cute in their Caps and Gowns, plus they performed a few songs for the audience and all received certificates of completion:)

April started with us trying to get back into a regular routine after two fabulous weeks in Hawaii with our family.

Brenda is back in to her regular work out routine at the YWCA with her “Gal Pal’s” and I am back driving bus with time to fit in the occasional game of golf.

We volunteered at Sagebrush Theatre early in the month……… the play “Habib’s Unforgettable All Night House Party” was a “snoozer”. We also volunteered near the end of the month at The Pavilion Theatre for a play called “In A Blue Moon”….. Yawn!

This month we had our Hot Water tank replaced and a lot of the old plumbing upgraded; it will give us “better peace of mind” when we are travelling.

We have also booked and made all our arrangements for our trip to Ottawa and Newfoundland.

On the April 16th weekend we made an overnight trip down to Kelowna to visit everyone. Kevin, Sage and Conrad also came for a visit, but Tamara was unable to as she has just started a new job that requires her to sometimes work weekends.

The big news of the weekend was Jeff and Lindsay getting a new camping trailer. So, Kevin came and gave Jeff a few tips about trailering, driving, etc. etc. The kids had a blast playing with each other and reconnecting after Hawaii.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.   

Stay tuned for May it’s going to be another exciting one!

Happy New Year

Yikes……… another year has passed!

January started out quietly with regular day to day stuff; not much exciting happening around here.

Early in January we made a quick overnight trip to Kelowna to look after Zach and Oliver while Jeff and Lindsay headed to Sparkling Hills Spa for a night away.

January 12th we celebrated our 42nd Anniversary. We contemplated going out for dinner, but in the end we cooked a gourmet meal at home, had an extra glass of wine and enjoyed reminiscing about the past 42 years:)

The Kamloops City Strummers continued to practice on a regular basis, plus we played a gig at Pinegrove Retirement Residence.

As far as winter travel plans, we originally had planned to head south to Palm Springs for a couple weeks. But, as the CDN$ sank against the US$ we reevaluated the trip and decided to have a B.C. “staycation”. We figured that Palm Springs was going to be there another year and that we really had no specific reason to visit beyond just sneaking away from the cold.

So to start our “staycation” we headed off to Sun Peaks for 2 nights and stayed at The Sun Peaks Grand Hotel and got in a couple days of snowshoeing. The pool and hot tub were marvellous to soak in after a day snowshoeing?  

After Sun Peaks we headed to Vancouver for a few nights in downtown Vancouver. We rented a Condo on the 31st floor near Rogers Centre and it had a view from Canada Place all the way to False Creek…….. Amazing.

We arrived Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday evening we had George and Tammy over for dinner. It was great to catch up with them both.

More adventures to come in February!

December started with a bit of a cold snap and then by the first weekend it warmed right up to above average temps !

Daily life continues with exercising, bus driving, Ukulele Jam Sessions, etc. etc.

Brenda and I volunteered at Sagebrush Theatre for the final weekend of Mary Poppins…….. what a great play this one was; probably one of the best. This is measured by Larry’s ability to sit through an entire performance without dozing off or leaving his seat.

Brenda had her girlfriends Christmas luncheon; which Lynda hosted this year.

Unfortunately sometime during their luncheon Brenda’s friend Roxy fell while going down some stairs and broke her right ankle and sprained her left ankle. So, she is out of commission for Christmas, but is on the mend.

Also in December Tamara and Lindsay both had birthdays……. Happy Birthday ladies!

On Christmas Eve we headed to Princeton to spend Christmas with Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad. We were so lucky to be able to spend Christmas with them again this year………… Christmas really is all about family and especially the kids.

Tamara’s Christmas dinner was excellent and very yummy! However the person in charge of the camera (that’s me) messed up the settings while trying to figure out the self-timer. I had it set on long exposure so some of the pictures of Christmas Night are a bit grainy.

The following are a bunch of random pictures from our Princeton visit.

“Bum Slide” to downtown Princeton from their yard.

Opening Stockings while waiting for Kevin to return from a fire call.

Yummy! Yummy! Christmas Dinner.

From Princeton we headed home for one night to check on the house and make sure everything here was okay. When we left Princeton the sun was trying to get through but about 15 minutes outside of Princeton it started to snow and did not stop all the way to Kamloops. In fact it snowed all that evening but it did slow down enough for us to leave the next morning to head to Kelowna. It’s to be expected, it is winter in the Interior.

In Kelowna we celebrated Lindsay’s birthday and also Christmas. Once again it was a fun time with family.

Then we headed outside to let the boys play in the snow.

Sliding on the snow pile in the front yard

On Monday evening we had a group dinner with our friends from North Vancouver Fred & Barb, their son Ryan, his wife Jen and grandson baby Max. It was great evening to reconnect, we haven’t seen Fred and Barb in at least a couple of years.

Plus Oliver got all dressed up for the party………… what a cutie.

Final picture with Fred & Barb and their grandson Max………. great friends and a great evening.

Happy New Year !

November was another busy month……. however, which month isn’t busy?

So, why even say that anymore?

Let’s just say that it is life as usual and move on!

Early in November was everyday routine stuff. In the morning, Brenda was off to the YWCA to exercise with her group of girlfriends and then sometimes go for coffee. I am driving school bus on a regular route until one of the driver returns from a leave of absence.

At some point in the day we meet up for a walk and before you know it the day was over.

November 10th was Zachary’s birthday and he turned 5 years old. Unfortunately he was not feeling well on his brithday so the party was delayed a few days until the weekend.

Remembrance Day of November 11th it was warm and sunny. The Rube Band performed at the Cenotaph, The Canadian Legion, The Eagles and The Rocky Mountain Rangers Amories. Every year there are less Veterans from the wars, however there are more people in attendance at the Remembrance Ceremonies.

The Kamloops City Strummers continue to practice and perform through the month. I got a real short notice call for a request to play a Church seniors luncheon. Everyone could make it and we had a great time……. a very appreciative and interactive audience. We also performed at Berwick on the Park, an upscale seniors residence in Kamloops. Nicolette Eadie (Vic’s partner) joined us for a selection of 3 Hawaiian songs; including Nankuli Ea.

Brenda spent most of the 3rd week of November down in Kelowna helping out Jeff with the boys while Lindsay was at a conference in Austin Texas.

On November 20th we lost a friend and long time member of the Rube Band. Mike Sofko passed away after battling brain cancer 🙁

These two pictures are from the last big trip the band took to Hawaii in September 2014. Mike is wearing the Gladiator Costume and is standing behind the Bass Drum on the right hand side.

November 25th was Sage’s 10th Birthday………. Yikes, our little granddaughter in growing up.

The last weekend of November Kevin, Tamara, Sage, Conrad and Dogs came to Kamloops for a quick visit and to celebrate Sage’s 10th birthday.  Lots of presents and surprises and screams and hugs and smiles from the birthday girl 🙂

After present opening we all went to Sagebrush Theatre to see the matinee performance of Mary Poppins and then out for Sage’s birthday dinner. What fun!

Finally, at the end of the month Jeff turned 37……. another birthday yikes!

Check back in for December highlights 🙂

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Has it really been 6 months since we last did a post 🙁

Look, we have all sorts of excuses, like too busy being retired and trying to fit everything else into the day and/or night.

So, with out further ado and with a few pictures attached here is a month by month update of the last 6 months.

MARCH

So after coming back from Hawaii all of a sudden March arrived. That must mean it was time for our annual Family Ski Vacation. We rented a 5 bedroom condo in the Bridgegate area of Sun Peaks. It works real well for our group. The condo is ski in and ski out and although it is a bit of a way from the village, it beats everyone trying to cram into something smaller.

Of course there was the annual Treasure Hunt with all the kids and parents searching for and finding hidden surprises.

Just look at these “wing nuts” to figure out whether or not we have fun times on these weekends

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The only disappointing part was the snow conditions. It was so warm at Sun Peaks that the grooming crew were having to move snow from other areas to keep some of the access trails open. The groomed areas were a little icy, but in the end everyone had a great time.

Right after the Sun Peaks weekend everyone came back to Kamloops to visit GGMA and GGPA. The kids took a walk down to the park…… isn’t this the cutest photo ever of the four Cousins?

Then in the last week of March I attended a weekend Ukulele Workshop hosted by the Ukulele Orchestra of Kamloops. The instructors were Peter and Paul Luongo from Langley. They were fantastic and I learned so much and it really has helped my growth in playing the ukulele.

APRIL

April was quiet for the most part as we settled back into a regular routine after our time traveling.

Near the end of April we finally took the time and visited Brenda’s cousin George and his wife Eva who live on Gabriola Island. They live in an idyllic location inland on the island surrounded by lots of forest. While there George took us on a tour of the island and a very interesting area that we stopped at was called “The Galleries”. These are sandstone cliffs on the ocean that have eroded over the centuries mostly from the wind and the saltwater. Pretty cool aren’t they, they look likes cemented and suspended waves.

From Gabriola we stopped for a couple nights in Vancouver. We made the Tuesday night Vancouver Ukulele Circle where there were about 80 other Ukulele enthusiasts. Also, I bought another Ukulele; an 8 string Kala Tenor Uke……. it’s a beauty.

Finally at the end of April I started a small group to form a bluegrass, country, folk band. The first night we had three at our house for a practice and general discussion of how this might work. There was a banjo player, a guitar player and of course I played ukulele. My idea was a to add a fourth person, on upright bass…… more on this in the next month(s).

MAY

May was a busy, fun and another great month.

Early in May I was able to get an upright bass player to attend a practice. What a difference it makes to have that deep bass beat added to the music; we are actually sounding not too bad and have some plans and ideas for the future…… more later.

In May we made a trip down through Washington State and along the Oregon Coast. The final destination being a visit with a former work pal and his wife – Jay and Shari Jackson. Jay and I have kept in touch since I retired and although he formerly lived in Mississippi, he has moved back to Oregon for a few years.

Since Jay and Shari are both still working we planned our arrival for a Friday night and to spend the weekend. So, our trip down was really relaxed with stops in Tulalip, Astoria, Lincoln City and Florence prior to arriving in Coos Bay.

Beautiful weather and scenery all the way……….. but windy 🙂

We had a great couple days with Jay and Shari and their friends. We got in a lot of catch up visiting, a golf game and met many of their friends and acquaintances. Now it’s their turn to come up to Canada for a visit.

JUNE

June was one month were we stayed home for a change…….. well except for a visit to Kelowna for Oliver’s 3rd Birthday.

Also, the small 4 piece group I formed has been practicing on a regular basis and we now call ourselves “the Kamloops City Strummers”. The objective of our group is to get together and grow musically, to learn from each other and to give back to the community by entertaining at Senior Residence’s. We are aiming for our first public concert in early July.

June was also the month we hosted our annual Friends Reunion… year number 38. Everyone made it to Kamloops and boy was it warm and toasty in Kamloops. Almost record temperatures, so we tried to tailor our activities to keep everyone cooler. One day we spent up at Lac Le Jeune campground and in the evening some of us headed down to Riverside Park for a cooling off dip in the river. A great time was had by all.

JULY

Well all of a sudden July arrived and the weather in Kamloops was fantastic!

Early in July we made a overnight visit to Princeton. It’s been quite a awhile since we had been there and we needed a grand-kid fix. We arrived in time for a local parade. Sage and her friend were busy catching candy being thrown and if you look close you can see Conrad tossing the candy from the fire truck with Kevin driving. Also, Brenda had planned out a bunch of outside science experiments for the kids. So, lots of fun and lots to catch-up on in Princeton.

The Kamloops City Strummers played their first gig at The Shores Residences. It’s where Brenda’s Mom & Dad live. a good crowd for an evening performance and everyone seemed to enjoy the songs we played.

We followed this gig up with a street performance in front of the Kamloops Public Library. This was totally “ad-hoc” and we weren’t sure what to expect. My plan was to get us in front of a less than familiar crowd and see how we performed. Worse case people would not stay and listen….. but that never happened. Folks stopped, listened applauded and moved on. So, overall a success, but lots of room for improvement.

We also played a gig at Ridgeview Retirement Residences. The residents in this facility are a little further along in their personal illness and were tough to perform for; however there were smiles on their faces and people clapped along as we played.

Brenda and I also headed to Kelowna for a 5 days to look after Zach and Oliver while Jeff and Lindsay went to Quebec City to see the Rolling Stones.

AUGUST

August started with a visit from Prince George of Sabrina, Mike, Amelia and Mikayla.

The Kamloops City Strummers held their weekly practices and also performed for the residents at Overlander Extended Care.

Then Jeff, Lindsay, Zach and Oliver arrived for Hot Night in the City Car Show and Ribfest Weekend. In addition to all the activities going on downtown Brenda and her Zumba friends did a “Flash Mob” on Victoria street.

Then as soon as they left Brenda and I headed off to Whistler for a week. We kayaked, biked, hiked, swam, shopped and enjoyed a week of spectacular weather in Whistler. We rode the chair lift from Whistler Village right to the very top of Whistler Mountain and then took the Gondola that spans the almost 2 km’s between Whistler Peak and Blackcomb Peak. What a ride, what a view and what a great week 🙂

We drove back to Kamloops just in time to empty our suitcases and load them with some clothes for Retro weekend up at Sun Peaks. This included tribute bands for The Blues Brothers, Credence Clearwater Revival, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart and Motley Crue. A bunch of Brenda’s exercise girl friends came up and we had a fun time with them watching the shows and going out for dinner.

SEPTEMBER

Early in September just prior to school starting Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad came for a quick visit for some last minute school shopping and Halloween Costumes. What fun to have them stay with us……… always lots going on and lots of laughs. Plus we had GGPA and GGMA over for dinner.

Also in September Kamloops City Strummers performed at Kamloops Seniors Village. 

So, that’s about it for now. Our plan is to keep this updated at least monthly.

See you all in October.

Well,  it has been ages since the last post; actually it’s been over 4 months and lots has gone on. Some good and unfortunately some not so good.

September arrived and it was back to Bus Driving; except for the Teachers Strike, which delayed my return to work but gave Brenda and I a chance to take a short notice trip to Vancouver and spend a couple of days in Yaletown. We rented a Condo, lived the “lifestyle”, cooked some delicious dinners and dined out at a couple of trendy Yaletown hot spots. Weather was perfect and we got in lots of walking.

October was a very tough month. It started out great with both families from Princeton and Kelowna arriving for Thanksgiving. But then tragedy hit the family when we found out that Chris Van Meer (our brother George’s son) was tragically killed in a traffic accident near Texas Creek, which is located between Lytton and Lillooet.

Chris was such a great young man and it was such a tragedy to hear of his passing. Chris was a quiet person, but so “full of Life” and adventure. Chris loved all his family, friends and extended family. Their is a very large hole in our family. We truly miss Chris 🙁

In November as a family we also lost Arnold Desrocher, Lynda’s husband. Arnold passed away very quickly after a short stay in the hospital. We’ll miss Arnold for his quiet nature, his wealth of knowledge on world events and his amazing recollection of little known or unknown facts in  “Trivial Pursuit”.

November was also the date selected for a Memorial Celebration of Life for Chris Van Meer. It was held in Langley at Sirocco Farms. There were lots of tears, few smiles and a few laughs. At the end of the memorial balloons were released by the family and friends as each person came up to take a pair of scissors and snip the ribbon to let them fly away……… it was very emotional for everyone.

December arrived and so did Christmas. Oh and also both families complete with 2 dogs and 1 cat. It was hectic, it was busy and we loved every single minute of Christmas.  Kevin and Brenda went out and picked up GGPa and GGMa for Christmas dinner; so we had a table full. Food was delicious and lots of laughs, smiles and family times. We were so lucky and truly blessed to have had everyone here for the holiday season.

January started with us moving GGPa and GGMa from their home of almost 45 years. Dean and Judy drove down from Prince George and in one full week of work we cleared the house and got GGMa and GGPa set up on the north shore at The Shores Residence’s. Immediately following this we got the house listed and on the market. Whew!!!

 

This past weekend was our annual reunion with our friends……… this is year number 36 that we have been getting together.

Dean & Judy were the organizers this year and they chose a place near Sooke B.C. which is not too far from Victoria. The house we stayed in was a VRBO Rental http://www.vrbo.com/568841 , it had 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, a beautiful deck over looking Sooke Basin and it had everything that we needed for the weekend.

We all arrived Thursday afternoon, headed into Sooke on Friday morning and visited Victoria most of Saturday. As usual we did lots of reminiscing, visiting, eating and making new reunion stories and tales. Most can be told………. many can’t 😉

On Sunday Rick & Gayle headed off to visit some relatives on the island and Betty-Anne and Ross headed off to their cabin at Horne Lake. They were all meeting up a couple days later for a visit at Horne Lake…… and why not, the weather was spectacular and we are all retired 🙂

Dean and Judy and Brenda and I stayed at the Sooke house for the remainder of the week and had a great visit and did some exploring and sightseeing of this area of the Province.

On December 31st we headed up to Sun Peaks to go snowshoeing.

The weather was perfect, fairly warm (near zero) and the the sun was starting to come out between the clouds. After finding a parking spot; which took a while since all the parking lots were full, we headed off snowshoeing…………. and there was lots of snow.

We picked up our tickets from the Morrisey chair lift station and started on the Valley trail. For the first while you are in a valley below the ski runs and the village, then after a bit you climb out of this area, cross the Nordic trails and head up the side of Morrisey Mountain.

Well, about half way we noticed a couple coming towards us and surprise of surprises it was Jeanine (our God daughter) and Clay from Cochrane/Calgary. What a shock and pleasant surprise.

We visited for a while and then went off on our separate ways.

We stopped for a snack break and the weather was spectacular, so we soaked in the sun and the surroundings. As we sat there we could hear sled dog teams barking in the distance and we figured they were getting hitched up and ready for a run. Well it wasn’t too much longer when we saw a team of dogs, the sled and their musher heading towards us.

As they approached he said that two more teams were coming and sure enough after a few minutes the two other teams passed by. It was pretty neat to see and hear.

After the rest we headed back towards Sun Peaks Village and it was so gorgeous we had to take a “Selfie” just to prove we were there and we also had another snowshoer take a picture.

Once we got back to the village we decided to visit our favourite coffee shop before heading back to town. Guess who we ran into????? Jeanine and Clay……. you could not make this happen if you tried to plan it. So we had a bit longer visit, got all caught up on their busy lives and then after “hugs all around” we headed home.

It was a great day 🙂