HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY, DEAR DAD! JULY 1ST, 2019
5 years ago
Saturday, December 31, 2011
And the last of Sun Peaks - Dec 17th
On the 17th, more carolers came through - this time it was a group of ladies - the Desert Sounds Harmony choir from Kamloops. They were awesome!
In the lobby of the Delta, from 3-4pm, there was a lovely "bells" concert. Here are some pictures of the group. They were lovely to listen to!
Just before 7pm, we packed up and left for Barriere, where Sylvia stayed one more night before heading home to Merritt. The whole trip was fun and exciting and we plan to do it again next year!
December 17 - Sun Peaks - SURPRISE!
Well - I have found out I yelp when I'm surprised! There we were, Sylvia and I, up at Sun Peaks on December 17th, waiting for customers to come when who should suddenly appear outside behind Sylvia in the window - Antoon! I jumped up and yelped out - TONY! - Sylvia gave me a funny look and said - no way - turned around and saw him and said - holy crap on a cracker!
They had decided to drive up to visit for the day. They phoned when they were in Chilliwack, to make sure we'd be home, and that's when Wim and dad told them that Sylvia and I would be up at Sun Peaks - so they made a detour and dropped in on us first, before heading on to Barriere to visit with dad and Wim. We got Deb from the office to take our picture.
Pictured l-r are Antoon's friend Karl, Sylvia, Merina (who came up with Antoon), myself, and Antoon.
They had decided to drive up to visit for the day. They phoned when they were in Chilliwack, to make sure we'd be home, and that's when Wim and dad told them that Sylvia and I would be up at Sun Peaks - so they made a detour and dropped in on us first, before heading on to Barriere to visit with dad and Wim. We got Deb from the office to take our picture.
Pictured l-r are Antoon's friend Karl, Sylvia, Merina (who came up with Antoon), myself, and Antoon.
Dec 16th - last few for this day of the Market
Here are a few more pictures of Sylvia at her booth.
In the evening, they had a children's choir come through all the different areas of the Market. Maria Cannon lead, and the kids were from the Discovery Centre for Balanced Education, Sun Peaks. They were cute - and the kids knew the songs better than the adults!
Each evening, a horse and buggy made the rounds offering rides to the visitors - but were too expensive for us (around $75 per ride!). Very lovely horse though.
By this time I had sold a few cards and Sylvia had sold a hat. We ate dinner at the Globe - Sylvia had jambalaya and some wine, and I had the cheese lovers plate and creme brule for dessert.
Dec 16th ... more Sun Peaks
As our booths weren't to open until 2pm, we had a bit of time to stroll around the village and have lunch.
This is our hotel where we stayed overnight - the Nancy Green Cahilty Lodge - our room faced the back... this is a picture of the front.
This is a picture of the building that the Re/Max office is in - the office is in the part directly behind the stop sign in the picture.
December 16th at Sun Peaks
We had our booths together, both in the Re/Max Alpine Resort Office. Sylvia on one side of the door, and I on the other. The owners of the office had a lovely Christmas tree set up, and all sorts of other Christmas decorations. They also had cookies, mandarins and eggnog! (Thank you Lark and Deb!)
December 16 & 17 - Sun Peaks Christmas Market
On December 15th, Sylvia came up to Barriere from Merritt to join me for a trip up to Sun Peaks for their Christmas Market. Luckily the weather cooperated and it didn't snow, and wasn't horribly icy, although it had snowed a day or two before.
Sylvia stayed overnight, then on the 16th, we took off around 9:30ish for Sun Peaks. On the way, we had to pause briefly, as workers were replacing a telephone pole.
Sylvia stayed overnight, then on the 16th, we took off around 9:30ish for Sun Peaks. On the way, we had to pause briefly, as workers were replacing a telephone pole.
The drive up had some nice scenery... so here are a few pictures:
And then we entered the resort town itself.....
Dec 9, 2011 Senior's Christmas Dinner
There was turkey, stuffing, lots of gravy (my favourite part!), a variety of veggies - both cooked or raw, cranberry sauce and all sorts of desserts... which I didn't take a picture of.
I took a picture of myself, just for fun...
... and then one of Dad and myself.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Christmas Greetings, Dec. 2011
December 10,2011
Christmas Greetings to One and All,
The year 2011 started out with Dad having to replace the furnace. Luckily, we were able to get a grant to pay for this, as otherwise it would have been financially very difficult. About two months after it was installed, the workers had to return to finish the flashing around the chimney, as they couldn’t do it when it was installed due to the snow on the roof. They had to wait for it to melt.
The Spring wasn’t bad once it got going, but it was rather wet. Actually, 2011 was one of the wettest on record for B.C. – and summer was very late in coming! It wasn’t until August that it really got warm, and even then, it wasn’t hot, just warm. Then by September it was back to cool and wet again.
The garden seemed to like it though! Our pear tree bore fruit for the first time – and was so loaded that I had to pinch off close to 100. I ended up leaving 17 on the tree to ripen. They cooked up wonderfully and were very delicious!
I also planted some grape vines and some blueberries. We’ll see how they survive this winter. Hopefully they will do well – I do know of others who have grapes in our area , so they should be okay. We had lots of tomatoes, a zucchini, one spaghetti squash and several cucumbers too.
My sister Sylvia and I had several outings together, selling our wares – I was selling my handmade cards, and she her hats, aprons, quilts and other sewn items. We did pretty well at most of the sales. On December 16-17 (next weekend) we’ll be going to Sun Peaks for their Christmas Market. This is a big art/craft sale that the whole community of Sun Peaks takes part in – every store has at least a few tables set up. I’ll take lots of pictures and post them on my blog – houtep.blogspot.com – for anyone interested to read about it, or if you want to see pictures of any of the thing's I've written about in this letter.
On Father’s Day in June, everyone came to Sylvia’s for the day. It was a lot of fun, and one of Sylvia’s friends came and took a picture of all of us. It was a beautiful sunny, but very windy day.
In October, I took the bus down to Vancouver for a few days to visit with Loretta and to make Christmas Cards.
Dad’s car died in November – the head gasket blew and would cost more to repair than the car was worth. We found a car through a friend, that cost about what repairing the other car would have cost. I raided my RRSP to help pay for the “new” car. It is a 2002 model which is 10 years newer than the one that died.
* s * I * g * h *
Every time you think you’re finally catching up and may be able to start saving some money up., something happens – if not to the house, then to the car or…. Ah, well. Easy come-easy go, as they say.
Dad’s prosthesis developed a crack in it and was pinching his leg, so he had to get a new one. Luckily his health care covers the prosthesis and they don’t charge him anything for it. They ended up making him a new one. He’ll have to go in sometime in the next week or so to get it adjusted, as it is currently rubbing in a few spots and making sores. Otherwise, we are all in good health.
Today we watched the Santa Parade here in Barriere, and last night was the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree. So, I guess we’re all set for Christmas now.
Merry Christmas to all and a very happy and healthy New Year!
Fröhliche Weihnachten und Ein Glückliches Neues Jahr!
Prettige Kerstdagen en een gelukkig Nieuwe Jaar!
Christmas Greetings to One and All,
The year 2011 started out with Dad having to replace the furnace. Luckily, we were able to get a grant to pay for this, as otherwise it would have been financially very difficult. About two months after it was installed, the workers had to return to finish the flashing around the chimney, as they couldn’t do it when it was installed due to the snow on the roof. They had to wait for it to melt.
The Spring wasn’t bad once it got going, but it was rather wet. Actually, 2011 was one of the wettest on record for B.C. – and summer was very late in coming! It wasn’t until August that it really got warm, and even then, it wasn’t hot, just warm. Then by September it was back to cool and wet again.
The garden seemed to like it though! Our pear tree bore fruit for the first time – and was so loaded that I had to pinch off close to 100. I ended up leaving 17 on the tree to ripen. They cooked up wonderfully and were very delicious!
I also planted some grape vines and some blueberries. We’ll see how they survive this winter. Hopefully they will do well – I do know of others who have grapes in our area , so they should be okay. We had lots of tomatoes, a zucchini, one spaghetti squash and several cucumbers too.
My sister Sylvia and I had several outings together, selling our wares – I was selling my handmade cards, and she her hats, aprons, quilts and other sewn items. We did pretty well at most of the sales. On December 16-17 (next weekend) we’ll be going to Sun Peaks for their Christmas Market. This is a big art/craft sale that the whole community of Sun Peaks takes part in – every store has at least a few tables set up. I’ll take lots of pictures and post them on my blog – houtep.blogspot.com – for anyone interested to read about it, or if you want to see pictures of any of the thing's I've written about in this letter.
On Father’s Day in June, everyone came to Sylvia’s for the day. It was a lot of fun, and one of Sylvia’s friends came and took a picture of all of us. It was a beautiful sunny, but very windy day.
In October, I took the bus down to Vancouver for a few days to visit with Loretta and to make Christmas Cards.
Dad’s car died in November – the head gasket blew and would cost more to repair than the car was worth. We found a car through a friend, that cost about what repairing the other car would have cost. I raided my RRSP to help pay for the “new” car. It is a 2002 model which is 10 years newer than the one that died.
* s * I * g * h *
Every time you think you’re finally catching up and may be able to start saving some money up., something happens – if not to the house, then to the car or…. Ah, well. Easy come-easy go, as they say.
Dad’s prosthesis developed a crack in it and was pinching his leg, so he had to get a new one. Luckily his health care covers the prosthesis and they don’t charge him anything for it. They ended up making him a new one. He’ll have to go in sometime in the next week or so to get it adjusted, as it is currently rubbing in a few spots and making sores. Otherwise, we are all in good health.
Today we watched the Santa Parade here in Barriere, and last night was the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree. So, I guess we’re all set for Christmas now.
Merry Christmas to all and a very happy and healthy New Year!
Fröhliche Weihnachten und Ein Glückliches Neues Jahr!
Prettige Kerstdagen en een gelukkig Nieuwe Jaar!
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