Sunday, May 27, 2012

Give me a BRAKE!!!!

On Thursday morning I dropped my car off at Kootenay Lake Automotive because the brakes were making a weird sound. I asked them to call me with a quote when they knew what was wrong (they did... full brake job - front and back required), and Norm and I headed off to Kelowna in our just-fixed van (oxygen sensor malfunction) to exchange our box springs for low profile box springs (plural because they now split the box springs on new beds so they're easier to get in the house, and to transport... wise invention, that!).


Stopped for gas in New Denver and suddenly the van was lurching up the highway in a most unnatural way. We turned around and went right back to the Petrocan station where we'd gassed up, and the front left wheel was smoking when we got there. 


The guy told us it looked like the calipers had seized and that we'd have to have it repaired. He wasn't sure he could do it overnight so gave me the name of a place in Nakusp that rents vehicles, and while I was on the phone with them, he talked to a service station in Nakusp that said they could tow and fix our van by the next day.



  Waiting for our rental... 



The car rental place in Nakusp not only had a van (remember, we were carrying box springs), but they agreed to drive the 45 minutes to pick us up too! Crisis averted, and off we went to Kelowna to exchange our box springs, and do a little shopping at Value Village. 


This is our rental van... we've stopped for lunch at Lost Lake.




Some of our Value Village purchases... including Norm's new hat. I'm not sure why he likes to point at his watch in photos... it's a posing thing.



Check out the buns! They're real butter croissants!




Friday we spent a short time visiting with my sister and nephew, and then headed for Nakusp to pick up our newly fixed van - which was ready and waiting for us! Talk about smooth sailing. Expensive, but smooth! Thank you SO much to the amazing folks at the New Denver Petrocan... you guys ROCK! 




We enjoy a late coffee and early supper with our 
fixed van back with us... I love our van (and wine)!
























And I should also mention that today is Chicken Thursday's second birthday! Happy birthday to the namesake of this blog, and my first (and only, now that we have no rooster) grandchicken!



Monday, May 14, 2012

Our Bees Swarmed Today!



Wikipedia says that swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies. A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period, depending on the locale, but occasionally swarms can happen throughout the producing season. 











 Norm grabs huge handfuls of the bees from the bush and shakes them off onto the super, with his bare hands...


Only stung twice, and not while he was grabbing them by the clumpful (is that a word?)!!


This is video of me being brave and Norm in a hurry and not his usual gentle, explaining kind of guy!




 The new hive is set up next to the old one... hopefully they'll stick around!



Monday, May 7, 2012

Halcyon With the Girls

Saturday, May 5th, 9:30 am... picked up Heather, then Patricia, and finally Deb. We are going to Halcyon Hot Springs, about 25 minutes north of Nakusp on Arrow Lake. It's my first, and their annual weekend of soaking, eating and playing Euchre. 

This is my Ford Fusion with the huge trunk. Four women, ONE NIGHT, and there's enough stuff in there to satisfy everyone in a small village for a month.


Heather has to stop and pee lots... our first stop less than an hour into the journey (and she peed before we left her house too)... But the cool thing about Heather is that she is happy and excited and doesn't care if we tease her. She's just glad to be alive and going on a little holiday with her buddies!


A quick stop for shopping and lunch in Nakusp. I love Nakusp!

 Me and Heather in front of the store where I bought a bunch of  neat stuff... Hey Isabelle, check out my sunglasses! Nice, eh?!

 Me, Deb (I think my hand was touching her butt right then, hence the expression of pure delight? disgust? Hard to say...), Heather and Patricia. We're standing in front of the Leland Hotel - nice spot for lunch with a hilarious Italian cook and a view to die for...
Nice paint job! 

Finally, we arrive!



 The view from our kitchen window in Village Chalet 11B... a perfect room with two queen beds, a hide-a-bed couch, kitchenette (only with a barbecue, fridge and microwave, mind you) and a very short walk to the pool.



Ready to go for our first soak and I didn't think to bring pool shoes. Do you have any idea how much it embarrasses me to be seen in public looking like a dork? 


Left the pool because I wanted a drink, so we played a few games of Euchre... Patricia and I are the champions!





Okay... had drinks and snacks and several games of Euchre... back to the pool till we decided it was time to cook supper.



Heather cooked the steaks, I brought salad...



Deb made scalloped potatoes and garlic toast, and Patricia did a lovely lemony cheesecake. A veritable feast with only a microwave and a barbecue!!


It was super moon night. 


After hours of food and drink, laughter and cards, we finally went to sleep. I believe the last words of the evening were, "good night, John Boy". 



Another soak before heading home... it was sunny and some of us got burnt.


                 Applying cream to sooth our hot faces.
 Late lunch in Winlaw and then home. I wanted to blog about all the funny things we said and saw, but I think you had to be there. Either that or the sun fried my brain, because I can't think of a single funny thing right now, even though my stomach muscles still hurt from laughing all weekend.

Thanks to Heather for organizing the weekend, and to all of you for making me a part of the gang!