The drive from Creston to High River was beautiful. The trees through the Crow's Nest Pass were swathed in gold against a clear blue sky. We took our time and stopped in Fernie for a break, and again in Coaldale for a sandwich. The car rolled to a stop at Grahams in High River at about 4, a lovely day.
High River felt strange, because we couldn't go home, and warm because of our wonderful friends. We stayed with the Grahams for 2 nights and the Kus for 2 nights. We had meals with the Nautas and the Bible Study group. I had coffee with a friend, and Sheelagh got together with her birthday celebrating ladies. We got some repacking and rearranging done, and took care of business that had arisen.
Tuesday we went to Edmonton and our family here. I got to take Ngila to school and dance with the princess Beatrix.

What a day. We woke to a beautiful view over Kootenee? Lake. At about 6am I got up and scrambled over rocks and logs down to the lake's edge and enjoyed about an hour's quiet time as the sun slowly eased itself over the hills opposite. At the Bougainville Lodge we were served an excellent breakfast as we looked out over the lake.
The road took us slowly south to Nelson, where we did a self guided tour of the many historic buildings. This town is built on a hillside very similar to White Rock and we got an excellent workout. From Nelson we returned north to Balfor where we had a 1 1/2 hour wait for the ferry which took us across the Kootenee Lake. It was our plan to find a charming B&B along the lake, but we arrived in Creston without seeing a single, "charming B&B"
That is why I am writing this blog in an, "Uncharming" motel. We plan to rise early and set off for High River in the morning.

We're very pleased to say that Sheelagh is much better. Thanks to anyone who prayed for her. The drive from A&J's to the Wray's was pleasant if uneventful. We decided to go north on the Coquihalla? through Kamloops and then to Enderby via highway 97. We took our time and arrived, via Dave's Goat Walk, at about 2:45. The chance to catch up with dear friends from many years back was a treat. We seemed to be eating most of the time, but lots of stories were shared. As Alex says, "Those stories get better over the years."
Today we went down to Vernon and east along a beautiful valley highway to Nacusp for a great lunch overlooking a lake, to New Denver where we toured the historic Japanese internment? camp and on to our friends Malcolm and Delyth's hangout, Kaslo where we found a great B&B.
Till next time.

Pick up your bed and walk, or at least drive.

For the last week we have been hunkered down in Ladner at Sheelagh's brother's place trying to shake this cold/flu. The worst seems to be slipping behind us and we feel the need to move along. We are so thankful for the kindness of Jackie and Adrian, for their generosity. The picture is of Adrian and Jackie. The support of family has been wonderful.
On Monday morning we plan to leave for Enderby in the north Okanogan to see our friends the Wrays. We'll be there a day or two visiting and catching up before moving on to Nelson. Shush and her lady buddies were in Nelson once and she liked it so much that she wants me to see it with my own eyes. Onward!
Then off to High River to drop off bikes, pick up clothes and pills and see those strange people that we love so much in that town. 2 or 3 days there and then, Edmonton, where two little sweeties live, actually four sweeties, three of them little.
That will be the next week or so for us. Hope that you are well.

We are still at A & J's house trying to get Shush back on her feet. We have been very quiet and today the doctor told her that the congestion is not in her lungs so that's great news. The doc wants her back on Saturday for another visit, so after that we'll try to get back to Oliver.

We've had a change of schedule, temporary we hope. Friday night Sheelagh was feeling even worse so we decided that the trailer was not the place to be sick so on Saturday morning we packed up our stuff and headed back to the coast to Adrian and Jackie's place where Shush could be more comfortable until she feels better.
The drive back was beautiful but uneventful. It takes between 4 and 5 hours, but Sheelagh felt better to be in a bed and warm. A & J are in Oregon with their family and we appreciate their generous hospitality even if they are not here.
We hope that we can get back to The Gleaners to finish our commitment there. That's where we stand at the moment so we'll keep you informed as we go.

This is short. We've worked, u-picked raspberries. and today we went swimming at Okanogan Falls lake. A cute little 18 month old girl charmed us today as she helped her Mom cut peppers. Here are a few pics. Pray for Sheelagh, she's not feeling very well. A bit of a chest cold.

Because the work here happens in the morning, we have the afternoons to roam around. Today we went into Penticton to explore. This small city stretches from the Okanogan Lake on the north to Skara Lake on the south. we had just about given up on finding the downtown. As we drove north through several kilometres of strip malls we thought that it was like the section of Florida that we have seen. At last we found the tourist info centre and got directions to the older northern part of the city that was more interesting. We walked for blocks enjoying the lakeshore and the main street of the city. For the lakes and surrounding beauty, I'd give Penticton an A+, the rest, a C+, with a failing grade to the bakery where we bought the worst eccles cakes we have ever had. We even met a guy playing music along the lake who went to school in High River. He let me take a picture with his bass for a story we sent to our Grandaughters.

Soup making

We are into the swing of soup making at The Gleaners. The farming community in the area donate malformed or damaged veggies to the Gleaners. Sometimes they are delivered, and sometimes they are picked up. They are then put into a large hopper that is used to dump them onto tables where the volunteers work. We cut out seeds, spots, hard bits etc and they are then put through a dicer. The diced veg is then spread on trays and put on racks that are wheeled into two large driers. This is the bottle neck. The driers take from 10 to 12 hours, depending on the food. Tomatoes take the longest. when it has dried, it is scraped off the tephlon liners into large barrels. In January the veggies are mixed into soupmix and placed in 2 lb bags to be shipped all over the world to places where they are needed. Simply add water for a nutritious vegetable soup.
We have been able to do various jobs and the mornings, when the work is done, fly past. The afternoons are left for us to bike or read or whatever. The weather has been great if a bit cool in the mornings. Trailer #2 is very primitive, but adequate. Most people here have RV's. There is a spirit of mission here, and a sense of doing something useful. There are several "Homeschool kids," and they are great. Noisy, happy and very helpful.

Saturday was quiet, we stayed around home and did a few errands. On Sunday we stayed for church and a fine lunch with Mutti and Grandad before setting off for The Gleaners in Oliver in the Okanogan. The drive across was smooth and fairly fast. It took about 4 1/2 hours with quite a bit of rain. Here are a few pictures.
See Trailer Number 2, our digs for the next 3 weeks. It only leaks on the end with the full sized bed.

Today's blog is mostly for family and friends who know Sheelagh's family. Thursday was very quiet, and yesterday was mostly eating. We started the eating by going out to a restaurant for brunch. Sheelagh's Mum and Dad were off to a wedding in the afternoon and Sheelagh and I read etc. This was the 63rd wedding anniversary for Mutti and Dad, so we met up with Adrian, Sheelagh's brother and Jackie his wife for a celebratory dinner and back to their house for cake and coffee.

Tourist monks.

Queen Mary shoes are now in my possession! and a tux shirt with real plastic studs! I got 2 shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of dress pants that go all the way to the floor, the shoes, and Sheelagh got a dress, all for $29. Love the Nearly New.

Yesterday was highlit? highlighted? by a trip to visit the Buddhist Temple in Richmond. It is the biggest such temple in the world outside of China. It was very interesting to read all the notes on the various characters and practises. It was a very peaceful place, with little spots to sit and contemplate. Grandma and Grandad enjoyed the visit and we made it home through the tunnel at very near rush hour. That blew all of the residual tranquility that I had acquired.

Last night Grandma and I went to see JULIE AND JULIA and Sheelagh and Grandad had a pleasant evening in peace.

What a beautiful and long drive we had yesterday. At 7:09 we pulled out of our home, for the last month, and we headed west toward Jasper and the BC border. It took us about 14 hours in all, but we saw beauty all around us, in small things and in towering mountains. The trip was really uneventful, except for the beauty, so I'll just put up some pictures and let them speak for themselves.