Jumbo June

Sometime last year one of our friends had their backyard renovated. They added a pool, a hot tub, a putting green, lots of sitting arrangements and an outdoor kitchen with a grill and a pizza oven.  One night while we were all enjoying their new and improved backyard, the owners thought about naming their outdoor space.  We joked around about all of us (their friends) would buy a membership so we can enjoy the so called resort.  Anyway, since I have a very talented son in law, I asked him if he would not mind designing a sign for our friends resort. It took a while before they come up with the name. This year, I thought of bringing up the subject and finally my SIL was able to take a little break from his work and the final design was created.  As part of the process, I contacted a couple of sign shops in our area.  The first one quoted a bit too high for the size of the signage.  I found another one on the same street and spoke to one of the employees.  He was very helpful and provided all the information that I needed.  A week later, I sent the job to the vendor and a couple days later it was all done.  So here's the final product.  We delivered it to our friends and they loved it. My husband helped them hang it up in their outdoor kitchen.  I asked the sign shop if I can mention their company on my blog.  Their work is amazing and their owner and employees are very professional, friendly and very helpful.  Remember when you need a sign, stop by at the Graphics Enterprises Signs and Design Ltd.  You won't be disappointed. 

May is my favorite month

What is so special about this month? It's when flowers starts to bloom and the weather is wonderfully warm.  Today is Mother's Day and it is another reason why May is very special.  I am a mother and I wish all the mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day. May your day be filled with love, surprises and wonderful new moments to cherish.  And lastly, it is my favorite month because I was born in the month of May.  This year is monumental because I am going into the new decade. That's right I will be turning 70.  So I had this idea that I will make a list of 70 things in my life that is worth sharing. Of course it is not written in no particular order. Just whatever comes to my mind as my fingers starts clicking the keyboard. Like in American Idol, Ryan Seacrest would say, Dim the lights and here we go! LOL

1. I am still alive and still feel very young.
2. I was blessed with two amazing kids (a daughter and a son).
3. First marriage lasted 16 years and this month my second marriage is at 15 yrs.
4. I am very thankful to my parents for immigrating to Canada and giving us a better life.
5. I am deeply sorry for family members that we have lost through the years.
6. I am blessed to still have relatives in Canada and the US who are still very much part of our lives.
7. I was able to retire at 58 and really enjoying retired life.
8. I am so lucky to be able to live in 2 Canadian province (Ontario and BC) and 2 territories (Northwest and Yukon) and 1 US state (California)
9. I have travelled to over 55 countries in the world and had a chance to live and work in Kyiv, Ukraine for 6 weeks.
10. I have made a lot of very good friends in the places I live and travelled and I am happy to say that I still keep it touch with most of them.
11. Although I have some health issues that were caused by genetics, I am still very active and feel healthy at this stage of my life.
12. I truly enjoy golf and very lucky to be able to do it from end of March to end of October each year. I am able to go out Monday to Friday and sometimes the weekend if there's no chore to do at home.
13. Wow, I didn't realize it might be difficult to list 70 things. OK, I enjoy Blogging and have been doing it since 2011.
14. I love to cook. We enjoy having friends over for meals and try different types of cuisines.  
15. I enjoy baking and trying different recipes. My baking is enjoyed by my neighbors, friends at the golf course and places where I volunteer.
16. That's right, Volunteering is something that I started after I retired. I am currently involved in 3 different agencies at our current city.
17. I'm not much of an outdoor/hiking type, but since we moved to the Okanagan, I have enjoyed camping in provincial parks although you might call it glamping, as we have an RV.
18. I still do some sewing, whether it's a new project, or repairs for some of my friends. During Covid, cloth masks was my biggest request. 
19. Another craft that I like doing sometime is card making. I actually attended a couple of classes offered by my neighbor.
20. I am very lucky to be able to have a birthday celebration each decade starting at age 20. 

So maybe I don't have enough to make it to 70 but I am just so happy to be reaching that age and still feel younger.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read today's post. 

Appreciation April

This month started with a big project at our home.  We have decided to change the upstairs flooring.  The living/dining room had color wood floor, the kitchen had tiles and one of them had a chip and the 3 bedrooms upstairs all had carpets.  Anyway, my husband decided to do it himself instead of having contractors come in.  During the process of picking our the type of flooring, we met the couple who owns LINQ flooring. They are so helpful, fun, professional and just a wonderful couple.  When I found out they love scones, muffins, treats, etc. I started bringing some of the treats to them.  They were were so appreciative and couldn't believe how good they were. Let me share some of my latest treats.  You also can see a couple that are very small. LOL They are dog treats that I made for Stanley and Norman.  They were featured last month. 

Strawberry/raspberry macarons

Pineapple/coconut/almond scones

Carrots/apple/oats doggie cookies

Banana /peanut butter/carrots doggie treats

Blueberry/lemon scones with lemony drizzle

Chicken Pot Pie 

  

March of the deer

There is no excuse for doing this post so late. But I actually have an excuse. Golf season started early in my next of the woods, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.  This month I decided to share some of the photos that I took once all the snow has disappeared in our backyard.  We had a lot of visitors (deer) during that time. It seems like they were stopping by once a week.  It's sometimes hard to believe that we live in a city and deer just come walking by in our backyard.  Almost forgot about our dog sitting for a week. They are the cutest dogs and the easiest to care for. We enjoyed taking them for their walk everyday. It was a great exercise for us as well.

Norman - a Toronto Maple Leaf fan

Stanley - a very loving dog

Fancy February

Happy Valentines to everyone who are still taking the time to read my blog. I hope you continue to check on it even if it is only once a month.  Since I have decided to only post once a month, then you know that if you check at the end of each month, then you would have not missed any. This month's post if about my recent experience of making fancy cards.  I was invited by my neighbor last November to an event. It was called Stamping Event.  It was held at a room in one of the local hotels.  There were at least 25 women, 5 at each table.  We were there for 3 hours and we completed 15 regular cards and 3 miniature cards, all Christmas designs.

Last month, I attended a smaller workshop as it was held at her home which is across my home. There were 11 women and we were to complete 3 cards of different designs.  It was definitely a fun evening but I am not sure if I would really get into it and buy a lot of supplies.  But now I know I can make up some other cards using what I have in my small supply box.  Although I do not have the proper stamps, etc. I am confident that I could just print them using my new small printer that I got for Christmas. 

Until the next post, I hope I would be able to share more new cards that I have made on my own using some of the supplies I have.  Until the next post, thanks.

Justify January

 A few days ago, a good friend of mine ask me if I was still posting anything on my blog. I mentioned to her that I maybe doing it once a month.  It so happened this morning I checked it and the last time I posted something was November. So today it was justified to write something and share some photos.  For those who have started following me from day one, you know that it's been at least 12 years. That's a long time, right. I am sure other blogs have been going on for many more years than that. Anyway, I told my friend that I would post something this month, so I am honoring my word.  Our December was very quiet while most of our friends are either away visiting family or relatives visiting them, we were looking after our friends dog for 10 days. The two dogs were small and very cute and of course so loving. I made them a batch of treats made with oats, carrots, applesauce, etc. They love them.  Last weekend, we invited our friends for Chinese New Year dim sum dinner. Unfortunately I got busy and my friend who normally takes photo got so excited about trying all the different items, she forgot.  But I can share with you the list of the dim sum items we served.

Oatmeal carrot applesauce dog cookies

I crocheted a small blanket for their bed.

Norman and Stanley

Hwy 97 scenery from Vernon to Kelowna

Each of our guest received a red envelope.

Each coupon is different depending on the person.

Happy Chinese New Year! 

Natural November

You are probably wondering why I decided to use the word NATURAL for this month. Actually it all started with what I have decided to post this month.  I wanted to feature our beautiful province of British Columbia.  At this time of the year the sceneries are amazing. Although we do not have the same amazing fall colors like the province of Ontario, there are other great features of our province.  What is BC known for nature?

Vibrant rainforests, craggy mountain peaks, glacial lakes, and an expansive coastline make British Columbia a playground for nature lovers.

Now let me share some the recent photos I have taken during the last couple of months. Some are taken from our camping days and some are taken just from our living room window.  I hope you enjoy them and maybe someday you might find yourself exploring our neck of the woods.

One of my favorite sunset photo taken from our living room window.

Along Mt. Grady Drive

Middleton Mountain

Ellison Park Beach

Okanagan Lake

Ellison Provincial Park

This was featured last week on our local news - Sharbot Lake, Ontario