Fleeing Friday - Canada here we come

Today is not about me.  Today I have a guest blogger who is very near and dear to my heart. For most of you, you know him as my husband, Jeff.

JEFF start typing....

Big moves, from working to retired, from USA to Canada, selling 3 old cars and replacing with an RV, trailer and a Ford C Max.  With all my new found free time, I will have to find some new hobbies.  Fortunately, there are many lakes and things to do in our new home town.  With my wife's permission I see me acquiring a new toy. Maybe my former dentist Dr. Syn will provide some fly fishing lessons when he gets the opportunity to visit.  During the down time while waiting for the house to close, I found some interesting volunteer opportunities like, help remodel kitchen of a particular community center.  
I definitely won't be missing the worsening traffic in the Bay area.  It seems to take forever to go anywhere.  When I purchased my electric, it cut my commute time in half.  As the years went by, the commute had gotten just as bad even using the HOV lane.  Although I will miss my friends at work, I will not miss the work itself.

We finally arrived at our new home in Vernon, BC on Sunday July 30 at 530 pm.  While unloading our boxes from the trailer, we noticed the welcoming committee of this neighborhood.

These two deer started in the front of our house, sort of nodded their heads and went to our backyard.

Waiting Wednesday - Only a few more sleep

Why does escrow take 30 days to process the selling of a house?  Sometimes I wonder if they just want to have extra days to deal with the unexpected.  Anyway it is finally going to happen.  The papers will be signed off and whatever else needed to get done.  We will plan to head north soon.  We are looking forward to this new adventure.  Today, while cleaning some of the last few items, I found our guest book for our Cranberry Portage B&B.  It was very interesting to know that during the seven years I lived here, we had 30 visits from friends and family from Canada and USA.  Now that we are moving the location of our B&B, we will sending our new information electronically.  I will have to design a new brochure for our B&B.  I am not sure if I will keep the name but since my blog is named the same, probably will keep the same name with different address.  I know for some it won't be that exciting because we will be in Canada.  Some our friends here in the Bay area are planning on visiting us as well as some of our friends in Canada.  Of course we won't be accepting reservations until we have everything in place, like beds to sleep on, tables and chairs, etc. Last night our neighborhood group went out for dinner so they can say goodbye to us. My friend Pam gave me a very nice gift.  Here's a photo of the gift. We will definitely miss this neighborhood as we have made great friends, but we know we will see them when we come to visit the Bay Area.  There's friends in Discovery Bay, El Dorado Hills, Daly City, Los Angeles as well as family in Arroyo Grande, Newark, Hemet that we hope to visit. We also have some friends who we can visit in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  

Mishmash Monday - because I need to post

Only a few more days before we head north and get back to normal life.  I wanted to make sure there's a new post for my followers but it was difficult to work on my lap top. We have no more furniture in our house.  There's a couple of folding chairs, our sofa, guest bed and a folding table which I use my crafts.  Sometimes I would look for my lap top and it has been moved depending on what Jeff needs to do around the house.  Tonight I decided to write a post and I am actually using my lap to work while sitting on the folding chair.  It's weird but this is truly my first time working on my computer and it's actually sitting on my lap.  LOL. What I have to share today is a mix up of things that I have received, bought, etc.  As you know I cannot really buy anything as there is no more room on our RV or the trailer.  But these items are small so I guess it's ok.

This was a raffle prize I won when we attended a retirement party of a friend of Jeff.

"Tristan" the name of the style of pizza from MOD pizza.  It was so yummy I had the leftover for breakfast.

Our appetizer at Rock Bottom Brewery.  Freshly baked pretzel with a spinach with Asiago cheese dip.

Courtesy of Sephora - a belated birthday gift from them.

We finally took down my twig ball hanging lamp and gave it to my friend Debbie.  I will miss this item.

Throwback Thursday - The Backyardigans

About 13 years ago, my daughter and I were bored one morning and starting watching the children channel.  I think it was Nick Jr.  We saw one episode of the Backyardigans and we loved it so much, we watch some more.  My daughter only watch a couple and I ended up watching all the episodes.  The songs are so catchy and their dancing are so in the groove.  A couple of days ago while visiting our friends in Discovery Bay, I got a chance to hang out with their grandson, Jackson.  We all went on their boat and took a slow cruising around the discovery bay.  After a while he was getting a little bored so I took my phone and we started watching some children's show.  There was Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse and of course the Backyardigans.  He was enjoying them and my friends were amazed on how much I know about these shows.  Not only that I knew all the lyrics to their

theme songs.  Almost forgot, my daughter told me that her youngest nephew Brantley now likes the Backyardigans.  I got very excited and thought I could share my DVD's with him. Apparently they don't have a DVD and probably just streaming.  What is funny is that I have a few DVD of the different episodes of the Backyardigans.  On Wednesday morning I received a video of the kids singing the song and I love it as they truly did a great job.  I shared it with Jackson and like me, he just wants to watch it over and over.  Now I want to make a video for the kids.  I will do the song A message and dance like Uniqua. Hopefully they will have fun and have a good laugh when they see it.  

UNIQUA is my favorite.

Spoiled Sunday - It can't be better than this

Last Tuesday was Prime Day Deals on Amazon.  I got so excited to check out what were the deals.  It was very interesting to see all kinds of deals but at first there was nothing that interest me, until I saw E010.  You might be wondering what is this number means.  It all started when we had nothing to watch on TV and I stumble upon DRL (Drone Racing League).  After show, I told Jeff I want my own beginner Drone toy.  Luckily, it was available during the Prime Day Deal on Amazon.  So I placed it on the Wish List and of course Jeff ordered it for me.  Yeah.  It can't be better than this because it arrive the next day.  There was another item that we wanted to get and Jeff decided to order it since it was such a great deal.  I am calling it the daughter of Alexa, the Echo Dot will be a great addition to our techie family.  Jeff ask what color I wanted and I chose the white one.  We plan to have it in our new home, most likely in our upstairs area and have Alexa in the family room.  Now that I have my own Drone and Jeff has his, it was time for us to have our own race around the empty home.  Unfortunately we are still trying to tweak the piloting of our drone.  It's very finicky and there's some extra buttons for trimming but it's difficult to do all the adjustments while learning how to operate it.  Since everything is all packed, I am not allowed to buy anything anymore, but on Friday my MIL and I went to Kohl's and I got a new sandal flip flop and a new top for a very good price.

My new toy E010 aka Whirlie

Introducing Alexa's daughter DOT.

Jeff's not so new toy - Whytti

Freehand Friday - A new project

When my daughter ask me if I can make something like this, after sharing a photo, I immediately said YES, I can do it.  We are currently in the waiting game after we sold the house as escrow takes forever.  There's nothing left in our home except a sofa, two folding chairs, two small side table and the bed that use to be in our guest room.  All my sewing items and craft items are all packed in the trailer.  When I saw the project that she wanted me to make for her sister in law, I was very exciting because I knew it would not require a lot of notions.  It was very simple, a white piece of fabric for the banner, black thread for stitching, three neutral color yarn for the pompoms and finally a wooden dowel.  I asked my MIL if I can borrow her bigger hoop for the embroidery part.  The stitch is very simple - running stitch.  Since I don't have my sewing machine, I was planning on finishing the banner this weekend and when I visit my friend Jean, I could use her sewing machine as I know it's always set up in her craft room.  Yesterday I was able to drag Jeff to Hobby Lobby and get the supplies for this project.  I truly hope I can deliver to this task for my daughter's SIL (sister in law).  Here's the two projects that I must complete before we head North.

Tennis Tuesday - Wimbledon is exciting

It's hard to believe that Wimbledon Championship is over.  There must have been hundreds of hours of recorded coverage that I breeze through each morning at breakfast.  The one pleasant experience is that one of the players in the women's bracket is not playing but the sister is still hanging on. However in the men's final, the Big 4 were all there for the Round of 16 and then after all the games were played, only RF, my favorite tennis player of all time is going forward to play the Semi Final on Friday.  I am sure if you were watching some of the games or following the sports news, there were many players who retired.  Of course there's the question of how real were the injuries.  Did they just want to get the prize money and not play through.  It was sad to see Novak retire and to see Nada lose on the fifth set against Muller.  I am so looking forward to the one semi-final between Federer and Berdych. I will be cheering both Friday and hopefully Sunday for the finals for Roger.  Almost forgot to mention that I breeze through all their chit chat because one of the sports commentator that is fairly new is the coach of that player that I am not fond of.  It's hard to listen to him, so each time he's on the, I just click click click.  That's the benefit of DVR.  In a month the US Open is scheduled and I am hoping that we will have a new TV, a cable provider and a new DVR.  Until the next Grand Slam tournament, good luck to my favorite RF for this Wimbledon men's final.

Solitude Sunday - It's not our home anymore

Day after day we have been living in the house that use to be our home but not anymore. Since the house has been staged for selling purposes and since we have removed almost all our personal items, our lives has been a little bit of a solitude.  We left the basic necessities for cooking, for daily cleaning, personal hygiene and of course our favorite electronics. Thank goodness we still have our TV, internet and even our home phone.  We also have not disconnected Alexa which keeps us company when we are just in our living room and nothing to watch on TV.  This weekend we packed more items that we don't need in the RV and smaller items in the trailer.  We would really want to head north but escrow is taking a long time to complete.  Each week there's still something to be checked, inspected or appraised.  I am sitting in the pretend little office that use to be our guest room.  Last week I did a bunch of baking in order to use all the ingredients that were in open packages.  Some days I would like to make or cook something only to find that I don't have any of my kitchen cookware.  Some days we are so bored since I can't do any craft or sewing.  We manage to play a few hours of tennis as we can still access our racquet and balls from the trailer.  The only other item I have not stored are my golf clubs and push cart.  I plan to golf every week until I am told of a final date of escrow.  Here's all the sweet treats that I baked using recipes from Pinterest.

Friendship Friday - Another reconnection

Every now and then we would come home and there's actually a message on our home phone.  Someone once ask me, do you still keep a land line? With all the current technology and amazing cell phones, most of our family and friends have given up land lines.  But since it's part of our provider package and it's free, we still have it available for those who want to

call our home phone.  Sometimes it's annoying because the majority of the calls are telemarketers or wrong numbers.  To my surprise, last Monday I got home from golf and there was a couple of messages.  One was a reminder of my massage appointment and the other was a female voice giving her name and where I knew her and her phone number.  At first I was having a difficulty processing and after the second time I listened to the message, I knew who it was.   I called her back and it was such a nice reconnecting chat.  She told me how she found my info and that she has been trying to search me on any type of social media.  It was funny because she said she really loved my outgoing message on our home phone.  She asked me who Kevin was and I guess she does not know who the minions are. Have you reconnected with someone from your childhood?  Maybe from some high school friends or maybe even University friends?  Unfortunately sometimes it does not work because people change and you don't have anything to talk about or maybe just awkward.

Introducing KEVIN my favorite minion.

You know what is funny after picking Kevin as my favorite minion, I realized that my hairdresser's name is also Kevin as well as my golf teacher is also Kevin.  Almost forgot, my cousin in law's boyfriend is also Kevin.

Trump Tuesday - Happy 4th of July

It's the first happy 4th of July celebration for President Trump.  I wonder if this will be the most spectacular fireworks display in and around Washington as well as the famous Macy's Fireworks Spectacular.  This is a very special holiday for most Americans.  They go all out with the fireworks display, all types of free outdoor concerts, a variety of BBQ parties in their own neighborhood, and of course let's not forget about flying the American flag.  Everything will be red, white and blue.  Like any other Federal Holiday, most government office, banks and some stores are closed.  Since it falls on a Tuesday, most people have taken Monday or maybe even Friday off to make it their long weekend.  As for us, we usually try to stay away from all celebrations as we don't like crowds anymore.  We enjoy watching the fireworks on TV in the comfort of our living room.  We also try to find some other July 4th special event. Sometimes, we go to friends homes if they are hosting some type of celebration.  If we do, I usually make some Jello shots using red, white and blue jello.  Using combinations like red jello and candy cane vodka, blue jello and Malibu rum, and for the white, I use clear gelatin and add a little milk and maybe use a creamy liquor.  Whatever you do today, be safe and be vigilant if you are attending a big event.  Celebrating American independence is not only about partying, it's about American traditions, freedom and appreciation to those who keep this country safe. 

Saluting Saturday - I'm proud to be a Canadian

Happy Canada Day to all my relatives in friends in Canada and those who are currently out of the country either working or just enjoying life somewhere else.  What is it that so special about Canada.  In 1974 I arrived in Vancouver to emigrate only to find out that my parents actually live in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.  Does anyone even know where that is? It is the place where I got married and had two amazing children (A and G).  A place where I have made so many friends who I still keep in contact. We lived there for 10 years before moving to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.  I bet most of you don't know where that is either?

It is the place where I saw the most amazing Northern lights aka Aurora Borealis.  Only stayed for four years before we were told we were being transferred to the big city of Toronto.  We found a small townhouse in a smaller city called Mississauga, Ontario.  It's not really that small anymore. My job took me to Ottawa moving a couple of times, one just me shortly after being divorced and the other move with my daughter and I. It was difficult to leave my son with his Dad, but keeping him in the school he loved was more important.  So many memories both good and sad but after 23 years it was time to move to another country to be with Jeff in San Jose, California. Canada has given us a great life and I wouldn't exchange it for anywhere else. Now seven years later, Jeff has chosen to retire early and we picked Vernon, British Columbia.  Although we only have our friends D and D (who use to live in Mississauga), we are looking forward to meeting new people in the area.  It's too bad we will miss the Canada Day sale but will be looking forward to maybe a Labour Day weekend sale.  

Yellowknife, NT

Northern lights, Yukon

Ottawa - Canada's Capital