So Nelson-esque

Well, I think I officially became a Nelson-ite today. One might think I got my first bill in the mail at my new address, or maybe that I switched over my driver's license. In reality, I went and bought my first season's pass for Whitewater, the local ski hill. The talk in the town has been about ski season for sometime now, with conversations at dinner parties and around the office ranging from who's going to be riding what to how soon they think they'll be able to get their first turns in. I will admit while driving through the Salmo-Creston Pass on the weekend, I was checking the peaks to see if they'd been dusted with snow yet (just barely!) With the early bird deadline coming up at the end of the week it's only added fuel to the fire.
Last night, I did something else that seemed very Kootenay-like, and that was enjoy the Autumn Equinox while eating mooncake. The Autum Equinox is celebrated in parallel with the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also known as the Moon Festival and is a celebration of abundance and togetherness. Mooncake is a Chinese Pastry made from lotus paste and they usually have an egg yolk in the center. They're quite sweet, and very dense. Next time I'm going to have to remember to bring a thermos of tea to wash it down with! I also learned about the legend behind the autumn festival (which you can read about at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival) and found out about the rabbit in the moon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_rabbit) both of which are neat Chinese Folklore tales.

Gwillim Lakes

Another weekend in the Kootenays and another adventure. This time, a group of us from the Vacuum and a few friends got together and did a backpack trip into Valhalla Provincial Park. All together there were 9 of us who headed out Saturday morning, and I don't think we could have asked for a better weekend. The weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky on Saturday and most of Sunday as well. The trail itself is scenic from the start, climbing over Drinnon Pass into the alpine past several glacier fed lakes. The campsite we stayed at is at the base of Lucifer Peak and is basically surrounded with unreal, sharp, pyramid shaped peaks as far as the eye can see. We did get midway up Lucifer on Sunday but ran out of time and had to head back down before reaching the summit. Something to aim for next time. I would highly recommend this hike!
Again, I've posted a couple photos here, but there are plenty more on my flickr site for your enjoyment.

A quick shout out too, to Brian - I think you may be the only one reading this blog - so thanks!

Life in a small town...

Two weekends ago was one of my first in Nelson in a long time, and I really got to experience small town life at it's finest. Saturday I met my sister and a friend for coffee at Oso, Nelson's local roasterie. We then walked down to the farmer's market at Cottonwood Falls to pick up some local produce. As it turns out, it was also the Nelson Road Kings Queen City Cruise that weekend so Baker Street (aka main street Nelson) was shut down from one end to the other for a vintage car show. We spent a couple hours wandering around checking out some beautifully restored vehicles.
On Sunday, I met up with some friends Ben and Vanessa and headed out to Idaho Peak. It's a short and easy hike with a 360 degree view of the Kootenays at the top. You can see Silverton, New Denver, Slocan Lake, the New Denver and Kokanee Glaciers and the Valhalla Mountains at once. It's overwhelming. I've included a few photos here, and have more posted on my flickr site.
From there, we headed down to New Denver for the Hills Garlic Festival. It used to be held in Hills, but has grown in popularity and has had to move to a larger venue the last few years. All things Garlic for sure, including types of garlic I had never heard of! I've heard of Russian garlic, Italian garlic and even Purple garlic but never had I heard of Music garlic - which seemed to be a popular choice at this particular festival. All in all it was a great afternoon that was topped off with dinner at Ben and Vanessa's and you can bet we had garlic bread and garlic mashed potatoes that night.

Linette and Brent

Well, the September long weekend I headed down to Vancouver for my cousin Linette's wedding. The first of the grandchildren on my mom's side to get married, it was a much anticipated affair and did not disappoint. The whole weekend was a blast!
As part of the wedding party I got to get pampered by getting a manicure and a pedicure Friday afternoon. (My first manicure ever - I didn't know my hands could look that nice!) Then Saturday morning my cousin Melissa did my hair and makeup. Us girls got a lift in a limo to the ceremony (with rocking tunes - thanks mononcle!) stood up for a couple "I dos", posed for a few photos and then got fed an amazing meal and danced until we shut the hall down. Linette looked beautiful, and it was an honor to get to spend the night before her wedding with her, just hanging out.

Typically, I think it's supposed to be the bride and groom who get showered with gifts, but neither my sister nor I went home empty handed. Both toting heirloom pieces and beautiful handmade quilts we made out like bandits! Thanks Meme for the quilt you made for me.

I also got to spend a fair bit of time with my Grandma on my dad's side which continues to be a blessing to me. She's such a remarkable lady and I think the older I get, the cooler I think she is. She joined us at the gift opening the next day, and then challenged me at cards until about 1 am, when I finally had to call it quits. Maybe next time you'll beat me Gram.

Life keeps Life-ing

Well I've been a bit remiss on updating my blog the last little while, so I apologize to anyone (is there anyone?) who is eager to read it. I have been keeping quite busy the last little while so there is a bit to talk about, and to be honest I think they deserve their own posts. Stay tuned...