The Full Nelson

Photos of Bowron

2008-07-14T09:03:00.001-07:00

Just in case anyone wanted to see photos from Bowron Lakes - I posted them all to my flickr site. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Bowron Lakes Chain!

2008-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just got back from 8 days of paddling around the Bowron Lakes Chain in Northern B.C. What an amazing trip! I was invited to join my friend Sheri and her family to canoe the circuit. All together, there were 8 of us in 4 canoes. Three generations of her family were there, with her dad completing his 13th trip around and her two nieces and a nephew doing their first.

Bowron Lake Park is a large wilderness area on the Western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range. The canoe circuit is a 116 km chain of lakes, rivers and connecting portages. The trip can be completed in 4-10 days depending on how strong your crew is and what the weather's like. There have been a few radicals who have done the whole thing in less than a day - but that involves running the portages, not sleeping and generally not enjoying the spectacular scenery. Not really my cup of tea!

Overall it was a great trip. On average we paddled 6-7 hours a day, with a couple longer days when campsites were full and a couple shorter days when we found somewhere particularly nice we wanted to explore some more. We also completely lucked out when it came to weather, with most days dawning with clear skies and calm winds. The only day we paddled in the rain was the very last day as we were pulling into shore. 3 out of the 4 boats had made it to the end when it began to pour! A great opportunity to test out how waterproof our gear was, without much consequence. Otherwise, we did have the occasional storm blow through in the evenings but thankfully they didn't last long and we typically had tarps set up in time.

If we were lucky when it came to weather, karma caught up to us when it came to the mosquitoes! Never have I seen so many blood sucking critters in one space at one time. Bug spray and long sleeves did little to deter the bastards and I spent much of my time in camp swatting, scratching and bathing myself in Afterbite. At night, we were lulled to sleep by the buzzing just beyond the tent screen. That same buzzing was also a huge deterrent for getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, despite a full bladder!

This was my first trip portaging, and I was pretty happy for the canoe carts when going up and down the trails. Specifically the first section when the canoes were loaded! The parks do have a weight restriction, and when you register to start the circuit, a ranger does come out to weigh all the stuff you're going to be carrying in your canoe. To keep the trails in good condition, all canoes are limited to 60 lbs and whatever is left over, has to be carried on your back. Our group was overweight , but luckily our ranger was compassionate and helped us out. This is contrary to what some members of our group have experienced in the past, so many thanks to her!

We did get to see a bit of wildlife on our journey around the lake, starting with a bear visit to our campsite the first morning. Although he (she?) wasn't easily scared off, he did eventually make his way up the trail allowing us to get packed up and our way. All the campsites on the circuit are well equipped with bear caches but I guess the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning was too much to resist! (Side note - Many thanks to my cousin at Doug's Homestead in Hedley for getting all our meat ready for us! We were the envy of the campsite when we had bbq'ed steaks at the end of day 4, and their beef jerky is the best I've tasted, hands down.) We also came across several bald eagles and a few moose, including the one that Keith and Emilie had to paddle around after running the chute on Isaac river! Loons were often our companions on the water during the day and serenaded us with their calls at night. One night we were also privy to a couple of owls calling to each other across the bay we were camped at. The hoots that followed led us to believe it might have been a mating call. They kept us up part of the night!

We were one of many families we met along the way, and it seems like an ideal trip to take with enough planning and preparation. Even the little guy whose canoe took on water when running the chutes had a big smile on his face at the end of it all. No matter how you look at it, it was the opportunity of a lifetime, and although it was my first, I'm confident it won't be my last.

Overkill!

2008-03-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - I just realized that it's been ages since I last posted here. Guess I felt that I haven't had anything interesting worth posting, which is odd, because there's been quite a bit going on. Anyway - the point of this post is to post the photos of my most recent photo assignment with Jordan. In case you missed it previously - the assignments happen monthly and are just a way to stretch our creative brains a bit in terms of our photography. This month's assignment was of Jordan's choosing and the theme he picked was "overkill". My initial reaction to this was "Damn! Why couldn't we have had this topic when I was in New York?!" I must have seen a dozen things that struck me as overkill while walking a city block. Finding things that were overkill in a small, fairly environmentally-friendly town seemed tough, and I definitely struggled with what to shoot. The number of hippies in town came to mind, as did the oversized trucks with two sleds in the back and a trailer behind with two more - but neither really inspired me. I considered using this assignment as a soap box to discuss consumerism or the amount of waste that could be recycled as a photo essay, but those felt too obvious. St. Patrick's Day was perfect opportunity - as I witnessed plenty of overkill - but posting unflattering pictures of people isn't really my thing either. That said, some element of that did trickle into what I did end up picking for this topic - booze. Believe it or not, Jordan (in a round about way) influenced that when he mentioned that he had had a bit too much red wine the other night. That made me think about a few other evenings of excess that I've experienced lately, and a quick look in my recycling bin provided me with ample fodder. So - below are a selection of shots of "Overkill". Be sure to check out Jordan's submissions as well.

several empty wine bottles...

the top of a Bailey's bottle. What can I say? It goes really well with Hot Chocolate after a day of skiing!

A quick plug for the Nelson Brewing Company!

There is no need for concern - I didn't consume this all in one night, nor did I drink it alone. It was enjoyed in good company!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Well really it's just an over-marketed retail holiday, but the romantic in me can't help but get warm fuzzies when I think about it.

Came across a couple videos on you tube that I thought were worth sharing. If you have a minute, enjoy!
Eat your heart out

And one that's a bit more bitter sweet...
Post Secret Valentine's

Happy Valentine's to everyone out there!

Through the eyes of a child

2008-02-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

Recently, in order to challenge our creative skills, my friend Jordan and I came up with the idea of doing a photo "assignment" of sorts. Each assignment will have a different theme to it. This assignment was "Through the eyes of a child". You can see Jordan's post here. You may need to scroll down a ways on the page since I am much delayed in posting my submission! This is also not to be confused with the photo assignments that he is doing with Jenna, although her photos are definitely worth checking out...

Anyway, I was away in Chicago for work this last week and had a chance to go for a quick walk one morning before going into meetings. I grabbed a coffee, headed off from the hotel and much to my delight came across Millennium Park a few blocks away. I was so excited about it, that I ran back to the hotel to get my camera (not sure why I left without it in the first place!) and dragged my co-worker back so I could take pictures. I was acting like a little kid - so I figured why not look at Chicago through the eyes of a child? So, here it is, my submissions for the first photo assignment. Enjoy!

A cool sculpture in the park

Us underneath the sculpture, looking up.

Ice skating in the city - what kid wouldn't think that was cool?

An ice sculpture

Cold Snap!

2008-01-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well it's been clear (and cold) for just about the last 2 weeks. Sadly, not much new snowfall. I've already become a bit of a powder snob, and last weekend decided to go cross country instead of downhill because I thought the conditions would be better (and from what I'm told, they were!)

I'm also becoming a bit soft, temperature wise. Temps here were -10 to -15 as a low last week and it felt chilly! I was joking with a co-worker who lives in Lethbridge that it was feeling like an Alberta day. He promptly replied that it was -28 with the wind chill there! Oops!

Anyway, still hadn't received much new snow this morning, so decided to head out for a morning paddle. I'd never actually been canoeing in the winter, but it was a positive experience. Temperatures this morning were milder than they've been all week, so keeping warm wasn't an issue. Plus, it was super calm and we literally had the lake to ourselves. Many thanks to Dylan for the boat and the guiding skills!

Ullr has finally answered Nelson's prayers though, and a heavy snowfall warning is now in effect (thankfully!) so tomorrow it'll be an all out evacuation of the town to the ski hill for a well deserved powder day!

The eagle has landed!

2008-01-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

After waiting in eager anticipation for the last month or so, the skis that I ordered have arrived! Many thanks to The Village Ski Hut for getting them mounted for me overnight so I had them first thing this morning. 30 new cms of snow and new skis made me late for work! I did provide a fair bit of entertainment to the people on the chair lift when I bailed after my first turn. These skis are a lot more "responsive" than my old pair. Despite feeling a bit like a rookie today, I'm looking forward to getting lots of turns in this weekend and getting my ski legs under me again.

I did manage to get out a few times over the holidays and got 4 days under my belt between Christmas in Calgary and New Year's in Nelson. The holidays in general were pretty nice. Because our family is growing, this year we decided to pick names. It made for the lowest stress Christmas season I've had in a long time. All my shopping was done in one afternoon on Baker Street. It was also nice to be reminded that being together is the real reason for the season and to not get wrapped up in the retail/commercial side of things. Not to mention, it seemed like each of us invested a decent effort in finding the ideal gift for the person we bought for. Andrew did really well snagging me a camera with a fish eye lens. Practice shots are in progress and I will try and get some samples posted here soon.

New Year's was also nice with Sheri, Roz and Jan visiting from Edmonton. I'm thankful that they were willing to do the 10 hour drive to come visit and ski. They were amply rewarded with tons of light, fluffy powder up at Whitewater. Even Roz, who was just learning to ski, is a powder snob now!

The Vacuum

2007-12-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Lots of people have been asking what exactly it is that I do in Nelson. I think the easiest way to explain it is to show you - so I've attached a link here with a project that we did that launched today! My Purex Commercial This started out as a concept in July and we've been plugging away at it full on ever since.
I made my own commercial that you can watch here so check it out!
I also have a cameo appearance in one of the commercials... I've got a half pound of Oso Negro Coffee to send to the first person who can figure out where it is. Happy watching!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2007-12-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

Last night the CPR Holiday Train rolled into Nelson. My sister and I waited for it outside of town in the hopes of catching pictures of it reflected in the lake, but sadly it beat us into town and hid incognito for awhile until it pulled into Lakeside Park in downtown Nelson, right on time. While waiting at the point in Taghum though, I did manage to snap a few pictures of a couple houses decorated with Christmas lights reflected in the lake.

I did make it to Lakeside in time to catch a bit of the concert and snap a few pictures. With the snow lightly falling it did make for a perfect Christmas moment.

Pictures!

2007-12-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

OK - blogger wasn't letting me post photos the other day, so I'm going to try again. Here are some photos from the weekend...
The bluebird skies on the way up to Whitewater!

The sun peaking over on the way up the chairlift.

Opening Day!

2007-12-10T18:13:00.001-08:00

At long last, Saturday was opening day at Whitewater. The conditions left a bit to be desired, but were still ski-able under bluebird skies. Thankfully, we’re expecting more snow this week so conditions should be much improved by the time the holidays roll around.
This weekend was a true Kootenay experience yet again. In addition to skiing, I got a chance to check out Backyard Booty, which is a hybrid film fest/slideshow/storytelling affair hosted by Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine featuring all local talent. It was impressive. Then, on Sunday I got invited out to skate and play some pond hockey at Mirror Lake. It was beautiful. Tossing the puck and watching the dogs chase it and slide right past it every time never lost its appeal. Believe it or not, it was the first time I stick handled a puck as well (and I call myself Canadian!). Growing up I used to play when I was in boy scouts, but the guys always put me in goal because I couldn’t skate. All that happens when you’re in goal and afraid of the puck is that you get cold and you let in a lot of goals. I was obviously never meant for the NHL. That said though, I did enjoy playing and think I might need to pick up a stick somewhere along the way.

Snow Day!

2007-12-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it's snowed all weekend - people are skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing and just generally smiling!
Here are a couple of pictures...

Thankful!

2007-11-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

I made a quick trip back to Calgary this past weekend for the Third Annual Turkey Tour. My apologies to those of you reading this who might have liked to see me and didn't - it was crazy quick, as in less than 48 hours quick! Back at Christmas for another whirlwind tour.
Anyway, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of visiting. Friday night, I had a great visit with some of my old co-workers (old as in previous, not old as in age) and was treated to an amazing meal (yet again) by Nicole and company. Thanks for letting me invite myself over! Saturday I got to spend the morning with my parents out at their place. They may not know it, but spending Saturday mornings with them, is probably one of my favorite things to do. Catching up with no agenda and no where to be. Plus it's fun to listen to my dad tease my mom. She takes the bait - almost everytime.
Saturday night was the reason for my trip - the Turkey Tour. The Turkey Tour is in celebration of American Thanksgiving, but really a good excuse for a dinner party. I'm not American, but I will never say no to an opportunity to have turkey, or to spend time with good friends. Thanks again ladies!
I guess if there were a take home message for this post, it would be how thankful I am for my friends and family.

Oh yeah - and it snowed about 20 cms the day after I got home. Ski season is just around the corner. I'm pretty thankful for that too!

how time goes by

2007-11-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

So my friend Jordan has an online journal that he updates on a semi-regular basis. (I won't call it a blog, because he hates the word blog). You can check it out at www.cavok.com. Anyway, the reason that I mention it, is that once upon a time I used to check his site even more regularly then I do now, and I used to harass him when he didn't update it on a regular basis. Now that I have a blog (or an online journal as it may be) I realize how quickly time goes by between posts and all of a sudden it's been a few weeks with nothing. So, Jordan I promise to bug you a lot less about this - and for those of you reading my posts, I promise to update at least once a week going forward.

Anyhow, lots has happened in the last little while - it's been a busy fall. First off, I had a couple of friends make the drive out from Calgary to come visit - which was awesome! The first was Tamara who came out for a self-appointed long weekend. It was a weekend full of wandering, good food and some much needed recovery after a well deserved night out. Mental note - soaking in the Ainsworth hot springs is a good cure for that. We did take in the Nelson Premiere of the most recent Freeride flick, which gave Tamara a good dose of local culture, so to speak. She also enjoyed the coffee and has since emailed requests for me to send more oso negro her way.

The second visitor was Sheri (and her pooch Tydal) who came out over the remembrance day weekend and ended up getting forced (twist her rubber arm) to stay an extra day due to bad weather in the pass. While Sheri was here, we did manage to take in some hockey as the World Junior A Championships were also in town. We ended up at the gold medal game, which was a standing room only and oddly was a matching of Canada East vs. Canada West. Naturally, Canada won. That week, I also managed to see a US Belarusse game, which went right down to the wire, with the US scoring the winning goal with only 5 seconds left in overtime.

Let's see, what else has kept me busy? This past weekend was the Rossland Mountain Film Festival. 4 sold out shows of ski flicks and mountain bike videos made for very happy mountain people. I cut through the fog on Friday night with my friends Ben and Vanessa to enjoy the festivities. My personal favorite was a video submitted in the Under 19 contest called "Riding with Kenneth". Kenneth, as it turns out rides a unicycle around town and through some of the meanest mountain bike trails in the area as well. (Check out my previous blog on mountain biking if you have any doubts on the skill level required for those trails) Incredible talent on one wheel - impressive!

Anyway - this is really getting lengthy, but I do have another fun website for you to check out. This one is a throwback to the lovely recipes one might have found in one's cupboard in the 70's. I strongly recommend you take the tour - and be sure to read the titles of the pages as you go along. http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html Enjoy!

Stop Motion...

2007-10-29T16:35:00.001-07:00

Ok - so I'm finally getting around to posting the other site I was talking about in my last blog posting. Does that make sense? Anyway, the other site that I felt was worth checking out was http://www.trick17stopmotion.com/. Essentially, it's a stop motion film contest to be held in a couple weeks in Vancouver. The cool thing about stop motion is that with a camera, some software (which they provide as part of the entrance package) and a little creativity, pretty much anyone can create a stop motion film. For those of you who are interested in trying your hand at it there are tutorials and a number of stop motion films on You Tube to get you started/inspired. Haven't got a clue what I'm talking about? You should check out the following two stop motion films. The first is the recent Sony Bravia commercial which apparently was the largest-scale stop motion film ever made, and the second is a cool (or at least I think it's cool) stop motion film I came across on you tube as well.
Happy creating!

A few things of note...

2007-10-12T12:30:00.001-07:00

So in my web travels, I've come across a few things that I think are worth more than just a passing glance.
The first is Frank Warren's PostSecret Blog - www.postsecret.blogspot.com. (side note: I can't get the links function working on my Mac, if you've got tips - please let me know) Anyway, PostSecret was started in November 2004 as an art installation. Warren left some 3,000 printed postcards at art galleries, subway stations and libraries, inviting people to share a secret with him and mail it back. It has since become a weekly blog in which 20 or so postcards are posted every Sunday. He's also published 4 books of the postcards, with the most recent one being released this week. Anyone can send in a secret anonymously on a 4x6 postcard, the only restrictions are that the secret must be truthful and not have been spoken before. The stories range from people admitting to affairs or criminal acts to people professing their hopes and dreams. I'm not sure what it is that I find so appealing about this concept... maybe it's that you get a glimpse at the most intimate details about someone, or maybe it's that sense of freedom you get when you can let go of that secret? The video promo for the book is neat too - everyone's got a secret... why not create a postcard and set it free?

The second thing that I've come across that I think is neat is the website www.kiva.org. It is a site that allows you to lend to an entrepreneur in a developing country to empower them to get themselves out of poverty. Basically they act as a facilitator, partnering with different support organizations internationally. When you are repaid, you can either withdraw the funds or lend them again. Kiva was recently awarded a World Summit Award in the E-Business Category. There is a similar site for schools in the US called Donors Choose www.donorschoose.org. I haven't seen any postings for Canada yet, but with friends who are teachers, I can attest that the need exists there too.

There was something else I was going to highlight on here, but at the moment it escapes me what it was... Oh well, it'll give me something to blog about next time I guess.

Thanksgiving!

2007-10-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend my cousin Melissa and her boyfriend Rhys came to Nelson to indulge in some Thanksgiving Festivities. Coming from Australia it was Rhys' first Thanksgiving. I think he'll agree with me that any holiday that celebrates good food and good company rates high on the scale! We were treated to an amazing feast at Lisa and Andrew's that everyone joined forces to create. The menu included apple squash soup, roasted beet and pear salad, romano potatoes, sausage stuffing and of course a huge organic bird (which was large enough that everyone got leftovers for sandwiches). Top it all off with Carey's pumpkin cheesecake and a couple bottles of wine and it's a wonder anyone could move. To our credit, a few of us worked off dinner by hiking up to Pulpit Rock the next day.

Sitting around the table with family and friends that night made me realise how thankful I am for all that I have. My health, my family, a good job, an amazing network of talented friends and overall a sense of balance and happiness. I have want for nothing really. Hopefully you all experienced that this weekend as well. How fortunate we are.

35 years!

2007-10-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

35 years... that's roughly 12,775 days or 306,000 hours and that's how many years my dad has been working with his company. Pretty remarkable when you consider that 45% of Canadians will have 3-5 different careers in their lifetimes. I know that I fit into that category already, having made several career transitions. I think my dad's generation is more linear in their work lives (school, work, play) whereas my generation tends to be more cyclical in the way we do things. School, play (that first trip everyone takes after university) , work, play some more (sabatical anyone?), maybe go back to school (there's that career change), work and then play again when we retire.

Save-On-Foods, or Overwaitea as it is also known (http://www.overwaitea.com/aboutus/history.htm for the full story on the name), has been a part of my life pretty much since the day I was born. I can remember being one of the most popular kids when my pre-school class visited the bakery and my dad pulled out a tray of monster-sized chocolate chip cookies. Summer holidays meant waving to Overwaitea truckers and occasionally talking to them on the CB radio and of course dad's transfer is what moved us to the prairies of Alberta when the company expanded.

It was pretty cool to see the effort that Save-On put into recognizing their employees and it's obvious that their employees value it as well with several people receiving 15, 20 and 25 year awards. Naturally job satisfaction factors in there somewhere as well. My dad was one of four to get a 35 year service award and there were three employees who were recognized for 40 years of service. Congrats to everyone - and Dad, we're so proud of you!

So Nelson-esque

2007-09-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-18T17:24:00.001-07:00

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...

2007-09-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

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...

IronWOman!

2007-08-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I headed up to Penticton to cheer Sheri on as she completed her first Ironman Triathlon. Ever since we met a year and a half ago, she's been training for this. For those of you who aren't totally familiar with this insane competition, it starts with a 3.8 km swim then goes into a 180 km bike and finishes off with a marathon for good measure all in 17 hours or less.
This year was the 25th anniversary of Ironman Canada and there were about 2700 competitors. The youngest competitor was 18 and the oldest this year was 77! The photo above is the mass start for the swim portion first thing in the morning. Needless to say, it was a bit challenging to pick Sheri out of the crowd!
The weather was decent, keeping steady at 22 degrees and overcast, so no one got too much sun. Sheri was smiling throughout and crossed the finish line at 14:09:29 - nearly an hour before she thought she would! I joined her family and her boyfriend in cheering her on throughout. It was an inspiring day, but I don't quite feel compelled to sign up yet. I've posted a bunch of photos from the day to my flickr account, be sure to check them out.

Can't even tell you how proud I am of you Sheri!

Roots and Blues

2007-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I took in the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. This was my 6th (or maybe 7th) year attending, and it continues to be one of my favorite festivals. Not only do they have great acts, but they have managed to keep the tickets prices low. It's also a great family festival. Highlights this year were Michael Franti and Spearhead (who had the crowd rocking on Friday night), Liam Titcomb, Dustin Bentall and Rachelle Van Zanten. As per usual, I came home with new CDs.
It was also great to catch up with a number of friends and family who came from Calgary, Vancouver and Kelowna. The only downside to the weekend was the weather. It held out until Sunday morning, but after that things turned into a soggy mess. Only the die-hard festers showed up in rain gear of all varieties on Sunday (and yes, that is a picture of me wrapped in a tarp below). We however, had a blast dancing in the rain. Count me in again for next year!

Photos as promised

2007-08-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

So, here's a quick look at my place.
The living Room...

Which is also the dining room...

A couple of the bedroom...

and of course the guest room (and the infamous futon) which also doubles as my TV room, though I don't have cable so it's more my movie room.

I didn't feel the need to wow you with the bathroom, kitchen or the overstuffed utility room but they round out the rooms in my basement suite.

Amy's B&B open for business!

2007-08-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ok – so maybe it’s less of a bed and more of a futon. And some mornings I struggle getting myself breakfast so you might be on your own in that department as well, but “Amy’s Futon open for business” didn’t sound particularly appropriate!
Anyway, all kidding aside, I’ve managed to unpack all the boxes that came in the first load. Everything has a place and everything is in its place (for the time being anyway). Those of you who know me well, know that the photos below may be the cleanest my bedroom will ever be ;o) (Sidebar - Just realised that I left the CF card with the photos on it at home, photos of the new place to follow shortly!)

I have already hosted my first dinner guests as my landlord and his girlfriend, who live upstairs, came over Sunday night. I’m also expecting my first houseguest, as Carsen will be visiting from Calgary enroute to the Roots and Blues. Can’t wait to catch up with her! I am already booking into the fall and winter so those of you looking for a long weekend away or a ski holiday should call now!

Now for a brief infomercial…
My new place is all tile, so when I moved in, I was given a couple of area rugs for my place by a guy at work. (Thanks a million Nate!) The carpets had been stored in a basement though and needed a good vacuuming. My sister recently got a Dyson and offered to lend it to me, until I got my vacuum unpacked. If you’ve never read up on these, you need to check them out (www.dyson.com). I didn’t think it was possible to get this excited about housecleaning! Yes I am now officially a domestic dork, but it was amazing! If you’ve never tried a Dyson before, using one will result in one of 2 things:
1. You will never want to own a place with carpet again after seeing how much dust this thing pulls up or 2. You will never want to own a vacuum other than a Dyson again.

Now the only catch is that I need to start a “Buy-Amy-A-Dyson” Fund in order to be able to afford one!

Perfecting the fine art of bike-hiking

2007-08-10T16:53:00.001-07:00

So, last night I decided to test out some of the mountain bike trails at Mountain Station in Nelson with my friend Carey. It was a good idea in theory…
I don’t consider myself to be a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think that I can typically hold my own. I’ve biked in Calgary, Bragg Creek, Canmore and Fernie but nothing
compares to the trails in Nelson. Usually I can handle the blue rides, saving the greens for the uphill battle. I’m not afraid to admit that we got schooled last night! Here’s a couple tips for anyone planning on biking in Nelson:
1. Rent a full suspension bike and body armour!
2. Don't bike ride to the parking lot - save your energy for the uphill and take your car!
3. If blue rides sound like a good idea - rethink and then try the green!
The runs we hit were steep, narrow and twisted and often involved a drop followed by a ramp. Loose soil, rocks and roots were the least of our worries. To quote a local mountain bike website "If you're looking for capital 'H' Hard-core riding, the handful of trails just off Mount Station Road east of Nelson is rated psycho. They're not long, but they sure are tough, both vertically and technically."
We're not too shy to try again, but in the meantime I may just need to go back to Fernie for a bit of an ego boost.

Gisele's Birthday Weekend!

2007-08-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we pulled it off - but somehow 14 some odd people managed to keep my mom's birthday weekend a secret! Unbelievable! Friday night my mom arrived in Nelson (toting a bunch of my furniture - thanks mom!) and unannounced to her, her mom, sisters (and sister-in-law) and nieces were all here waiting for her. We had a great weekend hanging out at Lisa's place. We also checked out the Kaslo Jazz Festival and the beach nearby. Many thanks to Willa and Harold at Beach Taghum B&B for their incredible hospitality. They let us take over their beach, BBQ and patio for the whole day yesterday. It was an idyllic venue.

The whole weekend was relaxing. Many laughs were shared and memories made. Happy Birthday Mom!

Take Flight!

2007-08-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

So far, life in the Kootenays has been treating me well. Yesterday was no exception! My friend Thor took me up in his Cessna for a flight around the Kootenays. This was only my second time in a small plane and I fared much better this time for sure. (Danny, Thor said it must have had something to do with the pilot, but I will admit to having taken some ginger preemptively.)
I even got to fly the plane, or at least Thor lead me to believe I was flying it - I assume he had it under control the whole time. We did a couple of Zero G's - in which you experience weightlessness. At one point I had a plastic water bottle in my hand which floated up. I tapped one end of it, and it started spinning in mid air. There's a fun video on YouTube that shows the same concept with a dog. (don't worry, they don't spin him!) Check out the link.

Although it was quite smokey in the area from the forest fires (as you can see in the photos) it was still an amazing way to spend a Thursday afternoon. You can check out all the pictures in my Kootenay Flight set on my flickr site. Thanks again Thor!

Surfing in Windermere

2007-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was lucky enough to head out to Windermere for the weekend. Stayed with friends of Lisa's, Mark and Brandy, at their cabin and camped out on the beach. The picture above is the view from my tent just before sunset. Got a chance to meet a number of Lisa's friends that she's often talking about, so it was nice to put a face to the name. Mark just bought an amazing boat, and we spent a good part of both days out on the water. Wake Surfing seems to be a pretty popular thing out there. I had never seen it before, but it is super cool. Essentially, you surf the wake behind the boat. Initially you get towed, but once the wake settles out and you find your balance you can let go of the rope and the strength of the wave pulls you along. I didn't try it for fear of hurting my knee again, but Lisa and Andrew both did, and they were naturals. By the end of the second day they were both riding the wave without a tow rope.
We had sunny blue skies the whole time, so all in all, another great weekend!

Friday at 3:30 pm

2007-07-30T11:54:00.001-07:00

As you can see, things at work are going really well.
In this photo I'm "working" at getting rid of my "Calgary tan" as my sister calls it
At least I'm reading a marketing magazine...

Thank you for not smoking!

2007-07-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to say that I've found a place to live! Interestingly enough (it's not ironic, is it Nicole?) - it's the place that I mentioned I'd missed out on in my previous post. As it turns out the couple who had rented it are both smokers and the ad had specified non-smoking tenants. So, thankfully, the landlord phoned me back right away to see if I was still interested. I signed all the rental papers yesterday. It's a great little place, essentially a brand new basement suite just outside of downtown Nelson. Since it's within walking distance from work, the grocery store, the beach and the bar - I'm laughing! It's also a 2 bedroom place so I have room for guests after I move in on the August long weekend. High season it'll cost you dinner to stay and in low season a pint at the pub or a latte at Oso (other terms negotiable). If you need a change of address form let me know, as I don't intend to publish my info on the Internet. Looking forward to hosting friends in the near future.

Alps Alturas

2007-07-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel like I'm settling in nicely into life in Nelson. This past week has been busy with lots of dog walks, beers with friends (including the good folks at Vacuum) and looking for a place to rent. So far no luck in that department. I missed out on a great place today because I took too long to think about it. Lesson learned! Luckily, Lisa hasn't kicked me out yet! I'm optimistic that I'll find something in the next little while though.

In the meantime, I went on a great hike past New Denver today called Alps Alturas. It was quite a climb on logging roads to get there, the Subaru got a good workout, but it was well worth it for the views. Within two kilometers of starting we were in alpine terrain, and there were all kinds of wildflowers in bloom. Even the rain that was threatening stayed away and we had blue skies for most of the day. It was beautiful. Unfortunately my footwear didn't agree with my feet (big surprise, eh Sheri?) so I've got loonie sized blisters on both heels and will be wearing flip flops for the next couple of days. Another lesson learned, I'll be much better prepared next time. Fortunately the pain in my feet was forgotten after a couple beers on the patio in Silverton on the way home.

Blessed!

2007-07-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I am lucky to have some pretty amazing people in my life. Many thanks to my parents for helping with everything, and I do mean everything, to do with the move. Especially my mom who spent several evenings packing and will be hauling a trailer full of stuff out here when she comes to visit in August. I honestly couldn't have done it without her! I only hope that someday when I have kids I can help them out as much as my parents have helped me.
A huge shout out to Kathy as well who also spent a few nights running up and down the stairs in my condo with boxes in tow. And let me tell you, with 30+ degree temperatures it's a good workout! Last but not least thanks to Jordan - who without his help and custom-built Thule mount I would have never gotten all my sporting gear here! (and sporting gear is of the utmost importance in the Kootenays!) He helped me out in a dire moment, and I only hope someday I can return the favor. Everything has arrived safely and is looking forward to being put to good use.

That said, I did manage to spend a couple of days in Fernie en route and tried my hand at whitewater kayaking and did a bit of mountain biking. Hung out with Shon of Hardwater Productions for a day, and repeatedly tried to drown myself while attached to a kayak - luckily he helped me out such sticky situations. In all honesty - it was a great day. We did the morning in flat water doing skills and then spent the afternoon in Class 2 rapids down the Elk River. Those rapids don't look so big when you're in a raft with 7 other people, but when you're the only one in control of a tippy little rodeo boat - it's another story! I did go for a couple swims, but managed to hang onto my hat and sunglasses both times. Thankfully the weather was scorching hot so the river felt... refreshing. On Tuesday we hit the mountain bike trails in the early morning to beat the heat. It was still a workout heading up Dem Bones - and I did manage to add a few more scrapes and bruises to my already battered legs when I went over my handle bars, but it's good to know I'm challenging myself ;)

I've now started to slowly settle in to Nelson life. Lisa and Carey had an amazing meal waiting for me when I arrived, and today was a casual day of getting organized. Provided the good weather keeps up - tomorrow I might just have to hit the beach...

Friday the 13th

2007-07-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Some say it's a bit of an ominous day to pick for my last day at work - but what's a girl to do?

I'll admit I'm a little teary as I type this... Because it is with mixed emotions that I am leaving NovAtel. I'm excited about the opportunities waiting for me in Nelson, but am very sad to be leaving such an amazing group of co-workers and friends. Many, many thanks to everyone I've worked with over the last 3 years. I'm looking forward to meeting up in Calgary, the Kootenays and everywhere in between. Thanks for the learning and the great memories!

A final salute to Alberta

2007-07-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

With my move to Nelson coming ever closer, I thought it fitting to spend one more weekend of adventure in the Rockies. And what better way to do it, than to spend it with an amazing friend climbing one of Southern Alberta's best known rock faces, Mount Yamnuska? Sheri and I packed up and headed out first thing Saturday morning in her sexy new convertible for a girls weekend. We met up with Mark from Cir rus Alpine Guides and did a short multi pitch route on Twilight at Kid Goat. Managed to get a couple more climbs and a lead in the crag there before heading into Canmore for dinner and calling it a night at the Kiska Inn. Deb fed us an early yet hearty breakfast before we headed off into the fog to meet Mark for day two. We made our approach and despite being 100 feet from the base of the rock wall still couldn't see it. That was reason #762 why it was good to have a guide, because never having done the route before, it would have been tough to see where it even began. At one point, about 3 pitches up, when you looked down all you saw was fog and when you looked up, it all disappeared into the clouds. It was a bit surreal. We could hear other parties calling out to each other around us, but couldn't see anyone even though you could tell they were quite close. We did end up meeting up with quite a few people on parts of Kings and Easy Street - and had 5 of us hanging out at one belay station. The crowd and the clouds both thinned out though and by the time we were midway up, the ceiling had lifted enough to provide us with a good view of the Bow Valley. Fortunately too, the weather stayed decent up until the last pitch - which was a welcome relief from the scorching weather we could have had being that exposed. It did get sunny on the way down, enough to even merit having the top down on the car on the way home. Woke up this morning feeling stiff but happy.

The Inagural Post

2007-07-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

So it's finally hit me, that I'm actually moving. I know, I know, a bit of a delayed reaction given that I signed the papers for my new job and gave my notice at my old one almost 2 weeks ago. Overall I'm really excited. I feel pretty lucky to have found a good job and to be able to live in the heart of the Kootenays. When I stopped and thought about it, what I would miss most is the people that I've met .That said, a lot of people have been mentioning that they want me to send out updates, so I thought that a blog might be the best way to do it. That way, those of you who want to read it, can, and those of you who don't, won't be hassled with emails in your inbox on a repeated basis.

So, be sure to check back here for updates and photos as I make my way and get established in the Kootenays!