It's been a while

I'm back!  It's been awhile since the last post!  Lots to share.

Since posting last, Tom and I took a day-trip hike to the Blue Lakes Trail in Hazelton.  The hike climbs up the inside of a valley, crosses several avalanche paths, and at the end looks down on a beautiful blue lake.... however... the day we did the hike, the Weather Network told us it would be 22 degrees and sunny.  It was 13 and we never got out of the fog/clouds.  So we never saw the lake.... or the view...  BUT we will just have to do the hike again another time - and it will be like doing a brand new hike if there's a view!  It was still great to get out and moving and we enjoyed the adventure.

The Blue Lakes Trail

Weee! Waterfall

Ohhh Ahhhh... There's a big blue lake view in there somewhere...

Then last weekend we hit up the Silver King Basin.  One of my favourite hikes.  The hike itself isn't super interesting, although it does follow a river bank for a while and has little waterfalls along the way.  It's near the end of the hike when you come out of the trees and are greeted by the MASSIVE valley and GORGEOUS peaks of orange and red rock.  The valley opens up into meandering streams and wetlands, and there's a big log cabin at the end of the trail.  Anyone can stay there for $5/night, and it is HUGE.  Full of bunk beds and a wood stove, it would be a great place for a family getaway. 

Tom and I decided to pitch the tent, though, which I like better than a bunk bed.  We set up the tent right under some trees that were FULL of Whiskey Jacks!  We shared some trail mix with them and had a steady line-up of birds coming to eat out of our hands.  
We ventured past the campsite a bit to check out some old mine shafts and mine cars, and got super excited when we spotted what we thought was a big white mountain goat, in the distance.  As we stood there in awe, squinting up at the mountain side, a group of people approached it and it started running around... and wagging it's... tail?  A dog.  Yep, a dog.  It was a sneaky dog all along.  We did get so see a big chubby marmot, though! I love those things.

Tom just as the valley opened up before us

Tom and the Basin

And me too!

Room with a view

Tom has really been enjoying work, and that makes me so happy.  He's got his finger on the pulse of Telkwa (hahahahha makes it sound like a city) and knows all the ins and outs of the village now.  He's been discovering parts of the town I never knew about!  Water treatment plants and hidden old settlements.  He's outside in the driveway at the moment, working away on his truck.  He's repairing the rust patches that are growing under his fenders.

My work has been alright -- I'm felling a bit restless.  I don't love the job as much as I thought I would, but don't really know what my 'dream job' is anymore.  If I wasn't doing this, what would I want to do? What's the next step?  We know we want to lay roots back in Ontario eventually, so what the heck will I do for work then?  Something to ponder.  I've been thinking about taking some online tree pests and diseases courses to refresh my memory on that front, and maybe make it easier to get a consulting arborist job back home, or work for a town...I think I'd like to try diagnostic work with trees.  I think... sometimes I wish I could see into the future.  I know it will all work out in the end, but have a hard time convincing myself of that!!

Also, not sure if I shared this before, but it has come to my attention, with the help of an amazing physiotherapist and my family doctor, that I have (a mild case of) scoliosis!!  No wonder my back has hurt all of these years!  It honestly has been a pain in the butt -er, back - since I was about 14.  And my doc explained that that is usually when scoliosis starts.  It progressively can get worse through childhood (teenage) years, but once you get as archaically old as I am, it won't get any worse.  Which is good!  However, to avoid pain it's best to stay away from load-bearing work, and in my experience, field work.  Which sucks!  That's what I've basically done my whole life!  Some form of field work.  So that's also something to consider when I eventually start job hunting back home.  Doing tree diagnostic work would be so back-friendly.  Still moving around, but not all day, and not bearing extra weight.

So, it's Canada Day long weekend!  What is everyone up to?  The weather here is pretty dismal, so we've been spending our time just taking it easy at home.  We have a family of crows in the backyard, and the babies are just about to start flying.  We've spent some time watching them, fixing Tom's truck, I've been knitting (finally started the second sock in a pair) and the cats have been out roaming the neighborhood.  They love it.  We keep their harnesses on, which have their address on them, and they don't seem to go much further than our neighbor's yard.  They are pooped when they come back home, too. Good, because otherwise they cry at the door allllll night.

Zzzzzzz.....zzzzzzzz.....

My dad and hopefully Stefan are planning to visit on the August long weekend!! We can't wait! Parrrtyyyyy!! The margaritas will be flowing, for sure.  Hoping to get in some cool sight seeing and fingers are crossed for good weather! And of course, we will have to get dad to the German bakery in Telkwa before he goes.  Stefan will likely do some mountain biking on the trails around the area on his drive up!  Good for him - downhill riding scares the poop out of me.  I'll stick with road biking, thanks.  Somehow sharing the road with logging trucks isn't as scary to me.

Well, off to Crappy Tire.  Tom needs some stuff for the truck, and I want to look at a second pot for yarn dyeing.  I've been dyeing again this weekend!  It is so much fun.  I get to be an artist again! They should incorporate yarn dyeing into the curriculum at my old high school, where I was an art major. Although somehow I don't think it would be as exciting for those who don't knit...

Okay, I'll sign off.  I hope this long weekend is a chance to recharge everyone's batteries, get out with friends, or relax in peace : )  Have a great Canada Day weekend!!

Love, Danielle xoxox

Out and About in the North

Good morning from Telkwa, where spring has finally sprung. We were beginning to think that it never would.

In one week the weather went from rain for days (to the point that our basement sump pump was going non-stop), to 25 degrees and sunny! None of us know what to do with ourselves! 

What is that bright orb in the sky? The cats scream to go outside and then roll around on the ground purring.  Tom and I have been out to the mountains to see some waterfalls, have washed both vehicles in the driveway, done yard work... and can't wait to get back out there today.

Yesterday's waterfalls were courtesy of Twin Falls, at the base of the glacier on Hudson Bay Mountain.

Just a short walk up the mountain brings you to the base of the waterfalls.  There is also a very challenging trail that takes you to the top of the waterfalls, but it may still have some snow and ice in some sections, and snow on rock is dangerous.  So we will wait to to tackle that another day.

Twin Falls! One waterfall to the left is hiding in the shade but you can see its gorge

Check out all of the the smaller waterfalls around!

Last weekend was the long weekend and Tom and I drove up north of Terrace to see the Nisga'a Lava Beds! 

The Seven Sisters!  Our view on the way to Terrace

 It was soooo cool.  Here is some info I found on the web:

"Canada’s last volcanic eruption occurred in the Nass Valley approximately 263 years ago. The lava destroyed everything in its path, sparked fires in the surrounding forests, and covered two Nisga’a villages. More than 2,000 people perished. Today, the vast lava beds still dominate the Nass Valley. They serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives and as a reminder of the importance of respect — for both the natural world and the wisdom of the elders."

We stayed in the provincial campground and headed back the next day.  The weather was absolutely perfect and we had the most amazing views.

Try and pronounce this five times fast!

Lava!

It was pretty sweet to see the most recent volcanic activity in Canada!! There was lava for as far as the eye could see.  We saw where lava had surrounded a tree and then burnt it, leaving an empty cone behind!  There was also a "sunken forest" where the water was running over the roots and bases of trees.  And then there were multiple waterfalls!

Waterfall into the "Sunken Forest"

Sunken Forest

Rocks, moss and Oak Fern

More moss... prepare yourselves for more of these shots.  I'm obsessed.

Tom in his natural habitat.

Reindeer Lichen

Coral-like, poofy lichen

The trail to Vetter Falls.  There was a "bear in area" sign at the trail head... and we saw one on the way back out!

Tom and moss

Vetter Falls

Two waterfalls in one shot!

Baby fern

Tom on a sketchy bridge built in 1969

Yikes

Knitting socks around the campfire.  This is my own hand dyed yarn!

A perfect trip!

You may have noticed in some of the shots that Tom has something white coming out from under his shorts... unfortunately just before our trip Tom spilt boiling water down his thigh and has been bandaged up ever since.  Poor guy.  Second degree burns but he has been taking good care of the area and is on the road to recovery! No longer hobbling around and the gross blisters have all disappeared. 

In knitting news, I have started knitting with my own hand dyed yarn and LOVE it.  I will have to dye a bunch more.  It's going to be super cost-effective if I can dye sweater quantities of wool every time I want to start a new project!

I am still working away on that sweater that I started in the new year... I've become stuck on one part but found the designer of the pattern online and am waiting to hear back from a frantic email I sent her, asking for help haha.

It's almost 10am here and I think I might get out on the roadbike today, to soak up some sun.  I hope you are all doing well where you are and enjoying your weekend!  Talk to you again soon xoxo

The view from Telkwa.  Taken while indulging in some ice cream....

Exhausted!

Good morning from a dreary, rainy spring morning in Telkwa.
I have a doctor's appointment this morning so I have a few minutes to put together an update before heading out the door.

Work has completely exhausted Tom and I!  The spring is bringing wet weather but has not killed off all of the snow in the bush yet... we are without snowshoes, but still tumbling and tripping everywhere.  This past week I could have fallen asleep in the car on the way home every night....not good when I'm driving!!!  My legs are absolutely covered in bruises, welts and cuts.  I think I'll start telling people I'm a professional wrestler or something haha

A wet balsam and spruce patch in the block I'm currently laying out

So, going into this week, I've found some exercises/stretches to do to keep my back, hips and knees happier.  Tom (thank goodness) has prepped a bunch of food for dinners and lunches so that we don't have to worry about what to pack every day.  And I told Jill about my sore back, so she's told me to go to physio asap to get things sorted.  I feel like an old woman.

Tom is experimenting with fermentation!  Unfortunately this round of pickles turned mushy... but he sauerkraut is good!

In other news, the Farmer's Market has started! Hooray!  Not much produce to speak of yet, but there is fresh bread, preserves ad arty stuff to look at every weekend.  This past Saturday Tom and I hit the market and then went out for coffees with some of the crew he works with.  It was nice to get out and relax with some fresh faces.  Everyone seems so tired this time of year though... thank goodness for strong coffee : )

I've got my spinning mojo back!  I haven't spun yarn in a LOOONGGGG time.  Not really sure why, since I have lots of beautiful fibre to get into.  I spun up some SweetGeorgia fibre (from Vancouver) in the Spring Garden colour-way.  Pretty fitting for this time of year, I would say!

Spring Garden

I've finished the biggest and longest socks I have ever knit in my life, for Tom.  One ball of yarn per foot!  Hopefully they last as I noticed the last pair is starting to get tiny holes in the toes.... uh oh.

Stripes for days! 

Note: Tom's maple syrup always seems to be close at hand

Still working away on my sweater.  The yarn is heavy so it hurts my wrists if I work on it for too long.  I'm so happy with the way the cables are coming out and how thick and warm it will be (by the time I get to wear it next time winter rolls around haha).

Tom and I have become dreamers; we would both love to start our own businesses one day and can't stop coming up with daydreams.  I'd love to be dyeing yarn and fibre and Tom wants to build furniture and turn bowls.  In our daydream we go to markets and events and sell our goodies to loving clients haha We work from home workshops and love what we do.  In our heads, it wouldn't feel like work.

I've been reading up on all things hand dyeing and would love to start practicing in my spare time and on weekends.  Tom had been borrowing Jill's woodworking equipment and has a coffee table in the works!

The cats are absolutely psycho.  They are terrorizing one another as I type this.  Oden has discovered his voice and SCREAMS at all hours of the day.  Bruce inevitably gets fed up and will hiss and then the games begin - running laps through the house, knocking things over for extra points in their game, and always ending with a long wrestle before falling asleep cuddling one another. Nuts.  Absolutely nuts.  There are tufts of fur all over the living room floor...

Finally time for some rest

We haven't had many adventures out hiking lately on account of the wet weather and us being completely drained by the end of the week - but it's coming!  With the warm sun in the future I'm sure we will be getting out more often and I'll be able to share our adventures and pictures soon enough.

In the meantime, I'm thankful for an office day inside today, and Tom being at home in the evenings (he's working from town for the month!).

Hope all is well where you are and that spring is bringing the promise of May flowers to your garden : )

Take care and I'll talk to you later - xoxox

Ready for Spring!

It's a grey day here in the Northwest of the province.  Those April showers should be bringing lots of flowers, so I don't mind.  I was up most of last night with a headache so am home today.  I like grey days at home. In my pj's with a mug of tea.

First jaunt of the spring! Tom and I found a trail on the way to the ski hill and got out for a little hike.

The landlord has returned from Dawson Creek where she's been working all winter.  Although we've heard her and her boyfriend upstairs moving things into the house on and off over the weekend, we still have yet to meet her.  It's been a little weird not knowing whose house we're living in haha However we've really appreciated the peace and quiet.... to be honest we're hoping they'll be off again soon.

Cool clouds this week

Work has been good, although I know that I don't want a field job forever.  I like being in the office as well, where I can do some higher-level work and feel more rewarded by my work at the end of the day.  Plus my body seems to get tired faster these days... and I'm always hurting myself.  That being said, even in the position that I' in right now, I feel 100 times more needed and appreciated than at my last job.  I feel like I am making a difference and contributing to the big picture.  Two things that I'm learning are very important to me.

Tom is feeling about the same.  He enjoys his work and the people he works with but probably won't want to do this job forever.  Which is fine! It's all about learning what he likes about it and what he'd like to do in the future.

Tom's work just told him that he will be in camp for yet another week... whaaaaaa!  I was looking forward to having him at home!  Camp has closed for "breakup" but apparently the barge will still run across the lake, and he and the crew have put up in a motel close to the barge.  In a town called Granisle.  A little known fact about Granisle is that there is apparently a HUGE UFO presence there... hee hee hee.  Apparently there are many houses in the town that have been abandoned... and that is where aliens have moved in!  It's been said that you could look into the windows and see a family of aliens making dinner for their kids!!  I've googled UFO sightings in Granisle and they are pretty entertaining to read if you want to burn some time... Very strange.  I'll have to make sure Tom checks out any weird things while he's there.

The view from the barge last week

No aliens to be seen, so far!

We've been invited to Jill and Mick's house for Easter dinner on Saturday : ) Jill's text read "you're invited for dinner.  Don't worry, Mick is cooking" hahah she's about as handy in the kitchen as I am.  I'm sure her mom will be there, too.  Her mom is a hoot.  Jill even said we can stay over so we can have some wine with dinner.  Have I mentioned that Jill is the best?! 

The hardest part about thinking we one day might live somewhere else, go back home, who knows; is having to leave Jill again.  Might sound pessimistic, but I'll never have another boss like her!  She's simply the greatest.  Even though I'm not liking the position I'm in at work right now, I can come back to the office at the end of the day and have a good conversation with Jill, make plans for future projects in the bush, and then get invited to her house for dinner!  And she's told Tom that on Friday's when he's back from camp but we are all at work, that he should go to her place and do some woodworking!  I.  Love.  JILL.  I feel badly that Tom doesn't get that work/life balance while being st camp.  You're always at work! He says he'd like to be doing a job where he's building things, or helping people.  He's wanting to stick this job out for now to learn more - once summer hits he will be doing most of the ecological assessments for the crew.  Those are by far my favourite so I hope he likes them! And if not, at least he's given everything a try and can move on if he wants.

And me too.  I want to stick around to see if something else comes up with Canfor but in the meantime wish I wasn't in a complete field position.

ANYWAY enough of that.  We are still loving being in the mountains and even found a snow-free trail to hike last weekend.  We went up to the ski hill to watch the slush cup but unfortunately were two hours early... without ski gear... so we hung out and had a beer in the sun and then headed home.

The view from our perch at the ski hill

Along with dinner at Jill's this weekend, we are probably going to Prince George for some Costco shopping and a taste of the "big city".  It's a long drive but it will be nice to get out of town for a day and see some new sights. Plus if Tom drives one way, I can knit!  I'm knitting him a pair of socks and made them extra long... which means they are taking a while, since the bottom of his foot is long as well!! The yarn is self-striping though, so that makes it more interesting!  I always know there's another colour change coming up : )

I've been trying to cook a bit more, but still seem to stick wth fairly simple recipes.  This weekend I made a Thai Chicken soup which is pretty darn tasty, and was made in the crock-pot!  Lots of it left over to freeze as well.  I tried going sugar free... that lasted a week.  And when I say a week, it was a work week hahah 5 days.  But now I feel that I don't need to have as much junky stuff... just a little chocolate fix every day and I'm set.
I'm still sticking with gluten-free.  If I see Tom eating a slice of Telkwa Bakery bread, or I want a treat I'll have it.  But I do notice a difference when I do.  And for the most part I don't miss it!  There are alternatives, or else I just won't go for a sandwich, for example.  I'll have soup or a salad instead.

Well... that's all I have for now.  I hope you all have a sunny spring day and I'll be in touch!

xoxo

Bruce the Great Had His First Battle

Good morning to you from sunny Telkwa.

This past week saw Bruce battling it out with a can of bear spray.  You read that correctly.  He snuck out on Wednesday night and was found later in the neighbors' backyard, in the rain, soaking, covered in bear spray, and was unrecognizable!  I didn't even know it was him.  The poor thing.

He got back into the house finally and couldn't open his eyes.  I thought he smelt funny and hadn't yet clued into the bear spray.  I started coughing out of control and then my eye started burning.  When I went to rinse my eye at the sink, some of the water ran down my face and onto my lips and then that whole path was BURNING!  That's when I realized what was covering the little guy.  Bear spray is oil based, so even if you try to rinse with water, it can actually just spread the nasty stuff!

Tom was away at camp and I had come home late from two days at camp, myself.  I was so tired and so upset.  Odin didn't know what to do and just followed Bruce and I around.  I bathed Bruce in Dawn and water (#1 recommendation according to Google) and tried drying him off as best as I could.  But both of us were coughing from the fumes and both had tearing, closed eyes.  It was horrible.

After talking to my dad last night, we decided to believe that Bruce was in a fight with a dog or coyote and it looked like he was going to be eaten, so someone sprayed them to break up the fight.  He has cuts all over this face. Bruce loves other cats and has never tried to hurt them.  But he hates dogs with a passion and has gone after them in the past.  So the story seems pretty likely.  Otherwise there is some low-life on my street who dislikes cats so much that they spray them with a deterrent made for 600lb animals.

Sigh.  So that was pretty much the excitement from last week.  Thankfully other than that we are all doing fine here in Telkwa.  Spring keeps trying to come around but we get little snowfalls every once in awhile.  The daytime highs have been around 6, with sun : )

I've given up on ski season coming back, so I'm ready for spring.

Last week, as I mentioned, I was in camp for two days (one night) where I got to see Tom and his crew! It was great to have a mid-week check in with Tom.  I was so tired after that, though.  The snow had turned to heavy, wet mush and my back was SO SORE by the end of the day.  Even my knees hurt - which has never happened before!  The snow just sticks to the snowshoes in huge clumps and gets so heavy.  So I made sure to ice and stretch and do some physio.  And now things seem to be back to normal.  Except for a pesky neck problem that won't seem to go away... I'm getting old haha

Snowshoe hare prints... and some snowshoes!

I'm heading back to camp this Wednesday-Thursday so hopefully the snow isn't as bad.... although it just seems to be getting warmer.  At least I'll be at camp for steak night on Wednesday night! Bonus.

After next week, all of the logging and hauling shuts down for "breakup".  The ground will be getting too soft and muddy and driving machines in that can really wreck the ecosystem (and leads to machines getting stuck).  Breakup can last around a month.

So during that time, camp and the barge to camp will be shut down -- meaning Tom will be at home!! hooray!!!  He will be working out of town and coming home every night.  PLUS Jill said she will probably send me out with his crew to work!  So we get to work together!  I can't wait.

One of Tom's views last week.

My sweater is coming along slowly still and I'm crossing my fingers that I'm following the pattern correctly... Oh dear.  In the meantime I finished a pair of socks for myself, and got some cool yarn to make Tom another pair.  I bought a book on yarn dying and can't wait to try my hand at it once the weather gets warm and I can do it in the backyard.  Still trying to figure out how to heat a pot outside... any ideas are welcome! I have a tiny camping element but would have to go through a lot of gas to boil a big pot, I think.

Things at work are still going well.  But still a little strange to think that I have more qualifications than the guy who supervises me (in my old position).  I try to remind myself that the pay is better than it was back home, I know what I'm doing, and I don't have responsibility for anyone but myself, which is a nice change from supervising others.  The new guy is pretty anal and can be a bit obsessively by the book.  I just try to do my own thing and keep everyone happy (recipe for disaster, I know haha).  I'm not sure if anything full time will be coming around.  Canfor and the whole forest industry is going through budget cuts thanks to Trump and his views on trade.  But that doesn't mean that someone who has a full time position at Houston won't transfer into another role or another office, opening a full time position here.  So I'll wait.  And in the meantime I'm in the glorious mountains, getting ready for hiking season and before that spring skiing season! So I'm happy : ) : )

Odin is pretty happy, too.

"I survived!" says Bruce.  You can see a cut on his nose.  Healing up, though!

Well, it's 11:00am and I'm still in my pj's... time to get outside and get some fresh air!

Talk to you all again soon,

xoxox

My First Week of Work: In the Bag!

Good afternoon everyone!

My first week of work is all done and I. Am. So. Tired. I must have been a BEAST to have done this job day in and out! Give me a few weeks and hopefully I'll be back up to speed.  It's felt good to be back out in the bush with the whiskey jacks (those are birds...not drinks!) and snowy trees.  I was thrown right back into things after only one day of paperwork on Monday.  Tuesday saw snowmobile training all day... I blacked out as soon as my head hit the pillow that night Zzzz! Then Wednesday it was off on a long drive towards Moricetown (to the West of Smithers) to flag out CMT's in the bush.

A CMT is a culturally modified tree and has been "modified" by the first nations in the past.  Some trees have a strip of bark missing from a hatchet strike: these are known as Blazes, and usually mark a significant trail.  Another form of CMT is a pine tree with bark stripped/pulled up from the bottom; the inside of the bark (cambium) would have been eaten for it's nutritional value.  In the field, after an archaeologist has deemed the trees to be CMT's but not super old (pre-1848, I believe), we can wrap ribbon around the trunk so that the harvesters don't cut them, and leave them for cultural significance.

Then Thursday and Friday I was out snowshoeing north of Smithers checking on our contractor's timber cruising (basically inventory) of a few blocks.  I was out with Maciej (the guy who has my old job.. and a Polish name that is pronounced matche) and thought it may be awkward working from the bottom of the totem pole with someone who has my old work truck and my old job... but it really wasn't that bad.  He seems eager to talk about just about anything and is good with my peppering of questions as I try to remember my old processes and ways of doing things.  He's also from Ontario - Guelph.  So we've connected on a few topics from the 'homeland'.

Jill just got back from New Zealand, so I'll be able to catch up with her tomorrow at work.  Thankfully I have an office day tomorrow, so I'll be able to rest the old muscles a bit more and see what she has in store for me this upcoming field season.

Both Jill and I are worried about my back - the last time I did this job, my back gave me some grief and has been sore this week.  So I've promised her that I'll do my physio exercises and stretches daily... something that I'm not very good at keeping up with... which is probably why my back bothers me in the first place! hah!

It was almost spring here... then got very cold... just last night it snowed for the first time in a while, and now the forecast says we will be around plus 6 degrees into the foreseeable future! All over the place!  On Thursday and Friday we were working in -20 degree weather.

Everyone is happy when Tom comes home!

Tom seems to be liking camp more and more.  It's hard having him away for most of the work week, but he's loving having Fridays off, and he gets paid for So.Much.Overtime!  This past week he was paid for a total of 52 hours in four days! That's more than I did in a week, back home!  The other good thing about his set up is that he isn't sweating through the bush that whole time - they spend a good chunk of the day driving to and from the bush.  And then when they get back after work to camp his food is already waiting for him!  Lucky guy.  Breakfast is made as well as bring-along-lunches.  He's got it made.

Tom's Office

Out for a hike up the ski hill

Which brings us to your favorite baker-and-definitely-not-a-chef... me.  This past week was a bit of a failure for having food organized for the week.  I get up around 5:30 am and am not home until 5:30pm... so I REALLY don't want to go grocery shopping or cook anything complicated.  SO today I have already made some quinoa balls (like meatballs but meatless), Tom made me some energy balls, and I've prepped some veggies for stir-fries throughout the week.  Let's hope the food and motivation to stay organized, persists!

Enchiladas from last week - they completely fell apart haha! But hey were s good.  The cilantro avocado sauce on the top was AMAZING.

I'm still working away on my sweater and am loving it.  I've made a silly mistake in the cabling that I hope you won't notice... but it's pretty obvious haha . By the time I noticed I had knit far enough past that I didn't want to rip back to fix it.  So I'm going with it.  It makes it even more one of a kind.  Now that I'm back at work, the sweater may become more of a weekend project... slowly but surely I will get there.  I've been knitting socks as well just to have something mindless to knit if we are watching a movie or TV show.

"Brigid" sweater

First sock in a pair complete

It was International Women's Day this past week!  So a shout out to all of the lovely ladies reading this.  Gotta love the girl power!

And finally, I have started learning German!  My dad is German and I have always wanted to learn but never have... until I found the free and fun app called DuoLingo!  SO far I am just learning the basics, but the app promises that I'm already 14% fluent. Hee hee hee.  It's set up similar to a game.  Once I've passed a certain level, I can do more with the app, like have actual conversations with others, through the app (not sure if these are other people or a computer...), learn phrases and compete with others. It's fun and quick and I've been trying to practice on Tom all the time; "Er trinkt Bier" or He drinks beer! : )



Well, time to sign off and do some knitting!  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! xoxox

Crater Lake on top of Hudson Bay Mountain

Went touring up the ski hill last week, to get some much needed vitamin D

The view out the kitchen window... with the upcoming spring weather, this view is sure to change soon!