Ouch!

This morning we drove out to visit my nieces out in the Eastern Fraser Valley. They've been housesittning on a beautiful 5 acre property for the last three weeks. The mountain air was refreshing. Because the entire property was fenced we sent the kids off to explore. Halfway through their adventure Diane lost her footing and reached out to steady herself. The nearest thing to grab onto was the electrified fence. Thankfully her older cousin was there to help her out. A few minutes later she came wondering out of the trees. She was melancholy for the next while and it took her some time to finally tell me what happened. She was really frightened and couldn't understand what had happened to her. She was out of sorts for the rest of the afternoon, but I'm sure she'll be back to her usual self tomorrow.

A Walk in The Wilderness

When Diane suggested that we go on a nature walk this morning, all the usual excuses came back to me. It's too hot, there's so much housework to be done, we have nobody to go with us. But the truth is, I just didn't feel like it. But that is never a good reason not to do something. Especially something with my precious daughter.

So we packed her bug catcher, magnifying glass and a bottle of water and headed up to Campbell Valley Park. Once we arrived I felt such a calmness come over me. The park was anything but busy and I was now looking forward to a leisurely walk in the beauty of God's creation. We started on the Little River Loop trail, but were soon joined by a large group of talkative women. Usually I'm the leader of such a pack of giggling crazies, but at this moment we were feeling peaceful.

We took a less used path and we soon greeted by the quiet we sought. Walking along the dirt path, we listened to different song birds and enjoyed watching the sun dancing through the forest canopy. Over the course of the next couple hours we observed a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, had a close encounter with a brazen squirrel and captured a very weird looking bug. I did not, however, regret leaving the housework for a later time.

To Calgary and Back Again

Although I spent the better part of June travelling all around D.C. and Toronto, I still had one more journey to make this summer. And this was to one of my favorite places, the wonderful and fabulous Calgary. My sister and family have lived here for 8 years and I have visited many times. This trip was a little different, though as I was travelling with Lisa and her youngest daughter, Emily. She left her older ones in the Fraser Valley to house-sit for family.

I always look forward to the drive from BC to Alberta. It is just so fascinating to travel from the green of the lower mainland, through the desert of Kamloops, up over the mountains and foothills and finally to arrive in the sprawling city of Calgary. On previous trips Heather and I have driven at a rather quick pace so as to reach Calgary in a timely fashion. Already having Lisa with me made the need to speed redundant. So I think I may have logged my longest trip from Abbotsford to Calgary at 12 hours (Heather and I once did it in 9.5). The drive was uneventful as usual, and thankfully due to the long weekend the was no construction to slow us down. I'd have to say that the worst part of the trip was totally my fault.

Lisa drove the majority of the time, but I did log a little time behind the wheel. The Subie drives like a dream and is exceptionally comfortable. As we came into Kamloops to grab a quick lunch and potty brake, I began to slow down. Unfortunately I am very used to driving a standard vehicle and the Subie is not equipped with a clutch pedal. As I approached the light my left foot naturally pushed into the closest pedal. It was a bit of a shock for all of us as the car came to a rapid and complete stop.

The next day was spent in preparations for Emily's departure for a week at camp. Not wanting to be away from the fun I decided to take advantage of Emily's loft bed. From that vantage point I could observe so very clearly all the 'fun' of packing. Both Lisa and Emily had very different views on how to pack for camp. It brought back memories of my mother and me. I found it absolutely necessary to argue about everything all the time. Thanks mom for putting up with my youthful arrogance.

On Sunday after a great church service Lisa and I gathered up Emily and all her belongings. We drove out into the foothills of Alberta to deliver Emily into the capable hands of the horse camp leaders. During the drive Lisa spotted an 'anvil' cloud. Apparently these are the clouds that can quickly turn into tornadoes. I know you may find this a little disturbing but I was totally hoping to see a real tornado. But it was not to be. In hindsight I suppose it was for the better. The camp was quite rustic, which is totally up Emily's alley and it looks like she will have a great time.

On our way back to the city we spotted 2 young elk (or caribou) just sitting 10 feet away from the road. We snapped a couple of pics and then began our visit sans teenager. We quickly transitioned from listening to the nonstop chatter of a teenager to the nonstop chatter of ourselves. It was just so amazing to connect with each other with no children/teenagers in the background. Lisa and I were able to catch up in a matter of hours without distractions. Before our trip I was concerned that only two and a half days in Calgary would not be enough, but it was just the right amount of time.

On my final day of peace and relaxation we found ourselves walking in the chilly air though Prince's Island Park. I found it a little offensive that all the skinny healthy crazy people decided to use this area as a gym. There was a "boot camp" or something like it set up all around the island and Lulu Lemon attired, pony tail haired wackos would run their skinny butts past us to their next station to do push ups or chin ups. We just walked at a leisurely pace enjoying our sweetened coffee drinks. Another bizarre sight was a hybrid squirrel we spotted running through the park. Over the course of the afternoon we spent a little time wandering through Eau Claire Market and I took Lisa to enjoy her first taste of Vietnamese food for lunch. All in all it was a pleasant and memorable trip.

Thank you wise and knowledgeable sister for a weekend filled with honesty and laughter.