right now, I AM

...thankful to be home with my backseat full of precious kid cargo.
236 kilometers (roughly 146 miles) later we have made a round trip to the city through heavy morning fog and icy conditions this evening. Everything is glistening outside tonight and we are sure to awake to a carpet of prickly white in the morning. What a pretty sight it will be :)

Hugs,
Rosina

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Fall Cleaning & Holiday Catch Up

I've been trying to tackle some rather large cleaning projects around the house. I think most people do a really big spring clean but I sort of guffawed at the thought of cleaning earlier in the year and now of course I'm paying the piper as I have all of the bedrooms in different stages of disarray and today I ripped through my kitchen like a hurricane *grin*.

One really triumphant moment was the removal of our microwave today! It has sat dormant on my counter for numerous years never getting used as I don't really believe in using one for cooking or reheating. I had casually passed it by Hubby the last time he was home from work to see if he had any problems with my idea and he had none so my oldest son and I carried it away this afternoon and said adiós to the beast LOL. I must say I am LOVING the extra counter space that it has freed up :)

All of this really didn't make for exciting picture taking though so I thought I would share some photos from our family trip to the BC interior this summer. I had planned to share them months ago but when we returned home we were busied with dad's cancer and such so they went into storage. So today I'm sharing some for your viewing entertainment *grin*. And my dad is doing great to! He has recovered, and his latest CT showed no cancer :)



The mighty Fraser River. We had just left Lillooet and were heading south to Loon Lake where we were to meet up with some of Hubby's family for a weekend on the lake.

This particular stretch of the highway was being repaved so we had quite a stretch of gravel road to travel.

The highway winds along the Fraser River for quite some time before heading away from it. Unfortunately ALL of my photos are hazy because of the heavy smoke that was hanging in throughout the region from the forest fires. We actually stayed at the same campground in Lillooet as a large group of firefighters that were out battling the fire every day. It was a little unnerving to be in so much smoke and to watch the helicopters with the massive water buckets come and go in the mornings and evenings.

Taking in the circle route via the Duffy Lake road.

If you have never taken the Duffy Lake road it is quite the experience especially when you are towing a fully loaded travel trailer behind you. It is the highway 99 just outside of Pemberton and used to be nothing more than a logging road but over the years it has been paved and to our surprise it had been resurfaced again lately so most of the road was actually in excellent shape!

It is a beautifully scenic drive that takes you STRAIGHT UP through the Cayoosh mountains and when I say straight up, I mean heavenward *grin*. You definitely need a full tank of gas, and some good breaks for this stretch of road. We must have climbed for a good 1/2 an hour to 3/4 of an hour and at some points we were only in first gear in the truck because of all the switch backs and hair pin turns! When we finally crested we came upon Duffy Lake which was just like glass and full of the reflections of the surrounding mountains. The air was much clearer up there to. When we were in Pemberton the smoke had been so thick that we couldn't stay outdoors for more than a quick walk to and from the truck so it was nice to be able to breath more freely and we lunched along the lake :) The final leg of the journey of course was straight down and that's where the good brakes part came in! LOL.

Hope you enjoyed a little look into our holidays and I'll have to share more with you another time :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Homecoming and Sad News

I know I've been mysteriously absent for the last couple of weeks but I have a great excuse :) We took a family vacation and went camping throughout BC's interior. We hitched up our travel trailer, jumped on a ferry heading off the island and hit the open road *grin*. I have TONS of photos that I can't wait to share with all of you but it's going to take me a bit to get them all off of my camera and into my flickr account.



Sadly upon our return I learned that my dad had been diagnosed with colon cancer while I was away and has been scheduled for immediate surgery this week to remove a portion of his colon and to check if it has spread to any of his lymph nodes.

It has been a bit surreal. I know it's going to hit me tomorrow when I take him into town for his pre-op appointment and find out what time his surgery will be and I'm hoping that you will be able to remember him in your prayers. He beat prostate cancer 4 years ago and he's a real fighter so I'm keeping optimistic that he's going to pull through this and be good as new but I'm still worried.

I spent this evening making a special cloth bag for him to pack his toiletries in tomorrow for his hospital stay with little embroidered 'I Love You' notes inside of it so every time he opens it he knows we're thinking of him even when we can't be there every minute of the day during his stay.

I'm not sure how much blogging I will be able to do over the next week while he is recovering but I'll try to pop in and give you an update or you can check my twitter status as that will probably be the easiest place for me to post updates quickly and easily while being on the road back and forth from home and hospital.

~ Rosina

Flickr Favorites ~ Travel

1. houses of Bryggen, 2. Coronet, 3. Jack Detoured Through The Castle Garden, 4. 2009 07 09_7733_edited-1

I'm not sure how I came to rounding up this set of photos. Perhaps it was the thought of traveling to a quaint town by the sea, picnicing in the park, cruising along with the top down and catching the sunshine in a field of golden poppies *grin*.

Sounds heavenly to me, how about you?

Want to join in the fun and share your flickr favorites? Head over to Misty's blog and join in!

~ Rosina

The Charm of a B&B

My mom is gearing up for another busy year at her bed & breakfast :) I do all of her online bookings and inquiries and actually just finished booking a couple that will be visiting from France this summer which will be fun for her.

So today we were playing around in the suite taking photos and getting it all ready for the coming visitors. It's a spacious 500 square feet with 2 bedrooms and a sitting area. The perfect place for a little rest and relaxation :)

We've stayed in a couple of different B&B's ourselves and I've got to say that personally for myself it is a much more relaxing stay when you have your own space within the host's home. This way you're not sitting awkwardly in their living room which usually looks very staged *grin* and you don't end up whispering because you're worried that you might giggle to loudly and disturb someone :)

You can't beat the hospitality that you get at a B&B though. I mean they really do try to make you feel like you are right at home and if you have never stayed at one I urge you to try it some time. The conversation around the breakfast table is always very engaging and if you happen to hit it at the same time as foreign travelers all the better! Y0u meet so many interesting people.

My parents have been doing it now for 9 years and it's amazing how many people send them cards or letters throughout the year, keeping in contact and returning for another visit just as if they were old friends :) How great it is to be doing something you truly enjoy!

~ Rosina