Spring Work

I sometimes struggle to write about activities that could be of interest to readers.  Once the 5th wheel is detailed and stored, it seems the routine of home in Metro Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada leaves lesser stories to write about.  At least that's the way I have felt these past couple of weeks.

Well, we have not been idle.  We've kept busy with spring work....

Washing the exterior siding and eave troughs

Every couple of years, I like to give the house exterior a nice cleaning. This was the year.  So, over a couple of days, I washed the entire house.  It looks nice.The grime is gone.

Back home from driving Jeanette to the airport, last Saturday,  the motorcycle was fired up and I rode for well over four hours. Saturday offered an above average daytime temperature; under blue skies.  How could I not take advantage of that!

Last Sunday also offered great weather and I took advantage to motorcycle to our Open Mic coffee gathering.  Fun times!

More cleaning.

Under sunny skies, the pressure washer was put into service.  That large (white) rock that forms a part of the back yard pond was black from grime.  Once pressure washed, it was sparkling white, once again.

Cleaning out the pond.

Every couple of years, I empty the entire pond, clean it out, refresh the water and turn the water source and pumps back on.  That took several hours but the result is outstanding.

With the pressure washer out, I also chose to power wash all of our sidewalks and our large driveway.  That took several hours but the results were well worth the effort.  Those chores done, the outdoor spring cleaning is completed.  

Jeanette texted this photo of Owen at his Edmonton, Alberta home.  What a great little man he is.  Nana showed up with gifts of clothing and other fun stuff. 

Following several days visiting with Owen, Courtney and Deni, Jeanette is going to spend several days visiting her mom, Mary who lives about 90 minutes east from Edmonton.  Along with sisters, Deb and Darlene, the daughters have planned some quality outings and visits with their mom in the days ahead.

One year old Brie.  What a sweetie!

Our daughter, Ginette surprised us when she texted the following photos last evening.  She and Trevor chose to have some family photos taken by a professional photographer. 

Brie and Easton - enamoured with the little chicks.

Lovely family photo.

Other than keeping the home fires burning, I took Easton for his third ever visit to the local golf course where we got to practice our golf shots and putting.  At three years of age, it was interesting to see how much better he could focus compared to the first two previous visits to the driving range.  The objective is to have some fun.  And one I sense that he is losing interest in striking balls or putting on the green, we move on to other interesting things.

Our weekly men's golf round had to be scuttled due to forecast rains on Friday.  And a good thing too.  It actually hailed for a few minutes. The weather was not conducive to enjoying a good outdoor round of golf.

And there you have it.

Thanks for dropping in.

No Lack Of Activities

Our area is simply stunning right now.  The spring flora is flourishing and the average daytime temperature, with some exceptions, is most comfortable. 

And we have not lacked for things to do since our return from the desert.  In fact, we have been very busy.

When visiting at our place, Brie enjoys sitting at the little people table to colour or play with toys,

We've had our Langley based grand children over a few times and that is always a fun time.  Easton got to help his Nana prepare the bird feeders and to prepare the 'birdie juice' for the hummingbirds.

Nothing beats going for a bicycle 'strider bike' ride to the local park

At the local park near us, Easton has any number of choice activities to keep him busy.  The great bicycle obstacle course is a favourite and so is the washboard bike track.

Rather than ride over the teeter totter, Easton opts to walk it.  He is at the mid point balanced spot.

Easton turned three years old this Friday past.  As a result, there were numerous get togethers and parties to attend.  That started on Friday, continued on to Saturday and culminated in a young peoples'  Sunday party at a local community centre.   So, he celebrated well and had a lot of fun.  And so did Jeanette and I.

We brought these goodies and gifts to Easton's home.

Early on Friday morning, Easton's folks Face Timed us when they presented him with a new pedal bicycle.  Was he thrilled?  You bet.  And he could not wait to show us his new wheels.

Easton's paternal grand father, Warren dropped by to see the new bicycle Easton got for his birthday.

And when we arrived at his house on Friday afternoon, Easton had to show Jeanette and I his new set of wheels.  He will be getting plenty of bike time in the weeks and months ahead.

Happy Brie is playing with an electronic toy.  And she knows how to turn it on and make all kinds of sounds with it.

We had another get together with Easton and his family on Saturday. But Sunday morning was reserved to meet up with our good friends, Mariette and Lorne at the White Rock beach for breakfast.  It was also the first time we have seen them since Christmas.  

It was nice to get together before they catch a flight to South Africa in the days ahead.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast at Hemmingways on the beach, while watching the white caps on the Pacific Ocean.

Breezy White Rock Beach on Sunday morning.

Hemmingways is the building with the poles sticking out and up over the roof line.  It is also known as the Ocean Beach Hotel.

While we were enjoying breakfast with our friends, back in Alberta, Jeanette's sister, Darlene was busy with mom Mary putting together a traditional Ukrainian Easter food basket.  To maintain such a solid tradition means so much to Mary. 

Check out the food stuff in the basket

And check out the breads that were prepared for the occasion

Sunday afternoon was set aside for a kids party to celebrate Easton's birthday.  Many little kids attended - with their folks - and it turned into a fun time for all. To have rented the facility was well worth it considering there were 40 people who attended.  Imagine that number of big and little people in one's home!

Ginette (R) and friend, Kara (L) are getting the food stuff organized.

The Langley Events Centre facility was where Trevor chose to rent a room to house the party crowd.  And what a good idea that was.  An employee (a young girl) was offered up to help organize games.  And the kids got into that with vigor.

After all the fun games, it was time for some lunch and a gift opening.

Since our return back home from the US southwest, Easton had been asking his folks if he could have a sleep over at our home.  That is what happened on Monday.  Easton came over in the morning.  We enjoyed a lovely day with him and he was very tired at bed time.  We were tired too.....!

Easton helps his Nana sort out the bottles and cans for recycling.

And before his mom returned to pick him up yesterday afternoon, Easton and I enjoyed some park play time,  fixing a few things on the motorcycles and generally enjoying some outdoor fun.

And that is the way it has been around here.  It is hard to believe that it has been 14 days since our return.

With some very nice weather forecast for the weekend, I am planning to put the Harley Davidson back on the road.  And that is something to look forward too.

Easton decided to check out the Harley too.

All set to roll.

 Thanks for dropping by.

Cleaned Up and Stored.....

Back home since last Thursday evening, our weather has been so sunny and mild (no rain) that we were able to quickly and easily move stuff back into our home, wash and detail the exterior and interior, and to push our RV back behind locked gates on the west side of our home.

Removing the motorcycle

Removing the motorcycle and disconnecting the motorcycle swivel wheel deck is done before backing the rig onto our driveway.

Backed in, washed and detailed - and ready to be pushed back in storage area.

We were busy looking after our Langley based grand-kids on Saturday.  With Easter Sunday dinner preparations, we did not have a lot of time to work on the 5th wheel cleanup.  But we got back at it this past Monday and Tuesday.

Easton showed up at our home in full firefighting gear.

When asked why he came over in full firefighting dress, Easton replied that he could have to hurry and help people should they need it.  Cute!  His dad, Trevor is a volunteer firefighter....and Easton thinks that is pretty cool.  He has experienced riding in a fire truck and spending time at the fire hall.

Brie is happy to hang out in her Nana's arms. 

We sure had a fun time looking after Easton and Brie on Saturday.  Mom, Ginette came by in mid-afternoon to collect the kids. They would return for an Easter Sunday egg hunt, plus dinner.

Jeanette readying to hide stuff for a planned Easter hunt.

A kid at heart, Jeanette gets a lot of pleasure finding hiding places and creating clue notes for a fun Easter hunt.  Easton sure got into that.  He loved listening to the clues and searching for the goodies.

One clue revealed something hidden in his John Deere wagon.

Cousin Darcey, from Vancouver Island, was spending a few days at Ginette and Trevor's home and she was invited to join in for Easter dinner.  It is always nice to see Darcey.

Taking a break after a fulfilling Easter egg (other stuff too) hunt.

Easton moved a small chair by the kitchen island to watch his Nana dish out the vegetables for dinner.

We enjoyed a great Easter dinner meal while catching up on everybody's activities.  

 And the grand-kids got the opportunity to play with some of the toys that we have in our home.

Dad, Trevor is busy keeping the kids busy in the sun room.

Jeanette took this photo to celebrate those of us who have recently had a birthday or will soon celebrate one.

Yummy tasting lemon pie for Brie.  Hmmmm, hmmmm good!

Deni and Owen made the two hour drive to enjoy Easter dinner with Jeanette's family in Alberta

Our son Deni, with his son Owen, drove a couple of hours east from Edmonton, Alberta to join in on a family Easter dinner.  It was being hosted by Darlene, one of Jeanette's sisters.  Jeanette's sisters (and their families) were to join Jeanette's mom there too.  

Owen's mom, Courtney, was busy being a trauma nurse in Edmonton. She had to miss out on the festivities.

Deni, with Owen and Jeanette's sister, Darlene.

By all accounts, they too enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner put on by Darlene and Tom at their farm.

L-R  Sisters, Georgina, Mom Mary, Darlene and Deb.  Jeanette is missing from this photo

Darlene decorated her home and offered up some yummy Easter treats along with a five star meal.  

Back home in Edmonton, following his visit in the Alberta countryside, we shared a nice, long Face Time with Deni and Owen.

Other than RV clean up, Easter dinner and some time spent with the grand-kids, we've caught up on some yard work.  Jeanette got out there for several hours and managed to pluck some early weeds, trim some flowers and shrubs and generally begin bringing order to our front and back yard.  There is more work ahead....but it is all routine.

That's about it from here.

Thanks for dropping in.

Back Home....

Four days from our Palm Springs departure and we were back home last evening.  That is a record for us.  We're we in a rush?  No.  Our plans included a return today; Good Friday.  Thinking about traffic and cross border delays due to the Easter long weekend, we opted to drive the 10.5 hours from southern Oregon to our home.

Mt. Shasta - Northern California

Our last blog had us spending the night at a nice RV site in Corning, California.  The park is part of the Rolling Hills Casino.  We left early on Wednesday morning.  The passes (numerous climbs and descents) from northern California into Oregon were what we faced for most of that day.  We arrived at the southern Oregon, Seven Feathers RV Resort and we're set up in a great spot by 2:30 pm.

Our great RV spot at the Seven Feathers RV Resort, Canyonville, southern Oregon.

Although rain was forecast, we left for a nice hike into the local hills.  It was a beautiful and balmy day with temperatures hovering in the mid-50's.  But a great day for a nice walk in the beautiful nature this place affords.

A view from high up at Seven Feathers.

A truly great RV resort.

Threatening clouds

The RV park was busy with snow-bird RVers heading back for home.  I counted 23 British Columbia license plates at the Rolling Hills RV park and the Seven Feathers resort offered up many, many blue and white license plates too.

Slight drizzle on the way out of Seven Feathers RV resort - Friday 7:45 am

Our Thursday driving plan was to spend one more night somewhere near Portland, Oregon or southern Washington State.  Driving conditions were really good; including travel through the busy city of Portland.  We kept driving.  

The city of Seattle - with nearby cities of Olympia, Tacoma, Fife, and Everett - usually presents crushing freeway delays during rush hour.  We always try to avoid that senseless drive.  It isn't the traffic that is disturbing, it is the numerous stops and starts - accidents and distressed vehicles - and the foolish drivers.  

I felt we could reach Seattle before 2:30 pm.....which could get us ahead of the long weekend early afternoon rush.  By and large, that proved to be true.  We faced numerous stops for construction and other silliness....but we succeeded in moving through without too much of a delay. We were on the edge of the crushing afternoon rush.

For the uninitiated, Seattle metro traffic is often chaotic.  And that is putting it mildly.  Our normal drive has us spending a night south of Seattle Metro and driving through after 10:00 or 10:30 am.  That's when the freeways return to normalcy and one can more seamlessly cruise through.

Rolling through Portland, Oregon.

We were at the US/ Canada border by 6:15 pm....and, believe this, we only had a two car wait before answering three questions - using our NEXUS border entry cards - and being waived back into Canada.  Fifteen minutes from leaving the border, we were rolling to a stop by our front driveway.

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Upon arrival back home.

We opened up our home and all looked the way it was when we left it shortly after our Christmas visit.  We moved a few things from the RV before calling it a night.  We have plenty of time to sort stuff out today and in the days ahead.

We let our kids know we were back, Jeanette had a nice chat with her mother and once we settled in, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

Hector and Diane's great Portuguese Water Dog......at Morro Bay, California

Our friends, Hector and Diane, who left Desert Hot Springs two days after us, sent a few photos of their California coastal site south from Pismo Beach.  They are taking the time to tour and drive the coastal California areas while heading north towards their home on Vancouver Island.  

OK....enough said.  It's time to get outdoors and begin the RV move out process.

Thanks for dropping by.