More snow

     Got up this morning to about 4 inches of new snow overnight, with it still snowing small, dry flakes in a steady stream.  Since it was 0630, I made the usual pot of coffee, had a cup while catching up on the impeachment trial updates and then went out to shovel the porch, dog run, and sidewalks for 40 minutes. That left my arms tired and TJ was leaving for school as I came in from shoveling.

The "Ice Challenge"

Jan 15, 2020

     Today, my birthday, (68th) marked the 4th consecutive day where the temperature has not risen above -20 C, which is getting pretty cold. Today we awoke to -34, with a windchill of -46 C.

      Since we have been stuck in the house for a couple of days, and it was sunny outside, TJ and I decided to do an "Ice Challenge" with some hot water in a cup and to throw it in the sky to see if it was cold enough to freeze before it hit the ground.... It did!   Attached is a video we made of it.

2019 - an overview

     It is Jan. 2020, and I sit here in Stony Plain, Alberta, thinking that I have a bit of spare time and that it has been a long long time since my blog was looked at or updated, and that this might be a good way to start, by reviewing 2019!

Jan. 2019 to May 2019

    The early part of Jan. found us staying with Carrie (Darlene's daughter) and husband Richard in Spruce Grove, Alberta, as we waiting for my UI to run out before heading down south to warmer weather. The UI ran out on the 11 Jan. and that night we camped out in the Motorhome, which was parked (and winterized) out by the old Edmonton local airport, where Darlene's granddaughter was living with her boyfriend Brian, who stayed in a trailer in a large yard where they kept them for the oil rigs.  It was cold that night (-10) but we were on the road @ 0800, just before the sun rose.
    There is a separate blog for our trip "Edmonton - Montana - Idaho - Utah - Nevada - Arizona - California - Mexico - Arizona - Texas - Louisiana - Mississippi - Tennessee - Kentucky - Indiana - Ohio - Michigan - Ontario - Illinois - Iowa - S. Dakota - Wyoming - Montana - Alberta - BC (whew).
The link is https   2019 Winter trip around US in Motorhome

May

     Warm weather (Okanagan style) welcomed us back to BC with a trip to the Kelowna Kangaroo Farm with Jamie, David and kids as well as Missy and Brian who came for a weekend visit. We had a great time at the Kangaroo Farm and also took the kayaks (and dogs) out to the Lake by the Resort.

Missy and Brian
on Kayaks with
Taylor hell bent on beach

TJ (Timothy now) and friends at Kangaroo Farm

Ciera, David, Jamie, Brock and Audrey 

Darlene with Grandkids and Great Grandkids
visiting the Kelowna Kangaroo Farm.

June

     Darlene and I took a trips to Grand Prairie, Camrose, and Vancouver. Grand Prairie was to visit DD, Andrew, Liz and Grayson for a long weekend.  We had great weather and a really nice visit, taking Liz and the dogs out to the local park a couple of times and getting to know Grayson a lot better.  The first time we had met him Darlene had rushed in and picked him up which freaked him out, as he was quite young. This time we took it a bit slower and he came around in no time flat!

Liz at Soccer Game

Watching Liz at Soccer Game

Grayson, in backyard, looking boyish lol

Darlene warming Liz up

 DD trying to get
some enthusiasm from Grayson
on this swing thingy.



     Our trip to Camrose to visit Darlene's Mom was nice and I had a chance to wander around with the camera to the local park and caught some beautiful swans being harassed by a red tipped blackbird as they came in for a rest.

     TJ and I made the trek to Vancouver to visit my Mom while staying with my Brother Tony. While down there we also visited Kendra and her boys, Ethan, Liam and Austin. We had a nice visit while down there and it gave Darlene a break from TJ and myself for awhile lol.

Kendra and Austin at Park

Liam, the natural athlete of the boys

TJ at Park in Abbotsford

   Ethan on a mission

July

     Summer in the Okanagan is pretty darn nice as we found out this year, with hardly any wildfires and lots of hot, sunny weather. We didn't make any long trips, instead staying close and making a number of local trips, finding new places as we learned more about Lake Country and Kelowna.

A real gem was Fintry, which was on the opposite side of Lake Okanagan  

Poppy from HPR gardens

Fintry Creek waterfall

Absolutely HUGE dandelions in July!
We came across lots of them in Fintry Creek
Campground!

Rain drops on tiger lillies         

"Hurry up you guys"        

(There were over 200 steps!)

Aug.

August saw us exploring more of the Kelowna area and also a visit from Kendra, Ethan, Liam and Austin. The two older boys had lots of fun at the pool, and also down by the dock, where Ethan managed to catch one of the many Painted Turtles that come by looking for food handouts. TJ started spending a lot of time with a young girl visiting her grandma in the Park. TJ also met Mert and Ygit who were in the Park last year as well. We treated them all to the Oyama Zip Lines which was a lot of fun for the boys.

TJ also met Mert and Ygit who were in the Park last year as well. We treated them all to the Oyama Zip Lines which was a lot of fun for the boys.  While the boys were up in the trees, we also watched this HUGE spider catch a large grasshopper, wrap it up and carry it up out of its' web.

Sept.

Trip to Grand Prairie

     The end of Aug. saw us packing up and moving to Alberta, in order to get TJ enrolled in a Christian School, as he is 14, enrolled in Gr. 9, and it is time to see how he will fare. We put him in a small Christian School in order to minimize potential bullying, and also the teacher/student ratio is quite good.

Diamond Grove RV Park

Harvest Time in Alberta was not so good as it got wet at end of Sept.

TJ on bike in Diamond Grove

Nikko posing for me

     We rented out our lot for the winter and spent Sept. in Spruce Grove Diamond Grove RV Resort, which really is just a parking lot that charges a lot. It is close to a huge dog park, but that is the only thing I liked about it. There is not much in this part of Alberta for RV parks and what there is are very expensive.  I drove the 15 min. drive to Stony Plain to take TJ to school and pick him up every morning, and it got progressively colder as the month wore on.  We looked and were able to rent a house that is kitty-corner from the school for just a little bit more than what the RV Park was charging. It is old, (even has radiators and a boiler for heat) and we don't have to do a lease and can take possession around the end of Sept..  TJ is adjusting to school pretty good with no major problems.

     I made a trip up to Grand Prairie to visit DD, Andrew and Grandkids for a weekend and also started to enjoy the Alberta scenery once again with my camera.

     The school works on having to contribute in order to pay for tuition so we have been doing what we can in that regard.  I have joined the local Pickleball club and am impressed with how large and well run it is. They have 18 outdoor courts which are often filled to capacity.

Oct.

     Harvest time in Alberta, move into house and empty Motorhome (parked in back yard) so we have some furniture, and get TJ enrolled in Sea Cadets. No more driving him to school as he now has a 3 min. walk to school!  I make a trip to Grand Prairie to borrow Andrew's pickup and then drive to Kelowna to pick up a uhaul trailer to pack up a bunch of stuff from our storage unit to use in the house. It was quite a trip and I stayed with Scotty in his place in Holiday Park Resort after visiting with Linda and George. I packed up the uhaul, drove back to Stony Plain, unloaded it and then returned the uhaul in 3 days. Following that I drove back up to Grand Prairie to return Andrew's pickup, which was wonderful to drive. 

     Darlene is managing to find lots of good buys on Marketplace for our new house to make it a home, and TJ is loving Sea Cadets!

     The school is working out quite well and they do fund raising in order to cover costs. TJ's class went out and picked potatoes at a farmer's field to earn some money for the school. I went out one day and helped for something to do.lol.

   

Richard Hackett (Son-in-law)

  Richard (Son-in-law) is in a band called Unlikely Suspects and he asked me to come out and shoot some promotional video and stills, which was a fun excursion for me.

They wanted a still of new bass player - something different

Nov.

     It is beginning to get cooler and we bundled up for Remembrance Day as TJ took part with the Sea Cadets at the local Heritage Park ceremony.

     Darlene's Mother (Helen) came to visit us for a couple of days and let me take some photos of her as I am working on a portfolio of older people / Lifestyle portraits.

     We are getting climatized to the cooler temps, but it is not an easy transition, as we got some snow in Oct. as well.

Dec.

     The first part of December saw us going to Helen's place in Camrose to do a day long photo shoot of the seniors there. We had a good turnout and made a nice profit as well as providing a nice service for the Lodge and the Residents.

Later, December saw me trying to make a trip to Vancouver before Christmas, but the weather and roads turned nasty, so I decided to wait until they were better.  Instead, I went up to Grand Prairie to visit DD and Andrew for Christmas while Darlene's Mom came to visit.  They had Christmas Dinner at our place while I enjoyed Christmas up with DD and Grandkids. While up there I went on a photo shoot with DD in the cold. (-15C).  After Christmas, DD wanted me to be second shooter on her first Wedding shoot, which was fun.
     The end of the year saw us watching TV and then off to bed before midnight.