DAY TRIPPING

Believe it or not, we are almost running out of priority things to do and have had more time to do some recreational activities this past week.  On Saturday, we went on a drive to Trail to purchase an extension ladder at one of our favourite stores—yes, you guessed it—Canadian Tire.  It was a great price but the first thing Stuart did after bringing it home and using it once, was to cut a foot off the length of both sections.  He wanted a 22 foot ladder originally and could only get a 20 or 24 foot one so he customized the 24 down to 22.  It looks just fine and now fits upright in the shop for storage.

Stuart’s Mom and stepfather were here for a 3 day visit and we had a very nice time.  They brought their passports so we drove to Colville, WA to show them the sights and do a little grocery shopping.  We like to go to Colville once a month for chicken and dairy products—you can’t get 2 pounds of Tillamook cheese for $4.99 in Canada.  The drive was pleasant, the weather and the company was good.

Yesterday, we all went out to Cascade Par 3 golf course in Christina Lake and played 9 holes of golf.  The last time we played golf was in May in Mesquite, NV so it took a while to get some of the kinks out of the golf swing.  It’s a bit like riding a bike, though; you don’t forget how to do it.  If the weather stays good over the new few weeks, we’ll probably play another round out there again.

We finally got the deck stained after waiting 3 days for the weather to improve and it only took a couple of hours with most of the time was spent on the edges of the boards by the railing and on the steps with a paint brush.  Stuart used a roller in the middle section and that was really quick.  This is the end result.

The other major outside job was transplanting shrubs from the front of the house to side which will give them more room to grow.  They haven’t wilted yet so we’re quite hopeful that the transplants were successful.  Here are some before and after photos.

The days are getting shorter and somewhat cooler but it still feels wonderful to sit out on our newly stained back deck in the afternoons.