Chemainus Theatre and smoked salmon - June 21 - 30

On Sunday we got our call to pick up our 4 fresh sockeye from our friend Warren, across the lake. Monday morning Ray got busy filleting and I brined it ready for the smoker.

24 hours in the brine and then rinsed. 24 hours in the fridge to set  and on the Traeger Wednesday morning. 4 fish made exactly 2 sheet pans of candied sockeye salmon. Yumm. Of course there are 5 missing pieces as testers lol

Meanwhile, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were spent down at the dock. Extremely warm weather .... 29C to 32C over 3 days.

Wednesday night we went to the "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Chemainus Theatre with Pat and Darryl. What an excellent show with lots of laughs. We also ate one of the best buffet dinners that we remember. Stellar evening.  You cannot take pictures of the production but they posted these online.

Thursday the clouds moved in and it's much cooler outside at13.5C. Today is a Nanaimo trip as I've a doctor appointment. The predicted rain didn't really start until late  afternoon and overnight.

Friday woke up to gloomy skies and showers. I took the car into Toyota for them to check the battery problem. Three hours later they finally agreed that a new battery was in order. It took running the test 4 times for it to fail. We also had the control panel for the sunroof fixed as well as it fell out of the roof 3 times previously.

Saturday, after a lazy start, I was ready to make us our weekend "big breakfast". Started out by frying bacon, or attempting to. Our stove is out of propane! Supposedly our tanks are monitored, which we pay extra for. First time this happened in the 8 years we've been here.

Had to finish bacon in toaster oven and make my scrambled eggs in the microwave. After Ray had a pointed discussion on the phone with Superior Propane, we are getting a delivery on Monday.  Our barbecue is hooked up to the in house propane line as well, so that also cannot be used. Barring digging out our camping propane stove, I guess Ray is taking me out for dinner for the next 2 days.

Monday morning we had our propane delivery ... and invoice. Not cheap, but probably will last us 2 years again. lol Nothing exciting here. We've had almost a week of cloudy, cool weather. Not great for outside activities, but great for the forest fire season.

Tuesday, June 30 ... the last day of the month. Boy time is flying by. Today we decided to go find the sunshine. We've been having mostly cloudy days for the past week, so we drove to Ladysmith for lunch and it's sunny! The Fox and Hound has great food and beer, especially for Ray. Lots of non-alcoholic choices. Back home at 2 we were able to sit out on the deck for a bit.

That's our week.

Father's Day Weekend, Garrett, Kat and Stella come to the lake - June 17 - 20

Our son Garrett, Kat and Stella arrived at 11:30 on Friday morning to visit us for Father's Day Weekend. The. weather todayis sunny and warm, perfect for dock time and swimming in the lake. Garrett hasn't been at the lake since December 2018.

After they unloaded we headed out to the Riverside Pub and Restaurant for a delicious lunch on their patio. I'm smoking a pork roast on the Traeger, so didn't want to make lunch too. lol

We were down at the dock by 1 pm. Lots of swimming for Stella and Garrett. Even Kat went in for a dip.

Garrett swam over to Roy and Junes tower to jump.

Dinner turned out great, bacon wrapped pork shoulder roast.

A perfect 145F 

Story time before bed.

Had a relaxing evening and bed by 10 pm.

Saturday, unfortunately, although the sun's out it's really windy ... too windy for lake activities. 

In the morning I made a batch of pancakes and sausages for breakfast.

Ray's back hasn't been great and when Ray mentioned he wanted to mow the lawn, Garrett decided he will do it instead, including weed eating. Years ago in Haida Gwaii, he had a lawn mowing business at 12 years old. Thanks a bunch Garrett, it's appreciated. 

Stella watching from the sundeck.

We were quite the pair this weekend, Ray's back in terrible shape and my left foot swollen from Plantar Fasciitis. I hadn't had an outbreak for quite some time. The kids helped with all the cleanup after meals with Ray's help. I sat down with my foot up.

The wind died down a bit around 10 am so Ray took them for a boat ride to the fuel dock and a short spin down the lake. Stella enjoyed Papa buying her some candy from the store at the fuel dock. lol

With the lawn mowed, Stella showed off her gymnastic routines that she just did for her graduation. She sure is flexible.

Lunch time.

After lunch, Ray took them for a little tour, the duck pond and Little Beach where the tubers come out of the river and then of course ice cream.

Back home more "chillin" while I got our chicken on the barbecue. We were able to sit up on the deck for the evening before coming into watch a little TV. Tonight we were in bed at nine. Garrett and Kat watched TV for awhile before calling it a night.

Morning Cuddles. (ice pack on my foot)

Sunday breakfast is Eggs Benedict. After breakfast Kat and Garrett rushed around gathering all their stuff and changed all the beds for me. It 's a much nicer day on the lake with less wind today. Unfortunately they had to leave by 10:50 am to head to Nanaimo for their ferry home.

Here is Stella on the ferry wishing they could stay longer with us, according to Kat.

We loved having you come and see us! 

Stella graduated from Kindergarden this year and Amelia graduated from Pre-School.

Stella age 6

Amelia - age 5

Lobster Feast and Lake time at home - June 12 - 17

We got back from Pinantan Lake in time for the Annual Lobster Feast at Roy and June's. There were 12 of us neighbours this year, including our new ones, Prab and Noor. Lots of laughs, food and great drinks. Darryl and Ron set up R & D Margy Bar! This year it's the best weather ever. Thanks Roy and June for hosting us all again!

Ron and Darryl

June, Ron and Ray

Roy, Donna, Noor, Prab, Debra, Mike, June, Pat, Darryl, Ron, and Ray

Roy dancing after a bunch of Darryl's spicy margaritas!

More shinanigans!

Party ended at 10 pm. Poor Mike and Debra, they leave for Calgary tomorrow.

Saturday, we did chores until 1 pm, including 5 loads of laundry. Time to go down to the dock. Ray took a dip and later on so did I. It's 30C. Lots of activity on the water now with the heat wave. Countless boats going by and people floating on tubes at the park next door. There's a guy on a hover board, but missed getting a picture of him. These two launch from the park.

This guy has been here off and on for the past month.

First time seeing this guy. Pretty sure of himself dressed in regular shorts. :)

Sea doos have been real popular this year so far. Much more of them on the lake with every colour and size possible.

Sunday after chores, more dock time. 

My greenhouse before I left and what it looks like now after 2 weeks ... WOW I'm posting pictures so I can compare next year lol

June 12th, it's a jungle in there! First harvest of some zucchini and green peppers.

My other flowers in the driveway are doing well too.

Ray's been spending time disassembling the old cedar deck box on the dock so we can install the new plastic ones. Talk about tons of screws. When he built it, there was no way it was going to fall apart other than the lid that ripped off in a wind storm causing a warp that cannot be fixed without completely remaking. We decided to get new ones, so no more maintenance i.e. staining every year.

Monday, June 15th, the electricians arrived to put plugs in the floor for the new chairs and couch. Fortunately we have a sub panel in the basement and a suspended ceiling so wiring's no problem. Three hours later, Nick and his apprentice finished. The hardest part is cutting through our floor. Our wood floor is 3/4" thick then you have a plywood subfloor underneath that.

The finished project!

 

Tuesday morning I spent in my garden pruning my rhodo's. Penny's here and she weeded our beach which got quite overgrown.

After a couple of busy days gardening and chores, I sat down at the dock after dinner with a glass of wine. Goodnight!