Dianne comes to visit! October 17 - 20

Sunday the sky cleared somewhat by noon and that was is it for the rain in this storm. The lake has really come up, looks to be 18" in just one day! 

That sand under the water was all exposed 2 days ago, a foot in front of the first step.

While staring at the water levels I noticed a crayfish crawling around the bottom of the stairs. It was quite big. They sure crawl quickly under water. Better not tell Darryl, or he will put his trap out under our dock. lol

The fall colours this year are stunning. Last year they just fell off before we saw very much colour. I guess the hot summer may have something to do with it. This picture is from the campsite next door.

Received some pictures of Stella, our other granddaughter. Busy little girl at 17 months old. She loves going to the park.

She also loves puddles. lol Good thing with all the rain we have had.

Monday, Dianne came to stay for 2 days. Yippee. My Sister from another Mister. Last visit until next spring because they are heading south now the border is open after November 8th. Steve is also here on the island on a hunting trip with his son Rob, and another longtime hunting friend. Hopefully they get their deer early this week before all the rain starts again.

My front garden almost ready for the winter. The hummingbird plant is the last one to get pruned. I kept it to the end as it's still blooming for the birds and the bees.

Dianne arrived by 2 pm and after unpacking we all sat outside on the lawn with a fire. A beautiful fall day. The colours are stunning this year.

After a couple of hours outside it was time to come in as the air cooled significantly by 4 pm. While we were having fun outside,  my Traeger's going with beef ribs. They turned out great.

After dinner, Ray and Dianne did kitchen detail. Thanks guys. 

Tuesday, the sun did not come out as forecast... Dianne and I sat out on the deck with the heaters on for a few hours.

For lunch I made chicken wings in my new "air fryer". Delicious. I am happy with the results and they cook up in half the time and are very crispy.

After lunch we took a short walk over to the park to stretch our legs. Love the sounds of fall as you crunch over the fallen leaves. 

Back home it was more time on the deck before coming in for dinner. Pork Belly Burnt ends on my Traeger with baked beans. :)

Before dinner, Ray drove Darryl's motorhome down to P&R Trucking for service. Pat and Daryl are not taking their airbrake course until this weekend with their written test sometime later next week. They're running out of time before leaving for 6 weeks to Puerto Vallarta for their winter holiday.

A lovely visit with Dianne. She headed out around 9:30 to meet up with her brother and sister-in-law for lunch in Nanaimo. Ray left at 8 am to take the boat up to Nanaimo for servicing and some Amelia time so, I had the morning to myself. The next storm system is almost here. Forecasted winds on the west coast of the island said to be "hurricane force". Yikes. Hopefully Steve and company don't get blown away off the mountain deer hunting.

Saw this blue heron watching for fish on the boom next door in spite of the dark skies. Pretty cool.

Fall to Winter??? Goodbye Freya Oct 13 2021

Tuesday we woke up to 1C !!! We usually have temps around 7 to 8C at this time of year. Did we miss the fall? By noon the predicted rain came in, so a very drizzly gray day. Freya is not doing very well after two days at Kristi's with the stairs. She woke me 3 times overnight to go outside as she has the "trots". All day she did not eat anything and even with her pain meds on board, stayed panting all day. By evening she still had not eaten anything and other than going outside a couple times to pee, that was it.

The sun is peeking out Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning, I've been up since 2 am to take Freya outside to pee and she only made it to our front garden. The rest of the night she panted like crazy and clopped around the house and didn't actually go to sleep until 4am, which meant I did not either. I finally got out of bed at 6. She still won't eat once she woke this morning and still panting. I will be calling the vet this morning and we made the decision to put her out of her misery. As long as she is eating, drinking, wanted to play and took an interest in smells etc., I'm hesitant. But now, she also wore off her toe nails on her front feet, so she is now dragging all four legs, very tiring for her.  The last two days she hasn't eaten very much and does not even want to go out to pee. 

We took her in for a 2 pm appointment. It broke our hearts but we know she is out of pain. Freya was our best friend and her ability of calming Ray was impressive. She's been a great companion for all the running, biking and recent hiking we've taken her on. Freya was a great travel buddy living in our motorhome for 7 plus years. She loved all the new people she met. She will be sorely missed. We first picked her up when she was 8 weeks old. Now she can go play with her sister Kira and Aunt Athena chasing rabbits in doggy heaven.

RIP Freya, the best dog we have ever had. October 13 2021

Athena and baby Freya. Athena was in heat. lol

Kira with Freya

Athena teaching Freya that going in the truck is fun. lol

Freya always loved chasing sticks, her record is five in her mouth at one!

Jason protecting her from the thunder.

Freya and Kira

Always thought of herself as a lap dog.

Moving out of our campsite at Macktush, not going to be left behind. :)

Garrett sent me this picture of Freya and Kira from our Macktush days. Freya would have been 2 and Kira 2 1/2 years old. Kira passed away last January and Athena passed away three weeks ago. 

A friend sent me a note that made me cry but oh so true.

My dearest Deb and Ray You have chosen me and called me your own and loved me without reservation. You provided me my every need and lavished me with loving attention and care. You have given me a home filled with laughter and love. You have taken me on walks and hikes and great adventures that would be any dogs envy. You scratched my ears and my tummy and often you made me laugh. It has been a delight to spend these years with you. Having to leave you now is part of the trials and sorrows of life. And I will miss you. You have given so much of yourselves for me. I have loved you with the greatest joy and gratitude. My heart will always be with you. With love and nuzzles and face licks. Your loyal friend forever. Freya

Wednesday night we noticed a huge slash fire across the lake for the new development. Lots of yakking on Facebook regarding it. This is one of 4 piles buring.

This is still smoldering 3 days later to the dismay of the neighbouring properties.

Thursday morning we're up early and missing our girl. :( It certainly will be an adjustment after 11 1/2 years). We went up to Kristi and Jason's so we can fill some of the hole in our hearts with baby snuggles and hugging Zeus. The weather is back to mild at about 9C.

Totally interested in her Grandpa today. After I fed her breakfast she wanted him. lol I did get my cuddles later though :)

That smile makes one feel better.

When it was time for her nap, we headed back to the lake. A lovely visit to help cheer us up.

Friday morning, it's pouring outside as predicted. We could have over 125 mm of rain in the next two days which is nearly 5 inches of rain! By 11 am we were a little antsy, so Ray suggested a drive into Chemainus to the Christmas Store ... sign me up. lol Ray did a few errands in Duncan first and I dropped Freya's meds off at the Vet. Dr. Johnson's dogs are old too and take the same stuff as Freya, so for the meds not to go to waste, she will give it to her dogs. 

Our appointment at the Christmas Store (appointments only due to Covid) is for noon. We spent an hour looking at everything before purchasing a couple more things for our Christmas Display in the house. :) 

On the way home we stopped at the SPCA and dropped off about 5 dog beds including dishes, leashes, collars and toys. Just needed to clear out all the stuff so we are not constantly tripping over Freya stuff. We have enough stuff for 3 dogs ... now only Zeus is left, and we will only see him at the lake once in awhile.

Saturday morning, both of us were up early ... me since 3:30 am.... still really missing our dog. The second wave of heavy rain hit so it's quite noisy on our metal roof. A nap might be in order this afternoon. Nothing much on our agenda today. Certainly glad the big boat is out of the water for the winter with all of this rain. 

Definitely an inside day puttering, laundry etc. This has been a hard few days.

Thanksgiving Oct 2 - 11th

Tuesday morning, Ray took another crack at fishing and managed to get a small trout in front of Sutton Creek. Catch and release. A friend of ours told me that the kokanee should be in front of Sutton Creek in a week or so. Last year Tyler and his brother-in-law caught 15 in a few hours ... there is hope. lol

Laundry day for me and puttering. Once Ray had rested after fishing, he installed the new light on the sundeck. The motion detector light there that never came on when we wanted it to so needed replacement. I need more light for winter barbecuing :)

We decided to sit on the deck with the heaters on for an hour or so, just to be outside.

It began clouding up and looking like rain, so we came in at 4:30 pm. Another good day at the lake.

Sunday the sun came out to play, so after a waffle breakfast, we took Freya for a short drive to Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River. With the lake up high, we knew there would be quite a bit of water in the river and hoped we would see some salmon at the fish ladders. Ray brought the tripod for some great water fall/fall colours, but I think we are still a week or two early.

Well we didn't see any salmon but the Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue were practicing river rescues and 2 river kayakers went over the falls purposely. Definitely more than we expected to see. The SARS group asked Ray to email the pictures. lol

Ray getting set up.

Freya watching "Daddy".

Help.... help

You missed.

Here I go! They had to jump way out to get out of the whirlpool that was closest as they got pushed right back into the fish ladder.

Here come the kayakers.

There are safety kayaks after the gorge in case these guys run into trouble.

Over he goes!

and pops back right side up.

This guy managed to stay upright.

Beautiful flowing water.

A great day with unexpected company. :) We did not see any fish but one of the SARS people did as they were waiting for people to float by.

Monday morning Ray went fishing for a couple of hours with Darryl and unfortunately were skunked. lol A gorgeous morning though, once the early fog burned off.

Tuesday morning we were out the door at 8:45 am heading to Nanaimo to spend the day with Kristi, Jason and Amelia. On the drive up the sun even came out. We arrived shortly before 10 am and Amelia just woke from her nap. What a happy baby. Lots of smiles.

I like your new teething bead necklace Grandma!

You taking pictures of me again Grandma!

You are funny Grandma!

Grandpa and Amelia sharing cookies. Zeus is waiting for the cookie to hit the floor. lol

Deep conversation. :)

Got back home around 3:30 pm . Shortly thereafter the sky opened up and it became windy. Boy did we time our outing right. :)

Wednesday morning woke to rain but by 6:30am it quit. Today is a busy day. Motorhome into P & R Trucking for some recall work on the diesel motor. I followed Ray in the car to pick him up. Won't get it back until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. While the MH is out of the driveway, we can get the boat trailer out, so we took the boat out for the winter. We loaded it on the trailer and fueled it up, washed off the green stuff on the water line and left it in the driveway. We are waiting to see first when the boat will go in for servicing of the hydraulics on the big motor. The guy in Nanaimo did not have time for it back in July so we just launched it and used it for the season. (Date booked Oct 20) Then it can be washed and put away for the season.

Once we had done all that, it was lunch time. I made a big pot of Lasagna Soup. We will have it for dinner and then the rest will be packaged up for Jason and Amelia. They eat my soup for lunches.

It rained on and off all of Wednesday night. Boo. We should have put the boat in the garage now the carpet is all wet.

Thursday morning, foggy start but it cleared off. I went into Duncan for errands while Ray puttered around with boat gear. Later in the afternoon we backed it into the garage until the 20th so it could dry out. I decided to have our little "turkey dinner" tonight with a turkey breast roulade. (pounded turkey breast with stuffing rolled into it.) No turkey this year as the kids want BBQ chicken on the rotisserie. The sky remained sunny for the rest of the day. Ray tried his luck fishing off the dock but the trout are not liking his offering as they were jumping close to where he was casting. lol 

A beautiful morning.

Friday a beautiful day. Got the motorhome back with a $700 bill for a new sensor when it broke while fixing the parts on recall. Ray puttered in his workshop and I did laundry. How exciting. Gardener was here taking care of mowing the lawn, weeding and reseeding an area where the wood pile used to be. Yard is is good shape for the winter, just a few more shrubs that need pruning.

Saturday we're on our way up to Kristi and Jason's for Thanksgiving. Although the actual festive dinner is not until Sunday we wanted more Amelia time. :)

Fortunately for Freya, Amelia goes in circles or backwards and not forward so her toy is safe. lol

Grandma's teething necklace is good. lol

Having a conversation. :)

The adventures of eating by myself.

Is that so, Grandpa!

Sunday afternoon Pop pop and Granny arrived. A little hesitant at first and then Amelia had a great time with them.

Pop pop teaching Amelia how to drive. lol

I barbecued two chicken on the rotisserie, Jason, Kristi and I prepared the vegetables, cranberry sauce and gravy. Nadine brought the dressing and Pecan Pie for dessert. A fabulous meal. Even Amelia thought so. :) Happy Thanksgiving.