Happy Birthday Ray! The Christmas Villages are finally done! November 15 - 27

 Happy 68th Birthday Ray!

For his special day, I went into Duncan for a big grocery shop at Superstore and some fresh seafood. Once back, I made mussels and a wine and cream sauce for lunch and for dinner we each tied in to whole fresh crab qne a coconut cream pie for dessert. 

Saturday for lunch I made Ray Navajo Fried Tacos that he had been asking for. Made enough for lunch on Sunday with the kids too. We'd discovered these on one of our winter trips in the USA in Cameron, AZ. Delicious.

Showing off Christmas Village #2

Jason, Kristi and Amelia, with Olaf in tow, arrived about 2:30 to spend the evening and overnight with us for Ray's birthday. Amelia got to stay upstairs in the "big girl's bed" for the first time. She's sure excited to see us.

I'd prepared our old little Christmas Tree from the motorhome so Amelia could decorate it up in the loft outside her new bedroom. She now has a new play area, so not so many toys on the livingroom floor. lol

The magic of Christmas for little ones.

Before dinner, Amelia gave Papa his present. She'd coloured the wrapping paper. Jason made Ray a bread knife with a beautiful wooden handle he'd laminated and shaped. 

Birthday dinner is Prime Rib and yorkies with all the fixin's, everyone's favourite! Fortunately the BBQ is under the gazebo at this time of year, so I don't get soaked with the rain.

Amelia helping Papa put all his people in the villages.

Amelia made Papa a special birthday hat to wear lol 

She has to sit really close to her Papa! After running around the house for a couple of hours she's hot, so went shirtless. lol

After dinner it's time for dessert, Amelia helped us all sing Happy Birthday to Papa.

Helping Papa blow out his candles.

After a busy afternoon and evening, it took a bit to get Amelia to go to sleep upstairs, as she was pretty wired. :) Once she fell asleep though, she was out for the night. Kristi slept upstairs in the other guest room to be near if needed.

Sunday morning Ray used his new knife, slicing the french bread for french toast. It worked fabulous. Thanks a bunch Jason. Ray, Kristi and Amelia took Olaf for his morning walk while I cooked breakfast.

After breakfast, Jason helped me hang the garland around the front door, which is new this year and brought up the Christmas tree from the basement, so it's ready for me to decorate. He is so helpful.

Kristi helped Ray getting his trains runnning. One set was successful but the other will need Ray to fix some "bumps" in the track line derailing the train. Amelia was excited to see the train running finally.

Showing Papa her games on her tablet.

I made more frybread and fed them Navajo Tacos for lunch.  By 1 pm they'd packed up and were on their way. What a whirlwind 24 hours! Time for us to collapse in our chairs. 

Today is Grey Cup, Canadian Football Championship held in Vancouver this year. Of course it is an appetizer party for two. I'd bought a bunch of frozen stuff to throw in the oven after such a busy few days. Ray ate chicken wings, scallops wrapped in bacon and tempura prawns. Toronto beat Winnipeg and was a close game, for the most part except, the last quarter. I spent the time reading while Ray watched the game. The half-time show was great though, with the Jonas Bros. playing. Amazingly I recognized every song they played.

I think he had a great birthday! His present from me was the framing of his Dad's medals and picture of the Lancaster plane he flew in as Wireless Airgunner.

Monday, Ray got the rest of the Christmas lights put up outside, the deck railing and in the garden while we had a nice dry day. I finished up the tree in the living room.

Tuesday the forecasted "Bomb Cyclone" arrived. We had quite a bit of wind here at the lake and you could hear the rain sheeting across the roof. We were fortunate to not lose power, but 25,000 in the South Island did and 95,000 people on the North Island. BC Hydro will be busy for a few days.

Here are some short videos of Ray's masterpieces.

Also new for this year is our "blowups" for the sundeck so we (Amelia) can see them from inside the house. We didn't put them out until after the Tues/Wed storm.

We are mostly staying hunkered down with these storms with another one today, Friday. Probably more power outages for some on Vancouver Island. After exercise class we headed up to the Cowichan Exhibition Craft Fair in Duncan. We haven't been there for a few years so it was nice to check out all the artisans.

They even set up in the horse barn lol

Saturday, we stopped by a Christmas Village Garage Sale lol. We saw the event on the local news and I know the guy, Dennis, from our exercise class. We stopped by really early, 8:20 am, before heading up to Nanaimo to meet up with Kristi and Jason. Since we were early we helped them set up, displaying all the stuff on banquet tables. In exchange Ray was able to pick up 26!!!! houses so Village #3 is in the process. All proceeds from selling off 1/2 of their village is going to Cancer in memory of his wife. We only bought about 1/8 of their village pieces.

We met up with Jason and Kristi at the Christmas Village German market  and ate some bratwurst. Back home to Kristi's and spent some time with Amelia .... "Papa's is her favourite".

Back home by 3:30. A great visit.

Sunday through Thursday, not much to report. Tuesday, we went to Superstore and got our 2nd Twinrix Booster for Hepatitis A and B, one more to go end of May. Ready for our trip to Puerto Vallarta in February.

Christmas Village #3, under construction. lol Final measurement taken before Ray takes the foam back downstairs and glues and paints. My dining room area getting smaller, and smaller. :)

First two weeks of November, Nov 1st - Nov 14th

Friday morning had some beautiful fall colour shots from our deck.

 

Saturday morning we were out the door early, heading to Nanaimo. It's nice the rain quit for the day. First up is a Costco shop, then to another store to get  paint supplies for Ray's " Christmas Village".  We also took a quick tour through the Beban Park Craft Fair. We've not been there since we lived in Nanaimo. Came home with only one gift. :) Next up, a sushi lunch then a short visit with Jason, Kristi, Amelia and Olaf. Boy he's grown. 

Kristi playing charades.... answer, you take too many pictures

 

Amelia had "dressup time" with all her various costumes.

After a couple of hours it's time to come home. We left at 7:45 am and didn't get back until 3:30. A long day walking and sitting for Ray.

Monday and a very stormy day. Lake Cowichan did not get the wind that the coastal sections of the island did. Lots of power outages but not here. We pretty much hunkered down inside. The rain did stop late morning with a peak of sunshine to later in the afternoon.

Seems like it was Monday and then it was Friday. 

Tuesday we headed into Duncan so Ray could get his veneer glued back on one of his teeth. We also got our Arexvy vaccinations. 

Brunch on Third

Friday mornings sunrise.

More puttering around the house, that pretty much is it. Ray is enjoying melting his foam. :) Next up painting it. Can't wait to see the finished product.

We have been having trouble with some raccoons deciding that our ramp to the dock is their new latrine! They are also pooping between the dock box and the ramp at the bottom. I guess not having a dog anymore leaving scent in the yard, we've become a "free for all". lol

After cleaning and spraying with Ammonia daily, it is not working ... they are still pooping.  After cleaning up again, this time with soap and bleach, I moved empty planter pots onto the area they are using with a plastic bag underneath and also sprinkled cayenne pepper everywhere. Apparently they don't like the feel of plastic on their feet and information I read, is to move furniture or pots where they were pooping to encourage them to move on. Unfortunately it is pouring rain so I bet the cayenne pepper will be washed away. I have ordered a 

Solar Animal Repeller Outdoor 5 Modes Animal Repeller with Motion Sensor Ultrasonic Animal Repeller for Cat, Deer, Rabbit, Raccoon, Squirrel

from Amazon so hopefully this will fix it. I should get it in a week. I will update. :)

Saturday we attended the local craft fair up at the arena. Ray picked up some local baking and I picked up a couple of things for presents. We like to support local crafters.

Jason and Amelia came to the lake on Sunday to help Ray with the inside Christmas lights that you need a ladder for. Of course that meant cooking breakfast and lunch. I had a great time playing with Amelia while the boys did the work. :) Jason made short work of getting it done.

Amelia playing with the new to her playdough molds from Pat next door. Jason hanging up the lights in the background.

Monday with the lousy weather, I decided to make some Chinese Food at Home. Prawns with honey pecans, and fried rice. Yummm.

Tuesday morning we popped into Duncan for some errands and checked out Canadian Tire's Christmas stuff. Came home with a door mat and some outside garland for the front door. As Elvira was here cleaning, we went for lunch at Jake's at the Lake for their "Roast on Tuesdays" new menu item. It was delicious, stuffed pork loin with gratin veggies. That's dinner too. Next week should be Roast Beef.

After lunch back at home, Ray back downstairs painting and I went upstairs and finished wrapping all of our Christmas Presents. Nice to have that done and ready. Now that November 11th is passed we can start pulling out Christmas. :)

Wednesday woke up to pouring rain again bouncing off our metal roof from the predicted overnight storm. Although windy outside, we still have power :) This fall so far, we've had storm after storm. Glad Ray bought me a backup honda generator now we don't have the motorhome's generator to use, as we are home in the winters. One of his Christmas presents for me. :)

Ray's been busy working on his Christmas Villages ... after forming and painting his foam it's now time to start putting it together. Stuff everywhere!

Here are some pictures of how much the lake has come up in a few days!

As I had mentioned ... nothing too exciting going on around here except watching the lake rise!

Laurel comes to visit and Halloween Fireworks. - Oct 22 - 31

Pretty quiet week. Between my exercise class and Ray's physio we're kept busy. Wednesday, after Ray's physio, we went into Duncan to get our Pneumonia vaccination and our Twinrix for travel to Mexico in February. I also bought the Ducoral to start taking in December. We still have to get our RSV shot and will get the Covid booster in December. We've already had our flu shots. Hopefully we won't get sick anymore this winter from Amelia from her going to daycare. :)

Thursday the sun was finally out and it was a nice day. Some activity on the lake. With all the wind, lots of leaves have fallen.

Unusual to have a float plane land and takeoff so close to town.

While Ray went to Nanaimo for an appointment, and it's sunny so I'm able to sit outside in the front watching my "garden angel" Penny, doing the last of the perennial trimming.

Thursday night is also "Paint Night at Jake's". This time Pat and June accompanied me. Great night with dinner first and then painting for a couple of hours. Pat's is the best, next June, mine well.... just ok in my opinion. lol It's lots of fun anyways.

Oh look! Bob Ross!!

June's picture

My painting

Pat's Picture

There is another paint and sip party in November that I've signed up for too. :)

Friday I was busy getting ready for company this weekend. Our good friend Laurel came up for a couple of days before she leaves for her winter in Austrailia. Today cheesecake was on my list to make ahead as well as brining my chicken for dinner tomorrow.

Laurel arrived bright and early at 10am on Saturday ... let the fun begin. Although it rained earlier this morning, it held off for most of the afternoon. Lunch is at Jake's at the Lake, then we took her for a short drive to the 2 tressles in town so she could see the water.

We spent the afternoon on the deck, then I put our chicken on the rotisserie for dinner. Nice and warm with heaters and firetable on.

While I'm prepping dinner, Ray and Laurel enjoyed a hot tub. After our chicken dinner it's dessert time.

Raspberry Cheesecake

After dinner we relaxed and watched Hocus Pocus 2. Fitting for Halloween.

Sunday, a quiet start to the day. It poured rain all night. Ray and Laurel went for another hot tub, while I made Eggs Benedict for breakfast. What a miserable day. The rain quit for just enough time for Ray and Laurel to get a walk in at the park while I prepped tonight's dinner.

Today's lunch is a charcuterie board, I made up. 

A little peak of sun with a rainbow.

We took Laurel out for a drive to look at some of the new subdivisions along the lakefront before coming back home to play a couple of games of cards before dinner. After dinner, another hot tub for Ray and Laurel and then we all collapsed on our chosen positions for the rest of the evening. We watched two of Discovery Channel programs on trains. Laurel winters in Syndey Australia, so we put on Mighty Trains - The Ghan. She's also looking for summer adventure in BC next year, so we watched Mighty Trains - Rocky Mountaineer.

Monday morning and Laurel's out the door at 7:30 am to make the Mill Bay Ferry. A great visit. See you next summer. The rest of the day isn't very nice out, so we just hunkered down. Lots of showers creates lots of rainbows. :)

Rest of the week it's usual chores. Wednesday when we went to our "Fit for Life", this beauty laid down near the parking lot. So close to the car.

Thursday night there's fireworks by the fire department at the park beside us. A great 20 minute show. I took these pictures from our deck and Ray's pictures are from the dock. Of course Ray fixed the lighting in my pictures. My Samsung phone does a good job.

Ray's after more water reflexions, but the lake isn't cooperating lol

Kristi, Jason, Amelia and Olaf in their Disney Princess themed costumes.

Disney Princesses

Happy Halloween! Now onto Christmas. :)