Happy Birthday to me! July 19 - 27th

Sunday is only 21C, but boy did it heat up Monday and Tuesday .... 34C (93F). Hot even down at the dock. Definitely swimming days.  

Tuesday, we headed out at 9:30 to Duncan, pedicure time. After that,we set out to Shawnigan Lakehouse for lunch. We were meeting up with our friend Laurel, who we haven't seen since last fall. She winters in Sydney Austrailia.

Lunch was fabulous and they have great mocktails for Ray. Although they have a patio, with it being so hot we opted for the airconditioning and a great view of the lake.

 

After a 2 hour visit, Laurel headed for the Kinsol Tressle for a walk. She'd never seen the trestle before. We headed back to Duncan for some grocery shopping, before heading back to the lake. Ray's been struggling the past few weeks with tremendous sciatica pain causing his legs to hurt when walking, so we didn't go with Laurel to the trestle. 

Once back home and everything unpacked, I swam in the lake by 3 pm. :) Ray being a "salamander", after growing up in Kelowna, only went in once briefly to just get wet lol. I swam 3 times before we came back up to the house at 5. It was HOT! Even wet I sat in the shade. No sun for me!

Wednesday, time for some chores in the morning. I made a batch of tomato sauce with all my ripened tomatoes and green peppers. Of course, never ending laundry too. Ray mowed the lawn. The afternoon spent down on the dock.

Thursday I decided to make a Seafood Paella for Ray with some of my tomato sauce.

Ray finished up his puzzle to put it away before company comes tomorrow. This puzzle is 2000 pieces and it didn't fit on his puzzle table, it had to go as we needed the space for dinner.

Friday, my birthday weekend began. My cousin Gord and his wife Susana arrived about noon as did Jason and Amelia. Fortunately the weather today's good as the rest of the weekend's forecast is cooler and rainy. We managed some "dock time".

Amelia spent a couple of hours in the water between swimming, playing on a kayak and playing with the sand on our beach. Jason's busy installing more screws into the gazebo ceiling so the panels cannot blow off this winter. He also screwed down some loose boards on the dock.  I'm in charge of keeping a close eye on Amelia. At least she can swim well enough now that I don't have to be in the water too.

Playing in the sand on our beach.

Using Mike and Debra's solo kayak. She did great.

I returned to the house by 3 pm ,and with Jason's help, we got the 2 large chickens on the rotisserie for dinner. Sides didn't take too long, as I had made a layered salad earlier in the day. Kristi finallly arrived at 6 pm as it's OR all day. Dinner time!

Amelia helping Susana shuck corn for dinner.

My awesome cleanup crew. I never touched a dish after cooking. :)

Gord entertained Amelia while the others were busy.

Saturday morning Ray took Gordie, Susana and Kristi for a drive to the Kinsol Trestle while Jason and I prepped for dinner. Tonight is smoked pork prime rib with bacon on my Traeger. Amelia had a quiet afternoon self playing. Dinner turned out great.

Kristi and Susana walked to the bottom to take this picture.

Feeling loved. I received a few birthday gifts. Kristi and Jason got me a lovely new tank top to wear with my white pants. Lovely, thank you.

Once Ray and crew got back from their outing it's crafting time for Kristi, Jason and Amelia. Amelia wrapped them up in a box for me to unwrap for my birthday. So cute.

Pat came over with a lovely plant.

and flowers from Gord and Susana.

Ray got me another pottery bowl to match my set ... a replacement for one he broke several months ago. lol

Happy Birthday to me! I may have made my own cake. :)

After dinner Jason headed back to Nanaimo as he has his Hema couse to go to. A Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) course teaches historical sword fighting and combat using old manuscripts. Popular beginner weapons include the longsword, rapier, and dagger.

Sunday morning, Gordie gets a lesson from Amelia how to make blueberry pancakes from scratch. lol No more box mix for Susana.

 

Sunday after breakfast Kristi and Amelia headed out about 11:30, back to Nanaimo. Thanks for changing all the beds etc. Kristi. The rest of us had a quiet day, as it's raining. Lots of "armchair travelling"  through You Tube videos. lol 

Monday morning after coffee and left over dessert for breakfast, Gord and Susana headed out to catch their ferry back to Coquitlam. What a great birthday weekend in spite of the weather! The rest of the day I just did laundry and Ray took me out for lunch at Jake's.