The Colibabas come to visit ... my sister from another mister!

Monday was a write-off day. Poured rain the whole time. Spent most of my day tidying up from our company and laundry. I did manage to spend an hour or so on the deck with the heaters on and fire table just to get some fresh air.

Tuesday, off to Nanaimo for appointments for Ray and I. We did a Costco run and picked up some more zero gravity chairs.  On the way back home we stopped in with Jason to see his new tile job. It looks wonderful. Back home shortly after noon and met up with our gardener's to get the three rhodo's dug into the garden and get the back lawn seeded with more grass seed. Everything's coming together. I puttered around with a few odds and ends and we spent a little time sitting in our "garden room" behind the motorhome in the sun.

Wednesday woke to sunny skies. A great day for Dianne and Steve to visit. I spent the morning getting ready prepping for dinner ... barbequed turkey. They arrived around 2pm. Yeah ... so nice to see them in person after a year.

It was a beautiful afternoon so we had a campfire as it was too windy to sit on the dock.

At 4 the sun went behind a cloud and the wind kicked up so me moved to the sundeck and turned on the heaters.

Dinner turned out great, turkey with all the fixin's. Ray put away the food and Steve and Dianne did the dishes. Thanks a bunch guys.

Thanks for doing the dishes guys.

After dinner we watched a movie and everyone was kind of in a "turkey coma", including Freya. lol

Off to bed at 10pm.

Friday all of us were up by 6:30 am having coffee. Foggy out first thing this morning but within a couple of hours turned out to be a beautiful sunny morning. Breakfast was "monkey bread".

Steve helped Ray move his wood storage in the basement in preparation for making a new shelving system under our furnace to give him more space for his saws.

Dianne and Steve took us out for lunch at Jake's at the Lake, our favourite watering hole. Most of the rest of the day was moving between seating areas depending on the wind. We sat on the dock, the deck and on the front driveway intermittently. Steve tried a little fishing on the dock and did have one on but lost it. lol

This parking lot was covered up to the stairs in water in December.

Lunch at Jake's at the Lake

After lunch the gang jumped into the hot tub. Dianne was very appreciative as her knees are killing her.

Oh that is hot! says Dianne. lol

Next up was relaxing on the dock.

Dinner was a piece of cake ... leftovers in the microwave ... finishing off the evening on the deck under the heaters. With all of the fresh air, we all went to bed at 9 pm. Ray and I watched a little TV and then it was lights out.

Steve's picture of our sunset at the lake.

Friday morning we were all up again at 6:30 am to a beautiful sunny morning. A little breezy out though, but not as cool as yesterday. 8C at 7:30 am instead of 3C. After our leisurely morning coffee, I made us breakfast ... french toast and bacon. Once my Kitchen Angel, Dianne, had the dishes done and I had our turkey sandwiches made, we were off on our adventure to Kissinger Lake.

Steve and Dianne have camped down at the other end of Lake Cowichan for years before they chose to take their life on the road. We intended to check out the forest service camping spots down the lake but they were all locked up and not open yet. The road is now paved quite a ways past Youbou before it turns to gravel. It is a working hauling road, so we did encounter a few loaded logging trucks. Not much room to move out of the way.

Kissinger Lake is a pretty rustic camping spot and will fit units the size of ours or Steve and Dianne's (away from the water in the group sites), if you put up with the more than 10 miles of gravel road. Good place for kids to learn to fish though. There is a camp host there. This electric only fishing lake is stocked in April and November with 10 inch plus trout. This is one of our son-in-law Jason's favourite fishing spots.

After taking a few pictures we decided to go back home via the other side of the lake. Back on the road we stopped at the Heather Campsite at the end of Lake Cowichan for lunch. Lots of memories here for Steve and Dianne as they camped here with their boys. This also has a camp host and looks like it just opened recently. Another rustic camping spot under a heavy treed canopy.

Steve tried a little shore casting with his fishing rod but no luck. A great place to sit and enjoy the view eating our lunch.

Back on the road down the other side of the lake. Quite a few forest campsites, but they are all locked up at the moment. We stopped at a viewpoint that used have a great view of Youbou (according to Steve) but the trees have grown too tall since he was last here, to get the "expansive view".

Once back home it was time to get our Prime Rib dinner prepared as we we're having Pat and Darryl (our neighbours) over for dinner, so my old besties can meet my new besties. lol Once the beast was on the barbecue, we sat on the sundeck under the heaters chillin.

Darryl and Pat came over about 5 pm. Steve and Dianne found that they have some mutual friends with them, ... small world. At six I served the beast with scalloped potatoes and yorkshire puddings. I think dinner was a success. Lots of laughs and lots of wine drank.

Pat and Darryl went home about 8pm and the rest of us were in bed with lights out by 9:30 pm. Another awesome day.

Saturday morning we were all up again by 6:30 am. Sunny and windy out, in fact there are ferry cancellations. A sad day for me as my "sister" is leaving today. We had a great time catching up with both of them and look forward to their next visit in May. The boat will be in the water so Ray and Steve can actually fish from the boat. Ray and I are sure glad that the weather has been great for their visit.

Easter fun

Friday morning Garrett and Kat with Kira were on the first ferry at Horseshoe Bay and arrived here by 9:30 am. They said the line-up at 5:30 in the morning in West Vancouver was 4 km down the highway. Even with their reservation it was hard to get to the toll booth with their reservation in hand because of all the traffic.

Kristi and Jason with their dogs arrived at noon and we all went to Jake's at the Lake for lunch. Garrett and Kat treated us all. Thanks guys. Let the festivities begin.

The afternoon cleared up so we had a campfire in the backyard.

So much for the newly planted lawn. lol

Kristi  made pulled pork and cornmeal muffins for dinner with Kat's help and I contributed with making a ceasar salad. The kids took care of all the dishes too and cleaned up the kitchen. What a treat for me.

Relaxed Saturday morning.

Jason's "happy place" with his own TV. lol

Saturday morning, after Garrett and Kat's waffles, the gang left me to handle getting the prep done for our Easter dinner. They all went into Duncan to the Farmer's Market. Ray snapped a bunch of pics of their adventure.

Busy Saturday market.

Someone even brought their bird!

Garrett, Kat, Kristi and Jason

They always have entertainment.

Jason with his coffee.

This is one of the totems on the downtown totem walk.

Perfect timing ... Ray texted that they were at the Country Grocer picking up Jason's parents birthday cake and I had just finished all my prep. The dogs were waiting patiently for their "people" to come home. lol

We all had my leftover lasagna for lunch and then the kids had some "dock time".

The kids helped getting all of the patio furniture back up onto the sundeck and the deck boxes onto the dock. There sure is a bunch more room now compared to last year with the old deck. All ready for Jason's parents to arrive.

Kat had a nap in the gravity chair on the dock while Garrett and Kristi went for a kayak trip down the lake. A beautiful warm spring day.

And they are off!

Garrett and Kristi are on their way back, how can you tell???

Jason's parents arrived shortly after 4 and we spent a couple of hours on the deck before dinner. Nadine brought us a bouquet of decorated easter cookies. Thanks they are lovely.

Dinner turn out great, lots of laughs. Again Kristi and Kat manned the kitchen and did the dishes again for me.

After dinner we had birthday cake that Kristi and Jason brought as both of Jason's parents have birthdays in the next couple of days.

A lot of "dog action"!

A lovely visit with Nadine and Dale. When they headed out to go back to Victoria around 9pm, everyone was pretty tired and headed to their own beds, other than Jason who went downstairs to watch TV.

Sunday morning, after coffee and toast, Garrett and Kat collected all of their stuff as well as a bunch of tools etc that Ray was giving Garrett. Their SUV was loaded to the gills! Off they went to catch the 12:15 pm ferry out of Departure Bay. They had a reservation so no troubles getting on.

After they headed out, the rest of the bunch, Kristi, Jason, Ray and I decided to take a trip to Skutz Falls and Cowichan Bay for an outing.

On the way back we treated for lunch at WhiteSpot. Once back home I got our irrigation up and running with all of the new plants, Kristi went for a nap and Ray and Jason watched a movie. The predicted clouds have moved in and it's quite gloomy out although warm at 14C.

The dogs are all tuckered out and spent the day sleeping. After dinner, Kristi and Jason headed home as Jason still is working on his reno and needs to get the sealer on the grouted tiles.

And that was our fabulous weekend with our kids.

The "calm before the storm"! Company's a comin.

Kristi and dogs left Sunday afternoon. Ray and I had a relaxing afternoon reading and watching the rain come down.

Monday was quite cool at 4C but seemed much colder. There is a sprinkling of new snow on top of the mountains surrounding us. This week will be busy getting ready for lots of company this next weekend for Easter, menu planning etc. Garrett and Kat will be coming over from Squamish, Kristi and Jason will be here and Jason's parents will be Saturday for dinner and possibly stay overnight. Everyone will be gone on Monday and Wednesday our good friends Steve and Dianne are coming for 3 days. It will be great to see them again as it's been a year since we last were able to get together, well before we moved into our new house here at the lake.

So far the deer have only tried three of the six dianthus (look like carnations) plants. They are not supposed to like them and since the other three are untouched maybe it's true. lol Need to get some other flowering deer resistant perennials to fill in between the shrubs that we have planted. We don't want much dirt to show to collect weeds. Still too cold to plant anything other than perennials and shrubs though. Ray will have to get the rest of the back lawn seeded this week as well to give the grass a chance to grow before the backyard has a lot more use later this spring. The grass is behind as the yard does not get any sun until mid-March being north facing.

Bat cave update. There does not appear to be any evidence on the side of the house that the bats are still coming in and out of the house. This has been confirmed by our neighbours. Also Ray's screening of the front arch seems to have stopped the majority of them going in there at night as there has been only the odd little poop left behind. Hopefully we have this problem solved without getting pest control in as it is probably "nesting season" and it is illegal to touch them during this time.

After morning chores and running into Duncan for a few things, Ray and I spent an hour on the deck with the heaters and fire table on enjoying the view. The sun is finally high enough in the sky to get a few afternoon sunbeams although this picture does not show it. lol

Tuesday, Ray headed to Nanaimo for an appointment and stopped in at Jason and Kristi's to see their progress on their tiling in their entrance way. Great job Jason.






David Coulson, arrived by 9:30 to re-install our propane fireplace downstairs... took him about 1 1/2 hours to do so, I think he was quite frustrated. Too F'n bad Ray says All is done now other than the bedroom window frame to be fixed.

The electrician's should show up today or tomorrow to pull the downstairs electrical plugs above the kitchen counter in preparation for Jason to put in the tile backsplash down there this weekend. With all of their recent reno's, he is a pro at tiling!

Wednesday, it rained overnight but had stopped by the time I got up. Apparently we are in for a bunch more later today and tomorrow with the promise of sun for the weekend. The lake is now at 48% capacity.

Off to Duncan for me to get provisions for our family Easter Weekend. :) Stopped at Dinter's Nursery and picked up a bunch of deer resistant perennials to fill the front garden and some more varieties of heather for the back garden. All planted except for three rhodo's Ray brought me home from Costco yesterday. It turned out to be a sunny afternoon so it made sense to plant everything before the rain tonight. I also moved the dianthus into pots to prevent more munching from the deer. We are having our regular gardeners here on Friday to seed the rest of the lawn for Ray, there is a bit of cleaning up of the existing lawn before they throw the seed down. I will also get them to plant the large plants for me. Will and Cindy can dig the 2 foot holes. lol

Tonight we met up with our good friends Martin and Suzanne Blyt at the Mahle House Restaurant in Nanaimo for the Chef's Plate Wednesday. Had a fabulous time and the food was as spectacular as the company. They had never been there and want to make it a monthly tradition. As they live in French Creek and we live here at the lake it is right in the middle.

Thursday morning woke up to heavy rain. Great for my new plants. Busy day here getting ready for Easter weekend, Kristi and Jason arrive for dinner.

Ray's new chair was delivered this morning. It is the same as mine as his neck is deteriorating and our old style of lazyboy hurts him like it did me. The delivery guys graciously took the old chair  downstairs for us to Kristi's guest suite.

Now we match. lol

The electrician came by to deactivate the kitchen counter plugs in preparation for Jason's tiling job this weekend. I had him help me move the furniture around to fit the chair. Looks great. Easier to move around the space without the kitchen blocked off.

Empty plug sockets again!

The rest of my day was spent getting my lasagna ready for dinner for the kids when they get here tonight. Let the Easter Festivities begin.

Turned out Kristi had a last minute meeting and Jason is still grouting their tile so the kids won't get here until tomorrow .... Lasagna for lunch. lol