Dianne comes to visit! October 3 to October 5th

FALL IS HERE

The strata had our hedge properly trimmed today. Looks so much better. Next up is replacing the deer fence with something sturdier.

Kristi surprised us by coming down from Nanaimo to spend the night. She needed to drop her dogs off with us, as Jason and her are heading to Vancouver for an appointment next week. Around 2, Dianne arrived and we all had a hotdog over the fire in the backyard. 

There was a drone flying overhead ... just before Kristi and Ray flipped it "the bird" and then realized that it was our neighbours photo team. lol

Ladies which hat do you want?

Picture by Dianne

Dinner tonight is beef brisket that's been going on the Traeger since 5:45 am this morning. :)

Picture by Dianne

This is only a small piece of the whole brisket. I cut it into 3 pieces as there is no way we could eat the whole thing without a party!

Picture by Dianne

Picture by Dianne

We all watched a little TV and then everyone went to their own rooms around 8:30 pm.

Sunday morning, after coffee and watching the news, I made a German Pancake, with Kristi's help.  We used apples our neighbours picked for us from their tree. Yum. I took over a couple of pieces for them this morning. They loved it and donated 3 more bags of apples that were on our doorstep later in the day. :)

Dogs getting their morning treats.

The pancakes rise beautifully.

Picture by Dianne

Adding the sauteed apples. (Picture by Dianne)

After dishes were done, thanks to Kristi, Dianne and Ray, Kristi headed home and the rest of us with 3 dogs went for a drive to Skutz Falls to see if there was any salmon coming up the fish ladder. Nope, too early I think. No tell tale sign of bear scat either. We popped in and out of the car at various points on the river. A great outing.

Cowichan River:

Marie Canyon:

Stoltz Pool:

Skutz Falls Fish Ladder:

Back at home it was time to for lunch, beef dip with the leftover brisket. Although cloudy, we sat outside on the deck for a good part of the afternoon. Dianne says this is her favourite place here.

 Ray and Dianne had a hot tub while I prepped our dinner, Braised Pork Belly in a noodle bowl. The dogs chilled in the yard.

Picture by Dianne

Picture by Dianne

Again, all of us were tired by 8:00 pm and went to our rooms to watch a little TV from bed. :) Another great day with my bestie, Dianne.

Yup .... barely awake. lol

Today, Monday, Dianne and I went for a pedicure I booked for us in Duncan with lunch on a patio somewhere, she will drive back home to Victoria and so will end our visit. A great time had by all. :)

Lunch at Original Joe's

Grandbaby Stella

Found my tongue!

I'm this big!

Summer weather returns but so does the smoke.

 Monday, Sept 28th

Started out foggy but soon the sun broke out and it was a lovely day. I headed to Duncan for some errands and Ray worked on more deck tiles ... certainly the theme for his life recently! In the afternoon Robyn came by with Amalia to play down at our beach.

Tuesday, the heat wave apparently starts today with temps going up to 27C/80F. Lovely. I spent the morning doing house chores ... ironing etc. and Ray came back from Nanaimo after an appointment at noon. We spent the afternoon down at the dock enjoying the sun.

Noticed that they are finally starting to install the docks for the new marina across the lake from us.

Wednesday woke to a haze. Apparently the wildfire smoke from California will be back again. The pile driver started putting in pilings today for the dock system across the lake. Looks like a lot of deck pieces. Freya does not like the big bangs ... sounds like gunshot to her or thunder.

The hot weather has been significantly downgraded due to the smoke haze not letting the sun shine through. Ray and I decided to take a short drive down past Youbou and visit the two recreation campsites on the lake, Pine Point and Maple Grove with Freya. The last time we drove down there, the gates were locked.

First up Pine Point.

Then back towards Youbou to Maple Grove Recreation Site. We did prefer this one, but again, we would not fit with our motorhome and no sunshine for the solar panels. Certainly well-named with the canopy of maple trees. A few huge firs though.

Great beaches with a very shallow walk into the water. Fabulous for little kids.

Stopped for lunch at the Youbou Bar and Grill on their patio. Ray ordered the fish and chips and me the Margarita Pizza, both delicious. A great little outing.

Thursday woke to fog on the lake. 3 years ago we were already in Utah, visiting Bryce Canyon and scenic Highway 12. It was absolutely gorgeous. This picture popped up on my Facebook reminding us of the beauty. :)

Highway 12

Not much for fall colours here yet at the lake, as the weather still is too warm. It's coming though, as our maple tree is starting to get some red leaves.

Most of the day we spent puttering around and then sitting outside on our deck. With the smoke haze it is not getting as warm as originally forecasted, but we will take it.

Friday, another foggy morning. We will have to wait and see how much smoke is in the sky when it burns off around 9am. Off to my dental appointment this morning so will also do a little shopping while in Duncan. Back home about 1:30. Joined Ray on the deck for a couple of hours. It was quite warm at 25C but feeling much warmer. Another great day, just doing my doings ... :)

Saturday, Dianne is coming to visit. Yeah. Steve, his son Rob and a couple of other guys are going on a hunting trip up the Cowichan Valley for the week so Dianne is coming here for a couple of days. Have not seen her in person for 6 months so really looking forward to it.