In this year of strife war and warming, our lives have been somewhat of an oasis. A winter filled with skiing, theatre and music, dinner with friends, and with the added bonus of a Monster Truck show and making 100lbs of sausage. Summer saw us on the golf course and in the garden, and stunned by the massive fire just across the lake from us in August which fire burned over 12,000 hectares and jumped the lake and set additional fires on our side. We had ash falling on our property but no embers.
*Click on photos to enlarge.
On the home front, the ever-patient Mizuho now has a bedroom door, and we have a new patio and retaining wall, 15 yards of fir mulch (still to be spread), and a cleaned-up forest that will provide two years of firewood for the shop stove. And Taisho got another marmot (and got sprayed by a skunk again!)
On the travel side, we went to Japan in the spring (Dave finally got back after a 3-year absence) and Mizuho went a 2nd time in the fall, a short golfing trip to the West Kootenays with another couple (two play delays due to a bear and her cubs frolicking in front of the greens), 3 weeks in Scotland (including the fantastic Edinburg Fringe Festival), and 5 days of sailing lessons on a 40’ boat in Desolation Sound. During these trips we (and Taisho) were most fortunate to have people house and dog sit in our absence. Dave drove to Alberta for an interesting reunion with 3 of his university classmates whom he had not seen in over 40 years.
Our very best wishes to you and yours for a most merry Christmas and hoping to see you somewhere sometime in 2024.
