May 25 & 26, 2008

May 25, 2008

Today we were supposed to be preparing to depart tomorrow morning for Salmon Arm, at the north end of the Okanagan Valley, to attend the Escapees Chapter 33 Spring Rally. But we won't be able to go because of a very sore wrist and hand that I have developed over the last few days. I will need to see a doctor tomorrow. And I can't prepare for departure with only one hand functional.

It started Friday. I had a sore wrist. Yesterday it became worse. My wrist and all my fingers were swollen and sore. I tried applying heat. Didn't really help. I tried applying cold. Didn't really help. I wrapped a tension bandage around my wrist. Made it worse. Ibuprofen didn't really help. As the day wore on, the pain became worse. This morning my wrist and fingers were very swollen, the skin on my hand looked waxy, and I throbbed from fingertips to elbow. I put my arm in a sling and did not use my right hand at all today. That rest seemed to help. The throbbing stopped. But my wrist and fingers remained swollen, stiff, and very sore. I needed Joanne's help with almost everything today. I don't like needing help !

 

May 26, 2008

 

HMPH ... gout ! By this morning the swelling and pain in my wrist and hand had diminished somewhat. Nevertheless I phoned the clinic in Keremeos this morning at 8:00 A.M. to make an appointment to see a doctor. I was given an appointment for 10:10 A.M., although our family doctor was not working today, so I saw another doctor. One of the things we like most about living here is the excellent access to health care. The doctor's diagnosis was gout. I had a previous attack of gout, in a big toe, about 7½ years ago. I thought gout was an affliction only of the big toe joints. WRONG ! The doctor prescribed some corticosteroid medication and sent me to the medical laboratory across the hall for blood tests. After having blood taken, I went to the pharmacy and filled my prescription. By this evening, the pain and swelling were significantly reduced. But ... this problem prevented us from attending the Escapees B.C. Okanagan Chapter 33 Spring Rally, which started today in Salmon Arm !

As I'm typing this, Teddy and Bo are lying on the sofa, entwined, and Teddy is grooming / licking Bo's ear and neck. Bo loooooves being groomed / licked by Teddy. What a strange duo !

DSK

May 22, 23, & 24, 2008

May 22, 23, 24, 2008

Music Under The "K"

 

Thursday ; This evening we went into town for the opening ceremonies of Music Under The "K" in Memorial Park. This is the tenth annual Music Under The "K", a weekend outdoor music festival in Keremeos. The "K" is K Mountain, behind the village of Keremeos. The music performances are in a bandshell set up in Memorial Park so that the audience sits looking at the bandshell with K Mountain behind. Very picturesque ! The festival is comprised mostly of school choirs and bands, but also includes performances by local amateur musicians, and a few professional "headliners". This year the school bands and choirs came from all over B.C., one from Alberta and one from Ontario. The 600 students participating were led into Memorial Park by a bagpiper. The participating students outnumbered tonight's audience by about ten to one. The opening ceremonies included opening remarks by local politicians and school officials, and performances by a school concert band, a jazz choir, a rock band, and an East Indian dance troupe. In my opinion, the highlight was a welcoming drum and song performed by a couple of local Natives in their Aboriginal / First Nations language.

 

Friday ; Today was a cloudy and cool day, with a few drops of rain, so we didn't go into town for Music Under the "K" until late afternoon, as the school groups were finishing and the "professional" groups were beginning. The first performance we watched was Thursday Night Jazz Band, an 18 piece "Big Band" from Penticton. Next was Kutapira, an amazing group of percussionists playing Zimbabwean, African, and Cuban music. We had fried chicken dinner while watching and listening to Kutapira. While the next band was setting up on the stage, we won a door prize. A large wicker picnic basket filled with merchandise and gift certificates from local merchants. Very nice ! The last group we watched was Tiller's Folley, a Celtic bluegrass trio from Vancouver. At one point Lester rode into Memorial Park on his horse, followed by his ever faithful dog. He was soon surrounded by a mob of kids. I guess a lot of the "city kids" had never seen a real live cowboy Indian on a horse up close.

 

Saturday ; Today started out sunny and warm, but ended up cloudy and cool, with a few drops of rain threatening the Music Under The "K" finale. This morning we went to SunKatchers, the RV park next door, for their annual yard sale. This afternoon we went briefly to Dorothy's and Mike's for Mike's birthday party. Late in the afternoon we headed into town for more Music Under The "K". We arrived as the Penticton Concert Band was playing. Following them was the "K" Rockets, a Keremeos based classic rock band. EEEUUUWWW ! After them was another Keremeos based classic rock band, The Black Birds. Much better ! We had seen The Black Birds before, at the Iron Man Triathlon Street Party in Penticton. How can a village as small as Keremeos spawn so many classic rock bands. Lots of fifty something, slightly eccentric, affluent old men, I guess. HA HA HA HA HA !

The finale was a combination performance, featuring Foothills Brass, a quintet from Edmonton, Alberta, that had performed at the first Music Under The "K" ten years ago, and ... a massed band and choir comprised of the 600 students attending and performing at the festival. HA HA HA ... pretty impressive watching 600 kids perform our national anthem. The massed band performed Oh Canada, Foothills Brass performed half a dozen pieces, the massed band performed a Bach piece, and did very well, then Foothills Brass performed another half dozen or so pieces. It began to rain lightly near the end, and many of the teachers and organizers seemed a bit panicked. The kids took it all in stride. Their finale was Under The "K" March, a piece composed specifically to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Music Under The "K". Suffice to say that it was pretty difficult for the four conductors to keep 600 student musicians "together" playing an unfamiliar piece, outdoors, in light rain with a wind blowing.

All things considered, Music Under the "K" was exceptionally well done ! Bravo !

DSK

May 21, 2008 photos

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May 17, 18, & 19, 2008

May 17, 18, 19, 2008

Victoria Day long weekend / Keremeos Rodeo

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and hot, temperature in the 90's. The weather over the last few weeks has been poor, but yesterday it got sunny and hot, and is supposed to remain that way for the entire long weekend. Yesterday was the first hot day, after a cloudy, cool spring. So the snow up in the mountains has been melting very slowly, and the Similkameen River hasn't risen much. Until this morning ! Must have been a lot of snow melting up in the high elevations yesterday !

I caught a cold from our neighbour Dorothy about a week ago, and have been feeling poorly all week. I finally started to feel better yesterday ... and Joanne began to feel poorly, having caught the cold < sigh > !

Today we went to the first day of the annual May long weekend Keremeos Rodeo. YEE-HAW ! Last year was the first time we had seen a rodeo ... and to our surprise, we liked it ! On the way driving to the rodeo fairgrounds today, a Dodge dually passed us on the highway, and ... CRACK ... a rock flew up and smashed our windshield ! DARN ! ! ! ****ing duallies ! HA HA HA ! We arrived at the rodeo late, missing the first of the day's four events. We watched women's barrel racing, team calf roping, and bull riding. Got some great pictures ! None of the cowboys lasted on their bulls for the required 8 seconds. Score ; cowboys, zero ... bulls, eight !

In the spring, female marmots come up from the riverbank to build nests and give birth in the rock wall that runs along the rear of our lot. A female marmot who set up her nest in the rock wall immediately behind our trailer, before we arrived back here a few weeks ago, has been annoyed at our presence since our return. On Thursday, her four babies poked their little heads out of the rock wall for the first time. WOW ... very cute ! By Thursday evening, the boldest of the four had come completely out of the nest opening in the rock wall. Yesterday all four of them came out of the rock wall and climbed around on the rocks within a few feet of the opening into their nest. By today, they were clambering up and down the rock wall, venturing 20 feet or more from their nest opening. They're developing rapidly, and are interesting to watch. Mom is still unhappy with our presence. Bo shows a friendly interest in the babies, sitting at the end of his tie out cable attached to our picnic table, watching the baby marmots, wagging his tail furiously. He seems to mistake them for friendly little puppies or cute little kittens that he could sniff, lick, then cuddle to, like he does with Teddy. Stupid, little Alabama redneck terrier !

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot again, but with a bit of clouds and a bit of wind, it was more pleasant than yesterday. The Similkameen River has risen an astounding amount in the last 48 hours of hot weather. It's higher and faster than at any time last spring, and has spilled over its banks at the edge of our park, flooding our "burn pile" area.

We went to Day 2 of the Keremeos Rodeo today. Well, the score is now ; Cowboys, zero ... bulls, fourteen. Six more contestants in the bull riding event today, and none lasted the required eight seconds. Joanne now wants to go to the B.C. Provincial Bull Riding Competition in Princeton in September, just so she can see a cowboy actually last eight seconds on the back of a bull. Today was a longer day at the rodeo than yesterday. We watched bareback riding ( no saddle ), calf roping, bronco riding ( with saddle ), steer wrestling, women's breakaway roping, steer riding ( not to be confused with bull riding ), kids' calf chase, women's barrel racing, kids' pig chase, team roping, and finally, bull riding. When the rodeo ended, we drove into town, along with most of the rest of the rodeo audience and participants, to the Rodeo Barbecue held in Memorial Park. I got to say ... cowboys know how to put on a great barbecue. Over steak, fresh vegetables, and baked potato we chatted with a couple who have just moved to Keremeos a month ago from Edmonton.

When we returned home, we went to visit with neighbours Dorothy, Brett, and Barb on Dorothy's patio. Brett's and Barb's little dog Sadie attacked Bo, grabbing his ear and shaking it. HA HA HA ... little puffball dog ! Bo ignored her for a few seconds, then snarled at her as Brett pulled Sadie away from Bo. HA HA HA ! Attaboy, Bo ... don't take no guff from a little puffball.

 

Monday / Victoria Day ; This morning as we were pulling out of Riverside RV Park Resort, there were two RCMP cruisers and a Highways Department truck on the highway about 200 feet west of our park gate. WOW ... the Similkameen River had risen so much overnight it had flooded over its banks and was running across the highway !

This morning we went into town to see the annual Victoria Day Parade in Keremeos. I like living in this area filled with wealthy eccentrics. HA HA HA ! The parade was comprised mainly of affluent old men in classic restored cars and antique tractors. And, of course, Lester. HA HA HA ! I think one of the most endearing things about Keremeos is Lester. Lester is a big old Indian who lives in town in a decrepit old trailer. He transports himself around town on his big old horse, followed faithfully by his big old dog. Lester on his horse with his dog following were included in today's parade, as well as the rodeo's opening ceremonies. Keremeos just wouldn't be Keremeos without Lester. HA HA HA !

After the parade we drove over to the fairgrounds to watch the lawnmower races. They were very interesting ... for the first four hours or so. HA HA HA ! The lawnmower races were somewhat poorly organized, and they progressed slowly. I had difficulty convincing Joanne to leave after four hours, before the races were finished. She's turning into a right little redneck living out here. HA HA HA ! Now I've got a redneck dog and wife. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

DSK

May 3, 2008

May 3, 2008

Forbidden Fruit Winery Picnic

 

A month ago, just after we left Baja Mexico and arrived in Yuma, Arizona, we received an e-mail newsletter from Forbidden Fruit Winery, our favourite local winery here in the Okanagan Similkameen region. They were announcing a picnic to be held on their grounds today, to release their 2007 production of wines. Their entire 2006 production of wines was sold out. We ordered a couple of tickets. A few days ago Joanne thought it would be a nice gesture of appreciation to invite our next door neighbour, Stu, who had collected and forwarded our mail all winter, to join us. So we bought another ticket for Stu.

Today was mild, but cloudy with occasional light rain. This morning we headed off for Forbidden Fruit Winery, a bit east of Cawston, the next village over from Keremeos. Forbidden Fruit is in a lovely setting on the banks of the Similkameen River, surrounded by the Cascade Mountains. Very similar to our property here at Riverside RV Park Resort. The picnic started with a sampling of each of Forbidden Fruit's eleven fruit wines, each paired with an appropriate cheese. We sampled all eleven wines, munching on a variety of cheeses, and rating the wines and the cheeses each wine was paired with. Very nice ! We were already familiar with some of Forbidden Fruit's wines, and had a "favourite". But now we've had an opportunity to sample and compare all of them. And we were particularly eager to try their new Plumiscuous, a plum wine that they produced for the first time. Last summer we visited Forbidden Fruit with some RV friends who were visiting us, and we had the opportunity to see them pitting the plums by hand for their first attempt at producing a plum wine. Now we got to try the finished product. And it was very good ! It will surely win awards at wine competitions this summer. All of their other products have won numerous wine awards. They produce only fruit wines, produced from fruits grown on their organic fruit orchards. They're certainly not cheap, but ... as is often the case ... you get what you pay for !

We sampled ;

Adam's Apple, an apple table wine

Pomme Desireé, an apple ice wine, my previous favourite

Ice Lady Mistelle, another apple ice wine, and now my new favourite

Impearfection, a pear ice wine

Pearsuasion, a pear table wine

Cherysh, a cherry rosé table wine

Crushed Innocence, a white peach ice wine

Caught, an apricot mistelle

Plumiscuous, the new red plum wine

Cerise d'Eve, a red cherry port wine

Bliss, a white cherry port wine

After the wine and cheese sampling, we each selected one wine to be served a wine glass full with our lunch. I selected Ice Lady Mistelle. Joanne selected Adam's Apple. Stu selected Cherysh. We sat down at one of the picnic tables set up under a large tent. Each of us was served a glass of our selected wine, a small French Baguette loaf of bread, a chunk of the cheese that was matched with our selected wine, and a small jar of wine jelly made from Pomme Desireé. We munched on that awaiting the main course. Glazed seasoned chicken breast, basted with apricot wine jelly, served sliced as medallions on top of spring greens, mixed with roasted apricots glazed with apricot wine jelly, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, a chunk of herbed vegetable paté, all drizzled with a vinaigrette salad dressing made with Pomme Desireé.

Gee, I'm salivating as I type this. I hope supper is ready soon ! Dessert was a chocolate cup filled with Ice Lady Mistelle, and a chocolate truffle made with Bliss, the white cherry port. The live entertainment was a blues duo called Cawston from, ( DUH ! ) of course, the village of Cawston. Before we left Joanne bought a bottle of Crushed Innocence.

DSK