Sunday ; Sunny and very hot. We're glad to be back home here in the South Okanagan / Similkameen ... where the weather is nicer ! We baked a couple of zucchini chocolate cakes in the Sun Oven today.
Joanne spent the day cleaning and replenishing the truck camper after our six day trip last week. I participated in a bit of that, as well as doing other routine chores.
Had barbecued steak and home made poutine for supper. MMMMM ! I can feel my arteries occlude as I type this. HA HA HA !
Our finances / investments are looking good !
Monday ; Sunny and very hot, temperature over 100 degrees again.
We washed the truck camper and the truck, then drove up to our park's storage area and unloaded the camper off the truck. Late in the afternoon I went fishing for about an hour while Joanne napped, which she rarely does. I did not catch any little fishies today.
Tuesday ; Sunny and very hot. Too hot to be comfortable inside a Cessna 172.
Late this morning we headed to Penticton for a day of running errands, meeting with our investment advisor, and flying. Things took longer than expected, and we did not get home until shortly after 11 PM. Poor Bo ! He was left alone for about twelve hours.
A long time for a little dog to hold his bladder. Good dog, Bo, well done ! Sorry we left you for so long.
When we arrived in Penticton we ran some errands, then had a meeting with our investment advisor. We're having a relatively good year in the stock market, second year in a row, and overall we're dong well, after having completed / survived ten years of what was / is about a thirty-five year financial plan.
We went to Skaha Lake Beach to have a picnic lunch. Rather esoteric lunch, and much of it "self-sufficient". Sun Oven candied salmon made by me, heirloom tomatoes grown by me, cheese curds bought at the cheese factory in Armstrong last week, fresh bread baked by Joanne, zucchini chocolate cake prepared by Joanne, cooked by me in our Sun Oven.
After lunch we ran more errands and at 6 PM headed to the airport for a flight. First time Joanne has flown with DanAir in over eleven years ! First time she's flown in the mountains since I took us flying in the Vancouver area while visiting Expo '86. GEEEEZZZZZ ... that was twenty-eight years ago ! My plan was to fly from Penticton to Keremeos, then fly up the Ashnola River Valley and find Cathedral Lakes from the air. BUT ... as we were preparing to depart, there was a huge and very ugly Cumulonimbus thunder cell developing over Kaleden, with dry lightning to the south ( towards Keremeos ) reported by Air Traffic Control. DARN ! Okay ... Plan B ! I had never flown north to Kelowna. I've always flown south from Penticton, over Skaha Lake to Oliver, Osoyoos, Keremeos, etc. So today we flew north over Okanagan Lake from Penticton past Summerland, Naramata, Peachland, WestBank, and "around the bend" in the lake to Kelowna. I flew over and around Kelowna, then did a "touch and go" at Kelowna airport before flying back to Penticton. It was quite interesting to fly along the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake from Kelowna to Naramata, a rugged area of mountain wilderness within spitting distance of cities and vineyards. I think that's the area that burned ferociously during the infamous Kelowna / Okanagan Mountain wildfire of 2003.
Joanne complained that the plane was uncomfortable. She's eleven years older than the last time she had to squeeze herself into a Cessna 172, and it was very hot in that old plane today ! No, no ... there's no air conditioning in Cessna 172 Charlie Golf Hotel Bravo Mike.
After landing back at Penticton we resumed shopping errands for awhile then went for a very late supper to Dairy Queen. After supper we bought " fridge and freezer" items at Wal-Mart ( milk, ice cream treats, etc. ) then headed home.
Long, hot, tiring day. But ... nice flight, from my perspective. I love flying !
Wednesday ; Sunny and very hot. This morning Joanne walked down to our park's orchard and picked some Transparent Apples, then prepared an apple pie and baked it in the Sun Oven. This afternoon I prepared a batch of bannock and baked it in the Sun Oven. It accompanied the salmon I barbecued for supper tonight.
This afternoon I drove Joanne to the laundromat on the other side of our RV park, and while Joanne did laundry and cooled off in the swimming pool I walked down to the river and went fishing for an hour and a quarter. No fish caught today. HMPH ! But ... standing thigh deep in the cool, clear river, in the bright sunshine, practicing my fly fishing technique was very pleasant.
Thursday ; Happy 53rd Birthday to my brother, Russell
Sunny and very hot.
Got a slow start to the day. Worked on month end banking and investment reconciliations. Went fly fishing for about an hour before supper. Again ... no fish !
Friday ; Mostly sunny, a bit of clouds late in the day, hot.
I felt ill for much of the day. Tired, weak, and lethargic, I spent much of the day snoozing. Around suppertime ( for most people ) I went fishing. Fly fishing is relaxing, at the same time as being challenging, and ... I was hoping that getting outside and getting some fresh air would help me to feel better. It did. When I returned home our friend / neighbour Jeannine was visiting with Joanne. It's been almost two weeks since her husband died and ... she's doing okay as she enters a new phase of life.
Saturday ; Partially sunny, very warm.
This morning Joanne prepared a picnic lunch and at noon we headed out to Princeton to have a picnic lunch while listening to an outdoor performance by a blues band, scheduled to begin at 1 PM. When we arrived in Princeton at 12:55 PM the band was already playing. GREAT, I thought ... a band that's playing five minutes before its scheduled start time, as opposed to the myriad of amateur / garage level bands that think they should keep their audience waiting while they screw around endlessly doing "sound checks".
Great blues music ... for fifteen minutes. HUH ? ? ? The blues band got off the stage and a duo ... one of whom I had mistakenly thought a few minutes earlier was a homeless guy in the audience ... came on stage. Well ... what time did the blues band start ? ! ? Must have started at noon, since they were finished by 1:10 PM. HMPH !
The homeless looking guy and his musical partner screwed around doing sound checks for twenty minutes. Of course ! ! ! Then they played the most awful elevator music versions of jazz music imaginable. With lots of "sound checks" between each piece ! We ate our picnic lunch, and endured their awful music for over an hour until I couldn't stand any more, then we left, driving home down the "scenic route" on Old Hedley Road.
Late in the afternoon I went fishing with my next door neighbour. HMPH ... no fish AGAIN !
DSK
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