Great visit with M’s mom and sister, mostly chats, harvesting veggies from the garden, eating, and making another path in the lower part of the yard out of river rocks and tree bark (we call it Sawaya’s hodo). Made another path from the front entrance to the main patio and moved the BBQ off the patio away from the screens (Coop’s hammer drill came in very handy when rerunning the gas line). Replenished the firewood shed and pruned about 40 lavender plants.

Three guys came by to check out the bike but found it too sporty and powerful for them. Finally sold at the end of the month – sad to see it go but looking forward to the more responsible (sedate) BMW.

Visitors from Quebec, Victoria, and Canmore, a few golf games, a friend’s 70th BDay party with 50 people, barrel tasting at Spearhead winery, and raced electric go karts with Cam and Coop. Spent a few days and Mizuho’s Bday in Revelstoke – great dinner followed by an invitation to a speakeasy in the basement. On to Canmore to stay at a friends condo for a week and attend 5 concerts at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and lots of hikes with Taisho. Capped off the month with a “salon”concert and dinner at an Austrian pianist house.

With Mizuho’s mother and sister arriving in late July, most of the month was spent preparing for the visit. Her sister and Mother visited us 10 years ago and her mother came for a 2nd visit 5 years ago.

I started and finished a stone walkway and a short stone staircase, fixed a couple of 8 year old benches and the rose trellis, trimmed a great many branches and tuned up my chain saw. I also had time to create 4 art installations out of wine barrel rings.

Work slowed when a fire broke out off the road below us. It was quickly suppressed by 4 fire departments, 2 helicopters and two tanker planes, but not before the neighborhood was evacuated. Thankfully, no houses burned and we were back home that evening.

On the fruit side, M canned, froze or made into jam our neighbor’s cherries and blueberries and our apricots and raspberries. And we have been eating lettuce, shishito, daikon, shiso, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, peas and garlic from the garden.

The visit has been great and included lots of chatting and eating, some sewing projects and fruit picking, a few wineries and a steam train ride, a visit to the sports centre where Mom and Sis swam laps for an hour and M and I splashed around, and a long visit with our farmer friends, the Ojis.