More record highs with very little rain in September. Dropped some dead/dying trees and cut up for firewood. Cut up branches that had been piling up for a few years but were too dry to mulch and too small for firewood. Several large piles (refrigerator size) are under tarps and shall be burned when the fire bans are off.

M and I played a few golf games (a playing partner had a hole in one, his 3rd!) and an overnight trip to Penticton for a jazz concert but the venue (in operation for 25 years) closed down the day before. A solo 3 day motorbike camping trip to Mica Dam (140kms north of Revelstoke) and back through the west Kootenays and another camping trip with two friends who brought a truck and trailer – more like glamping as we had chairs, ice cooler, plates, glasses and other refinements. M and I helped our neighbor harvesting his grapes. He has a huge crop this year – we and others got about 1/3 done in two days which was pressed into 2,000 litres. Hard work. And the garden has been bountiful this year.

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.

Some welcome rain led to hours and hours of pulling weeds but the garden is looking good and we are eating lettuce, raspberries and peppers. Expanded the cages and wells around 25 trees, hopefully for the last time. ATV now has 2,000kms, up from 350 when I bought it. I had built temporary steps and a front porch out of OSB and scrap 2×6 for Mizuho’s mother’s visit 2 months after we moved in. Ten years later they have been repurposed as a wood walkway.

Taisho had a big month. He got his 4th marmot and scared off a young black bear just above the parking area.

Enjoyed visits from a cousin from Saskatchewan and friends of Mizuho’s from Japan (fellow shiba lovers). Also had one last bike camping trip with Coop who then sold his bike. We had many great trips around the BC interior and I shall miss my biking buddy. I took the older BMW and enjoyed it but am now using the Aprilia – will need to decide soon which one to sell.

We have both been busy with little projects to spruce up the place in anticipation of a visit by Mizuho’s mother and sister.

A few days in Paris (friends and favorites but lots of tourists), 2 weeks plus in the south of Spain (impressive Moorish history and architecture, plentiful tapa bars, friendly people, lots and lots of tourists) and 5 days in Lyon (great and varied market and grocery food, good restaurants, bigger than expected, very few tourists). France (outside of Paris and tourist attractions) is our favorite.

Last week of May saw us in the garden (planting and pulling weeds) and finishing closing in the patio. June should see more quality time in the garden, visitors from Japan, and hopefully a motorbike trip.

A delightful month with a week of +20 to bring out the blossoms and close it out. Lots of garden prep (weeding), branch trimming and setting up the irrigation. Had three burn days to get rid of dried twigs and branches – the rest will be mulched in June. Put away the skis and had our first golf game of the season. Vacant lot next door went up for sale.

insert apricot blossoms

Finally found some more stackwall stones to build another set of steps that will go from the upper patio to the drone landing pad – June project. Completed (mostly) a screen and frame for the patio – still needs some touch ups and to close off the triangular space on top of the new screen frame. Completed (mostly) the closet/dresser downstairs – still need to design and make drawer fronts and handles.

We were also busy with getting our charity off the ground. It will provide $ to hard-working high-school students who may not make it to graduation due to financial challenges. Banking, funding, schools, directors and bylaws are lined up and Mizuho made a marvelous website (still in development). The first awards should go out in September. More at OSSS.ca

Kelowna hosted the Brier Curling Championship. We had great seats for one draw and were amazed by how good these guys are. Found time to ski another 3 times, see a couple of foreign films (including one shot in Winnipeg), and enjoyed 3 concerts, 6 dinners with friends, and several days in Vancouver with Taisho at the Sylvia Hotel on the edge of Stanley Park. One concert was the separate and combined Montreal Guitar trio (acoustic) and the California Guitar Trio (electric, opened for King Crimson for a few years, and one of them plays a Chapman Stick – stick.com). Snow at the house was all gone in early March but came back twice before the end of the month. Some modest progress on the basement closet and porch screen.

Cold weather the first half (highs of -5 or so) and warm the second half with highs of +5 to +10. Most snow now gone but lots in the mountains. New driveway works like a charm (as long as I plow it before driving on it). Used only a handful of de-icer and a pail of grit once. Had several sunny days and finally a day with the right conditions to burn branches I trimmed last year. Skied only once this month but had several dinners with friends and two concerts.

Helped neighbor Klaus bottle (caps and corks) some 1,300 bottles of some excellent gewurztraminer and pinot noir that had been aging for a few years (no grapes at all last year due to cold snap and late frost).

Dismantled a dresser in the downstairs guest suite (with burled walnut drawer fronts) over 120 years old and assembled with square nails. It shall be repurposed. I’m building another dresser/shoji closet in its place. This means designing the piece; buying material; cutting, dadoing, and grooving the parts; assembling the cabinets and drawers; applying edging on the panels and sanding and oiling it; building toe kicks; and then leveling and installing the cabinets. Next month I will finish building top and bottom rails for the shoji screens, clean and oil the shoji doors and apply new paper, and build a gable end. I find that projects progress at a very measured pace these days but my new noise-reducing bluetooth ear protection makes the work more enjoyable when using machinery, sanders or Bob.

Had a trip to Van planned to see an old friend/colleague who was passing through town on his way back to Australia but he had to cancel so I did as well. Some good news from the tax authorities – the non-profit I am setting up with a friend was approved for charitable tax status so we are ready to launch. More on this later.

We started the year underwater – our second polar bear dip – in 5 degree water. A bracing way to launch the new year. Mizuho now has two new lenses in her eyes, has disposed of her contacts, and is thrilled! Managed 3 sunny warm ski days in January. Made two screens for the porch to close the triangular voids (caulking awaits a rise in temperature) with one more large screen to go. And we had our annual sausage making again with about 250 Italian and 250 smoked. Shall now be tending the smokies for a week or so to maintain the correct temperature and humidity.

Snow came early to the mountains this year so Dave skied 5 times in December and we had a delightful 4 days slope side chalet at SilverStar ski resort near Vernon with 2 close friends over Christmas. Lots of seasonal concerts and dinners as well. We have a new used salt/grit spreader for the ATV in case the new driveway gets a bit slippery (needed a bit of tweaking to get it working well).

December was a bit like the year overall as we transitioned from house projects to leisure. Highlights on the home front this year were the shoji closet in the guest bedroom, new driveway, new equipment shelter, some art installations and motorized screens for the porch. On the leisure side, Canal du Midi boating and Paris reminiscing, Cowboy Junkies concert, visit with my aunt (Queen of the Prairies) and another Japan trip (Shikoku, Tokyo, friends, family and food).

Next year shall see us, hopefully, completing more hardscaping outside, making a few screens, a built-in dresser in the bedroom, storage cabinets in the garage, more art installations and some odds and sods. We shall also likely find ourselves in Europe and Japan once again.

Happy New Year to all and Akemashite Ometedo Gozaimasu – hope to see you somewhere, sometime next year.