Several forays to the ski hill, 5 concerts, 2 movies, 1 play, and several dinners made for a busy social calendar. On the home front, some final pieces of baseboard trim were cut/painted/installed as was a cover for the attic hatch.

Following a discussion with the Regional District, I learned that because the neighbors had indicated they intended to make a lavender farm, are at liberty to pretty much do what ever they want with the land – the provincial “right to farm” trumps local environmental considerations. We are now considering the viability of some combination of lavender, wild flowers and honey, trees and perhaps a field of garlic. Diddley Squat 2?

And we now have a bedroom door after about 7 1/2 years. The frame is clear fir left over from the wood I bought from a closing saw mill 8 years ago, with the straight grain facing the hallway and bedroom. One of the MEC doors cut in half and edged in fir, scalloped to match the faces. I first went over the scalloped fir with a orbital sander to remove the scars and discoloration from years of use and then after a bit of hand sanding, applied 3 coats of tung oil. The light fir should darken over time. The black medallions are to hid the holes where the handle had been mounted. I shall be asking my brother-in-law to turn two bowls and cut them in half for the handles on the doors. Still need to install ball catches on the top of each door. I have one more MEC door in the container that needs an imaginative treatment.

After a rather warm February and the disappearance of most snow from the property, it is snowing as I write this. Lots of snow in the mountains this year. Taisho anticipated an early spring so has already shed his undercoat but seems fine with any weather.

We have been enjoying balmy January weather – daily highs above zero for 22 days straight but lots of snow in the mountains where we have skied 4 times this month.

January is sausage-making month. Led by Klaus and his knowhow, skills and equipment, 3 of us joined forces to turn 10 legs (250 lbs) into a year’s supply of Italian sausage, smoked sausage, schnitzel, and speck (like prosciutto). Also made a few smoked moose/pork sausages. Will likely get only 6 legs next year.

And on the cultural side, we enjoyed a few shows at Kelowna’s version of a winter Fringe Festival and my first Monster Truck Show (with Coop not M) at the local ice arena. Like climbing Mount Fuji – worth doing once, crazy to do it twice.

December has been cold and snowy. Record cold just before Christmas (-29) and about two feet of snow on the ground, followed by some after-Christmas snow, freezing rain and rain. New rims and tires for the car so I can now drive it year round. Several dinners with friends and neighbors and several soaks in the tub. Fired up Bob after Christmas to scape and move about 20 buckets of snow from the parking area over beyond the container.

Some progress on the home front as well. Closet door completed and installed with trim (touch ups to come), and door frame for jamb for bedroom door partially completed – still need to mill and finish the jamb and door stops out of fir. Decided to forgo the pivot idea for the door and instead slice the door slab length-wise and edge it, thereby making two doors.

And for your viewing pleasure, Taisho enjoying a walk in the snow on the upper part of the property, with me on snowshoes. Lots of deer. January should see some skiing, serious progress on the door, and some more sausage making. Best wishes from us for a great new year.

November began well with harvesting the last of the tomatoes and some work with Bob. 20cm of snow fell on the 4th and got deeper through the month. This is 5 weeks earlier than usual and prevented the usual seasonal forest management work. Mizuho arrived back from Japan on the 9th after a most enjoyable 3 weeks.

Drove to Vancouver to see a good friend and former Ambassador to Japan who was passing through. We golfed and dined with another former Ambassador to Japan who brought me over to Foreign Affairs some 24 years ago. Stayed at the delightful 110 year old Sylvia Hotel (special deal at $88 a night!!) and at my sister’s for a few nights. Thousands of pieces of heavy equipment were astride the highway in the mountains laying pipe and fixing the road and bridges that were destroyed a year ago by torrential rain.

Had several dinners with friends and two concerts. Picked up 1/2 a side of beef from a neighbor and enjoyed some of a lamb we bought from another neighbor with a bottle of 2004 Chianti Classico (one of the few remaining old bottles from our cellar).

On the home front, I think I finally figured out how to build our bedroom door, something that Mizuho is keenly interested in. As a warm up, I built a door for the closet, using some straight-grained cedar BroinLaw Steve gave me that he reclaimed from his 50 year old deck. I trimmed the weathered wood on two sides then cut and planed the pieces to final size. The vertical stiles were grooved with a dado blade 1/2″ wide and 1″ deep while the horizontal rails had a 1/2″ wide and 1/2″ deep groove. The panels (cedar and fir) were all 1/2″ thick to fit into the grooves. After making 1/2″ tenons on each end of the rails, it was just a matter of glue, clamps, sanding and oiling. Still need to find the hardware to attach it to the overhead rail that I installed 7 years ago.

December should see some progress on the bedroom door, some skiing and some dining with friends.

No rain for the last 2 weeks of Sept and first 3 of October – nothing but sun and temps in the 20s – but finally got some single digits and some much needed rain in the last week of the month. Dropped off car to have oil strainer for the turbos replaced under a recall notice. Good thing it was covered as it was 7 hours of labour; 9 liters of oil; a dozen gaskets, seals and washers; and assorted filters, bolts and clamps. Had our 4th Covid shot and the heat pump serviced. Drained and refilled the spa for the first time (will do it in fall and spring).

Made a presentation on “Canada in a Troubled World” at the Kelowna Roundtable (great fun), had an excellent end of season ride to Vernon on the back roads and bade “mata ne” to Mizuho when she left on the 19th for 3 weeks in Japan. After her departure I had 3 concerts – Charles Richard-Hamelin playing Chopin, Brandon Isaak (Yukon gold at a house concert – check him on Youtube), and a three-person vocal opera group in Vernon.

On the home front, planted two maple trees and two new bushes, extended the top step leading to the firepit-to-be, sanded and spar urethaned the two oak wine barrels, and prepped for the change of seasons by, inter alia, storing 1,000 ft of garden hoses. Also stained all the cedar posts, soffits, front of garden shed, etc. The stain I used originally is no longer made but found something similar (redwood rather than cedar). Spread many pails of poppy seeds and lavender trimmings outside of the fence, along the driveway and around the area near the well head. Did some work with Bob. Aiming to wrap up a bunch of projects before winter, including the barrier fence in front of the spa and cutting/piling lots of branches and felling some trees. Mizuho would very much like me starting work on our bedroom door before she gets back.

And that’s all for October. Hope all is well in your world as it is here (although Taisho is clearly underwhelmed with my care vis-a-vis the care he receives from his mistress).

Spectacular weather, mostly mid 20s with very little rain. Arrived back in Kelowna and came down with Covid a few days later ( I gave it to Mizuho). Several days of fever, aches and a few weeks of coughing. Had a delightful three days in Kamloops with some friends. Played two courses, one of which was old and winded through the forest while the other was a links course (Tobiano, rated #8 in Canada) that had no trees at all! On the way back stopped for supplies in Salmon Arm – De Mille’s farm market for treats, Sedo’s deli for sausage and elk, and Shuswap Pie Company for savory pies and an incredible peach pie.

Delightful three day bike camping trip with Coop in the West Kootenays – beautiful weather and scenery. Mizuho had her first bike ride in 15 years for our anniversary lunch and then our 35th anniversary dinner the following evening at Quails Gate Winery. Took a tour of the 40 acre former Tolko mill site in downtown Kelowna on the lake that will be redeveloped in the next few years.

On the home front, we had a very successful garden year, including a fine crop of potatoes we grew for the first time.

New owners of the house next door decided to build a 2nd house higher on the hill for the wife’s parents. Scraping out a road and leveling the building site has been dusty and noisy. We won’t be able to see the house but can see the road. Dug some post holes for a fence to go beside the hot tub; expanded one garden and built a new one below the house by moving/installing rocks with Bob (and with a cable and come along); re-stained most of the cedar posts and soffits – photos next month.

Hope all is well your your world

Lots of little jobs around the property. Basement and power shack doors finally painted and the stain on the cedar gates and fence refreshed. Installed drapes in the basement guest bedroom. A delightful 350km bike ride (after getting a new battery). Major service for the ATV and finished the spa deck. Some success in an auction of the Campion Boat manufacturing plant (new investors from Alberta ran a 50 year-old successful business into the ground in 3 years and are moving the moulds to Texas). Shop vac, castors, straps, 2 pressure washers and 39 of these aluminum frames to be used in some as-yet-undefined future project.

Went to Winnipeg for 5 nights – 1st time for Mizuho (who loved it) and second time for me in 40 years – while sister and B in L took care of house and Taisho. Great weather, food, museums, zoo, parks, architecture, art, history – a city of culture with an appreciation of aesthetics and far more diverse than Kelowna. Saw only one mosquito. Drove by my old abodes – dorm, apartments, houses and the housing coop, Common Ground, I lived in during University. Highly recommend a visit to Winnipeg. Airport security in Kelowna and flight changes were irksome.

We came down with covid a few days after returning and 5 days later are slowly recovering – like having a tenacious vicious cold. And Kelowna just enjoyed its hottest August ever, 3c higher than the previous record but forest fires in the province were few and far between.

July started with visits by the Snowbirds, a former work colleague (on an epic 6 week cross-Canada RV trip with family and dog) and cousin from Victoria and some lovely rain. The rest of the month has been sunny, hot and dry with last week in the high 30s and setting new records.

Garden doing well with lettuce, manche, peas, potatoes, eggplant, shiso and raspberries in abundance and garlic, carrots, edamame, peppers and cucumbers to come. Busy making jams, coulis and pies from the raspberries and local saskatoons on the property and from the neighbor’s blueberries and cherries. Great year for poppies and lavender.

Enjoyed a few days at Sun Peaks (ski/golf village owned by Nippon Cable), outdoor Shakespeare at a winery and several dinners with friends, including some excellent Italian tripe with our neighbor.

Finished splitting enough firewood for two years, cut logs and kindling to dry for a year, and spent several days cutting and removing dead branches for eventual mulching. Deck for the hot tub is progressing and will be finished in another week or so. It runs between the tub and a raw stone wall. Discovered that the 24hr circulation/filtering pump shuts down when the water temperature rises 2 degrees above the setting , which has been happening frequently this past week. They call it a hot tub for a reason.

Busy month socially with golf games, ten dinners, a visit by sister and hubby, and two concerts. Enjoyed two pick-up parties for members at two wineries – one had jazz and ceviche in a ice cream cone, while the other had sliders and bocce. Went to a fabulous exhibit at the Art Gallery (part of a personal collection by a local resident) of Warhol, Banksy, Koons, Murakami and Lichtenstein – sort of a mini MOMA. Also hired a student part time to do some research for me for a paper on democracy.

Busy month round the house as well. After replacing the corroded electrical connector for the trailer (only available from MB) and a wheel bearing, I was able to swap a friend some firewood for some surplus miscellaneous paving stones. B in Law helped drop a tree, cut up two and used his chainsaw guide to mill a 4×6 from the tree. Firewood all cut and split and stacked for next year with some newer logs cut and drying for a year. Gutters cleaned, driveway verge mowed, and branches piled up for later mulching.

Trenched from shop to hot tub site and the pavilion site to run the tech cable; changed some of the irrigation; and reran one of the downspouts to a new rain barrel. Tub arrived as promised and was wheeled in, placed, hooked and filled up in no time. Very pleased with it. Should have gotten one years ago. Still need to do some hard scaping around it, build some stairs and mini-deck and put up some towel hooks. Not sure what I will do with the tub site prepared last fall but will likely become a deck.

Weather finally turned nice and the garden exploded. These poppies self-seed and are amazing. Enjoyed dinners under the umbrella until a big wind broke it (I hope to fix it in the days ahead). It will likely be replaced with a 12 x 14 gazebo with removable screens.

Taisho had a big month. First, he shed his undercoat (a pillow case full). He discovered a marmot inside the fence in the poppies. He cornered it, attacked and within a minute was tossing it in the air. It was over very quickly for the marmot.

Back to town in good time for the spring gardening – April was rather cool and wet here. Had our first crop of asparagus and planted all sorts of veggies and flowers (and pulled tons of weeds from the non-garden areas). The cedar hot tub we ordered in October was delayed further and might be ready in August/September. So we decided to order a regular hot tub for delivery in June. This necessitated some modifications.

Concerts are back on (we had 5 in May) and saw a truly excellent performance of a commissioned piece, Macbeth, by the Kelowna Ballet. Lots of animals around – cougar sighted just down the road, two adult bears beside the pool next door, a bear and 3 cubs at another neighbor, coyote yips in the evening, a few marmots sniffling about and a turkey vulture has taken up temporary residence on our lower rock face.

Next month should see progress on the hot tub, irrigation, outdoor stairs and a few other projects. And I leave you with Taisho in full flight rounding a corner.