5C's Que Pasa

This past Monday Colin pulled out the canoe.

Later in the afternoon Russ came and helped him carry it down to the beach.

Tuesday morning I got up to use the bathroom about 6:30AM and Colin was not in bed. I looked out the window and saw a speck in the distance.

Zooming in through the window I found that it was Colin. Back to bed I went. I don’t sleep well and my best sleep is between 3AM and 8 AM.

Just before 8AM I came outside and Colin had just pulled up onto the beach.  He had a great paddle and did use the Minn Kota engine a bit here and there, mostly when he was enjoying his coffee. It runs off a 12 volt battery.

He was showing me where he had been.

I helped him carry up his stuff.  I am not a morning person but I do want to go next time. My water shoes were in the RV and they are now here with the canoe.  So hopefully I will be getting out there soon.  But who will take our photo?  That emerald green lump in the lower mid section of the photo is one of two that Colin turns the canoe over onto.  That keeps it off the rocks.  Colin then covers the canoe to keep it protected form the sun.  As you can see our beach unlike the Isla is really rather rocky.

Tuesday is senior night here at the movie theaters. Colin found a movie and a time and I booked it online.  Here we are sitting in our recliner seats just as the movie ended.

This might be worth a shot.  Looks like a good weed killer.  Thanks again  for the suggestion Sandy.  I would start by mixing up a smaller batch and see what happens.

This is one of two cushions that I purchased for my new to me & repaired footstools.

There are a few inches on either side but it looks okay and it is exactly what I wanted.  I do have this color in a few pots and in two umbrellas and cushions on the patio. It was the perfect find.

Very comfy.  The chairs we got at the garage sale, the free stools and the new cushion.

I am sitting in the shade of this umbrella.

So peaceful. Definitely taken before the smoke came in.

Taken about five ago.

We always water the garden every evening but it needed some extra attention today.  The weeds that Colin had dug out a few weeks ago have returned, threatening to invade our garden.

It is too hot to be digging up weeds now but with some diligent pulling it gave us some breathing room.  All the garden weeds were pulled as well.  We do a bit every night when we water but it is an ongoing effort.  I know that we would be better off if our plot was between two other gardens, there would be less weeds that way.

Our tomatoes have gone wild this summer except for the one plant on the bottom right.  Fortunately the fruit is still growing.  The Swiss chard is ready to pick and the kale is growing.  We were gifted with some from another garden which made us happy.

It is difficult to get between the tomatoes to pick what is ripe. We did plant them with space all around but they went wild. We are eating fresh tomatoes with every dinner now.

The one cucumber plant is flourishing. We have eaten two already and there are about 14 more in various stages of growth.  We had to prop these off the ground.  I am amazed at how fast they grow from day to day.

This was from the aerial photography Colin did here in Kelowna last Monday. Downtown Kelowna and the Yacht Club with the bridge to West Kelowna.

Gyro beach in the foreground.  Such a beautiful city we live in.

Two resort hotels on the left ( Manteo & Eldorado ) with their marinas, while on the right you can see Mission Creek flowing into Lake Okanagan.

We have had some waterskiing on our lake over the weekend but also a good deal of quiet paddling.

Because of a wild fire starting just north of Oliver late yesterday we are seeing some haze. Environment Canada has issued an air quality statement for the next two days.

As of 3PM today the fire is at 200 hectares. We can now see at 5PM an increase in haze caused by the smoke.  There are now some evacuation alerts in effect.  Not often that we see a sailboat on our lake.

Turns out that Thursdays are jazz jam time.

Certainly many activities to chose from at the Rotary Centre.

It appears that many of these people are Thursday evening regulars.  There is a small cafe on site selling drinks and snacks.

Rather than head home for dinner we opted to stop at a long time favourite Ozeki Japanese Restaurant.  Everything including the tempura veggies was very good but I was disappointed at the small piece of salmon I received.  I did mention it and the staff agreed that it was very small and did bring me another piece.

From there we stopped and toured McKinley Landing, a developing community.

The entire area is built on a hillside and most of the homes are built on stilts.  That means that the homes have no yard at all.

This is the view that the homes on stilts in the photo above have.  High on the hill but still not a great view and they have the road under their decks. The homes seen here only have a level area to park, no side nor back yard.

The entire community is built on the hillside with steep curving roads down to the water.  Certainly not a place for biking or walking unless you like to go directly up hill on the return.

There was an are with some outdoor community exercise equipment, similar to what we have seen in Mexico, including the Isla.

Though the construction fence you can see the Marina. Directly down below they are building condos and apartments. Those might be alright to live in as they are almost beach level. However they start at one million and up. The homes are even pricier.

This one has a swimming pool.  There is a lot of cement and supporting beams holding that pool up.  We could hear kids shouting in the pool and see the water splashing over the tall glass railing.  That is one way to create a backyard complex with pool.

A lovely view down/? up the lake.

Everyone wants to live on the water but this location is not for us.

We were treated to a surprise as we rounded a corner.

Bambi was curious.

A fun way to end our night out on the town.

Lorraine, on the left is the gourd artist & winters in Rincon de Guayabitos, along with my friend Sandy.  Lorraine does some teaching over the winter.  Joyce, the acrylic painter, winters in Cabo San Lucas while  George & Jaine Buse, do their art every winter in San Miguel de Allende.

Some of Lorraine’s work. I could be wrong but I think that this lovely piece is only $175.00, such a great price for this piece of art.

Colin and I both fell in love with this one as we have herons both here and on the Isla. We even have a spot to put it.  A bit more at $250.00.  We are still seriously thinking about it.

Lorraine, you are extremely talented. It was a delight to meet you. A very special hola to Sandy from Lorraine.

“Under a Summer Sky” by Joyce Findlay.  A beautiful original piece of acrylic art for only $125.00.

“Hibiscus Beauty” also by Joyce.  Oh how I wish we had walls instead of windows.  Joyce also paints some lovely animal canvases but I am partial to flowers.

Jaine Buse also paints in acrylics.  This painting called ‘Ying of Mexico’ is a work done in mixed media.  She also likes to paint more in the abstract.

Also mixed media, this one is called ‘Community’. The painting above, an acrylic, is titled ‘Mark in Time’.

George Buse, Jaine’s husband is a potter.  These 6 pieces of pottery art are entitled ‘Primary Geometry’, selling for $295.00.

This one is called Pho Nomenon, very clever name and colourful.

I quite liked this one, simply called ‘The Dancers’.  If I had space I would have snapped this up for $95.00.  As you can see all of these pieces of art are at affordable prices so that everyone is able to own a piece of original art.

We had a wonderful time at this exhibit. This is the outside of the Rotary Center for the Arts.

This piano is one of eight pianos placed throughout the Kelowna area for anyone including some famous celebrities to play.  The pianos are decorated by local artists.