5C's Que Pasa

I took this sometime last week. I thought it was funny that Ciela decided to nap on the door mat instead of her bed.

Not even half an hour later I caught Carlie napping with her back legs up in the air.

Remember this owl? His purpose is to keep the geese from visiting our lawn. He went missing in our last big storm. Pauline noticed when she was visiting. He will be missed. He was full of sand so very heavy.

Colin has been doing many chores this past week. For some unknown reason to us, our composite steps began to look dirty when we come back from Mexico over the past six years. Colin spends hours trying to clean them with a variety of products including power washing. The other day he tried using a product ( new to us ) called Awesome. He let it soak in for a while then used a stiff brush. As you can see the board at the bottom of the photo is looking cleaner than the one next to it.  However I wonder if there is an easier method to clean composite steps and landings???

We all went in the golf cart to refill our BBQ propane tank. Any activity was behind us and Carlie missed nothing. She is a true observer of nature and people. Love her uplifted paw.

Over the last few years we have had little to almost no berries on our Mountain Ash. For the first time since we have had this tree it is full of blossoms.

These flowers are supposed to turn into berries during the fall. I certainly hope so. It would be wonderful to see this tree in red berries ( some are orange but ours are red ).

I was surprised to find the following photos in my camera. Thank you Colin for the sunset photos on May 27th. This tree is a late in having its leaves open.

Wow!  How did I miss this? I was probably in the tub with a book and a glass of vino blanco.

Just the one cloud all around us.

A beautiful start to the day.  All three families out for a swim. Bottom right, family and two babies.

Took the triplets for a walk around our park.

Showed off our garden, these are the radish seeds. Peas and beets are up. Sadly our beans do not appear to have germinated. It has been so wet and cold.

Gorgeous pink dogwood tree.

One of the many trails here in the park.

First winery of the day. They have an outdoor tasting table for those with pups. You can barely see Colin’a head above my purse. They even put fresh water in the dog bowl just to the left of Josh for the girls. 50th Parallel used to be my favourite. I love their Pinot Gris and Colin used to send me a case or two for my birthday. I really only wanted to have a glass of my favourite wine but they said no, I could only do the tasting as they do not sell individual glasses as it was illegal unless seated in their restaurant. I explained that we have a long history with the winery as Colin had been their main photographer in their first few years. No go.  So then I asked that instead of the five individual tastings that they give me five shots of the Pinot Gris. No go. She did give me an extra shot when I told her that it was my birthday. I did not even purchase a bottle.

Colin and the girls sitting in the shade behind the tasting bar. They were so patient.

We stopped at Arrowleaf Winery, great place to take guests. Due to Covid they had shut down their restaurant and now were offering  tastings on the patio. Arrowleaf has always had a huge area with picnic tables over looking the lake. Folks are welcome to bring their own picnic lunch ( or buy something for the restaurant  when open ) and purchase wine to consume in this lovely area. I finally got my birthday wish, to sit outside in the sun overlooking the lovely vista and enjoy a full glass of Pinot Gris. I had Ciela with me while Colin had to walk away to keep the other two quiet.  I loved my glass of wine and the freedom of the moment but missed having Colin with me. We are going to do this again in the near future.

Back home and time for appies. Not sure but I think Sequoia is at the bottom of the heap.

Not enough time to sit on the patio. Colin made the marinade while I cleaned our very special shrimp from Mexico.

Nothing like three dogs underfoot next to the kitchen.

Pauline tried to get the girls involved in a game of chase the bubbles.

My third dinner was yet another success.

Sequoia and her parents left Monday the 23rd. I spent the day just sitting in my recliner relaxing. Colin surprised me with my favourite Nanaimo bars and Happy Birthday streamers all over the house.  I can’t recall what we had for dinner but likely leftovers from the past few days. It took me until Wednesday to get back to my normal energy level. I guess that after Covid I am not up to entertaining so much. Three days in a row was too much for me. Getting old I guess, not looking forward to next year and 70.

This is a small off leash dog area.  There is no fencing but the dogs can go as far as that private pier.

Our girls had a blast. Sequoia is not trained off leash so she was being held. Carlie on the right only has one paw down. They were so happy to be on a beach.

I was so inspired that the word we used to recall them in Mexico worked here. They turned immediately once I called out that word.

Back home for birthday appetizers. On the right are mini rolls of lox holding a mix of creme cheese with some magical ingredients. This appetizer is something that I only make on the most special of occasions. I last made it on Colin’s 70th and before that on his 65th. My very dear friend Margot shared this recipe with me years ago. Sadly she is no longer with us but she is always with me in so many other ways and most especially when I make these roll ups. Off course they are never as good as when Margot made them.

Saturday the 21st was Joshs 44th birthday and we were getting ready to make margaritas. We later enjoyed a fish taco bar for dinner.

Sequoia play attacking Ciela.

They played well together and of course all three ran around and around the yard. Carlie was diagnosed with an ear infection Friday so she was not as active.

Sequoia at the top than Ciela and Carlie caught mid yawn.

We even had a sunset. Haven’t had too many of those because of the weather.

There was even some dancing.

No birthday is complete without a cake.

I suggested that we meet at an off leash dog park ( Ellison Dog Park – which is just behind the Kelowna International Airport ) so that the triplets could reacquaint in neutral territory. It worked out perfectly as you can see from the last post.

They simply kept chasing each other with the odd tumble here and there. We did go for a good walk and they all walked nicely.  This is our two in the front.

From there we went to visit Ancient Hill Winery that Pauline wanted to see. A lovely old fashioned winery.

Because of the dogs we did an outdoor tasting. Sequoia is being held by Pauline.

Colin sat to the side with Ciela and Carlie. We were traveling in two vehicles and C0lin was being cautious so I shared my tasting with him.  Many heavy dry wines here that did not appeal to us but the vista was wonderful. The vineyards are still awaiting some greenery.

The plan was to head back home for happy hour but there was just one more winery, the Vibrant Vine Winery, that was calling our name. Love these colourful chairs waiting to be put on onto the lawn on a hot summer day. They also have concerts during the summer, I would love to be sitting in one of these chairs with a glass of “Woops” enjoying a performance.

I went in with Josh and Pauline while Colin corralled the doxies. Ten dollars each is an expensive tasting but we were in a very special winery.

The Vibrant Winery is all about 3D. Everything inside is 3D including the wine labels, art work, etc. You are given a pair of 3D glasses with your entry fee. Excellent promotion in that you can use your tasting fee towards the purchase of one of their excellent bottles of wine.

Once I came out, Colin went in.  I did a good job of caring for the triplets and they totally listened to me. We brought home one bottle of “the Mask ” and Pauline came home with three bottles.

Back home the girls enjoyed getting to know each other more.