Jun 16, 2011
So the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup. Both teams played a good game. The Bruins played a bit better and won. However the city of Vancouver lost….
What was this couple thinking????????
Don’t anyone ever ever talk to me about the violence in Mexico. At least there it is one drug gang against another, not full out rioting and wanton destruction of vehicles, property, looting and worse for no other reason than losing a hockey game!
Jun 15, 2011
Somewhat low key today what with the weather forecast for the week ahead.
No sun in site!
Yesterday while walking the girls here in the park, a fellow stopped his car and asked Colin if Caeli was pregnant or just fat!! That’s it kiddo, serious diet time.
Move Caeli, just move would you...please.
I managed to get a few yard shots yesterday while it was still decent but not normal weather.
Is this where the expression "let sleeping dogs lie" came from?
My Weigela just started to bloom but I'm sure the rain will take care of the blooms before I have a chance to enjoy them.
Hopefully the weather is good wherever you are. Tenga buen dia!
Jun 14, 2011
Is it really and truly mid June? Are you sure? The Canucks are still playing hockey!
There is still snow on the mountain. We even turned the heat on yesterday morning. Certainly a first for us.
Maybe I am just not in the right place at the right time but I have yet to see goslings or ducklings. At least I saw a few baby quail, certainly not the huge clutches that are usually everywhere.
..but finally my first rose bloomed this morning. Perhaps that is the sign of things to come.
Jun 13, 2011
…I think we had a pretty good weekend. The weather wasn’t perfect so Colin was home the entire weekend and we managed to go with the flow.
We saw this sign late in the day Sunday... I like it.
We got some cleaning done, some yard work done, mostly fertalizing and I just let the pruning & deadheading slide. It will be there next time we get into the yard. I went to a Management/Leaseholder meeting here at the park and we got to sit out each afternoon for an hour or so at the beach. The girls hunted snakes (Carmeh got a big one in her mouth before it wriggled away), Colin played the guitar and I read. Peaceful except for the bats residing in our huge beach umbrella. It was the first time we opened it this season and two huge bats ( well to me) flew all around, blinded by the sun before flying into the RV radiator!! We had a pile of bat dung to deal with and then we relaxed till a few hungry mosquitoes came to visit.
Sunday we went to visit these rocks. They have been offered to us and would be great to use on our beach rock wall BUT we have to figure out how to get 2 yards of rocks to our place inexpensively and where to put them till someone (not me) has time to place them. Anyone want to come for a working visit?
The very best part of the weekend was last night’s dinner. A Sunday salmon special. I had a wild salmon fillet that I was marinating when Colin decided we should cook it on a cedar plank. I guess he had spoken to a neighbour about how to do it a month ago but forgot the details. So we went and a found a piece of cedar, looked up info online and put the board in water to soak for 2 hours. Meanwhile it had become cloudy and coolish so we moved the BBQ over to the house where the feast would be prepared.
So far so good!
There was a whole of smoking going on, I was hoping no one would call security or the fire dept.
Perhaps they should have..........
Colin to the rescue with some squirts of water!
…………the salmon was melt in your month. That about sums up our ‘go with the flow’ weekend. I am already looking forward to the next one.
Jun 12, 2011
Our passports are due for renewal mid July and I have just discovered that there is a new simpler form. It came into law about a month after our current passports were issued.
Here is a copy paste of the ins and outs of the process. I have just realized that many do not know about this as I have been asked to be a guarantor for 3 people over the past year. This new form does not save money but time. Unfortunately it is still almost a 28 day wait for your new passport to be sent to you via Canada Post, that is unless you drop it off in person, pay an extra $10.00, and then pick it up 10 days later. Until a few years ago we did not have a Passport Canada office here in Kelowna and had no choice but to deal via the postal service. Things are changing for the better. You can even download the from from the internet.
Simplified Passport Renewal Program
The Simplified Passport Renewal Program will be available as of August 15, 2007, and is part of a broader effort to modernize Canadian passport services.
It will allow Canadian citizens who meet certain eligibility criteria to renew their passport using a shorter form and without submitting documentary evidence of citizenship, supplementary identification and a guarantor declaration. Under the renewal program, passport applicants will only be required to submit the shorter form along with two new photos, the application fee and their last passport.
Canadians who meet the following eligibility criteria will be able to benefit from this program:
They must be residing in Canada at the time they apply.
They must have resided in Canada at the time of their previous application.
They were 16 years old or over at the time of their previous application.
Their previous passport:
Must have been valid for five years,
Must have been issued after January 31, 2002,
Was never damaged or reported as lost or stolen, and
Must have been issued under their current name.
This program will yield benefits to both passport applicants and Passport Canada. Applicants will save time and will not have to surrender important documents such as their birth certificates or citizenship cards for an extended period of time. Passport Canada’s productivity will increase, as fewer steps will be required for the entitlement and screening of each file. Renewal applications are still subject to all current security verifications.