Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Clean, clean, clean!  That was the name of the game today.  Mom and I delved into some serious house cleaning ... but lots more to do tomorrow.  The Raposos were gone all day.  They headed to Vancouver with some of Dave's relatives from Portugal, and I guess they had a great time at the Aquarium.  We've been so busy that it's been increasingly difficult to find the time to take a photo.  Regardless, mom and I both took photos of the Mardi Gras masks that the family made a couple of nights ago.  See if you can guess who made each mask:

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

It's always a special day on June 29th - it's the birthday of two of my favorite people in the world - my mom and my best friend, Lisa.  My mom didn't get a very special birthday since we spent a lot of the day preparing for the party - cleaning and compiling a list of Karaoke songs.  I'm feeling a little disappointed that so many people can't make the party, but I guess life happens.  I thought that by planning six months in advance, that would give people enough notice, but sometimes things don't always work out the way you plan.  I'm VERY happy that we're still going to have an awesome time with fewer guests.  It sounds like this party will be the last one at the Ketler house, so we'll have to make it a good one for sure ... at least that seems to be the consensus, but we'll see what happens.  The only photo opportunity that presented itself was of this gigantic hero sandwich that took my dad two days to eat.  He's lucky he's got such huge hands ... anybody else wouldn't have been able to wrap their hand around it!

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

We all decided to go to the U.S. today.  Lurline, Dave and the kids left before us, while mom and I went to Aldergrove to pick up Monica first.  When we got there, she wasn't off work yet, so we had 20 minutes to kill.  We stumbled across this really good thrift store around the corner from her house, and we got some great deals!  We'll definitely go back when we have more time.  So the three of us headed off to the States, as well.  We went to a couple dollar stores to get some more party supplies - beads, masks, etc, then went to Target, Big Lots and Walmart.  The best deal of the day for me was the Magnum of Shiraz for less than $9.00 American.  I decided to get 2 big bottles of wine because they were so cheap.  I actually almost got the regular bottle of wine for a mere $2.77.  Yes... less than $3.00 for a bottle of California red Shiraz.  Crazy!!  When we got home, we worked on decorating our Mardi Gras masks - Monica, Jack, Talia, Lurline, Mom and I all did one or two.  We have a very nice collection.  Dad went downstairs and pulled out these old puppets that Lurline and I made over 10 years ago - Monica and Jack were playing with them:

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Not much happened today. Lurline, Mom and I went in the hot tub for quick soak, which was really nice and relaxing.  We were in recovery from a very busy weekend, so I caught up on my blog, walked around the garden, and started some preparations for our upcoming Mardi Gras party this weekend.  There's lots to be done.  The day passed and we almost forgot to take our daily picture - the sun had set already, so we scrambled out to the yard to see what we could find.  Here's a picture of the first Calla Lily in bloom in our garden.  It looked like a heart from this angle, so thought I'd use it.

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

What a picture perfect day.  Blue, cloudless skies and warm sunshine.  It was hard to decide how we all wanted to spend the day.  Dad and Uncle Jacob decided to go golfing, then to the big car show downtown.  The rest of us headed to the Cloverdale swap meet to see what we could find.  Most of us got a little something small to buy.  Monica got the largest purchase - a breadmaker for $15.  The Raposos left us to go drop Talia off at the ferry - she was off to visit her friend on the Island for the night.  Then, they headed to Dave's relatives in Surrey.  Mom, Monica and I went to Red Robin for a hamburger lunch before dropping Monica at home in Aldergrove.  When mom and I got back home, the weather was still so nice, so we joined dad and Jacob outside in yard for some conversation.  We ate a barbecued steak dinner, with salad and watermelon.  We all agreed it was nice to sit outside and eat for once!  Then, Uncle Jacob, dad and I went downstairs to play some guitar.  Dad had to work, so he headed to bed early, but Uncle Jacob and I stayed a while longer to chat, and Tristan got home and joined us for a bit.  What another superb day!

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

I should've slept in, but I was sharing my bed with Talia, so I couldn't get comfortable.  I got up and saw that Lurline, Dave and mom and dad were already up, as well.  We all had breakfast and coffee, while my dad was out working on last minute touches to the garden and yard.  It was the Rotary Garden Tour today, so he was making sure everything looked great.  Unfortunately, it was raining, but it didn't stop the people from coming through the garden to take a look.  Lurline, mom, dad and I decided we wanted to go look at some of the other gardens on the tour, as well.  So, we piled in my car and off we went.  The sun made some brief appearances and the rains stopped - we got back to the house at around 3:30pm.  The garden tour was a great success ... somebody from Gardens West Magazine are going to do an article on the garden and yard!  It will be great advertising for the B&B.  Uncle Jacob and Auntie Betty were heading to the Yarrow Reunion later in the evening, so we had quite a nice afternoon visiting with everybody - grandma and Uncle Mark joined us, as well.  There was a lot of discussion around my dad's new scooter, so a line formed for everybody to give it a whirl.  That night, we pulled out the Karaoke machine and had a great time singing some tunes.  Here's some of the pics of the family giving the scooter a try:

Friday, June 24th, 2011

We're all leaving for BC today, so I spent my morning packing up my stuff and cleaning up a bit.  Dave only worked a half day, so he and Tristan began packing up the tent trailer.  Lurline came home, and we all rushed around to make sure everything had been packed and the house set in order.  We ate the leftover kebabs for lunch, then went to pick up Talia from her job at Starbuck's, then we hit the road.  It was a long, slow trip for some reason.  We had a lot of stops, and with 5 large humans and a dog, space was limited in the Toureg.  When we hit the highway between Kamloops and Merritt, things went awry for me ... I won't go into details, but I have a very funny and embarrassing story to tell - and I've decided it can only be told in person, so as to get the full picture of the events.  We left Calgary at around 3:45pm and didn't arrive into Chilliwack until probably 2:30am.  We were all pretty tired - particulary me - because of the events that unfolded on the drive.  After filling in mom and dad on some of the drama of the drive, we all went to bed. Here's a shot of the Rockies somewhere close to Lake Louise.

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Felt a little under the weather today.  Sore throat and clogged sinuses, which never bodes well for having a productive day.  Regardless, I did some designing and watched some Photoshop tutorials, and also looked for jobs online - none of which required a lot of movement, which worked out well.  Later in the afternoon, I started dinner.  We decided on barbecued kebabs with Piri Piri marinade - shrimp, chicken, pineapple, onion, and peppers with rice on the side.  Yum!  Then Lurline and I took a quick drive so I could get my picture of the day.  It was a beautiful sunny day again, but within a  few minutes a storm rolled in and the winds picked up.  Tree branches were down across the city and everything was blowing around.  Then, just as fast as it moved in, it was gone again.  We drove into Fish Creek park and I got out to take this shot of a hiking path:

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

A warm 26 degrees today in Calgary!  Talia and I went downtown into the Mission district and had lunch and a drink at Purple Perk - one of my favorite coffee shops in Calgary.  Then, we drove around a bit - Talia doesn't get to go downtown very much, so I think she was enjoying the people watching.  We ended up at Eau Claire and looked around some of the shops.  I bought a ring from Tibet for $4.00.  I'd be losing money if I didn't buy it, as Lisa would say.  We had a few hours to kill, so we took a walk around Prince's Island Park and it was absolutely gorgeous - green, lush and full of activity.  We decided to head over to Fionn MacCool's and have a drink.  So, the two of us had some bonding time and talked about everything. A little later, Debra and Bryn showed up.  Then, the band arrived.  We listened to Sean and Rodger do some songs that I know and love.  Finally, Lurline got dropped off by Dave to drive Talia and I home - we'd been drinking so needed a driver.  After a great night with friends and fantastic music, I said good-bye and headed home.  What a brilliant day and night!!!

Here's me with one of my best friends in the world, Bryn:

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

Happy Solstice!  What a gorgeous, sunny day here in Calgary.  Woke up at 4:30am to drive Talia to her job at Starbuck's for 5am, then I came home and went back to bed for a couple of hours.  When I got up, I said bye to Lurline as she was leaving for work, then set about to organize my guitar music book.  It took hours - it was a mess!  I re-typed some of the songs, downloaded some new sheet music, and typed out a table of contents.  I don't have everything printed yet, but that's tomorrow's goal.
I went outside in the afternoon and helped Tristan to weed the front yard a little.  Doesn't look much better, though.
Once everybody was home, I barbecued some marinated chicken and made a hearty green salad for dinner.  Then I went for a walk to find a picture for the day.  It was a beautiful view out towards the Rockies, but the photos didn't do it justice, so I used this picture of a lush, green tree and a blue sky with a few clouds.

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Last day of Spring, and the weather was all over the place.  We had hot sun, thunder storms, rain, sun again, more thunder, then more sun yet again.  Calgary's weather has always been a little unpredictable.

I decided to take Soleil for a long walk today down to Fish Creek Park.  It was beautiful when I set out, and I was enjoying the walk so much that I maybe went a little too far.  Soleil's leg has a partially torn ligament, so she wasn't used to going for long walks.  Just as we were about to head back, a woman stopped me and said that there was a cougar in the direction we were headed so be careful.  She said she saw a deer, too, so maybe the cougar was after the deer.  Needless to say, I headed back in a different direction.  Then, the thunder and lightning started off in the distance.  Unfortunately, Soleil is terrified of thunder storms, and so she started shaking and tried to pull me all the way home.  Then, she started limping really badly from the strain.  I felt terrible that I had subjected the dog to such an ordeal.  Regardless, she seems okay, but she's not walking on the leg at all now - I'm a bad dog-sitter.  

The photo I took is from the top of a hill at Fish Creek Park - it's a panorama, so click it to see a bigger copy.  

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Got up fairly early this morning and actually saw some sunshine!  It was quite fascinating.  Then Lurline, Dave and I went to meet Jeff at Nellie's for breakfast.  We had some great conversation and some laughs, but the best part was Jeff just got a new, little puppy - it was some mix of bichon, mini poodle and something else, I think.  Honestly, it was the most adorable little thing I've seen in a long time.  It made me a little sad that I couldn't just play with it all day!  But, we had to go and drop some things at Lurline's new office, then we were off to the Farmer's Market.  I love it there!  Then, we spent the rest of the day checking out new RV trailers.  I don't know why, but I love to look through RVs, etc.... maybe because I know I'll never have one, so it's nice to dream!  When we got home, there was some thunder and lightning, and Soleil was scared and crawled under the desk to hide - she was shaking and cowering - poor thing.  Once it stopped, she seemed so relieved and happy - this is her... post-storm.

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Well, this morning I made a split second decision to drive with my sister to Calgary, since she's returning in one week anyway.  So, I quickly packed some clothes and off we went.  It rained the majority of the way, but we did see some wildlife along the way - mostly deer.  This group of mountain goats was right on the side of the road near Roger's Pass.  When we pulled over, the park ranger was already there, and she was trying to scare them back up onto the hillside and away from the road.  So, by the time I got my camera ready, they were already half up the hill... but thought I'd post the picture anyway, even though it's not the greatest shot.

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Big surprise... it was overcast again today.  Lurline, Mom and I decided to go to Clayburn near Abbotsford - it's a little historic town.  They have a cute, little tea shop that sells jars of candy and is filled with antiques.  The cheese plate was fantastic, although a little on the expensive side.  We ate a few snacks out on the patio when Monica and Jack showed up in the early evening.  That night, we did some Karaoke and had a few drinks.  It was a good night with the fam.

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Since it was overcast yet again, I decided to finally get a little designing done.  Did some updates on my website and created an abstract design in Photoshop - you can check it out on my Liquid Fog Facebook page.  Did a little housework, and ate some delicious home-made chicken noodle soup for dinner.  We still hadn't gotten a picture for the day, so Lurline, Mom and I went for a drive downtown Chilliwack to see what we could find.  We headed out to Island 22 on Fairfield Island, but it was mosquito infested, so we quickly left.  We stopped in at Salish Park by the library and it was covered in lily pads and water lilies in bloom:

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

What a day.  Woke up early to head to the U.S. with mom and Lurline.  We did some shopping, then met my Auntie Betty for lunch.  Then, we did more shopping.  The sun came out in the afternoon and it was a pretty good drive home.  We made it home midway through the first period of game seven of the Stanley Cup final.  Unfortunately, Boston won 4 to 0.  I settled in to watch So You Think You Can Dance, but within about 10 minutes, the show was interrupted because of riots that had broken out in downtown Vancouver.  It's an embarrassment to all of Canada, and particularly to Vancouver.  Any true fan wouldn't respond with destruction and violence, because it's disrespectful to their team.  Shameful!

Took this quick picture out in the garden ... some beautiful blooms on the Wisteria.

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

Didn't do much today, since I awoke to another cloudy, rainy day.  I'm having trouble believing it's going to be Summer in a week!  Mom and I went out briefly today and did some browsing, but not buying.  We came home and had a quiet afternoon until dinner.  After supper, all of us went to Value Village ... a family that saves money together, stays together??  We took a drive along some of the back roads and came across a field of goats.  They had some very cute little "kids", but this guy was really friendly, so couldn't resist posting it.  That's the one thing about Chilliwack... there is always something to take a picture of!

Monday, June 13th, 2011

We had a very sluggish start to our morning, probably due to all the rain.  It was hard to get motivated, but early in the afternoon, Mom convinced Lurline and I to go with her to Sue's up in Columbia Valley.  The skies were just starting to clear, so we jumped in the car and spent the afternoon up there chatting and even playing a little Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii.  On the way down the mountain, I took this shot at Cultus Lake - it's a panorama.  Once we got home, we quickly made some burgers for dinner, then settled in to watch the Canucks lose game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Four goals by Boston in the first period alone - it was not pretty.  On to game seven, I guess!

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

With the sun shining today, I ended up doing quite a bit of yard work with my parents today.  Worked on the pond again, since the last design was leaking for some reason.  Mom and I took a run to a few stores looking for a few supplies, and I spotted a very nice banana tree that I bought for my dad for father's day.  Put a lot more bark mulch in the flower beds and did some weeding.  The garden is looking pretty great, if you ask me.  When Lurline got home, we ate a barbecue dinner out on the patio, then came inside to watch a movie.  Pretty good day, but very tiring.  Here's one section of the garden that's starting to come together nicely:

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

Overcast again today, which makes our local meteorologist a liar - he said we'd have sun.  Anyway, the parents and I went out in the morning to pick up some items, and along the way we stopped at a multi-house garage sale.  Mom and Dad ended up with these futuristic-looking, designer outdoor lights ... they're massive, so we spent a good portion of the day discussing where they could go in the yard.  Afterwards, mom and I went up to Ryder Lake for the annual Ryder Lake Ramble, and despite taking some good shots of some llamas and alpacas, I decided to use this picture of these two random kids walking through a field.  I thought it was cute.  Later into the evening, Lurline and I went in the hot tub, while Mom and Dad kept us company out on the back patio.  It was a very enjoyable and relaxing evening.

Friday, June 10th, 2011

It was quite a busy day today.  Mom and I took grandma to the doctor's, then we all went for lunch downtown.  After we dropped grandma off at home, mom and I went to a thrift store, then to MTF to see what deals we could find.  Mom cleaned up on the good buys.  I didn't buy anything ... Phew!  Then, home to a quick nap before game five of the hockey playoffs.  Finally, the Canucks we all know and love are back on their game.  One more game to win to take the cup!  After the game, the fam all did some Karaoke - that's one thing about us, we can ALWAYS find something fun to do, and we all love music.  Here's Lurline and Dad mid-song:

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Once again, it was overcast, but I did manage to go outside and do a little yard work.  Shoveled and spread some bark mulch into some of the rose garden.  Monica and Jack came over for dinner, and we all ate some delicious pasta and meat sauce.  Then, went for a drive with Lurline up to Promontory, so she could see the urban sprawl up there, and she wanted to take a look at her old house that they used to live in.  Afterwards, we went downstairs and joined my dad's guitar night sing along for a few hours.  We definitely needed the practice, since Lurline, dad and I don't get a lot of time to play together anymore.  Here's the picture of some of the development up on Promontory:

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Started the day by doing some cleaning and then mom and I headed to Walmart to get some groceries.  On the way home, we stopped and looked at some modular homes - just for kicks!  We prepared shrimp and chicken skewers for dinner, and waited for Lurline's arrival from Calgary.  When she got here, we ate, then delved into watching another playoff hockey game, with a very similar result from the last game.  It was a Boston blow-out.  Very disappointing.  Anyway, decided to take a shot of my pretty kitty - she looks like she's sizing up something for her next meal:

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

I left Vancouver in the morning after a late night of mourning the Canucks' annihilation.  Drove through some torrential downpours on the highway on the way home.  I managed to have a nap this afternoon, then helped mom make some signs to label the flowers in the garden - a little stamping and embossing action.  When it got dark, we went outside to take a shot of the pond at night.  Would've been better with a pond light in the water and if I had found my tripod, but here it is anyway:

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Woke to another sunshiny day - three days in a row!  Wow!  Headed out to Vancouver at about noon to meet up with Lisa.  We decided that we couldn't play tennis, since we only had one racket, so we went to have a beer (or two) at The Local on the patio.  We got a little sunburnt, despite wearing sunscreen.  Then, we headed to the Ward's house to catch game three of the playoffs.  What a disappointing game that was!  Boston wins 8-1 ... So, we thought we'd get one more quick drink at the Five Point to see what the mood was like.  There weren't a lot of people left in there, and there definitely wasn't celebration in the air.  This pic is of Lisa and I on the patio at The Local:

Sunday, June 5th, 2011

Another gorgeous day, so more work out in the yard.  Did some painting, and then helped my dad stain the deck and a few other pieces around the yard.  It was so nice outside that I even tried to take a nap on the swing outside, but there was too much distraction.  The gardens are bustling with insects and birds, so I thought I'd take a few shots of the bumble bees:

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Picture perfect day!  Gorgeous sunshine, and not a cloud or haze to be seen.  Headed out to run some errands today.  Bought some gold fish and plants for the pond.  Then, later in the day, it was game two of the playoffs and it was incredible!  Uncle Neil, Debbie and Grandma came over to watch the game with us, and we think grandma is a super fan now!  During the second intermission, I snapped a few shots in the back yard, while everybody was in a playful mood.  Anyway, Canucks take it 11 seconds into OT - Thanks, Burrows!  Then, after an awesome day, we went in the hot tub and had a beer while appreciating the warm, clear night.  Life is great!

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Finally saw the sun today.  Spent most of the day outside painting and working in the yard a bit.  Finished painting the front shed with my mom, and it looks great.  Took a quick trip to the pet store to get some gold fish for the pond.  Mom and I took a quick jaunt over to Sardis Park to see if the turtles were basking in the sunshine, and we got lucky:

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Will somebody please tell me why our weather has been so insufferable?  I think it hit a high of 13 degrees today - rainy, cloudy and windy.  Is it Fall?
Talked to my sis on Skype this morning, then went out to do some grocery shopping and mail off my broken video camera to Canon.  Other than that, it's been a low key day.  Not much to do when the weather won't cooperate.  Mom and I took a drive up to Promontory to see all the new developments, and took this shot from the top.  You can see our yard in the distance.

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Clouds.  Rain. The arrival of my long-awaited magazine.  Hockey playoffs.  So You Think You Can Dance.  Pretty good day overall.  Such an amazing playoff game, with the Canucks scoring the winning goal with 19 seconds left in regulation... One down, three to go!  Took a quick photo in the yard: