Happy Halloween

Look, no snow for Halloween in Northern British Columbia! This is our neighbours, John and Mila and their kiddies, Ella and Cameron. Many moons ago, Tina and Mila went to school together at Rivier Academy in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan!

When was this taken?

Would you believe that this is the end of August? Actually, it is August 26th on Tina's birthday! Look at how we are bundled up!

Well, it is November 1st today and we have made it this far without any snow yet. I say that it is because we have bought a snow blower this year - so we won't get much snow. Let's see if my theory works!

Random Photos of Holidays

It is November, and here we are still putting on pictures of the summer! Well, here is Mom & Dad at the Tractor Pull.

Random Photos of our Holidays

Charlie with Ty and Lane (Lizanne's boys).

Photo of Holidays

Yet another photo of Lunenburg.

Random Photos of Holidays

Back Harbour, Lunenburg.

Random Pics

Arno

Random Photos of Hols

Here is Tina with Jimmy! (See next blog)

Random Photos

During Tall Ships, we saw Jimmy Rankin perform on the the Bluenose! Excellent show!

Random Shots

The Tall Ships in Halifax even brought out some mermaids.

Random Shots

While in the East, we were held up by pirates, ARR!

Random shots

Here is beautiful little Blue Rocks, near Lunenburg.

Random Photos of our Holiday

Here is a bit of the Berlin Wall in Lunenburg, how odd!

Random Photos of Hols

In the Knot Pub, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Random Photos of our Hols

Random Photos of our Hols

Theodore Too, the sweetest little tugboat in the Big Harbour.

Random Photos of our Holidays

The Halifax Harbour taken from the Citadel.

Random Pics of our Hols

It isn't just an urban legend, IT EXISTS!

Random Photos of our Hols

Lucie the Lobster, Cape Breton Island

Random Photos of our Hols

Ottawa River

RANDOM PHOTOS OF OUR HOLS

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

A Visit from Mom & Dad

We were very pleased to welcome Mom and Dad to the Great White North shortly after we arrived home from our holidays. They drove the approximately 15 hours it takes to get from Vancouver Island to the Peace. We were so pleased to have them here and there was so much that we wanted to share with them but unfortunately, after two months off to cross the country, we had to get back to work!

We had many lovely evenings visiting, though, to catch up and have fun. They were here for two weekends, thankfully, and we got to take them to a couple of events that you don't normally find down on the Island. Here, they are pictured at the Dawson Creek Rodeo. It was a cold August this year and so we all had to bundle up so we could sit in the stands to watch the calf roping, bronco riding, barrel racing, rodeo clowns etc... We were disappointed that the weather caused the chuckwagon races to be cancelled. They had re-graded the track just before the rodeo this year, and with the rains it turned to soup and was too dangerous and slick.

The following weekend, was thankfully slightly warmer and we so, we took them to see the North Peace Fall Fair where although we missed the sheep dogs, we were able to watch the equestrian and cattle trials. Best of all, from Dad and Charlie's point of view, was the tractor pull...

It was great to have Mom and Dad come up to see us, hope that they will come again and also hope that they can convince other family members to make the journey up to see us!

Waskesiu in Prince Albert National Park

From Bellevue, we headed to Albertville, Tina's Mom's home town to visit with Lizanne, Mark and their boys, Ty and Lane. It was Charlie's first time meeting them but settled right in due to their easy-going nature and warm hospitality.

Albertville is a well-kept, pretty little village containing people who want to be there, but best of all it has a great coffee shop where people congregate to discuss numerous topics of triviality to importance from farming to the weather and the world beyond.

A day was spent visiting at Lake Waskesiu and Lizanne's Mom and Dad, Ray and Juliette at their campsite in the rain. The weather did not affect spirits. We wandered the village, the lakeshore and museums, learning more about the history of the National Park and about Gray Owl, who spent time there.

That evening, the merriment continued, when Mark arrived home from work. We visited the construction site of Mark and Lizanne's new home and can visualize the beauty and hominess that they are creating for their new abode and caught up with each other during the entertaining evening.

Our visit to Saskatchewan was such a great success that Tina believes that it will be very easy to convince Charlie of a return visit there before too long.

Candle Lake, Northern Saskatchewan

On our way back from the Maritimes, we called in on some of Tina's numerous relatives, some of whom had decamped from Prince Albert to Candle Lake. A fab day was spent speed boating, jet skiing, tubing and visiting. By a strange twist of fate, one of the chaps in this photo, Tina's Uncle Marcel, spent last winter building the ice roads in Northern British Columbia that Charlie drove along for work in the oil patch ( and might be doing so again this year with his wife, Heather).

Northern Saskatchewan is very pretty and is boreal forests, lakes and swimming holes. It is not at all like Southern Saskatchewan, as people may think.

In our week in Saskatchewan, we spent part of week in Prince Albert with Tina's Aunt & Uncle, Majella & Don (who Tina had lived with when she went to Rivier Academy, the all-girls' catholic school for high school). It was a special time for Tina to visit with the family who loved and cared for her during those years.

We also enjoyed our time visiting with relatives on Tina's Dad's side in his home town of St. Isidore de Bellevue. Along with Uncle Aurele and Aunty Jeanette, we were able to spend time with cousins, Julie and Gisele (just missing Andre by a few hours, unfortunately). Uncle Firman was also there, suffering from the heat and humidity. Charlie enjoyed discussing topics with Firman about running power lines in the Northwest Territories.

As a side note, the road leading into Bellevue ( this is near the National Historic site of Batoche, where Louis Riel had his last stand) was the worst that we encountered in Saskatchewan, possibly even in the entire country.

Ogri Becomes A Big Boy

While on Prince Edward Island, our little Og had his first birthday. Pictured here is our handsome boy after a birthday swim. We can't believe that we have had him this long and he is still living and thriving! We are stunned that we are coping under the huge responsibility of being dog parents and can't even begin to comprehend what it must be like for all of you out there who are real parents!