Missed Hike Blues: Thursday, August 13th!

The Supreme Ethical Rule: Act so as to elicit the best in others and thereby in thyself. -Felix Adler, professor, lecturer, and reformer (13 Aug 1851-1933) 

Margareta Maunsbach Home now, nice, but if you'd ask me I would rather have staten another week in Canada ! Boys are happy to be back and have startet digesting the man impressions. So have I along with doing the laundry. Next is the lawn XO Maggi

You seem to know more about their movements than we do! Having said that they certainly made sure we know exactly when they are due in London so we can puck them up! Pleased that all going well in Penticton. Your DIY skills look quite impressive. Not sure why you couldn't have installed the patio doors yourself and saved some money! No such DIY activity here at the moment apart from keeping the garden from being overrun with weeds. The weather has been particularly good for them this summer being relatively cool with sufficient moisture to keep them happy. On the plus side it is great weather for coastal walking since we have had little in the way of winds.

Been fairly quiet here in the outreaches of England. Maureen and Bill's sale continue at a snails pace which is quite usual here. We have met the lady, Stella, that will be our new neighbour. Very nice woman who is aged 74 and lives alone. She has one son and daughter in law who are presently looking for a place to buy in the south of France. I think it's her intention to spend a couple of months with them each year in France. I assume during the winter. She is a retired prison officer! Maur and Bill will continue with the addition to their son's house once their place is sold. They are adding a bedroom, living room and bathroom for their use and I assume will use their son and daughter in laws kitchen! 

They are then adding a small extension to their ground floor flat in St Agnes, which is presently occupied by one of their other sons, (not unlike the arrangement you have with Chloe!) so that Mark, who lives with them at present, can move into the flat with their other son Christopher. Marnie and Krissy said no way would they have us live with them so I guess we can scratch those future plans!!
 
We are off to Southampton on Monday to look after Tris while Marnie and Ant tackle sort out the new room they just had added. We are then bringing him back here for the weekend so Marnie and Ant can have a couple of days away by themselves. He is presently sporting a purple plaster having broken his arm a couple of weeks ago but he seems to take it all in his stride.
 

Gudrun has her sister, Vera, from Denver here for 7 weeks at the moment and is also looking after the two grandsons this week. I believe Vera's husband is coming over for a couple of weeks while Krissy and Mark are here. Walked over to Mount Hawke yesterday to pick up some vegetables from Marg's allotment. Saw her coming down the lane by herself so continued the walk with her. Barry is suffering from early dementia which I think Marg finds difficult so she tries to have some time to herself during the day to recharge her batteries so to speak.
 
Just had a call from Audrey to say they are dropping over for a coffee later this morning so Gayle busy in the kitchen making a cake! I hope your home improvements continue to go well. You must be looking forward to your trip to India. Should have some interesting experiences to tell. Best wishes from us to you and Cora Lee Derek

Hi Derek! You sound pretty busy yourselves. Loved the snaps. Sorry to hear about Tris' arm but he seems to be more concerned about the cupcakes than his cast so that is a good sign! It's a wonder, however, that you haven't fallen over a cliff as you seem to be hanging on to your sandwich to the exclusion of everything else! Suppose Tris has inherited your fondness for food!!! 

Sorry to hear about Barry's increased debilitation. Not an easy situation, of course. On the brighter side, we have been enjoying home-grown vegetables ourselves, over last month or so. Peter has been extremely generous, bringing us a virtual cornucopia from his thriving garden. We've had garlic, (Truly phenomenal! Cora Lee roasts a number of heads, wrapped in tinfoil, on the bbq, and once done, we squeeze the soft, baked garlic onto crackers. I dice up three or four cloves whenever we are making an omelet.), red/green/yellow peppers, tomatoes of all sorts, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, zucchini and cukes. Apricots and peaches, succulent beyond belief, from their trees. I must speak to him about planting cherries! 

Glad Maur and Bill are proceeding well with their new addition. Please send along best wishes to them, as well as to Marg and Audrey, etc. Looking forward to Mark's visit and will let you know all the news that fit to print afterwards. Parents are always the last to know, as I need not tell you, except when money seems to be involved. Funny that! Hi to Gudrun and Stefano as well, of course.

Was up at 6:00 am this morning, hoping to go for a hike with a group that I had been invited to join. Had made my lunch last night, before going to bed, so was ready to go, after I'd had a cup of java and a tasty bun, slathered with peanut butter and honey! Did a few tidy-up chores while Lady Mary continued to slumber and once I'd put on sun-screen I headed out. Unfortunately, meeting spot had been changed, (I later learned), unbeknownst to me, so I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. By chance, as I was vainly searching for group, in Summerland, I happened to ask a few people sitting on an outdoor patio in front of a local coffee spot if they knew anything about hiking party. They didn't but directed me around the corner to a small park. 

Walked across the street and found a number of women sitting on a bench and another standing, chatting. They were part of a walking group but woman standing, Sharon, also belonged to hiking party and she told me about changed meeting location, (It was too late by then, for me to connect.), so at least I knew I was getting closer! On way back to my car, I mentioned to chap, still at his table on the patio, sipping his cappuccino, that I missed hooking up. He mentioned he'd like to join the hiking group as well. He is relatively new to area, (three years), and is interested in getting to know the surrounding hills and dales. I gave him my card so that he can email me and I will let him know more details when I do myself. Laurence is from Colorado Springs and married a Canadian, (Sound familiar?), at some point. Very pleasant chap so I trust we might meet again if I can track down the elusive hikers! No never mind as now I can try for a 100+ km ride before the blast furnace starts to glow! Fondestos to you and Gayle from Mme Coriandre, out watering her plants. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Pics: This past Sunday at our "local", Cannery Brewing, just a few blocks away, with Ruthless and Ricardo, close friends from Squamish; Ricardo making himself at home with my favourite hat! Gorgeous basket they gave us for a housewarming present; Lorenzo, this morning in Summerland.

Patrick James Dunn Hi Dottore! Pleased to learn that all went well on return flights. I find it is always more difficult travelling east. Fondestos to you and the lads, Maggie. Cheers!
 
Hi Al! My name is Patrick Dunn and David Snyder mentioned that I would probably be welcome to join you on some of your hikes. My wife, Corinne, and I, moved to Penticton this past May, and I'm keen to get to know some of the surrounding area. David forwarded me a number of the albums you took of two recent hikes and I must say I was very impressed with the shots.
 

[Margareta Maunsbach

Safely in Frankfurt Now 70 min flying left of this vacation. See you all soon again!]

I did try to meet this morning but I guess I had my wires crossed as I must have misread/misunderstood David's instructions. I'm sorry I didn't make it today as the group looks like a very interesting collection of folk and countryside spectacular, at least as albums showed. I gather you hike on both Monday and Thursday so I'd certainly appreciate being put on email list if I am welcome to join. Thanks. Look forward to hearing from you when you have a moment. Cheers, Patrizzio!
 
Pics: I'm the one without glasses, on the right. Taken with friend, Whirlygig, on Sunday, July 19th. I was in Vancouver for Folk Fest. Had driven into town to take Corinne to airport as she was off to New York with a friend. Decided I might as well stay for the music. Laurence, taken this morning in Summerland.

Hi Pat, I can see you're safely back in rainy Okanagan. We have been back on Paradise Beach since last Saturday. Had one night in Osooyos (at the Lakeview Motel) and one in Kelowna (B&B) before returning.

The weather improved, and we went jet skiing in Osooyos. Would have appreciated a bit more time, but we improvised along the way (Jane's specialty), had trouble finding suitable accommodation, and Jane wanted to be back in her beach cottage as soon as possible.

Was fascinated to see your beautiful house, and had a really nice time with Corinne, Dallas and Judy. Thank you very much to you and Corinne. Kjell

Hi Kjell and Jane! Sounds like you managed very well after you left Penticton. Thanks for compliments on new house. Too, too bad that you were not able to spend more time with us. Great to see you both but would have been fun to have had, as you mention, a little more wriggle room. Really enjoyed seeing you both in spite of this. Longer visit next time, for sure!

Dallas and Judy are safely home as are The Great Danes. Another whirlwind, overlapping visit. Ruthless and Ricardo, from Squamish, were here for Saturday/Sunday night so Burns Street Stopping Place, (Cora Lee's new name suggestion, Double D B&B), was fully booked until this past Monday. Bit of a breather until tomorrow when Ayn, (She is flying into Bellingham, with Winston, her Jack Russell, this evening. Chloë will collect them and then they will drive up tomorrow.), and Chloë will be here for 6 days. Close friends, Big Al, (He drove 26' moving van in May!), and Colleen will arrive tomorrow as well. On Saturday, Chloë's very close friend, Robbie, and his sister, will drive up so wall to wall people! Unfortunately, forecast is for quite a bit of rain over next few days. However, really need it as there is a new wildfire out of Rock Creek, near Osoyoos. Believe it started yesterday.

Left for today's ride about 11:30 am and there was a bit of high cloud cover so temperature wasn't as scorching as predicted. After my regular Lakeside/Upper Bench loop I made for OK Falls, via McLean Creek Road and once at OK Falls I took 97 to Oliver. While I have ridden this route south quite a few time, (training and GF event itself), I have never ridden 97 north from Oliver. Once there I did a short dipsy-doodle in the residential area to the right of the highway and then headed back towards OK Falls.

Very pleased to say that the wind was now behind me so stretch between and Oliver went exceedingly well. Quite a few flat portions and any uphill grades were long but fairly gradual. Was surprised at how quickly I was back in OK Falls and from there on I was on autopilot as this section is one of my most regular routes. Wind, however, seems to change once one is along Skaha, so I had to do battle with it until I was back on Main South in Penticton. Bit more sheltered there so not really a factor. Pleased with my AVG given distance but not happy with my rear tire! Stats for ride:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/864812318#.Vc1IvklNy-M.email

Discovered I had a flat a the end of Saturday's ride and had it repaired on Monday. Made an appointment to take bike in today, for a tune-up. However, at the end of today's ride I noticed that rear tire was quite soft again so not sure what is going on. At any rate, I explained this to young woman, Cassandra, at The Bike Barn where I left my Trek. Afterwards, had to take two propane tanks to gas station to have them refilled, as well as dropping off a couple of library books.Back home, Mme Coriandre said mechanic had called and wanted to ask me a few questions so I called him. Ben informed me that I need a new cassette and chain, in addition to a new rear tire so I've just put up the rates on the Burns Street website! Think swimming might be cheaper!!! Fondestos to you and Jane from Mme Coriandre, out shopping for groceries for coming hordes. Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Corinne and Pat Thank you so much for such a nice visit when we were there last week. I really wanted to actually you in your new home so that I have a picture of it in my mind. It's just perfect for you and I can see you really settling into a new life there. I saw the photos of the new door and I agree it is good both for easier access to the back and also for ventilation through the house. We really enjoyed meeting Judy and Dallas, and too bad Pat had to take off in the morning.

After we left you we went to Oliver, where we stopped at the archives to drop off some material my father had from when we lived there. I was born there and after a few phone calls got directions to find the house we lived in when I was born. Still there! It was probably a hired hand cottage and is on an orchard just out of Oliver off the Fairview Road. Took some photos. I've seen some family ones taken during that time and I'm sure it is the same one, so that was fun.

Then we went and had lunch at Hester Creek winery. Lovely grape covered patio setting. After that we headed to Osoyoos. In the morning we rented jet skis. If my sister did it I can as well! Once we got them to take the milfoil out of the jet they went like stink! It was really fun to do once, but they are noisy and you really have to focus. Friday night we stayed at a B&B in Westbank and went for dinner to a friend from when I lived in Kelowna in 1968. We didn't have anything lined up for Saturday night so we decided to just head back home.

Sunday relax and Monday get ready as on Tuesday and Wed I had two guys from Labour Unlimited come and completely dung out my crawl space. They took out 17 bags of rat infested wrecked insulation, along with two wheelbarrow loads of fish floats, three boxes of antique bottles, a perfectly preserved paper from 1955, two dozen glass sealer jars, coal scuttles, and all kinds of other stuff. Then they covered the bottom with poy. What an incredible difference! And they did it all without one bit of complaint. I found it all exhausting though, looking after the whole project as it went along.

Today both of us are going on the bike as on Sunday there is a charity ride we're going in, so I'd better get going. Not as organized about it as Pat is. We were sorry to only see him a short time. We're expecting you over here eventually too! Thanks again for having us stay with you. We really enjoyed it. Jane, and Kjell