Many things have transpired
Five significant things have transpired since our last blog. Firstly, we had another scare with my dad. Secondly, we completed our move to Kamloops Lake. Thirdly, my PhD alma mater city, Christchurch New Zealand suffered a major earthquake. Fourthly, our daughter, Shelley got married on September 4, 2010 and finally, we resumed our bike trip.
Yes, my poor old dad got very sick near the end of August, for no apparent reason. His mobility fell from walking independently with a walker to three of us (Mom, Bill and I) trying to muscle a limp rag doll out of a chair to the bathroom. Something was obviously very wrong: profound weakness, almost comatose at times, visual hallucinations and severe confusion. He has been in hospital two weeks now and only in the past few days have they diagnosed an E.coli infection. He is getting better now, but oh my, he will need to work hard at strengthening in order to go home. He is quite determined and confident that his strength will come back.
As for our new digs, yes, we now live at Lot #6, otherwise known as the "Nordick Cabin" at Frederick Crossing, Kamloops Lake. Don't send mail there. I doubt that it is any kind of official Canada Post address. Living there has actually been quite lovely, as I predicted. The lack of showering is the only inconvenience, but with Dad being so sick, we were back and forth to the hospital most days anyway and were always able to grab a shower at Mom's place. Besides, the lake is still actually quite warm, so I have dunked myself a couple of times in order to clean up. Bill has not been as brave to dunk himself in the lake, or perhaps, the real truth may be that he doesn't value cleanliness as much as I do?
the third significant event is that Christchurch New Zealand suffered from an earthquake. Many of you know that is where I studied for my PhD. I received a note from my professor, Dr. Kate van Heughten, that her house has just has a few cracks, and her daughter's tropical fish tank smashed onto the floor and so all her fish died which distressed her most. Then all her books were dumped into the stinky water.
But, she reported to me, "... nobody got killed by the quake and only two men in their
fifties were badly injured. This will have been due to the time
of day and even then, it seems miraculous. I have only just
started seeing the images myself as we just got our power back
last night. We don't have water yet but friends up the road do,
and our toilet isn't working but the next door neighbour's does
at least. It is distressing to think that many of ChCh's old buildings are
destroyed. It will take a long time to rebuild but I am very
impressed with the civil defence effort. We were in the last 10%
of houses to have power on, and tomorrow morning we get our
water. Of course people who have to leave their homes perhaps
for good are devastated. There were heavy aftershocks last night that have the whole town
jumpy. We now feel everything is swaying even when it isn't and
this afternoon has been eerily still."
It was quite a shock for me to hear of the earthquake in places where I lived and studied and to people that I came in contact with during the course of my studies.
On September 4, 2010, our daughter Shelley Blair married Pat DeCap at Sunpeaks, BC. Most family guests booked rooms up there for the weekend. Pat's parents, Gina and Gib DeCap hosted a wine and cheese on Friday night at Memories (old Mackers). It was such a lovely meet and greet; the food was delicious and plentiful and the wine flowed. On Saturday, Bill led a hike up Morrisey Mountain below the ski lift and our friend Rob Albinson, my daughter Tanya and her husband Brent, and myself, all hiked for about 2 hours. We saw a bear cruising along I Dunno Run.
The wedding was held under the Covered Bridge. The Bridge is access for pedestrians across Heffley Creek and also for the golf carts to get from the pro shop to the first Tee box. Technically, weddings are to take place just on the grassy area beyond the bridge so as not to block access, but at the very minute of the wedding, the heavens opened and torrential rain fell from the sky. The thunder clapped dramatically and a quick decision was make to move the chairs and people under the bridge. An isle was left down the middle for the bridal march and also, to allow for the golf carts. Fortunately, no golf cart rattled by during the ceremony. Shelley was absolutely beautiful and she has married a very good, gentle and kind man. We feel very lucky to have him as a son in law. The reception and dance were great fun. All enjoyed Gnocchi and Salmon and danced to great DJ music. The great rock and roll music shut down at 1 am and many of us continued the merriment and eating in our hospitality suite in the Hearthstone Lodge. I think the Nordick/Blair/Finley's got to bed at 3am that night.
Finally, as Dad's health was stabilizing, Bill and I decided to resume our bike trip. If you will remember, we had to suspend the trip in order to get back to Kamloops when our friend, Bettyanne was dying. So, now, about a month later, we are, again, our our bikes. On Labour Day, we travelled back to Nelson with my daughter, Tanya and her husband, Brent. The next day, with the help of our brother-in-law, Bob, who owns Wright Wheels Adventure Tours, we left Nelson about 10 am and arrived in Kaslo about 4:30 pm. We stayed in a sweet little cabin and left early this morning for Summit Lake campsite (about 76 kms in total). It poured rain most of the day as we climbed the pass to New Denver. Then, on the downside of the mountain pass, we froze to death as the wind chill factor cooled us down further and we weren't exerting ourselves as we were flying downhill. Despite Merino Wool mittens and good rain gear on our upper bodies, our legs got soaking wet as did our feet. We arrived in New Denver like drowned rats and as Bill said, " I couldn't be wetter than if I had jumped in the lake." Despite two mugs of hot chocolate, turkey soup, beef dip and chicken fingers, we couldn't warm our selves. My feet were like frozen stumps that I tried to walk on and Bill was shivering uncontrollably. We had to make a decision. We decided to take up lodging in New Denver (we had come about 46 kms). We couldn't get into the hotel hot tub fast enough and once warm, we couldn't keep awake. It is now, after 7 pm and we are finally really warm. Our wet gear is drying in our room, hanging from every peg, outcropping and doorknob possible. We are off to the pub for some supper. Tomorrow, we hope to make it to at least Burton, BC as we now have some catch up to do in order to keep our tight schedule. Pray for sunshine.
Cheers from New Denver, BC
Yes, my poor old dad got very sick near the end of August, for no apparent reason. His mobility fell from walking independently with a walker to three of us (Mom, Bill and I) trying to muscle a limp rag doll out of a chair to the bathroom. Something was obviously very wrong: profound weakness, almost comatose at times, visual hallucinations and severe confusion. He has been in hospital two weeks now and only in the past few days have they diagnosed an E.coli infection. He is getting better now, but oh my, he will need to work hard at strengthening in order to go home. He is quite determined and confident that his strength will come back.
As for our new digs, yes, we now live at Lot #6, otherwise known as the "Nordick Cabin" at Frederick Crossing, Kamloops Lake. Don't send mail there. I doubt that it is any kind of official Canada Post address. Living there has actually been quite lovely, as I predicted. The lack of showering is the only inconvenience, but with Dad being so sick, we were back and forth to the hospital most days anyway and were always able to grab a shower at Mom's place. Besides, the lake is still actually quite warm, so I have dunked myself a couple of times in order to clean up. Bill has not been as brave to dunk himself in the lake, or perhaps, the real truth may be that he doesn't value cleanliness as much as I do?
the third significant event is that Christchurch New Zealand suffered from an earthquake. Many of you know that is where I studied for my PhD. I received a note from my professor, Dr. Kate van Heughten, that her house has just has a few cracks, and her daughter's tropical fish tank smashed onto the floor and so all her fish died which distressed her most. Then all her books were dumped into the stinky water.
But, she reported to me, "... nobody got killed by the quake and only two men in their
fifties were badly injured. This will have been due to the time
of day and even then, it seems miraculous. I have only just
started seeing the images myself as we just got our power back
last night. We don't have water yet but friends up the road do,
and our toilet isn't working but the next door neighbour's does
at least. It is distressing to think that many of ChCh's old buildings are
destroyed. It will take a long time to rebuild but I am very
impressed with the civil defence effort. We were in the last 10%
of houses to have power on, and tomorrow morning we get our
water. Of course people who have to leave their homes perhaps
for good are devastated. There were heavy aftershocks last night that have the whole town
jumpy. We now feel everything is swaying even when it isn't and
this afternoon has been eerily still."
It was quite a shock for me to hear of the earthquake in places where I lived and studied and to people that I came in contact with during the course of my studies.
On September 4, 2010, our daughter Shelley Blair married Pat DeCap at Sunpeaks, BC. Most family guests booked rooms up there for the weekend. Pat's parents, Gina and Gib DeCap hosted a wine and cheese on Friday night at Memories (old Mackers). It was such a lovely meet and greet; the food was delicious and plentiful and the wine flowed. On Saturday, Bill led a hike up Morrisey Mountain below the ski lift and our friend Rob Albinson, my daughter Tanya and her husband Brent, and myself, all hiked for about 2 hours. We saw a bear cruising along I Dunno Run.
The wedding was held under the Covered Bridge. The Bridge is access for pedestrians across Heffley Creek and also for the golf carts to get from the pro shop to the first Tee box. Technically, weddings are to take place just on the grassy area beyond the bridge so as not to block access, but at the very minute of the wedding, the heavens opened and torrential rain fell from the sky. The thunder clapped dramatically and a quick decision was make to move the chairs and people under the bridge. An isle was left down the middle for the bridal march and also, to allow for the golf carts. Fortunately, no golf cart rattled by during the ceremony. Shelley was absolutely beautiful and she has married a very good, gentle and kind man. We feel very lucky to have him as a son in law. The reception and dance were great fun. All enjoyed Gnocchi and Salmon and danced to great DJ music. The great rock and roll music shut down at 1 am and many of us continued the merriment and eating in our hospitality suite in the Hearthstone Lodge. I think the Nordick/Blair/Finley's got to bed at 3am that night.
Finally, as Dad's health was stabilizing, Bill and I decided to resume our bike trip. If you will remember, we had to suspend the trip in order to get back to Kamloops when our friend, Bettyanne was dying. So, now, about a month later, we are, again, our our bikes. On Labour Day, we travelled back to Nelson with my daughter, Tanya and her husband, Brent. The next day, with the help of our brother-in-law, Bob, who owns Wright Wheels Adventure Tours, we left Nelson about 10 am and arrived in Kaslo about 4:30 pm. We stayed in a sweet little cabin and left early this morning for Summit Lake campsite (about 76 kms in total). It poured rain most of the day as we climbed the pass to New Denver. Then, on the downside of the mountain pass, we froze to death as the wind chill factor cooled us down further and we weren't exerting ourselves as we were flying downhill. Despite Merino Wool mittens and good rain gear on our upper bodies, our legs got soaking wet as did our feet. We arrived in New Denver like drowned rats and as Bill said, " I couldn't be wetter than if I had jumped in the lake." Despite two mugs of hot chocolate, turkey soup, beef dip and chicken fingers, we couldn't warm our selves. My feet were like frozen stumps that I tried to walk on and Bill was shivering uncontrollably. We had to make a decision. We decided to take up lodging in New Denver (we had come about 46 kms). We couldn't get into the hotel hot tub fast enough and once warm, we couldn't keep awake. It is now, after 7 pm and we are finally really warm. Our wet gear is drying in our room, hanging from every peg, outcropping and doorknob possible. We are off to the pub for some supper. Tomorrow, we hope to make it to at least Burton, BC as we now have some catch up to do in order to keep our tight schedule. Pray for sunshine.
Cheers from New Denver, BC
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