Hey Folks,

This post is especially for my ma, who was recently complaining (rather matter of factly) of the -30 degrees C winter chill passing through.

Spring has sprung here!


Here are some daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) and lilies (Lilium) going for it along the front.




More of the same along the back.




Reverse angle of the previous shot, with a hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) just getting started in the background.




A selection of 'unknown to me' varieties. Most things growing in the yard fall under that category.




Absolutely zero points for artistic merit on this shot. If you squint just so, you can see the buds on this Sakura aka ornamental cherry tree (Prunus serrulata). In about a week the entire tree will be pink.

Wherever you are, we hope that all is well.

Greg & Ruth

Chillin' out in Yellowknife...

On the last leg of my mini-tour of the northern territories, so I figured I'd post a few photos seeing as it's been soooo very long. My first stop was Whitehorse...I decided to head out to where I hiked around last year, only to find that the road was closed. But that didn't stop me...I had a 4X4!! Here are a couple photos from the lake...





After one day in Whitehorse, I headed to Dawson City...it was -32 degrees. No taxis or rental cars, so you have to walk everywhere you go. Thankfully, Dawson's not that big...



Next stop, Inuvik NWT. This is a shot from the plane - it's unbelievable how many little lakes there are!



And this one's a shot of the Igloo Church...



My last stop...Yellowknife. I got to see some amazing aurora borealis, but unfortunately, I forgot my camera in my hotel room. I also got to see Great Slave Lake and some insanely huge ravens...









I guess that's about it...can't wait to get home!

So, I'm not the greatest fan of these interweb based web-logs, but here we go...

Many thanks to all who shared some summer sunshine and fresh air with us as part of their recent summer travels. We are fortunate to have shared many laughs and much sweat with family and several old friends and to meet several new friends in the process. Paddling, waterskiing, paddling, bicycles, hiking, paddling, climbing, swimming, music, vans, ferries, food, cars, dogs, whales, stories, busy days and fun-filled nights.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon (and the rest of you as well),

G & R

Okay - so I know it's been a long time since we've updated...what can I say...it's been a busy summer! I will try to get some new photos of the house and some of the work we've done, but in the meantime, here is a shot of me & Danny tubing on the Okanagan the day before the North American Fresh Water Challenge - a 45km outrigger changes race in Vernon, BC last weekend. Not a good idea to go tubing, skiing and wakeboarding the day before, but it was worth it!

8 burly men
8 excessively tight jerseys
7 grueling legs
4 skis
2 bikes
1 canoe
1 surf ski
16 blisters
82.5 miles (yes, miles...this was held in the States)
ONE AMAZING RACE


This past weekend, Greg and a few other guys participated in the Ski to Sea race in Bellingham...there was over 400 teams competing in this race where each participant completes one leg and a wristband is passed from one participant to the next until the last person rings the final bell to complete the race. Our friend Jeff Coleman raced the x-country ski, then Eric Findlay ran up Mt. Baker and skied down, positioning the team in 15th place at the end of the 2nd leg. Nick Walker ran down the mountain and Graham Cocksedge raced the road bike leg, followed by Greg (yay!) and Josh Henderson, who paddled the marathon canoe leg 18 miles (~29 km) down the Nooksack River. Drew Mackenzie raced the mountain bike leg, and Dion Maxwell paddled his way to the finish in a surf ski - and 82.5 miles after the start line, they finished in 9th place overall...did I mention this was out of over 400 teams??? They placed 6th in their division. Here's the team in their hot little numbers...



And here a few more of Greg & Josh prepping the canoe and their actual leg...





And a couple more photos just for good measure...note the stylin' life jacket...

Gather 'round boys and girls and let me tell you a story about our bathroom...



Notice the wall behind Jim (the guy facing the camera in the shot below)...now you see it...


...now you don't...



Notice the areas that aren't drywalled - this is where we (I use that term very loosely - it was mostly Greg and Denise and Pete and Jim) tore down the dropped ceilings and raised them up to the original ceilings.



And here is a photo of where the ugliest sink and cabinet in the world used to be...I just couldn't bring myself to take a photo of it. Ok...so I forgot...I'd be a terrible scrapbooker...but these are as good as it gets for me and 'before' pics...



...here is a photo of Gman after drywalling those parts...and the junk pile that resulted on the side of our house...




And here is a photo of Denise...our in-house tiler extraordinaire, drywaller (even though she claimed she would never drywall again...what a trooper...what a friend), cleaner, home decor consultant, and provider of showers while we were without one for over a week...her and Greg were finishing up the drywalling

Drum roll please...

TA DAAAA!!!

Here are some photos of the renos...we had a ton of help from friends...but Greg & I also did some work :)

Can't wait to be done! We'll post some photos when everything's done...

We had a lot of helpers on our renovation adventure...Kim, Josh, Danny, Ben, Pete...and Denise, who we don't have a photo of...