Friday, October 10, 2014

A Little of This and a Lot of That


This afternoon casts gentle hints that we may be coming 
to the end of our incredible Indian Summer weather.

There is a faint chill in the air that wasn't there this morning when I 
was out being diligent in the garden,
moving great clumps of coreopsis and rudbeckia 
and planting in their place lilies and spring bulbs

The week has flown by, each day dawning with the crispness of fall
and then, by noon, warming the valley with wild, rich
colours, blue sky and sunshine.


On Wednesday I spoke with a gentleman in India
(who had called me on behalf of Telus)
and he informed me it was 29C there in the city where he lived.
We were only a little behind, - on my front porch
the thermometer read 26C.

As a result of this call my daughter and I are going to have an
encounter with Smart Phones!!!!

For Charles and I a little minimum flip phone was adequate,
and my daughter took over her Dad's phone when he left,
so she could keep track of me.

Now that we are into a new contract time  I took the plunge, and ordered a
clever phone that does all sorts of amazing things, hoping that she
would be happy with this new challenge.

These men from India who work for Telus have a way about them
that is quite encouraging........

A week ago, at this time, we were just arriving in Langley and 
transferring luggage into the Motel.
We had arrived after traveling the Coquihalla, a high pass
across the mountains that I first encountered on a train when
I was taking our first born to the hospital in Vancouver.
In the middle of winter.  When the snow frequently halted one's train journey
at the height of the pass, as it did at that time!

This time I was traveling with the same first born and his wife,
but times were not as fraught and I was able to relax
and take some wonderful pictures of this high country.







We came home along the Hope Princton Highway, where the scenery was 
equally as spectacular and brought back so many memories of the times
Charles and I traveled this road in early October to attend School Board conferences.





We stopped for a break at the spot where the Dewney Trail touches the Rest Area


Lovely quiet woods





and then off to travel the Old Hedley Road leaving Princton


It is so beautiful along this back road as it winds along the water
but unfortunately we ran out of memory on the camera, and the card we had
purchased at Langley was too small and rattled around in the camera,
so we just relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful, familiar drive.





Besides talking to the 'man from India' on Wednesday I made
a really humungous and delicious stew,
so the next day I stashed away a dozen small beef pies in
the freezer, and I'm going to have one for supper!

And it's just about time....certainly time for Happy Hour.

I leave you with one last gorgeous picture that arrived in my mail box today.


3 comments:

Barb said...

Hildred - what news! A lovely fall trip and soon a new smart phone. I think you might like the smart phone camera capabilities. Looks like fall is upon you now with changing foliage and cooler temperatures. I must prune the dogwood bushes next week - their leaves have finally fallen off. We need to protect them from getting broken by snow load.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

A new phone! That will keep you busy for a while. It was so refreshing to hear you describe your conversation with 'the man from India'... so many people do nothing but whine when customer service is from there.

And of course I loved hearing about your roadtrip .. the present one and ones in your memory (I wondered why you were taking your baby to the hospital way back then... no wonder it was a fraught journey. Obviously, everything is fine now and I am of course very glad to know that.).

Beautiful pictures. Our way-too-short time there last month definitely whetted our travel appetites for more BC exploration. (I need a magic carpet and more time.)

Anne at Shintangle Studio said...

Loved your photos of the top of the Anarchist, Hildred, and of the Similkameen along the Old Hedley Road. My dear husband and I take that route when we're not pressed for time. You're way ahead of me with the Smart Phone purchase: neither dh nor I has ever had a cell phone and we aren't likely to get one soon.