Tag Archives: Kelowna

Feb26

I’m Just A Little On Edge

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I’m Just A Little On Edge

A month from today I’ll be back in East Wenatchee. I’ve warned everyone that they snow better be gone. I don’t expect it to be 85 like it is here, but I don’t want to see any of that white stuff either.

Charlotte arrived in Calgary the other day to -37 and her car buried under snow. Sharon arrived in Portland after a detour to Seattle because there was too much snow in Portland and the runways were a mess. In the news all I read about is the cold and snow up north and as ready as I am to head home, I don’t want to experience another winter up there.

Yesterday was Koal’s birthday. It’s hard to believe he’s been gone for over fourteen years. I would love to have a dog again but it’s bad enough that I deal with three different Immigrations every year and I can’t fathom doing it with an animal. Of course I do have seven chihuahuas waiting for me in Washington lol.

Today is Madeline’s fifth birthday. It seems like yesterday that I flew to Ontario when she was born. As I recall an ice storm greeted me there. Happy Birthday Madeline! Grandma loves you and we’ll party when I come to visit you in Kelowna this summer.

I’ve been on Zoom a lot this week. The Writer’s Workshop was most informative. The bible study I do with Church of the Rock focused on forgiveness this week, very thought provoking.

Of course in person is still better. I’m looking forward to the next SAIL training in April in Wenatchee. I really miss teaching those classes when I’m here in Mexico for the winter. It’s much more enjoyable to be with other people.

I’ve been listening to a lot of country music while I’ve been writing this week, mainly from the 60s and 70s. I alternate between Spotify, You Tube and of course Alexa. That genre seems to go well with the stage of my main character’s life right now. Of course it also inspired me to revamp the chapter I’m working on.

Have A Great Sunday!

May18

After Plan B Comes C, D, Etc.

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After Plan B Comes C, D, Etc.

Life. A sequence of events where unplanned by far outnumber the planned. And when you get to Plan Z, you start over with Plan AA, Plan BB, Etc.

March was when I arrived back in Washington. I expected to go to Kelowna in March but Canada still had too many Covid restrictions. The next plan was May but that isn’t working out either due to my daughter’s work schedule. Another plan was May in Winnipeg but a minor health issue got in the way. I thought maybe June but there’s some fitness training all month that I really want to do here in Wenatchee. So now it looks like July in Winnipeg. There is always another plan.

https://youtu.be/M7wYyVi1ugo

I hope you check out the above link. It’s an old John Denver song I came across the other night. And I can’t get it out of my head. It really takes me back in time and I realize now that none of my plans back then have ever come into fruition. And that’s okay because there is always another plan.

So…….why make plans at all if they never seem to work out? I’ve come to the conclusion that long range plans don’t work for me. Even short range plans don’t always come about. But I still continue to make plans because I have learned to become extremely flexible. I don’t stress out when plans fall through.

To quote John Lennon, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

My plan for today is, hmmm, that isn’t going to work out either. Oh well!

May11

Guns and Pot

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Guns and Pot

In Mexico when I watch TV the programs are all in Spanish. When I’m up here in Washington, not only do I watch TV in English, I enjoy watching old westerns. I’ve been watching episodes of The High Chapparal lately. Lots of guns and violence. The same is true of The Rifleman and Gunsmoke. We all grew up watching those shows back in the 60s. I even had a cap gun when I was a child and we all played Cowboys and Indians.

Back then school shootings were unheard of. We didn’t have guns or rifles in our homes. It was a safer time.

Living in the state of Washington it’s very different. Many people I know here have at least one gun or rifle in their homes. They’re not always secured in gun cabinets. They’re often loaded and kept in nightstands or other drawers. I have female friends who carry them in purses or in glove compartments of their vehicles. They marvel at the fact that I don’t have one of my own yet.

Apple Blossom Festival was held last weekend here in Wenatchee. Just before the Grand Parade, a somewhat enraged man opened fire resulting in an officer being shot before he himself was shot and killed. Shootings are becoming all too common.

Then there’s pot, something we used back in the 60s to enhance our enjoyment of everything from rock concerts to sex. But we’ve all aged and now use it more for pain control. My philosophy remains the same now as it was in the 60s—– everything in moderation.

I recall flying in to Kelowna, Canada from Seattle a couple of years ago. Going through Customs, I was asked if I was carrying guns or had any pot. When I replied in the negative, the officer’s comment was “Are you sure you’re coming from Washington?”

I spend six months of the year in Mexico. When my friends ask me why I want to live in such a dangerous country, I shake my head and tell them to look around at their own neighborhoods.

It was great being a teenager in the 60s. It was a unique decade of flower power and hippies promoting peace and love. What a contrast to the decade we are currently in!

Times have changed.

Aug18

Always A Mom

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I worked remotely from home decades before Covid arrived. I wanted to be with my kids when they spoke that first word and took that first step.

I was an active volunteer in their schools and also in their extracurricular activities. Akela of a Cub pack, music librarian for ASYC and organizer of buses for a YBC provincial bowling tournament were some of the more memorable times.

The time flew by and my daughter moved to Ontario and I moved to Mexico, leaving only my son behind in Winnipeg. Then I started dividing my time between Mexico and Washington and my daughter moved to Kelowna.

When Covid arrived in March of 2020, I was in Mexico and was interviewed by a Winnipeg Free Press reporter. One of the more pointed questions he asked was how I felt about my decision not to return to Canada although my family was there.

While I’ve enjoyed the last ten plus years of traveling and living in other countries, it is hard living far away from my kids, and it has been even more so during the pandemic.

I still feel the sadness when I phoned my son from Culiacan on his birthday in 2010. He turned thirty and it was the first time in his life I wasn’t with him on his birthday. Over the years, the pain lessens, but there’s always a tugging at the heartstrings.

I did come back for their university convocations and I went to Punta Cana for my daughter’s wedding. And I do go back to visit as neither of my kids come to Mexico or Washington. And I have a three-year-old granddaughter who thinks I live in a phone.

Earlier in the week my daughter was evacuated due to wildfires. Last night she told me that they are able to return home but they are still on alert. I always have a TO GO bag packed in my closet due to all the fires around here. But I felt so helpless when she called me the night they were evacuated as she hurriedly packed up my granddaughter and the three cats.

Texts and video calls are great. But what I want more than anything are REAL hugs, not virtual ones. That day can’t come soon enough for this mom.

Aug16

I Don’t Usually

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I Don’t Usually

I don’t usually post on Mondays. But today is no ordinary Monday.

I got a phone call from my daughter in Kelowna late last night. She was calling from her car, crawling along a road where way too many people were fleeing fires. She had about an hour to pack up and get my granddaughter and the three cats into her car. Thankfully my son-in-law was there to help her. He is a helicopter pilot and has been spending his time fighting fires.

Two years ago I visited my daughter and admired the forested area across the street from her house. I’m not sure I feel the same way today. But they were able to get out safely and they do have a safe place to stay temporarily.

I thought 2020 was a bad year but 2021 is still in the competition. I feel like I should get some type of reward for successfully obtaining extended stays in two foreign countries during a pandemic. I’m trying to get back to Canada but it’s still a waiting game. I spoke to my attorney again this morning. I’m still exploring options.

My daughter works in an ICU and tells me it’s been necessary to open up a second unit because of all the Covid patients. ALL UNVACCINATED!!!!!! And she is scheduled to work tonight even with her own chaotic personal life at the moment.

As if COVID-19 and raging wildfires aren’t enough, now there are earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, and tsunami warnings around the world. What’s next???

I saw this post on Facebook today and thought it most appropriate for today’s world.

Apr13

My Daughter

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My Daughter

As a mother you always want to protect your children. You love them and pray for them and want only good things for them.

They grow up and make career choices. My daughter pursued a career in culinary arts but wanted more of a challenge after working as a chef for a couple of years. She then chose nursing as a second career. She has worked mainly as an ICU nurse for the past several years.

Her mother faints at the sight of blood. So to say that I am nervous about her work is an understatement. And in view of what’s going on right now with COVID-19 I am even more so.

But at the same time I am extremely proud of my daughter. The hospital where she works is in Kelowna, BC in Canada. She assures me they have adequate supplies and are taking every precaution.

The other day I What’s App’d her to see if it was a good time to call. The featured photo in this post was her reply. This photo was taken at the nurse’s desk. She told me she puts on even more garb when she goes into a patient’s room.

I feel a tiny bit more reassured but I still worry. It’s really hard to sit back and watch her face the danger and uncertainty she experiences regularly. This is something I can’t protect her from.

Stay safe Kimmy. Love you lots!

Jul20

I’m Always Packing

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I’m Always Packing

Another day, another suitcase to pack.

This past week was fabulous! Vacation Bible School was amazing. I immensely enjoyed doing craft and play with the preschoolers. We colored, glued, painted and played games. Each day the activity was geared toward the Bible point of the day.

I also spent the past week with friends in Dryden. We commuted to Leavenworth for Vacation Bible School. Of course that meant packing last weekend to spend the week in Dryden.

Today I am packing again. This time it’s a little more complicated.

I take the shuttle to Seattle on Monday where I will check into a hotel for the night. On Tuesday I fly to Kelowna to see my granddaughter. Maddie is 17 months old now and I haven’t seen her since she was 6 weeks old. Am I excited? Can’t wait to hold her in my arms!

Back to the packing. I’m also moving here in Leavenworth. If I get my act together I hope to move everything else over to my new home before I leave on Monday. It’s astonishing what I’ve collected in the past 3 months. Of course I did leave a few things here when I returned to Mexico last fall.

I’ll be back in Leavenworth in August and hope to begin posting more regularly. Until then, enjoy the summer and don’t even attempt to compete with my packing adventures.