A Wedding and Things

Tnu

We are off to Stephanie and Tonys' wedding tomorrow!
I've searched out the perfect gift, assembled two summer salads and banged out a long list to assist my feeble, menopausal mind...
I also managed to secure affordable lodging in a little settlement with the dubious name of Dead Man's Flats. There is a story as to how that place got its name, but it escapes me right now.
Note to Self: must get hold of Walter Morris...
This is a the busiest long weekend of the year and we will be traveling from one tourist destination to another. The highway will be crazy, with a capital C, but we hope to miss most of the traffic by leaving early. We will, no doubt, still be held up by the ubiquitous bear, elk, deer and coyote jams, as visitors stop along the shoulder of the road, jostling for the best photo opportunity.
Thus, our traveling motto is; "No Hurry".
The weather is still hot and unusually muggy, causing evening thunderstorms of threatening proportions. Last night lightning struck several hundred yards away around the shoulder of the hill. It sent Tnu and me scurrying - and Eugene laughing...
A couple of minutes later, we heard sirens (police or ambulance) followed by the blasting horn of the local fire truck as it left the station. We still don't know what the outcome was, but we are certain it was in response to the fact that lightning struck in a relatively populated area.

Um, like next door...
Clouds are gathering along the edge of the valley as I speak (er, so to speak) and it looks like it might be another eventful nightfall.
Who needs TV when I have mother nature at the doorstep?
I've also been kept occupied with continued unpacking and setting up house. I have most of the big stuff done, but the smaller touches take a mite longer.
And the aquarium and my desk are still countering for position...
I've been tending my planter garden on the deck, registering Bobby for summer camp, hosting a myriad of sleep-overs, shopping at the Farmer's Market, doing as little cooking as possible in the heat and doing as much as possible to stay cool.
Speaking of which, we are off to the beach before lightning strikes again...

Last Evening

... and did I mention the graveyard?

Now that I am firmly ensconced in my new home, I can dig deeper and find time to download more photos.
I did mention that my new house has a lovely wrap-around deck with expansive lake and mountain views. What I neglected to indicate is that the local cemetary is directly below me on a bluff along the lake shore. It is one of the most picturesque burial grounds I have ever encountered. It's also quite interesting the number of people I see, on a daily basis, wandering among the modest headstones and markers.
Our swimming beach is just below the dirt track that climbs a side hill from the shore to the cemetery gate, and I can float on my back while looking up at some of the taller gravestones.
I assure you it's anything but morbid.
Rather, it's a lovely resting place encompassed by a quiet sense of peace.

Birthdays and Baked Potatoes

This morning I'm busy making salads and such, because we're celebrating an important birthday.
Beth is turning nineteen tomorrow!
It's an important milestone for her, as she'll become the age of majority. Now Beth will be recognised as an adult under the law, be able to vote provicially and, more importantly, she'll be able to grace the local pub with her presence.
Another birthday we are heralding in is that of Rachel Fuller. I don't know exactly how old she turned today, but I do know I still have a few years on her!
The weather has been so hot this week that cooking has become something of a distant memory. Hence, the salads being made at such an early hour in the day. I did buy some (Jenny's tooth just fell out...) steaks and will be grilling them on the barbeque, but everything else will be cold!
Other than the fact that, like Grace, I feel similar to one - absolutely no baked potatoes!

Passion

My name is Midnight Raven.
My passion is Freedom.
I fly with the eagles and the ospreys.
I sail upon unfurled wings.
I feel the wind in my face
and laugh
and cry.
And in the presence of fear
I soar
higher and higher
farther and farther.
And exalt in the face of that fear.
I live
and I thrive
as I ride the mistral.
I am Midnight Raven.
And my essence is Freedom.

And I Moved

... but I moved toward Me!

1

3 minus 1 equals 2

Syncronicity is dogging my footsteps...

... 4

It looks like another sunny day ahead.

I will be inheriting a fish and we are going to learn how to clean its aquarium today.
The kids think that's quite neat.
It might be just more work for me, but I am known for accepting strays into the fold!

Five

Everyone loves a parade!

10-4=6

At midnight this evening our town will again host its annual display of brilliance to welcome the 142nd Canada Day celebrations.
Between the shadows of the Purcell Range and the Rocky Mountains, fireworks will once more reflect from the lake and illuminate the dark with their fiery bursts.
Our pilgrimage to the event traditionally begins at eleven thirty when we climb into the van and make our way to the public beach. Darkness prevails as we spread blankets and begin our vigil before the show. Fellow observers along the shore are dim shadows, their whereabouts only confirmed by mute whispers and quiet laughter.
Twinkling across the water, lights of white, green and red reach out to the dark horizon, as boaters silently jostle for optimum viewing positions.
The hush lowers, imperceptibly, as the hour approaches - followed by a surge of awe-inspired cries as the first cannonade of light explodes into showers against the night sky!

Happy Birthday, Canada!

7

Monday.
The first week of the summer holidays.

Sometimes I wish I were young again.
... and if I knew then what I know now.

... eight

Oh! Oh! Oh!
Going for a bike ride. Going for a bike ride.
Yippee!
Going for a bike ride.
... as I spring up and down - each leap lifting me approximately three times my height.

My best Jack Russell imitation...

... 9

It's a beautiful sunny morning, with nary a cloud in the sky!
I am just enjoying a cup of my favourite coffee while waiting for the sun to come over the trees so I can sit outside. It's rather cool right now, as it often is on a clear summer morning in the mountains.
My only obligation today is to meet with Beth and Reekos' new landlord at noon.
After that, the day will play out at will.

6 back to TEN

... just helping out a friend.
But I will also learn how to clean a blind plecostomus' aquarium.

3+3=6

Ah yes, things happen in threes.

Last week a friend passed away.
On the weekend there was a serious accident on the hill involving a motorcyclist.
Then the window of my van experienced an incident - from the inside out.

Plus

Ed McMahon passed away.
Farrah Fawcett passed away.
Michael Jackson passed away.

God Bless.

7

Today is the last day of school year.
I am preparing a fruit plate and doing pigs-in-a-blanket for the after-school party at the beach.
It's a bit cloudy, with a chance of passing showers, but the kids don't care!

... 9 ... eight

Busy day ahead.
Bobby's elementary school graduation assembly at nine o'clock - high school next year!
At three is the funeral of a friend who passed away far too young. He passed while mountain biking - doing something he loved.
Then Bob's graduation dinner at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort at six thirty.

12, eleven, TEN ...

It was a fabulous weekend south of the border at Sandpoint, Idaho.
We did the wine tasting tour...
And ate and ate and ate and ate.
We then rolled ourselves home through the Montana wilderness.

thirteen

some things are just wrong